As a newish player that's breaking into tier 1 modern, let me tell you that it's frustrating that MM2 was so disappointing.
What I wish for - and I know it defies supply-and-demand concepts - is for staples and widespread cards to be cheaper, and then deck-specific cards to be the big expense. I would much rather have $10 Tarns and $80 Splinter Twins than the reverse.
What really sucks is that cards like Tarmogoyf and Serum Visions are almost intentionally inflated. How busted for standard would it have been to print Serum Visions in a set where it even makes sense mechanics wise, like Theros or Origins? Probably not too bad. And then we could have a $0.25 common instead of an $8 troll promo.
I used to play Pokemon an I can tell you they are trying to make up for their past mistake, quite a big one at that.
Pokemon during the Heart Gold/Soul Silver era only had "Standard" there was a "Legacy" but nobody played it. One year, at rotation time... America decided they weren't going to rotate any sets out of Standard (while Japan and other countries did). It sounded great at first. I got access to cards and answers to new cards I should't have had access to.
Until summer came around and Japan announced some game rule changes. These changes only had the new Black/White and Heart/Gold sets in mind. not the Diamond/Pearl sets that had rotated out of legality in Japan. America then announced they would also be applying said changes... while these older sets that shouldn't be legal were still around.
Games instantly became who goes first wins and they win on turn 1. Dozens of turn 1 win strategies were around and since Pokemon is literally nothing but tutors and draw spells it was consistent. You didn't have to try very hard to pull it off. Oh not to mention if you started with Sableye as your active pokemon you went first unless your opponent also had Sableye, then it was a coin flip.
It was the year they lost a lot of their playerbase. The game was broken, unfun and unfair. All strategies were the same and they all went off on the first turn. I hear it's better now, but I've been burned and sold out already.
Sure Magic is expensive, but you at least you can get a decent return on your investment.
These kind of people always stink to me like they actually want the game to die.
The point is not that someone wants the game to die, but a pragmatic response indicating one significant way a game company gets input from it's customers. That is the democracy of an open market. Every time you give a company money for a luxury product you are telling that company that the product is worth what you paid. When someone responds by saying "don't give them your money" they are saying that you should be speaking with your wallet. You are just one person, but if your opinion is one shared by a lot of MTG players- that you are right so to speak, then WotC will hear you. The person who continues to buy packs of BFZ while complains to everyone that will hear that BFZ is utter garbage and a terrible value, is not making their voice heard to the people that make decisions. The same goes for the person who buys a $150 Tarmogoyf. Expecting anything else is shouting into the wind.
What really sucks is that cards like Tarmogoyf and Serum Visions are almost intentionally inflated. How busted for standard would it have been to print Serum Visions in a set where it even makes sense mechanics wise, like Theros or Origins? Probably not too bad.
While I don't agree with a lot of decisions that the development team makes, that was indeed their assessment. They looked at Serum Visions and thought that it was just too powerful for some Standard environment that was to come. Now, why the card was not in MM2 eludes me entirely, but I at least see the decision they made not to reprint it for standard to be one rooted in a defensible position.
I used to play Pokemon an I can tell you they are trying to make up for their past mistake, quite a big one at that.
Pokemon during the Heart Gold/Soul Silver era only had "Standard" there was a "Legacy" but nobody played it. One year, at rotation time... America decided they weren't going to rotate any sets out of Standard (while Japan and other countries did). It sounded great at first. I got access to cards and answers to new cards I should't have had access to.
Until summer came around and Japan announced some game rule changes. These changes only had the new Black/White and Heart/Gold sets in mind. not the Diamond/Pearl sets that had rotated out of legality in Japan. America then announced they would also be applying said changes... while these older sets that shouldn't be legal were still around.
Games instantly became who goes first wins and they win on turn 1. Dozens of turn 1 win strategies were around and since Pokemon is literally nothing but tutors and draw spells it was consistent. You didn't have to try very hard to pull it off. Oh not to mention if you started with Sableye as your active pokemon you went first unless your opponent also had Sableye, then it was a coin flip.
It was the year they lost a lot of their playerbase. The game was broken, unfun and unfair. All strategies were the same and they all went off on the first turn. I hear it's better now, but I've been burned and sold out already.
Sure Magic is expensive, but you at least you can get a decent return on your investment.
I'm not sure on some of the finer points of the Pokemon rules, but I don't understand how one could consistently win turn 1.
Hang on, Pokemon Online lets matches your physical collection? I always assumed that was simply impossible to make work for a TCG...
You can't match a persons collection because it's easy to make trades and change your collection. It's trivial however to make the contents of a booster also provide you with an identical digital booster. It's even more trivial to make boosters contain redemption codes for a random online booster.
The biggest issue isn't one of technology but rather one of accounting. Wizards makes most of their money in MTGO through draft because that's the biggest ticket sink and they charge $4/pack for the draft. If the booster provides an online booster then they lose $4 in MTGO revenue. Given the state of MTGO they probably see it as a paper booster costing them $1 to produce/distribute and then $4 in lost MTGO revenue. Therefore it costs them $5 to wholesell it for $2.20.
The point is not that someone wants the game to die, but a pragmatic response indicating one significant way a game company gets input from it's customers. That is the democracy of an open market. Every time you give a company money for a luxury product you are telling that company that the product is worth what you paid. When someone responds by saying "don't give them your money" they are saying that you should be speaking with your wallet. You are just one person, but if your opinion is one shared by a lot of MTG players- that you are right so to speak, then WotC will hear you. The person who continues to buy packs of BFZ while complains to everyone that will hear that BFZ is utter garbage and a terrible value, is not making their voice heard to the people that make decisions. The same goes for the person who buys a $150 Tarmogoyf. Expecting anything else is shouting into the wind.
Concepts like prize walls or prize packs completely destroy this so called democracy. I can play Modern at one shop but all prizes are given in boosters of the most recent set. The SCG changes to Legacy side events that are now a prize wall. The GP changes that are a prize wall. That causes the person who doesn't want to support standard to ultimately have to support it regardless of which formats you want to play. Legacy is a great format but you can't play it in large tournaments anymore without telling Wizards with your entry fees that Standard prizes are worth something to you.
Concepts like prize walls or prize packs completely destroy this so called democracy. I can play Modern at one shop but all prizes are given in boosters of the most recent set. The SCG changes to Legacy side events that are now a prize wall. The GP changes that are a prize wall. That causes the person who doesn't want to support standard to ultimately have to support it regardless of which formats you want to play. Legacy is a great format but you can't play it in large tournaments anymore without telling Wizards with your entry fees that Standard prizes are worth something to you.
I'm not sure what portions of prizes are a responsibility of the event organizer with regard to GP's, but which of those other things is WotC's doing? Wizards cannot force shops to make store credit or out of print packs part of a prize choice, and if you don't like the way SCG handles prizes don't give them your tournament fees. If you do you are telling them that the play experience + potential prizes are worth what you plunked down.
I have left Standard for Eternal formats, because it just feels more fun to me. When I play Legacy, I feel like I'm playing a more classic game. Sure, the decks may be more expensive, but at least it won't rotate out. If I even receive boosters anymore, I'll usually just open them and sell anything valuable. Thankfully, I live in Montreal, so I don't have trouble finding a Legacy tournament happening around.
As for MTGO, I've never played it, and from what I've heard, I probably never will. I just use Forge to play against the computer. While probably not the best, the computer has gotten me sometimes, and at least I get some sense of how my deck plays out before buying it. If I even receive boosters anymore, I'll usually just open them and sell anything valuable.
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Brian Davis: Necro for five.
Randy Beuhler (commentating): Necro for five?! He's still gonna win, but it's not as much fun!
Brian Hacker (also commentating): Randy all "Necro for nine" Beuhler...
The falling as-fan of Constructed playable cards (including cards that look like they might have Constructed potential but just never get there) has really decreased my interest in Magic.
Why buy a pack when of the 14 cards (not counting the basic), 13.25-13.5 will be of no interest to anyone ever?
Khans is the only exception due to the common lifelands.
The falling as-fan of Constructed playable cards (including cards that look like they might have Constructed potential but just never get there) has really decreased my interest in Magic.
Why buy a pack when of the 14 cards (not counting the basic), 13.25-13.5 will be of no interest to anyone ever?
Khans is the only exception due to the common lifelands.
Invested players don't need to buy packs because we know it is a waste of money. If there are any commons/uncommons from the set we need it is far cheaper to buy singles rather than a booster. The only reason to buy boosters outside a Sealed environment is the thrill of gambling on that high dollar rare or mythic.
The falling as-fan of Constructed playable cards (including cards that look like they might have Constructed potential but just never get there) has really decreased my interest in Magic.
Why buy a pack when of the 14 cards (not counting the basic), 13.25-13.5 will be of no interest to anyone ever?
Khans is the only exception due to the common lifelands.
Invested players don't need to buy packs because we know it is a waste of money. If there are any commons/uncommons from the set we need it is far cheaper to buy singles rather than a booster. The only reason to buy boosters outside a Sealed environment is the thrill of gambling on that high dollar rare or mythic.
But imagine if they sprinkled in some playable cards at lower rarities so opening a booster pack actually was worthwhile. They could do it, they just don't. Besides, if there are more constructed-playable cards in a set beyond a few chase mythics, people actually do want to crack packs and it brings down the cost of constructed. If the only time people want to crack packs is to draft and the draft format is poor and gets opened less, the few playable mythics in the set skyrocket.
The falling as-fan of Constructed playable cards (including cards that look like they might have Constructed potential but just never get there) has really decreased my interest in Magic.
Why buy a pack when of the 14 cards (not counting the basic), 13.25-13.5 will be of no interest to anyone ever?
Khans is the only exception due to the common lifelands.
Invested players don't need to buy packs because we know it is a waste of money. If there are any commons/uncommons from the set we need it is far cheaper to buy singles rather than a booster. The only reason to buy boosters outside a Sealed environment is the thrill of gambling on that high dollar rare or mythic.
On release day there is often a reasonable value prospect in opening a box, especially if there's a lot of cards in the set that are hyped early but that you are pretty certain are trash.
Even outside of that, in sets with a more reasonable as-fan of playable cards, at times when the EV of opening a pack isn't very high, it doesn't feel as bad to open one and say 'meh, rare sucks, ah well, at least got a Bile Blight'.
But imagine if they sprinkled in some playable cards at lower rarities so opening a booster pack actually was worthwhile. They could do it, they just don't. Besides, if there are more constructed-playable cards in a set beyond a few chase mythics, people actually do want to crack packs and it brings down the cost of constructed. If the only time people want to crack packs is to draft and the draft format is poor and gets opened less, the few playable mythics in the set skyrocket.
Playable cards at low rarities aren't worth opening packs for. I think that what it is in your case is that you're just starting to see how bad the pack value in the game is. It's always this way. If you want just a few specific cards (which is always the case if you're playing constructed) then it's just not worth opening packs.
I'm not sure what portions of prizes are a responsibility of the event organizer with regard to GP's, but which of those other things is WotC's doing? Wizards cannot force shops to make store credit or out of print packs part of a prize choice, and if you don't like the way SCG handles prizes don't give them your tournament fees. If you do you are telling them that the play experience + potential prizes are worth what you plunked down.
Wizards has an influence based on the products they put out. If they had more products like Modern Masters (or even just a bigger release of it) then stores could choose prizes that people actually want beyond standard junk.
But imagine if they sprinkled in some playable cards at lower rarities so opening a booster pack actually was worthwhile. They could do it, they just don't. Besides, if there are more constructed-playable cards in a set beyond a few chase mythics, people actually do want to crack packs and it brings down the cost of constructed. If the only time people want to crack packs is to draft and the draft format is poor and gets opened less, the few playable mythics in the set skyrocket.
Playable cards at low rarities aren't worth opening packs for. I think that what it is in your case is that you're just starting to see how bad the pack value in the game is. It's always this way. If you want just a few specific cards (which is always the case if you're playing constructed) then it's just not worth opening packs.
Uh, no--I don't crack packs except to draft or when I win prize packs. I'm just saying that if WOTC wanted packs to contain more constructed value instead of making them a "hundred dollar bill or crap-pile" lottery, they could do that. Cracking packs doesn't have to be inherently bad if WOTC would make something other than the mythic slot (and rare lands) relevant. If cracking packs produced more playables, more packs would be opened and singles would be more affordable.
Uh, no--I don't crack packs except to draft or when I win prize packs. I'm just saying that if WOTC wanted packs to contain more constructed value instead of making them a "hundred dollar bill or crap-pile" lottery, they could do that. Cracking packs doesn't have to be inherently bad if WOTC would make something other than the mythic slot (and rare lands) relevant. If cracking packs produced more playables, more packs would be opened and singles would be more affordable.
No, they can't. Pack value is pretty much set in stone by market prices. If more valuable cards are in the packs, then more will be opened, supply will go up, and those cards value will go down. The only thing they can do is spread the value out or concentrate it. If they concentrate it you get the BFZ situation where there's a couple $40 cards, if they don't you get the Khan's situation which isn't any better where you have a few $10 cards and a bunch of $1 rares.
The big difference in those two approaches is the cost of standard, if there's a lot of viable decks then costs are distributed and you have a lot of less expensive options. If there's fewer decks they tend to each be more expensive.
I was unclear by using the term "constructed value" to mean "constructed usefulness" as opposed to financial worth. I see how that could cause confusion. My point is that playables don't have to be mythic, and it would be better if more playables existed in other rarity slots, but if BFZ is evidence, WOTC disagrees with me on this.
I think we have to accept that at this point Wizard's is succeeding despite itself.
I mean look how bad duel of the planeswalkers was getting.
look how bad their coverage is, look how bad the prize support at their sanctioned events is getting, no one wants a prize wall.
Look how convoluted the PTQ system is.
Look how bad mtgo is.
Look at what a disaster BFZ is, that set is hot garbage with one playable non-land card.
The way they handled BFZ fat packs.
MM2 value.
Legacy support.
We have to consider the fact that Wizard's is only succeeding because of their very loyal and vast fan base, and not because they have a strong idea of what they're doing anymore. I mean you look at how many things they've mishandled and the community and company are still thriving. But this push towards ultimate standard support, combined with Oath which is probably going to suck based on BFZ power level, and if they screw up shadows over innistrad, we could see a contraction in the community.
I remember when Worldwake booster boxes were almost double msrp at my lgs and I can also remember when Betrayers came out you couldn't find a rat's nest theme deck because Jitte was was worth more than the precon. Wizards just knows how get into the minds of its consumers and drive the demand and price of the game to benefit their bottom line. The introduction of Mythic rarity was really the single greatest step WOTC did to reinvent and re-hype the product. Look at what Caw-blade did to standard. It set a whole new level for what it should cost to play that format. You needed the mythics and they were that much harder to pull. You needed to spend more money.
I no longer play standard; I picked up commander instead because it brought me back to how the game was for me when I was younger - it was fun and affordable. A format created by the mtg community. I am sure there are a lot of people who play both formats (standard and EDH) but I also know quite a lot that have given standard away like I did. Only needing one copy of a card made it easy for me to use the one offs in my binders. But now wizards have have swooped on in and hijacked that format as well by selling dedicated EDH product and supplementing the product through their other sets. Need a mana base for EDH? Buy RTR, Buy BFZ. The modern masters sets do the same thing. Half of the rares in the MM2k15 are EDH staples. I expect to see a continuation of Land or mana base specific cards to dominate each block from here on in, whether they be fetches or shocks etc it seems to be the trend now. They will continue to do the whole allied/non allied combos in a staggered fashion.
I just think they're smart and move to take advantage of the state of the game. OGW should be interesting.
They do print playable commons and uncommons. Delver, Young Pyro, Treasure Cruise, Bloodbraid Elf, and Lightning Bolt just to name a few. The problem is they have to design around Limited, so making a lot of strong commons will make the environment something they don't want.
That's more Modern staples than any other set in history. What were they expecting to be in MM15? I guess they could have added Zendikar fetches, which do need a reprint. This may flow with the draftability of the set, but let's be honest: it would still sell if it was as bad for drafts as Alpha.
The common cards have been a total waste of cardboard as of late, however, Treasure Cruise being the exception as a P9-comparable Yawgmoth's Will-level design mistake.
These days, some wizards are finding they have a little too much deck left at the end of their $$$.
MTG finance guy- follow me on Twitter@RichArschmann or RichardArschmann on Reddit
The uncommons weren't amazing, but they weren't total chaff either. Have to save some stuff for MM2016, I suppose. We don't want to go full Yugioh and ruin the value of everything in the format so LGS owners can no longer afford their rent and medical bills.
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These days, some wizards are finding they have a little too much deck left at the end of their $$$.
MTG finance guy- follow me on Twitter@RichArschmann or RichardArschmann on Reddit
No LGS I know has ever gone under from Yu-Gi-Oh's (or Pokemon's) reprint policy. In fact all the LGSs I know still carry those games
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"Listen closely as your radio plays
a program of a slightly different strain.
Tonight my listeners, a new power will rise,
unleashed upon you all in this musical disguise.
Your cities turn to ash, for the broadcast is cursed.
The signal is peaking and can't be reversed.
If you choose my children, you can try to hide.
But I strongly suggest you run for your life."
-The Sermon 2, The Creepshow
The defense that they had to "save some stuff for MM3" is one that has always annoyed me. For one thing, MM2 already had the pre-Innistrad cutoff so there was already plenty saved for MM3 by default. But for another thing, MM3 isn't the set they were trying to sell us, MM2 was. The ONLY worthwhile common/uncommon was Remand. If you're feeling generous you could name Expedition Map or Lightning Bolt but those won't save a pack from failing. I'm not even advocating "going full Yu-Gi-Oh!" Nobody's saying reprint Tarmogoyf at uncommon, and I already said the set had good stuff at the highest bands. Distribution in the other bands was the issue.
But that's also part of the argument I was making to begin with. We've been drinking this Kool-Aid about how the market can't handle this and the LGS's can't handle that...and there are 2 CCG's doing those exact same things others on here swear can't be done. Their game isn't dying, it's thriving. There's been a recent resurgence of interest in the Pokemon CCG, and while some of us might regard Yu-Gi-Oh players as 'weird', they're certainly not underground. These games are taking up more shelf space at your local Wal Mart than Magic does most of the time.
Would I say we can't have Tarmagoyf at uncommon? Yes, I'd agree that's a bit much. Rare? Part of a special 'Modern Event Deck'...well, yeah. Having the damn card as a 4-of has been necessary since the beginning of the Modern format for 90% of decks running green, so why are we cutting off the player base with this ridiculous artificial price barrier?
You know what happens to $100 cards in the other CCG's? People buy them up early, then they get reprinted in tins a few months later, everyone gets the overpriced card they wanted, everyone's happy. The reprint is at like $5, the original is still $15-20. This whole concept of letting LGS's charge a forever-increasing premium on a card because it goes without meeting reprint demand year after year is ridiculous. I always knew that, but now I'm starting to learn that this has only become the status quo with THIS game.
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What I wish for - and I know it defies supply-and-demand concepts - is for staples and widespread cards to be cheaper, and then deck-specific cards to be the big expense. I would much rather have $10 Tarns and $80 Splinter Twins than the reverse.
What really sucks is that cards like Tarmogoyf and Serum Visions are almost intentionally inflated. How busted for standard would it have been to print Serum Visions in a set where it even makes sense mechanics wise, like Theros or Origins? Probably not too bad. And then we could have a $0.25 common instead of an $8 troll promo.
Until summer came around and Japan announced some game rule changes. These changes only had the new Black/White and Heart/Gold sets in mind. not the Diamond/Pearl sets that had rotated out of legality in Japan. America then announced they would also be applying said changes... while these older sets that shouldn't be legal were still around.
Games instantly became who goes first wins and they win on turn 1. Dozens of turn 1 win strategies were around and since Pokemon is literally nothing but tutors and draw spells it was consistent. You didn't have to try very hard to pull it off. Oh not to mention if you started with Sableye as your active pokemon you went first unless your opponent also had Sableye, then it was a coin flip.
It was the year they lost a lot of their playerbase. The game was broken, unfun and unfair. All strategies were the same and they all went off on the first turn. I hear it's better now, but I've been burned and sold out already.
Sure Magic is expensive, but you at least you can get a decent return on your investment.
The point is not that someone wants the game to die, but a pragmatic response indicating one significant way a game company gets input from it's customers. That is the democracy of an open market. Every time you give a company money for a luxury product you are telling that company that the product is worth what you paid. When someone responds by saying "don't give them your money" they are saying that you should be speaking with your wallet. You are just one person, but if your opinion is one shared by a lot of MTG players- that you are right so to speak, then WotC will hear you. The person who continues to buy packs of BFZ while complains to everyone that will hear that BFZ is utter garbage and a terrible value, is not making their voice heard to the people that make decisions. The same goes for the person who buys a $150 Tarmogoyf. Expecting anything else is shouting into the wind.
While I don't agree with a lot of decisions that the development team makes, that was indeed their assessment. They looked at Serum Visions and thought that it was just too powerful for some Standard environment that was to come. Now, why the card was not in MM2 eludes me entirely, but I at least see the decision they made not to reprint it for standard to be one rooted in a defensible position.
Reprint Opt for Modern!!
FREE DIG THOROUGH TIME!
PLAY MORE ROUGE DECKS!
I'm not sure on some of the finer points of the Pokemon rules, but I don't understand how one could consistently win turn 1.
You can't match a persons collection because it's easy to make trades and change your collection. It's trivial however to make the contents of a booster also provide you with an identical digital booster. It's even more trivial to make boosters contain redemption codes for a random online booster.
The biggest issue isn't one of technology but rather one of accounting. Wizards makes most of their money in MTGO through draft because that's the biggest ticket sink and they charge $4/pack for the draft. If the booster provides an online booster then they lose $4 in MTGO revenue. Given the state of MTGO they probably see it as a paper booster costing them $1 to produce/distribute and then $4 in lost MTGO revenue. Therefore it costs them $5 to wholesell it for $2.20.
Concepts like prize walls or prize packs completely destroy this so called democracy. I can play Modern at one shop but all prizes are given in boosters of the most recent set. The SCG changes to Legacy side events that are now a prize wall. The GP changes that are a prize wall. That causes the person who doesn't want to support standard to ultimately have to support it regardless of which formats you want to play. Legacy is a great format but you can't play it in large tournaments anymore without telling Wizards with your entry fees that Standard prizes are worth something to you.
Reprint Opt for Modern!!
FREE DIG THOROUGH TIME!
PLAY MORE ROUGE DECKS!
As for MTGO, I've never played it, and from what I've heard, I probably never will. I just use Forge to play against the computer. While probably not the best, the computer has gotten me sometimes, and at least I get some sense of how my deck plays out before buying it. If I even receive boosters anymore, I'll usually just open them and sell anything valuable.
Randy Beuhler (commentating): Necro for five?! He's still gonna win, but it's not as much fun!
Brian Hacker (also commentating): Randy all "Necro for nine" Beuhler...
-Randy Beuhler on Brian Davis at the Chicago Pro Tour 1999 Finals vs. Bob Maher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMei_cxSC0c
Why buy a pack when of the 14 cards (not counting the basic), 13.25-13.5 will be of no interest to anyone ever?
Khans is the only exception due to the common lifelands.
Invested players don't need to buy packs because we know it is a waste of money. If there are any commons/uncommons from the set we need it is far cheaper to buy singles rather than a booster. The only reason to buy boosters outside a Sealed environment is the thrill of gambling on that high dollar rare or mythic.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
But imagine if they sprinkled in some playable cards at lower rarities so opening a booster pack actually was worthwhile. They could do it, they just don't. Besides, if there are more constructed-playable cards in a set beyond a few chase mythics, people actually do want to crack packs and it brings down the cost of constructed. If the only time people want to crack packs is to draft and the draft format is poor and gets opened less, the few playable mythics in the set skyrocket.
On release day there is often a reasonable value prospect in opening a box, especially if there's a lot of cards in the set that are hyped early but that you are pretty certain are trash.
Even outside of that, in sets with a more reasonable as-fan of playable cards, at times when the EV of opening a pack isn't very high, it doesn't feel as bad to open one and say 'meh, rare sucks, ah well, at least got a Bile Blight'.
Playable cards at low rarities aren't worth opening packs for. I think that what it is in your case is that you're just starting to see how bad the pack value in the game is. It's always this way. If you want just a few specific cards (which is always the case if you're playing constructed) then it's just not worth opening packs.
Wizards has an influence based on the products they put out. If they had more products like Modern Masters (or even just a bigger release of it) then stores could choose prizes that people actually want beyond standard junk.
Uh, no--I don't crack packs except to draft or when I win prize packs. I'm just saying that if WOTC wanted packs to contain more constructed value instead of making them a "hundred dollar bill or crap-pile" lottery, they could do that. Cracking packs doesn't have to be inherently bad if WOTC would make something other than the mythic slot (and rare lands) relevant. If cracking packs produced more playables, more packs would be opened and singles would be more affordable.
No, they can't. Pack value is pretty much set in stone by market prices. If more valuable cards are in the packs, then more will be opened, supply will go up, and those cards value will go down. The only thing they can do is spread the value out or concentrate it. If they concentrate it you get the BFZ situation where there's a couple $40 cards, if they don't you get the Khan's situation which isn't any better where you have a few $10 cards and a bunch of $1 rares.
The big difference in those two approaches is the cost of standard, if there's a lot of viable decks then costs are distributed and you have a lot of less expensive options. If there's fewer decks they tend to each be more expensive.
I mean look how bad duel of the planeswalkers was getting.
look how bad their coverage is, look how bad the prize support at their sanctioned events is getting, no one wants a prize wall.
Look how convoluted the PTQ system is.
Look how bad mtgo is.
Look at what a disaster BFZ is, that set is hot garbage with one playable non-land card.
The way they handled BFZ fat packs.
MM2 value.
Legacy support.
We have to consider the fact that Wizard's is only succeeding because of their very loyal and vast fan base, and not because they have a strong idea of what they're doing anymore. I mean you look at how many things they've mishandled and the community and company are still thriving. But this push towards ultimate standard support, combined with Oath which is probably going to suck based on BFZ power level, and if they screw up shadows over innistrad, we could see a contraction in the community.
I no longer play standard; I picked up commander instead because it brought me back to how the game was for me when I was younger - it was fun and affordable. A format created by the mtg community. I am sure there are a lot of people who play both formats (standard and EDH) but I also know quite a lot that have given standard away like I did. Only needing one copy of a card made it easy for me to use the one offs in my binders. But now wizards have have swooped on in and hijacked that format as well by selling dedicated EDH product and supplementing the product through their other sets. Need a mana base for EDH? Buy RTR, Buy BFZ. The modern masters sets do the same thing. Half of the rares in the MM2k15 are EDH staples. I expect to see a continuation of Land or mana base specific cards to dominate each block from here on in, whether they be fetches or shocks etc it seems to be the trend now. They will continue to do the whole allied/non allied combos in a staggered fashion.
I just think they're smart and move to take advantage of the state of the game. OGW should be interesting.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Bitterblossom
Cryptic Command
Dark Confidant
Daybreak Coronet
Elesh Norn
Emrakul
Fulminator Mage
Karn Liberated
Mox Opal
Noble Hierarch
Spellskite
Tarmogoyf
Vendilion Clique
That's more Modern staples than any other set in history. What were they expecting to be in MM15? I guess they could have added Zendikar fetches, which do need a reprint. This may flow with the draftability of the set, but let's be honest: it would still sell if it was as bad for drafts as Alpha.
The common cards have been a total waste of cardboard as of late, however, Treasure Cruise being the exception as a P9-comparable Yawgmoth's Will-level design mistake.
MTG finance guy- follow me on Twitter@RichArschmann or RichardArschmann on Reddit
MTG finance guy- follow me on Twitter@RichArschmann or RichardArschmann on Reddit
a program of a slightly different strain.
Tonight my listeners, a new power will rise,
unleashed upon you all in this musical disguise.
Your cities turn to ash, for the broadcast is cursed.
The signal is peaking and can't be reversed.
If you choose my children, you can try to hide.
But I strongly suggest you run for your life."
-The Sermon 2, The Creepshow
But that's also part of the argument I was making to begin with. We've been drinking this Kool-Aid about how the market can't handle this and the LGS's can't handle that...and there are 2 CCG's doing those exact same things others on here swear can't be done. Their game isn't dying, it's thriving. There's been a recent resurgence of interest in the Pokemon CCG, and while some of us might regard Yu-Gi-Oh players as 'weird', they're certainly not underground. These games are taking up more shelf space at your local Wal Mart than Magic does most of the time.
Would I say we can't have Tarmagoyf at uncommon? Yes, I'd agree that's a bit much. Rare? Part of a special 'Modern Event Deck'...well, yeah. Having the damn card as a 4-of has been necessary since the beginning of the Modern format for 90% of decks running green, so why are we cutting off the player base with this ridiculous artificial price barrier?
You know what happens to $100 cards in the other CCG's? People buy them up early, then they get reprinted in tins a few months later, everyone gets the overpriced card they wanted, everyone's happy. The reprint is at like $5, the original is still $15-20. This whole concept of letting LGS's charge a forever-increasing premium on a card because it goes without meeting reprint demand year after year is ridiculous. I always knew that, but now I'm starting to learn that this has only become the status quo with THIS game.