Anyone think they are printing too many sets and people will get fatigued soon and sales will go down?
- Modern and Eternal Masters
- Commander Products
- From the Vault Sets
- Standard Sets
- Beginner Products like Duel Decks, etc.
Plus add in these new Masterpieces, which now make a lot of these supplemental sets less necessary.
** Are sets like FTV even necessary anymore with Masterpieces coming out?
** Do we really need Modern and Eternal Masters? Why not combine them into when and print a set with both Modern and Legacy playable cards
I guess my main question is, I think WoTC should stop printing so much product that IMO is unnecessary, and will cause buyer fatigue and an eventual downtick in sales overall. They need to start combing products like Modern/Eternal Masters and get rid of things like FTV sets that are now unnecessary with the introduction of the Masterpieces.
Most of those are geared towards different players though. The beginner stuff especially is it's own thing, and there really isn't likely to be much overlap between that category and the others except Standard sets. Commander also is mostly it's own thing, unless you like Commander you don't tend to get Commander stuff, it usually isn't really relevant. I don't really think that it's likely to be an issue personally, just seems like enough difference demographics that there is only some overlap.
I'm thinking they're very aware of every opportunity to print product to cater to every need year round.
They haven't added any new slot for product, just shifted around some that didn't sell well enough.
Premium decks for example, were aimed at eternal format players and it didn't do good, so they switched.
Intro decks for new players got swapped also.
They print a lot, but might be printing too many? It's been going on for years now and they are zoning in continually on the best approach.
I'd be more suspicious of the faster standard rotation than supplemental products...
Modern and Eternal Masters have different focuses. It affects the limited environment they build and which cards they include. Cause if you combine them, what you have really done is just cut Modern Masters.
To answer your general question, personally for me...yes, I'm getting a bit fatigued. But that's really my fault, not WotC's. I don't really think it's too much in general, but maybe a bit too much for me. As others have said, most of these sets are marketed at different players. Sure, there will likely be some overlap, but unless you're a super hardcore MUST HAVE EVERYTHING kind of player, some of these won't be for you. Just taking a look at your list...
Modern and Eternal Masters - If you don't play Modern, Legacy, Vintage, etc. then there's really no point in buying any of these. Commander Products - If you don't play Commander or other eternal formats, these also aren't necessary. From the Vault Sets - I've never bought one of these, but I'm sure there are others who have. Standard Sets - If you don't play Standard or do Standard drafts, you'll likely only need a handful of cards from each set for your other format decks. Beginner Products like Duel Decks, etc. - Unless you're a beginner, you probably don't buy these.
EMA was my first box from the Masters sets that I bought and I'm happy that I did. I got some really cool stuff for various decks, and some valuable cards. But there's really no point in combining them...it looks like they're going to alternate one or the other each year. Commander decks are great for me. They come out just before the holidays, so if my family asks what I want for Christmas, it's an easy thing to add to the list. They can find them when they're out shopping at Target or WalMart and not have to go to a specialty store, which they prefer. I like playing Standard, but the core members of my Standard playing group moved away, so I probably won't be buying as much going forward. I don't really buy beginner products unless I have a reason, like teaching a new player, or as a gift.
I am a bit fatigued just because of the amount of money I'd like to spend on Magic products vs the time I actually have to enjoy them. I bought a box of EMA, but then Conspiracy 2 came out and I couldn't afford a box, so I skipped that set. I know I'd have enjoyed drafting it, but it just wasn't possible. Also, I really like the looks of Kaladesh, and I'd normally buy a box, but I just started really getting into Force of Will (another TCG), and most of my spending money has gone towards that recently. So I'll probably only do a pre-release and buy a few packs, then buy singles that I need after that for my decks. If everything was spread out a bit more, that would be better for me, but that's only because my budget it limited by other spending LOL!
All the products aren't intended for all magic players. They're catering to different branches of the fan base with these different products. A such, no single products is unecessary for the brand, but it might well be unecessary for any specific player. Also, the main criterium for products is really simple: "Does it sell in profitable quantities?", if yes, print away.
Players products, the main product for players are standard sets and masters sets. Standard sets are the backbone of magic, they're completely central to standard and limited and has a fair bit of influence on non-rotating constructed formats. Masters sets is the main method of reprinting eternal staples without affecting the standard metagame. Put simply, if WotC wants a standard metagame where the new cards are the most interesting, they have to choose between powercreep or not reprinting strong cards in standard.
Casual products Conspiracy, Planechase, Arch Enemy, Un sets, etc. These are a varied bunch, intended for the players whose tastes aren't catered to in the standard sets. They often appeal to casual players.
Commander products are marketed to commander players, and in my experience they are popular with that crowd. Commander sets are also a way of printing new cards for eternal formats without affecting standard.
Beginner products, like intro decks, the new planeswalker decks, deckbuilder's toolkit etc are mainly marketed to new players. Beginner products makes it easier for new players to walk into a store and say "I want to try this magic thing, what do I need to get started?". Constantly recruiting new players is a central part of the tcg business model.
Collector products, I'll lump together From the Vault, Anthology sets, Holiday boxes, Fat Packs, sleeves with planeswalkers, deckboxes with manasymbols, folders and playmats with illustrations from the cards etc as collector products. These are products for people that derive joy, not just from playing the game, but also from their ownership of the game pieces. Some are more practical (boxes) while others are just about bling (ftv) while others still are an aid to completionists (anthology sets). Collectors have always been a huge part of the magic hobby, but if you're not one of them you might find their mind set a bit alien.
So, in short, the different product groups are for standard players, limited players, non-rotating constructed players, causal players, commander players, beginners and collectors. All of the products aren't intended for you, unless you feel all those labels apply to you. (Or maybe if you're a completionist collector)
I'm sort of taking my gut reaction with a grain of salt because I know I never HAVE to buy anything I don't want to and I could perfectly enjoy playing Magic with a $0.01 card vs a $1000 card.
It's kind of like the idea that the more things you have the more stressed you are; the more they print, the more I feel compelled to buy and the more I feel behind on buying, the more stressed I feel at each release. Its definitely making me consider toning down my buying...and I only have a 360 cube (seriously...no trade binder, no EDH decks, no collection, no spare cards sitting around, nada).
It is a little hard digesting all the different sets and their relevance. My peak was 1996-97 at a time sets arrived in a very linear progression and we were all trying to evaluate the cards and our decks in a very limited scope. Chronicles and Nth edition sets served to cater to the "cheaper" demographics and that was about it. If you wanted to collect nothing but Dragon Whelps back then, you didn't have to worry that there are now 11 different variants.
Now, I feel like there's greater pressure not because of the number of sets, but the intense crossover and pricing increases for cards that are used across formats. I don't feel that WotC has a good grip on the printed card percentages that see play in say.... Vintage as well as EDH making the entry bar for both formats higher than what it would be otherwise.
I suppose this is no different than pumping money into an Xbox or Steam game and constantly buying the DLC stuff. I've done that too. But DLC prices don't fluctuate and you don't get buy outs.
I think they are eating up a lot of future credit by their decisions today. There will be a contraction in places on things like supplemental products. I suspect that there will be no big bust or crunch, but tiny things, like limited attendance that might drop a tad due to Masterpieces making standard cards worthless. People might get itchy feet when they see people selling out of non eternal formats at really low prices compared to today, and Masterpieces might make certain cards less desirable in non Masterpiece form which could drive Legacy reserved prices up. All of that will generate bad will, and I am sure the next EMA will have to see lower prices or much better cards as people will not be willing to pay out. Mana crypt will have stung someone, somewhere- and people know that reprints of all bar the RL are possible in the immediate future, something that has not been true when its one FTV a year
I think we've had too many releases this Summer. It's definitely hard on collectors who try to get everything, and most products have something for everyone thrown in, so it's hard to just skip a set or release if you're a vested player. Next year will be the same. They've move the Masters set from June to March, so next Summer will most likely have something else shoe horned in. As a player I love it, but there is almost too much to digest...
I don't even follow most of those products. It feels like I haven't even had time to settle in with Eldritch Moon and now I have a new set to think about!
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Rose tint my world, keep me safe from my trouble and pain.
FTVs are still necessary. Masterpeices only reduce prices for $400+ cards, FTV reduces the price of $50-$100 cards.
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BRGMy Deck(Modern): Bolts'n'Burns WMy other, WIP casual deck: Zero to Hero
Protection from Will-O'-the-Wisps, Ali-from-Cairos, and Uncle-Istvans
Legendary snow landwalk
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On the reserved list: Wizards won't remove it. Only we can. In other words: Play Modern, Pauper, or No-RL Eternal.
Interesting point. From watching the dozens of TCC videos over whether various magic the gathering products are worth it, it doesn't take long to realize most aren't. But why? It's something the Prof has mentioned: they try to make the product for everyone and end up making it for no one.
I for one like the idea of saying: PW decks, these are for beginners. This product, this is for collectors. That product, this is for tournament spikes. It seams with the most recent conspiracy, they are finally doing this. It's aimed at those wanting reprints and a fun draft set. But, the new Nissa vs Ob seems to be for no one. Not enough value to justify it's price. So it's hit and miss
But products aren't for everyone. They're typically aimed at specific niches.
Also Nissa vs. Ob is another beginner product, or just casual one. My boyfriend and I like getting them because they're usually kind of fun to play with, but the Planeswalker tends to be why he gets them. Which isn't the cheapest option but he doesn't seem to get single cards for some reason.
I can name exactly one person who likes the Duel Decks and prefers to play Magic with them, and that's Tom Vasel (link to relevant Dice Tower podcast here). For someone that plays 853 different games every week, he can just pick them up and play with a friend without wasting time trying to build his own decks.
- Modern and Eternal Masters
- Commander Products
- From the Vault Sets
- Standard Sets
- Beginner Products like Duel Decks, etc.
Plus add in these new Masterpieces, which now make a lot of these supplemental sets less necessary.
** Are sets like FTV even necessary anymore with Masterpieces coming out?
** Do we really need Modern and Eternal Masters? Why not combine them into when and print a set with both Modern and Legacy playable cards
I guess my main question is, I think WoTC should stop printing so much product that IMO is unnecessary, and will cause buyer fatigue and an eventual downtick in sales overall. They need to start combing products like Modern/Eternal Masters and get rid of things like FTV sets that are now unnecessary with the introduction of the Masterpieces.
They haven't added any new slot for product, just shifted around some that didn't sell well enough.
Premium decks for example, were aimed at eternal format players and it didn't do good, so they switched.
Intro decks for new players got swapped also.
They print a lot, but might be printing too many? It's been going on for years now and they are zoning in continually on the best approach.
I'd be more suspicious of the faster standard rotation than supplemental products...
Modern and Eternal Masters - If you don't play Modern, Legacy, Vintage, etc. then there's really no point in buying any of these.
Commander Products - If you don't play Commander or other eternal formats, these also aren't necessary.
From the Vault Sets - I've never bought one of these, but I'm sure there are others who have.
Standard Sets - If you don't play Standard or do Standard drafts, you'll likely only need a handful of cards from each set for your other format decks.
Beginner Products like Duel Decks, etc. - Unless you're a beginner, you probably don't buy these.
EMA was my first box from the Masters sets that I bought and I'm happy that I did. I got some really cool stuff for various decks, and some valuable cards. But there's really no point in combining them...it looks like they're going to alternate one or the other each year. Commander decks are great for me. They come out just before the holidays, so if my family asks what I want for Christmas, it's an easy thing to add to the list. They can find them when they're out shopping at Target or WalMart and not have to go to a specialty store, which they prefer. I like playing Standard, but the core members of my Standard playing group moved away, so I probably won't be buying as much going forward. I don't really buy beginner products unless I have a reason, like teaching a new player, or as a gift.
I am a bit fatigued just because of the amount of money I'd like to spend on Magic products vs the time I actually have to enjoy them. I bought a box of EMA, but then Conspiracy 2 came out and I couldn't afford a box, so I skipped that set. I know I'd have enjoyed drafting it, but it just wasn't possible. Also, I really like the looks of Kaladesh, and I'd normally buy a box, but I just started really getting into Force of Will (another TCG), and most of my spending money has gone towards that recently. So I'll probably only do a pre-release and buy a few packs, then buy singles that I need after that for my decks. If everything was spread out a bit more, that would be better for me, but that's only because my budget it limited by other spending LOL!
Players products, the main product for players are standard sets and masters sets. Standard sets are the backbone of magic, they're completely central to standard and limited and has a fair bit of influence on non-rotating constructed formats. Masters sets is the main method of reprinting eternal staples without affecting the standard metagame. Put simply, if WotC wants a standard metagame where the new cards are the most interesting, they have to choose between powercreep or not reprinting strong cards in standard.
Casual products Conspiracy, Planechase, Arch Enemy, Un sets, etc. These are a varied bunch, intended for the players whose tastes aren't catered to in the standard sets. They often appeal to casual players.
Commander products are marketed to commander players, and in my experience they are popular with that crowd. Commander sets are also a way of printing new cards for eternal formats without affecting standard.
Beginner products, like intro decks, the new planeswalker decks, deckbuilder's toolkit etc are mainly marketed to new players. Beginner products makes it easier for new players to walk into a store and say "I want to try this magic thing, what do I need to get started?". Constantly recruiting new players is a central part of the tcg business model.
Collector products, I'll lump together From the Vault, Anthology sets, Holiday boxes, Fat Packs, sleeves with planeswalkers, deckboxes with manasymbols, folders and playmats with illustrations from the cards etc as collector products. These are products for people that derive joy, not just from playing the game, but also from their ownership of the game pieces. Some are more practical (boxes) while others are just about bling (ftv) while others still are an aid to completionists (anthology sets). Collectors have always been a huge part of the magic hobby, but if you're not one of them you might find their mind set a bit alien.
So, in short, the different product groups are for standard players, limited players, non-rotating constructed players, causal players, commander players, beginners and collectors. All of the products aren't intended for you, unless you feel all those labels apply to you. (Or maybe if you're a completionist collector)
—Kaysa, Elder Druid of the Juniper Order
Maybe that's just because I tend to skip the casual geared stuff and haven't been able to really draft much though
It's kind of like the idea that the more things you have the more stressed you are; the more they print, the more I feel compelled to buy and the more I feel behind on buying, the more stressed I feel at each release. Its definitely making me consider toning down my buying...and I only have a 360 cube (seriously...no trade binder, no EDH decks, no collection, no spare cards sitting around, nada).
Now, I feel like there's greater pressure not because of the number of sets, but the intense crossover and pricing increases for cards that are used across formats. I don't feel that WotC has a good grip on the printed card percentages that see play in say.... Vintage as well as EDH making the entry bar for both formats higher than what it would be otherwise.
I suppose this is no different than pumping money into an Xbox or Steam game and constantly buying the DLC stuff. I've done that too. But DLC prices don't fluctuate and you don't get buy outs.
Yeah ... Besides, they're kinda running out of good ideas for the FtV sets anyway.
WMy other, WIP casual deck: Zero to Hero
Protection from Will-O'-the-Wisps, Ali-from-Cairos, and Uncle-Istvans
Legendary snow landwalk
---------------------------------------
On the reserved list: Wizards won't remove it. Only we can. In other words: Play Modern, Pauper, or No-RL Eternal.
I for one like the idea of saying: PW decks, these are for beginners. This product, this is for collectors. That product, this is for tournament spikes. It seams with the most recent conspiracy, they are finally doing this. It's aimed at those wanting reprints and a fun draft set. But, the new Nissa vs Ob seems to be for no one. Not enough value to justify it's price. So it's hit and miss
Also Nissa vs. Ob is another beginner product, or just casual one. My boyfriend and I like getting them because they're usually kind of fun to play with, but the Planeswalker tends to be why he gets them. Which isn't the cheapest option but he doesn't seem to get single cards for some reason.