Masterpieces made me stop drafting or doing sealed.
I broke even on drafts without them. Drafts gave me worthless fifty cent garbage plus a winning lucky lottery ticket for someone. I don't want cheap standard cards, I won't play standard regardless because I hate the design paradigm. I want the cheapest rares to be a dollar, most to be five dollars, good ones to be ten, and mythics to be three to thirty dollars. If it drols significantly below that threshold it simply is not worth drafting. Spread the value and you get lots of quite happy people. Put it into Masterpieces and you get one lucky sod with all the value and a bunch of people walking away from draft disappointed.
Masterpieces made standard cheap but still the standard numbers did not go up.
Bringing them back is only good for standard players looking to play cheaply, but it wrecks draft players who don't play standard doubling the cost of drafting minimum as the cost of drafting cannot be defrayed with cards pulled.
With rumors of Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro entering the Singles Market for Magic: The Gathering
what rumors and where?
It was from UnsleevedMedia / TheQuartering on YouTube.
How quickly we forget that source is not exactly trustworthy.
I trust him more than WOTC. Or this website's leadership, honestly.
I got a couple final events, but I think artifact is going to increase the competition (and be a better game). WOTC can hang out with Marvel and others on the list of "get woke go broke."
With rumors of Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro entering the Singles Market for Magic: The Gathering
what rumors and where?
It was from UnsleevedMedia / TheQuartering on YouTube.
How quickly we forget that source is not exactly trustworthy.
We do not need those sources to be honest, Guilds of Ravnica Mythic edition is the selling of powerful high priced singles for standard. It just happens to be packed in with a bunch of random packs to hide it.
This is most likely the route Wizards would take, using random filler pilled on top of a guaranteed value card, otherwise they would be attacked by gambling control groups hard. It still is a risky move considering video games are being attacked for the use of loot boxes.
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Never forget whose grace and favor led to your success and always give your thanks, otherwise you might be doomed to loose it.
Prize packs I getbjust get recycled into draft to reduce the cost of entry next time for me, at the end of draft sets I often trade them for the next. Pre release and a few draft winninng boosters are normally enough to keep me in boosters to reduce the cost of entry by 40 pc. The card values determine breaking even in the long run in draft, far more so if you agree to rare redraft (sanctioned mtg forbids rare redraft but if it is a close nit group there is nothing to stop you doing it after the event). Of course you need the skill to identify what cards will spike and when, what to trade away, when to sell etc, the money won't come into your lap if you can't work it. Normally I work two cycles, imediate to six month sell for std cards, and keep for three to five years to sell on for those that don't. This pays for the entry to continue drafting. But if the set is a masterpiece set it by and large does not matter, all the mid value cards that can normally be worked into cash within either a long or short timeframe have such low value there is nothing you can do in the short term even if the card sees significant standard play. Long term there is always the potential to make cash, but it is the short term pot that dies a grim death in masterpiece sets. Kaladesh at least had some obvious sleepers for several formats, but the Expeditions and Invocations came in sets where there were no sleepers and all the card prices were severely depressed and I simply stopped drafting as it was not value for money, expecially considering how bad the draft formats were.
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People with belligerent signatures are trying to compensate for something....
There are other directions I haven't heard anyone really talk about (maybe hint at, but not right out mention):
1) There have been bars opening up here & there that cater to the gaming community. 21+ environment.
One opened up in Reno a few years ago. The place focuses on selling alcohol, while offering table space and a huge library of board games for people to play and enjoy. It is always packed and always busy.
2) LGS's become "country clubs" for nerds, w/ monthly or yearly memberships, holding private and open events.
This has definitely been done before and may work in dense urban areas where the community of players/gamers is very high. In less urbanized areas, this model would struggle, I think.
3) LGS's start charging at the door. Either a per night cost or by the hour.
Charging per table used to be common practice, especially for RPers. The model proved unpopular because people do not want to pay for table space. One system I have seen work in other areas is for there to be a "free space" and a "Premium space", with the premium space offering a better experience than the free space.
With rumors of Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro entering the Singles Market for Magic: The Gathering
what rumors and where?
It was from UnsleevedMedia / TheQuartering on YouTube.
How quickly we forget that source is not exactly trustworthy.
What's the track record on being right?
We can disagree with most of UnsleevedMedia / TheQuartering's YouTube content that isn't Magic related but when it is often times he tells it like it is. You can make a similar case for other Magic content creators on YouTube as well in which all they're doing is expressing their own opinion on something when we easily jump to conclusions by viewing their opinion as fact. Of course that's how rumors get spread until we get some sort of confirmation about it through personal experience from somebody else or through our own experiences.
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America Bless Christ Jesus
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
It was from UnsleevedMedia / TheQuartering on YouTube.
How quickly we forget that source is not exactly trustworthy.
What's the track record on being right?
We can disagree with most of UnsleevedMedia / TheQuartering's YouTube content that isn't Magic related but when it is often times he tells it like it is. You can make a similar case for other Magic content creators on YouTube as well in which all they're doing is expressing their own opinion on something when we easily jump to conclusions by viewing their opinion as fact. Of course that's how rumors get spread until we get some sort of confirmation about it through personal experience from somebody else or through our own experiences.
I'm sure that was an answer to some question but not mine. and more evidence that WotC doesn't live or die by MTG alone: They just this morning announced this here thing for D&D https://dndsports.tv/news/what-is-dndsports/
I have been playing since the Mirrodin Block and I have seen Intro decks go from pretty fun to these planeswalker decks that are really not worth the price tag. Sure, planeswalkers are fun but the cards that rely on those planeswalkers being in a deck are mostly useless elsewhere.
Reprints and masters sets are another thing. Do cards like Colossal dreadmaw really belong in a masters set? For people like me, masters sets are just not an option. A booster box of 24 for twice the price of a regular booster box is just milking us for a bunch of cheap crap.
Power creep is turning me off to the game as well. I loved cards like Phyrexian Negator. A powerful creature with a serios drawback. Now we are being tossed cards that just say "you win the game." I don't play any specific format so I cannot comment on those. However, how about decent reprints? A mana crypt in a non-standard set? Some of these cards are so expensive yet we get garbage like Colossal Dreadmaw 3 sets in a row.
It seems wizards doesn't have much left for fresh Ideas. How about a player designed set. Get ideas for cards from players. There is so much Wizards can do to make sets good again. Cards like Claustrophobia are getting tired. Reusing mechanics with a small twist isn't new or innovative. Hell, GRN Selesnya has convoke.....AGAIN. No fresh ideas there?
There are other directions I haven't heard anyone really talk about (maybe hint at, but not right out mention):
1) There have been bars opening up here & there that cater to the gaming community. 21+ environment.
I think I support this idea because the older I get the more annoying the younger generation looks to me. I also feel that magic tournaments are like gambling. And I do get annoyed that some of the younger players, whom are too young to hold a job is playing with decks that cost almost as much as a car, and they think their ***** don't stick at the tournament table. Like I've said I'm annoyed by the younger generation. Although, I started playing magic when I was 26 years old.
2) LGS's become "country clubs" for nerds, w/ monthly or yearly memberships, holding private and open events.
Another idea that makes total sense to me... I do feel that some LGS should push membership cards so member players are allowed to trade (or sell) cards in the store. And it seemed like a good way to allow proxy players (members are allowed to play with proxies).
3) LGS's start charging at the door. Either a per night cost or by the hour.
Sure... but this might push people away from the LGS. On the other hand, if your going to a dance club (or night club) there are door charges.
I also support the bar idea, because while I don't find the younger generation annoying, the older you get the creepier you feel for hanging out with them. Once your over 30, playing cards with 19 year olds has a way of making you feel old and weird.
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The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
I also support the bar idea, because while I don't find the younger generation annoying, the older you get the creepier you feel for hanging out with them. Once your over 30, playing cards with 19 year olds has a way of making you feel old and weird.
To be honest, that´s on you. I´m 35 and I don´t care about the age of the person I´m playing, as long as they´re nice and play the game properly. If they think I´m too old to hang out at the store, that´s not something I´m going to care about, that´s their problem. I´m a nice guy, they have no reason to think that I´m creepy because I don´t give them one. And honestly, I don´t think 98% of them give a crap about my age.
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When I hit my 3000 post mark, I'm gone for good.
Stay reasonable, be mindful of your expectations and don't feed the trolls.
I also support the bar idea, because while I don't find the younger generation annoying, the older you get the creepier you feel for hanging out with them. Once your over 30, playing cards with 19 year olds has a way of making you feel old and weird.
Same here, but most of the younger players I've been seeing are 12 to 14 years.
Do cards like Colossal dreadmaw really belong in a masters set?
Some of these cards are so expensive yet we get garbage like Colossal Dreadmaw 3 sets in a row.
I don't really get the hate about colossal dreadmaw. Is a simple common what really makes a master set garbage? Do you think that every common card should be worth 1$?
I you want to blame something, blame the rares at least.
Also, colossal dreadmaw is an excellent common. It's one of the best green fatty at common.
If you're paying three or four or even five times the price to get a draft going, I think it would be nicer if the common and uncommon slots were either more complex reprints, or new cards altogether. I don't think it's that bad that they might as well sell one-card rareslot boosters. It's a little annoying that you only pick out one common every few packs to keep and trash the rest when cracking them though. Seems less acceptable than with a ~3 dollar pack.
ice, especially for RPers. The model proved unpopular because people do not want to pay for table space. One system I have seen work in other areas is for there to be a "free space" and a "Premium space", with the premium space offering a better experience than the free space.
What was the difference between the "free" and the "premium?" Was one bare-bones, while the other had A/C or heating, free soda per hour, table mats, cushy seats, or even a "server" per se?
And those ideas weren't sarcasm, but genuine ideas I think would set them apart and be a good selling point.
It seems wizards doesn't have much left for fresh Ideas. How about a player designed set. Get ideas for cards from players. There is so much Wizards can do to make sets good again. Cards like Claustrophobia are getting tired. Reusing mechanics with a small twist isn't new or innovative. Hell, GRN Selesnya has convoke.....AGAIN. No fresh ideas there?
I will agree with you that Wizards is being a bit cowardly with its ideas right now. I love convoke, but honestly how it was done in this latest set was just hamfisted at best. When we get returning mechanics like this we should start seeing the R&D team more relaxed and experimental, expanding and enhancing is what we want because that means new play styles can emerge and enhance the gameplay. But what we get instead are mechanics that have a good starting point being grounded.
They also seem scared to touch anything that they deemed a failure. Kamigawa and Lorewyn at their time were seen as failures because the former got so overshadowed by the first Mirridon block and the latter was at first off putting but afterwards was very enjoyable (like the Zelda Wind Waker game). Both of these sets have followings and have reprints that are really needed, but because of Wizard's perceived failure they will not touch them.
Wizards lacks the mana stones to go back and pick an idea back up to try again, case and point we have come back to Ravnica for the third time now purely because of its previous success. I am tired of Ravnica, it might be a center piece to my childhood playing this game but now I am just tired of it. And now because of the hyper control environment we have in standard, Dimir and Izzet mechanics, anything else that shows up in the next rotation either needs to be equally powerful or it will suffer a similar fate of Kamigawa with Mirridon.
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Never forget whose grace and favor led to your success and always give your thanks, otherwise you might be doomed to loose it.
Maybe they should hire game designers from other countries to occasionally make their sets. They are about diversity after all, so why not apply that to card design and world building? At very least hire teams from European countries, Japan, or Korea. I'd like to see more artists from East Asia at least and allow some artists from anywhere make some abstract art. They could focus the US team for balance purposes. Standard is very sensible to big fluctuations in power level between sets.
Now to the original point, it may not look good for the MTG only stores for sure, also they selling special products directly to the public seems ominous to some, but I've seen complains people had with LGS overcharging and going over MSRP and asking better access to sealed products over the years. Also, even some clamored to WotC sell singles (or bundle of) directly, so I don't think those are strong enough signs of doom in the future.
I believe the bad card stock during Kaladesh to Ixalan era is more worrisome than that. They are still trying to get back to the card stock quality, but there yet. This could make counterfeit more dangerous of an impact than the Amazon and Mythic Edition debacle. Also, the lack of better support for LGS events is also worrisome. It's clear that WotC is very skimpy with promos. They occasionally throw a bone, but they should just throw the entire skeleton to make these events more attractive.
I'd say that the Mythic Edition problem just showed to WotC that we will dig whatever they put on for whatever price even with really bad service. About the Amazon thing, I have seen people happy about being able to buy boxes without resorting to acrobatics like patreon. It's sure bad for MTG only stores, but I don't think it will impact hobby stores that much, but it may make them host less events, as even selling singles may become less attractive. However, WotC could counter this by giving stores better promo support.
I think MTG would do just fine even if all MTG only stores disappear. It'd sux royally for a lot players as the density of places that host events dwindle to just big hobby shops, but at worse we just roll back to a pre-Innistrad era I imagine. Maybe I'm being optimistic.
I'm sure that was an answer to some question but not mine. and more evidence that WotC doesn't live or die by MTG alone: They just this morning announced this here thing for D&D https://dndsports.tv/news/what-is-dndsports/
Magic is so dependent on Wizards of the Coast that If it were to fall in the hands of some other company not named Hasbro or Blizzard Entertainment then it wouldn't be the same game that everyone grew up playing in the last 25 years. It would be completely re-branded with a different name and logo. Core gameplay mechanics would be so foreign to most veterans of the game itself that they wouldn't even bother to touch it. Card templates and illustrations would be completely altered to fit this company's new demographic of players that they're trying to cater toward let alone the dramatic change in card formats with no backwards compatibility whatsoever. Look what happened with Vs. System.
They would even do away with distributing the product as a traditional Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game by cashing in on the Online Card Game market similar to Hearthstone and Shadowverse or go the Living Card Game route similar to what Richard Garfield recently did with KeyForge. Dungeons & Dragons on the other hand ironically enough was what helped put Magic on the map since the company at the time was looking for, "Something quick and fun that people can play between games and at gaming conventions." Now it's become THE game to play at gaming conventions, inspiring other companies to create their own Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games to help diversify the genre that Magic helped pioneer.
Funny how Magic started out as a concept of a game far bigger than the box it comes in when that same creator recently developed a new game that's now only limited to the box it comes in. I guess that's what happens when you have a company like Wizards of the Coast who vastly underestimated the Secondary Market value of the product that they helped manufacture akin to opening Pandora's box which only complicated the situation further when they first partnered with Hasbro 20 years ago. Richard Garfield originally intended for Magic to be a consumer-friendly product though what he didn't foresee was how Magic turned from being a "trading card" offshoot to something more akin to a stock market.
The reality is that players aren't buying cards to collect, they're buying to turn a profit. Ya know, buying card collections to flip, starting their own websites to undercut the local market with online sales while making an easy buck because players are gonna pay. Dungeons & Dragons doesn't have any of that since it's not as susceptible to how modern advances in technology seem to be reshaping tabletop gaming as we know it similar to what we're currently witnessing with Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games in general. I will admit that there is a unique element to Dungeons & Dragons that separates itself from most other forms of RPG's and that's the importance of imagination.
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America Bless Christ Jesus
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
I think MTG would do just fine even if all MTG only stores disappear. It'd sux royally for a lot players as the density of places that host events dwindle to just big hobby shops, but at worse we just roll back to a pre-Innistrad era I imagine. Maybe I'm being optimistic.
Local stores are dying, which is why WotC is putting so many eggs into the Arena basket. That is their safety net in case paper dies off.
There are other directions I haven't heard anyone really talk about (maybe hint at, but not right out mention):
1) There have been bars opening up here & there that cater to the gaming community. 21+ environment.
I think I support this idea because the older I get the more annoying the younger generation looks to me. I also feel that magic tournaments are like gambling. And I do get annoyed that some of the younger players, whom are too young to hold a job is playing with decks that cost almost as much as a car, and they think their ***** don't stick at the tournament table. Like I've said I'm annoyed by the younger generation. Although, I started playing magic when I was 26 years old.
2) LGS's become "country clubs" for nerds, w/ monthly or yearly memberships, holding private and open events.
Another idea that makes total sense to me... I do feel that some LGS should push membership cards so member players are allowed to trade (or sell) cards in the store. And it seemed like a good way to allow proxy players (members are allowed to play with proxies).
3) LGS's start charging at the door. Either a per night cost or by the hour.
Sure... but this might push people away from the LGS. On the other hand, if your going to a dance club (or night club) there are door charges.
I also support the bar idea, because while I don't find the younger generation annoying, the older you get the creepier you feel for hanging out with them. Once your over 30, playing cards with 19 year olds has a way of making you feel old and weird.
I had that experience when I was 20 and still playing YuGiOh.
Last I heard all metrics point to growth, not decline.
They push it hard right now with MTG-Arena and advertisement.
(But frankly, i dont see how people ever spend actual money in Arena, its downright crazy what they charge for money)
Ravnica is also a set that attracts people to come back all the time (you can literally ask people for that).
However, a lot of "new" players that simply dont stick to the game and vanish again.
So the number of people that stick to the game for some years and people that just pop in would be more interesting.
As of right now, with all the money flooding into advertisement of Arena , if it wouldnt produce any growth at all, that would be the immediate death in an apocalyptic fashion ; but still, it could be way bigger, so the growth is diminished a lot ; and given its probably not a persistent growth, if these people just go away after a year, or dont spend money in the game in long term.
I mean pre-GRN. The last numbers out of hasbro show nothing but continued growth for the game. Arena growth is a different thing, though it is quite promising in that regard, they got lucky with this Standard being good.
Heck, I'm playing it, and I havent touched Standard since Khans.
Last I heard all metrics point to growth, not decline.
They push it hard right now with MTG-Arena and advertisement.
(But frankly, i dont see how people ever spend actual money in Arena, its downright crazy what they charge for money)
Ravnica is also a set that attracts people to come back all the time (you can literally ask people for that).
However, a lot of "new" players that simply dont stick to the game and vanish again.
So the number of people that stick to the game for some years and people that just pop in would be more interesting.
As of right now, with all the money flooding into advertisement of Arena , if it wouldnt produce any growth at all, that would be the immediate death in an apocalyptic fashion ; but still, it could be way bigger, so the growth is diminished a lot ; and given its probably not a persistent growth, if these people just go away after a year, or dont spend money in the game in long term.
Pretty sure every Arena player is counted as a new player, hence the rapid rise in Magic's popularity.
I heard rumors at my locals last weekend that Wizards of the Coast is apparently planning to dumb down the Stack in Paper Magic as a means of simplifying it for Magic Arena sometime in late 2019. The last time they did something similar was back when they removed the rule of being able to put Combat Damage on the Stack with creatures like Mogg Fanatic and Sakura-Tribe Elder which wasn't as confusing as Wizards of the Coast thought it was. I think this sets a dangerous precedent for Paper Magic in terms of how it will impact the Secondary Market value of cards that rely on the Stack as is.
EDH/Commander is the only format that's keeping the game alive at this point and If Wizards of the Coast is wanting to cut the cord in order to go all in on Magic Arena then it's only going to blow up in front of their faces. Sometimes I dread of a situation where the company may be forced to publicly acknowledge the Secondary Market value of Paper Magic which would force the discontinuation of Magic itself and it just seems like with every mistake the company makes the closer they are to making that a reality. It's only a matter of time before they screw the pooch.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
America Bless Christ Jesus
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
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I broke even on drafts without them. Drafts gave me worthless fifty cent garbage plus a winning lucky lottery ticket for someone. I don't want cheap standard cards, I won't play standard regardless because I hate the design paradigm. I want the cheapest rares to be a dollar, most to be five dollars, good ones to be ten, and mythics to be three to thirty dollars. If it drols significantly below that threshold it simply is not worth drafting. Spread the value and you get lots of quite happy people. Put it into Masterpieces and you get one lucky sod with all the value and a bunch of people walking away from draft disappointed.
Masterpieces made standard cheap but still the standard numbers did not go up.
Bringing them back is only good for standard players looking to play cheaply, but it wrecks draft players who don't play standard doubling the cost of drafting minimum as the cost of drafting cannot be defrayed with cards pulled.
Also:
How quickly we forget that source is not exactly trustworthy.
I trust him more than WOTC. Or this website's leadership, honestly.
I got a couple final events, but I think artifact is going to increase the competition (and be a better game). WOTC can hang out with Marvel and others on the list of "get woke go broke."
We do not need those sources to be honest, Guilds of Ravnica Mythic edition is the selling of powerful high priced singles for standard. It just happens to be packed in with a bunch of random packs to hide it.
This is most likely the route Wizards would take, using random filler pilled on top of a guaranteed value card, otherwise they would be attacked by gambling control groups hard. It still is a risky move considering video games are being attacked for the use of loot boxes.
What's the track record on being right?
One opened up in Reno a few years ago. The place focuses on selling alcohol, while offering table space and a huge library of board games for people to play and enjoy. It is always packed and always busy.
This has definitely been done before and may work in dense urban areas where the community of players/gamers is very high. In less urbanized areas, this model would struggle, I think.
Charging per table used to be common practice, especially for RPers. The model proved unpopular because people do not want to pay for table space. One system I have seen work in other areas is for there to be a "free space" and a "Premium space", with the premium space offering a better experience than the free space.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
I'm sure that was an answer to some question but not mine. and more evidence that WotC doesn't live or die by MTG alone: They just this morning announced this here thing for D&D https://dndsports.tv/news/what-is-dndsports/
Reprints and masters sets are another thing. Do cards like Colossal dreadmaw really belong in a masters set? For people like me, masters sets are just not an option. A booster box of 24 for twice the price of a regular booster box is just milking us for a bunch of cheap crap.
Power creep is turning me off to the game as well. I loved cards like Phyrexian Negator. A powerful creature with a serios drawback. Now we are being tossed cards that just say "you win the game." I don't play any specific format so I cannot comment on those. However, how about decent reprints? A mana crypt in a non-standard set? Some of these cards are so expensive yet we get garbage like Colossal Dreadmaw 3 sets in a row.
It seems wizards doesn't have much left for fresh Ideas. How about a player designed set. Get ideas for cards from players. There is so much Wizards can do to make sets good again. Cards like Claustrophobia are getting tired. Reusing mechanics with a small twist isn't new or innovative. Hell, GRN Selesnya has convoke.....AGAIN. No fresh ideas there?
I also support the bar idea, because while I don't find the younger generation annoying, the older you get the creepier you feel for hanging out with them. Once your over 30, playing cards with 19 year olds has a way of making you feel old and weird.
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Stay reasonable, be mindful of your expectations and don't feed the trolls.
Doomsdayin'
Same here, but most of the younger players I've been seeing are 12 to 14 years.
Next to nothing is known about it and it may never see the light of day, but it is definitely being worked on.
If you're paying three or four or even five times the price to get a draft going, I think it would be nicer if the common and uncommon slots were either more complex reprints, or new cards altogether. I don't think it's that bad that they might as well sell one-card rareslot boosters. It's a little annoying that you only pick out one common every few packs to keep and trash the rest when cracking them though. Seems less acceptable than with a ~3 dollar pack.
What was the difference between the "free" and the "premium?" Was one bare-bones, while the other had A/C or heating, free soda per hour, table mats, cushy seats, or even a "server" per se?
And those ideas weren't sarcasm, but genuine ideas I think would set them apart and be a good selling point.
I will agree with you that Wizards is being a bit cowardly with its ideas right now. I love convoke, but honestly how it was done in this latest set was just hamfisted at best. When we get returning mechanics like this we should start seeing the R&D team more relaxed and experimental, expanding and enhancing is what we want because that means new play styles can emerge and enhance the gameplay. But what we get instead are mechanics that have a good starting point being grounded.
They also seem scared to touch anything that they deemed a failure. Kamigawa and Lorewyn at their time were seen as failures because the former got so overshadowed by the first Mirridon block and the latter was at first off putting but afterwards was very enjoyable (like the Zelda Wind Waker game). Both of these sets have followings and have reprints that are really needed, but because of Wizard's perceived failure they will not touch them.
Wizards lacks the mana stones to go back and pick an idea back up to try again, case and point we have come back to Ravnica for the third time now purely because of its previous success. I am tired of Ravnica, it might be a center piece to my childhood playing this game but now I am just tired of it. And now because of the hyper control environment we have in standard, Dimir and Izzet mechanics, anything else that shows up in the next rotation either needs to be equally powerful or it will suffer a similar fate of Kamigawa with Mirridon.
Now to the original point, it may not look good for the MTG only stores for sure, also they selling special products directly to the public seems ominous to some, but I've seen complains people had with LGS overcharging and going over MSRP and asking better access to sealed products over the years. Also, even some clamored to WotC sell singles (or bundle of) directly, so I don't think those are strong enough signs of doom in the future.
I believe the bad card stock during Kaladesh to Ixalan era is more worrisome than that. They are still trying to get back to the card stock quality, but there yet. This could make counterfeit more dangerous of an impact than the Amazon and Mythic Edition debacle. Also, the lack of better support for LGS events is also worrisome. It's clear that WotC is very skimpy with promos. They occasionally throw a bone, but they should just throw the entire skeleton to make these events more attractive.
I'd say that the Mythic Edition problem just showed to WotC that we will dig whatever they put on for whatever price even with really bad service. About the Amazon thing, I have seen people happy about being able to buy boxes without resorting to acrobatics like patreon. It's sure bad for MTG only stores, but I don't think it will impact hobby stores that much, but it may make them host less events, as even selling singles may become less attractive. However, WotC could counter this by giving stores better promo support.
I think MTG would do just fine even if all MTG only stores disappear. It'd sux royally for a lot players as the density of places that host events dwindle to just big hobby shops, but at worse we just roll back to a pre-Innistrad era I imagine. Maybe I'm being optimistic.
They would even do away with distributing the product as a traditional Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game by cashing in on the Online Card Game market similar to Hearthstone and Shadowverse or go the Living Card Game route similar to what Richard Garfield recently did with KeyForge. Dungeons & Dragons on the other hand ironically enough was what helped put Magic on the map since the company at the time was looking for, "Something quick and fun that people can play between games and at gaming conventions." Now it's become THE game to play at gaming conventions, inspiring other companies to create their own Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games to help diversify the genre that Magic helped pioneer.
Funny how Magic started out as a concept of a game far bigger than the box it comes in when that same creator recently developed a new game that's now only limited to the box it comes in. I guess that's what happens when you have a company like Wizards of the Coast who vastly underestimated the Secondary Market value of the product that they helped manufacture akin to opening Pandora's box which only complicated the situation further when they first partnered with Hasbro 20 years ago. Richard Garfield originally intended for Magic to be a consumer-friendly product though what he didn't foresee was how Magic turned from being a "trading card" offshoot to something more akin to a stock market.
The reality is that players aren't buying cards to collect, they're buying to turn a profit. Ya know, buying card collections to flip, starting their own websites to undercut the local market with online sales while making an easy buck because players are gonna pay. Dungeons & Dragons doesn't have any of that since it's not as susceptible to how modern advances in technology seem to be reshaping tabletop gaming as we know it similar to what we're currently witnessing with Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games in general. I will admit that there is a unique element to Dungeons & Dragons that separates itself from most other forms of RPG's and that's the importance of imagination.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Local stores are dying, which is why WotC is putting so many eggs into the Arena basket. That is their safety net in case paper dies off.
I had that experience when I was 20 and still playing YuGiOh.
Spirits
They push it hard right now with MTG-Arena and advertisement.
(But frankly, i dont see how people ever spend actual money in Arena, its downright crazy what they charge for money)
Ravnica is also a set that attracts people to come back all the time (you can literally ask people for that).
However, a lot of "new" players that simply dont stick to the game and vanish again.
So the number of people that stick to the game for some years and people that just pop in would be more interesting.
As of right now, with all the money flooding into advertisement of Arena , if it wouldnt produce any growth at all, that would be the immediate death in an apocalyptic fashion ; but still, it could be way bigger, so the growth is diminished a lot ; and given its probably not a persistent growth, if these people just go away after a year, or dont spend money in the game in long term.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
Heck, I'm playing it, and I havent touched Standard since Khans.
Spirits
Pretty sure every Arena player is counted as a new player, hence the rapid rise in Magic's popularity.
EDH/Commander is the only format that's keeping the game alive at this point and If Wizards of the Coast is wanting to cut the cord in order to go all in on Magic Arena then it's only going to blow up in front of their faces. Sometimes I dread of a situation where the company may be forced to publicly acknowledge the Secondary Market value of Paper Magic which would force the discontinuation of Magic itself and it just seems like with every mistake the company makes the closer they are to making that a reality. It's only a matter of time before they screw the pooch.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta