MTG Salvation

I am sure that just about everyone has heard about the lastest shock to hit MTG Salvation. Now, in this, there seems to be two (2) key points behind Wizards of the Coasts arguement: (1)That Daron Rutter (Rancored_Elf) obtained the information used for our spoilers unlawfully, and (2) that these spoilers are harming the brand, due to the context, or lack there of, that the cards are seen in.

Quote from (1)Wizards’ complaint »

The complaint alleges that Rutter intentionally and repeatedly posted on the site Wizards’ proprietary information he unlawfully obtained.

Quote from (2)Jared Gustafson, Director of Marketing at Wizards of the Coast »

“The unauthorized release of information about prototype cards harms the brand because the cards are seen and judged prematurely out of context of the entire set.”

My question to all of you is based from (2): Wizards of the Coast is alleging that these spoilers hurt their brand. What impact have these spoilers actually made on your buying habits with this brand?

None. I stopped buying with Planeshift for unrelated reasons.

But had I still been playing at the time, the spoilers certainly would have kept me away from the atrocious Onslaught block. Especially Legions. So technically the spoilers never influenced me, but they would have.

Spoilers have made market speculation on prices insane. Things haven't been released yet and there's already an inflating price tag, based solely on rumors. I'd rather much have people slowly finding out how awesome some cards are and spreading it by word of mouth/internet and let the market prices follow suit, instead of having the prices dictated and cards hoarded even before they've been made tourney legal.

I say it doesn't effect me. Yes, I am constantly wanting to know more about the new sets before they come out but if I see a previewed card I want, I wait for it to come out, and buy it on StarCityGames or something.

It would be really funny if the lawsuit was actually a publicity stunt pulled by WotC and R_E. And the "unknown sources" were actually WotC excecutives trying to see if R_E was worthy of being head of the company. And there would be lots of flying squirrels and much rejoyceing. But then thats what would happen in my world. And this is not my world.

Quote from mondu_the_fat »

Spoilers have made market speculation on prices insane. Things haven't been released yet and there's already an inflating price tag, based solely on rumors. I'd rather much have people slowly finding out how awesome some cards are and spreading it by word of mouth/internet and let the market prices follow suit, instead of having the prices dictated and cards hoarded even before they've been made tourney legal.

If that were the case, then Wizards would want spoilers right? Given that they inflate prices on individual cards, they would also increase sales of booster packs and whatnot when players try to get more of these cards?

I really like spoilers because they give me enough time to realize how great some of the cards in a set are. It sometimes takes a while to realize sometimes. As long as it is kept in reason and a few cards aren't used to judge an entire set's quality, it certainly lets the hype build up reasonably instead of in a couple days. If it were my sets, I would release 2 cards per day until the pre release for small sets and 4 cards for larger sets so that the entire set would be released the day before. This would give people something to anticipate every day instead of large batches that are hard to think about all at once.

If that were the case, then Wizards would want spoilers right? Given that they inflate prices on individual cards, they would also increase sales of booster packs and whatnot when players try to get more of these cards?

I won't speculate on what WotC wants, other than make money. If you can mind read them, somehow glean what they want from reading what my opinion on what spoilers do, or give a definitive answer on why they're suing RE, go on ahead. If what you're saying that the spoiler do nothing to change the prices of these cards, go on ahead.

Normally I really like having that knowlegde, if nothing else at least before I got to the pre-release that why I know what cards I'd need to be looking for when I'm there.

Beyond that, knowing the cards or the basis of them in advance helps with the speculation of new decks that might be arising. Having that sooner allows you to update your testing guanlet more quickly.

it influenced my excitement for ravinica and lack of interest in legions.
it affects everyone to some degree but i would say it almost always has a good impact, and if people think it is negative they just shouldn't read them.

Erm... as long as people are playing Standard they're going to need the best cards suited for their decks from the block sets. I'm sure preemptive knowledge allows serious players to plan earlier, but not affect their purchasing habits.

Personally, it really depended on the set. I'd say Ravnica and 9th's spoilers were the most impacting, as I was considering to stop playing Magic after Kamigawa. Seeing the cards that were getting made really caught my eye enough to stay interested. Leaks or no, I hope the next block has that same impact that grabs me.

To be honest, it doesn't make any difference to me, for I buy cards from a new set for just that reason - they're new. It's exciting to open brand new cards that you've never seen before. However, I think hardly anyone is going to look at the spoilers, see a few crappy cards and go "Guildpact sucks! I'm not wasting my money on that." So I don't see why Wizards are complaining cause all the spoilers are doing is getting people to buy more of their products.

Doesn't really matter. I would still buy them. But not that much compared with before I knew the spoilers. I STILL need those lands! Once I got all the lands, I would buy Rav boosters. So, thats it.

I'd say definitely an increase. I was pretty much done with Magic after Urza's block until my youngest brother found some of our old cards and started learning how to play with his friends. That helped get me interested in the game again and once I happened upon MtGNews and saw all the various spoilers and rumors and such for the new cards, it really made me excited to start playing again.

Prior to checking out R_E's spoilers I'd never purchased a box of Magic in my life, but since then I've bought around a dozen or so (in the past couple years). Without a doubt the Rumor Mill has led to an increase in the ammount of cards I've bought and my excitement for the game as a whole.

While it hasn't changed my spending habits that much, I'm always excited about the next set.

The only exception was buying a Ravnica Booster box. I found it was worth it, especially getting a foil Watery Grave.

If I've seen the spoiler, I usually have a deck planned out by the time cards come out. This not only increases the chance that I will buy, but also the chance i will buy early, before prices go down.

I think increase, well, plus the spoilers are what made me decide to actually post on this site as well. The whole law-suit thing is stupid, but you know, that's been said enough, hasn't it?