Just because event decks and clash packs aren't announced with the set doesn't mean they are guaranteed to be discontinued.
I suggested to wotc that event decks should never be set associated. For example. You buy a dragons of tarkir event deck after shadows over innistrad release. Dragons of tarkir is standard legal, so dragons of tarkir products should be ok right? Nope. The event deck contains khans of tarkir and fate reforged cards, which is no longer standard legal after soi release.
Intro packs had this problem too because they contained cards from the previous core set that did not rotate with the block. With the 2 block paradigm and no core set, intro packs contain exclusively cards from the block so it is ok to have them set associated and still be standard legal as long as that set is standard legal.
Unless event decks contained cards only in the same block, it is a bad idea to make them set associated. A new player won't know that not all cards in the deck are standard legal and would just buy the event deck because the set the deck is associated with is standard legal.
I'm hoping that this is the case and event decks become standalone products.
my distributor recently told me wotc is no longer doing clash packs or event decks.
Well that is never a good sign of things to come. So much for getting some decent prices on staples.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I guess they thought if they just quietly discontinued it no one would notice or make a fuss. They thought wrong. Where is the announcement? Why are they being cowardly again?
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Standard
none
Modern UBG B/U/G control BBB MBC WUR Control WWW Prison RRR Goblins
Legacy BBB Pox UBG B/U/G Control UWU StoneBlade UW Miracle Control
my distributor recently told me wotc is no longer doing clash packs or event decks.
Well that is never a good sign of things to come. So much for getting some decent prices on staples.
When one door closes, another opens. I assure you, WotC will provide as much supplemental product as necessary.
I wouldn't bet on that.
No PWs in the Duel Deck that was meant to have Planeswalkers? No Clash Packs or Event decks? Plus the "Eternal Masters" rumor?
It's pretty clear WotC wants us to have two options: Boosters or Dealers. You aren't getting your cardboard crack any other way.
Haha, WOTC tends to discontinue products when a little tweak here or there could have made that product popular. The Premium Deck Series is an example.
Now maybe, if they released 2 event decks per year in the middle of the year, both containing planeswalkers from sets that are about to rotate out, meaning you have 3 to 5 months to use them, then that would be a great idea. Would they do it? NOPE.
Here's another reason why Event Decks are going away. It is the fault of the people who crack them open for singles. The product is aimed towards people who don't have a deck, goes to FNM, and has to settle with using an intro pack, or the standard illegal duel deck, which they can't use. WOTC wants to bring in new players, not help existing players with their products. If all the existing players hoard the product, and thus not allowing new players access to the product, then the product is a failure.
Here's the deal. Either the event deck is not FNM competitive enough, or if the event deck is competitive, hoarders buy them up and sell the singles.
The thing is, intro packs focus on the set itself. Each one of them focuses on a set mechanic. They are also a low price point, $15 for intro packs vs $25 for event decks, and is fun if you play intro pack vs intro pack. They are for the casual of casual players who aren't looking to play in tournaments, so they have their place. Intro packs have been here since 1997, when they were called theme decks, and I don't think they are going away, although changes have been made to the theme decks/intro packs over time. The one constant, well from 1998 onwards, is 2 rares. The ones from tempest block had 3 rares.
I personally buy all 5 intro packs every set and that is all I buy. I am one of those people who doesn't care about tournaments and plays with a few people, but each of us could be using any of over 300 intro packs/theme decks to play against each other. You can't do something like this with duel decks, event decks, and clash packs because there aren't over 300 of them, and to buy 300 event decks straight up is more expensive, and for me, it is the experience of playing the game, and not necessarily trying to have the best deck. The money I spent on 10 intro packs is probably the price of one standard competitive deck. If you are looking to make your deck the best it can be, you will have to pay up, which means you won't have cash to make multiple decks. If your 2 or 3 friends are the same way, then you will only be playing the same 2 decks against each other, hence why you probably go to FNM to play with other players. Not me. I have tons of intro packs. If this intro pack vs that intro pack is boring, I just use a different intro pack and my opponent uses a different one. There are probably 299! match ups for 300 intro packs. Another great thing about my method? You can basically get anybody to be your opponent. Since intro packs are supposedly dumbed down for new players, you can get random Joe off the street to play with you. I've been playing magic against people who don't really play or care about magic religiously, and don't really own any cards.
The idea of the event deck is to have a deck that can be purchased at the store when the person, who is either new or forgot their deck, can have a deck and be competitive without having to play something else, like pogs, in the corner with the other people who don't have decks. The problem as I have addressed is if the deck is competitive enough, meaning it wins let's say, 50% of the matches, it would probably contain a chase card. This means that people would buy these decks up for the card, and not for the fact that they forgot the deck. Later event decks didn't have any chase cards, but they weren't competitive. If people are buying these decks to get chase cards and not for the reason that they are at FNM and have no deck to use, as it was intended for, mind as well just discontinue the product.
If you want a product that gives you chase cards, or brings down the value of some cards, WOTC could easily bundle 3 boosters with a promo version of the chase card. Pokemon and Yugioh does it all the time.
Even if Event decks are gone, I don't think the idea of "I forgot/don't have a deck, therefore I will have to buy one" product isn't going away. It might be in a different form with a different name.
I'm pretty sure future deckbuilder's toolkit might have some sort of standard deck builds in their strategy sheet. The problem with event decks is that you only ever have one or 2 deck builds, while with the deckbuilder's toolkit, it can give you lists for you to build the deck from. At least you won't have to complain that the deck build sucks because you built it yourself, and the decklists in the strategy sheet would be guidelines that you don't have to follow.
Optimistic view: with the new set rotation, they want to settle down and adjust the release of supplemental products
Pessimistic view: they want to cut cheap, funny and casual products that give a good access to chase cards and force people into buying packs.
Optimistic view: with the new set rotation, they want to settle down and adjust the release of supplemental products
Pessimistic view: they want to cut cheap, funny and casual products that give a good access to chase cards and force people into buying packs.
Who wins?
The event deck may be gone, but the idea that spawned the event deck might not be. I'm pretty sure there is going to be some type of product for those who walk into FNM and left their deck with their other pants.
I am even optimistic towards the lowly intro pack. I always find value in everything, and for me, it isn't always about monetary value. 2 hours worth of US minimum wage work nets you an intro pack, unless you are Canadian, then it is an hour and a half. Intro packs may not be up to par against FNM decks, but if you don't care about FNM, and just want to play the game, and you and a friend each have an intro pack, then it is enough.
I also guess there isn't enough of a market of people who left their FNM deck with their other pants, hence why the event deck is gone. The idea of a product for people looking to get into a standard FNM environment might still exist, maybe in the form of a reconfigured deckbuilder's toolkit. The only people which this product probably won't help are those who left their deck with their other pants. Pogs is a fun game though.
I think we will have to go through a ful 2-set standard rotation to see what products wizards have in store for us. I predicted that something had to change when they switched to the 2-set paradigm, otherwise it would mean a 50% increase in supplemental product if they released them on a per-block basis. I am pretty sure they will continue to sell some kind of product, as they make crazy money from them, but I have to say that I'm very surprised by the secretive attitude of Wizards lately. They came out with the 2-set paradigm pretty early and explained their choices well - and them completely held back on any information on the products for every year. This lack of communication shows some inner churning in Wizards I guess, having to make decisions that they can't easily agree on. Lets hope for the best.
Optimistic view: with the new set rotation, they want to settle down and adjust the release of supplemental products
Pessimistic view: they want to cut cheap, funny and casual products that give a good access to chase cards and force people into buying packs.
Who wins?
The event deck may be gone, but the idea that spawned the event deck might not be. I'm pretty sure there is going to be some type of product for those who walk into FNM and left their deck with their other pants.
I am even optimistic towards the lowly intro pack. I always find value in everything, and for me, it isn't always about monetary value. 2 hours worth of US minimum wage work nets you an intro pack, unless you are Canadian, then it is an hour and a half. Intro packs may not be up to par against FNM decks, but if you don't care about FNM, and just want to play the game, and you and a friend each have an intro pack, then it is enough.
And what product should that be? Booster type? Box type?... I am not against this, but they did not said anything. That makes me believe 2 things:
1. they are afraid and left these products just to make money from boosters
2. they might want people to buy the vs and then tell us about the other products (marketing)
In any case, if there where a intro pack FNM I would buy all intro-packs. If I want to play at home I would buy deck builder and Duel decks. If I want to play standard... I have no product related anymore.
I don't know, do what everybody else does and build a deck from scratch? Heck, there are plenty decklists out there to netdeck. WOTC doesn't have to hold your hand and have a premade standard deck for you. You don't buy a standard deck, you build it.
The event deck, as it was originally released back in Mirrodin Besieged is designed for people who walk into FNM without a deck because they are either a new player who came in with a MTG player, and as such, doesn't have a deck, or a MTG player who forgot their deck at home. The idea of a product made for people jumping into standard doesn't have to be a prebuilt 60 card deck + sideboard. As I said before, the Deckbuilder's toolkit can be reconfigured so that it contains most of the cards you need to build a semi-competitive deck yourself. If you don't want to build a deck, the product will have a strategy sheet showing example decklists.
Another option would be to take a break from standard, if you really feel that you need to buy an event deck in order to compete in standard tournaments, until there is an announcement of the successor of the event deck.
To be honest, if WOTC discontinued the intro pack, and doesn't replace it with a different under $15 preconstructed product, I'd probably quit magic, as I mostly buy one of each intro pack, and play them against each other. That's just me though. Don't know what you would do with the lack of event decks. I gave you 2 choices.
Optimistic view: with the new set rotation, they want to settle down and adjust the release of supplemental products
Pessimistic view: they want to cut cheap, funny and casual products that give a good access to chase cards and force people into buying packs.
Who wins?
The event deck may be gone, but the idea that spawned the event deck might not be. I'm pretty sure there is going to be some type of product for those who walk into FNM and left their deck with their other pants.
I am even optimistic towards the lowly intro pack. I always find value in everything, and for me, it isn't always about monetary value. 2 hours worth of US minimum wage work nets you an intro pack, unless you are Canadian, then it is an hour and a half. Intro packs may not be up to par against FNM decks, but if you don't care about FNM, and just want to play the game, and you and a friend each have an intro pack, then it is enough.
And what product should that be? Booster type? Box type?... I am not against this, but they did not said anything. That makes me believe 2 things:
1. they are afraid and left these products just to make money from boosters
2. they might want people to buy the vs and then tell us about the other products (marketing)
In any case, if there where a intro pack FNM I would buy all intro-packs. If I want to play at home I would buy deck builder and Duel decks. If I want to play standard... I have no product related anymore.
I don't know, do what everybody else does and build a deck from scratch? Heck, there are plenty decklists out there to netdeck. WOTC doesn't have to hold your hand and have a premade standard deck for you. You don't buy a standard deck, you build it.
The event deck, as it was originally released back in Mirrodin Besieged is designed for people who walk into FNM without a deck because they are either a new player who came in with a MTG player, and as such, doesn't have a deck, or a MTG player who forgot their deck at home. The idea of a product made for people jumping into standard doesn't have to be a prebuilt 60 card deck + sideboard. As I said before, the Deckbuilder's toolkit can be reconfigured so that it contains most of the cards you need to build a semi-competitive deck yourself. If you don't want to build a deck, the product will have a strategy sheet showing example decklists.
Another option would be to take a break from standard, if you really feel that you need to buy an event deck in order to compete in standard tournaments, until there is an announcement of the successor of the event deck.
To be honest, if WOTC discontinued the intro pack, and doesn't replace it with a different under $15 preconstructed product, I'd probably quit magic, as I mostly buy one of each intro pack, and play them against each other. That's just me though. Don't know what you would do with the lack of event decks. I gave you 2 choices.
1. Build your deck.
2. Quit playing standard.
I don't share your optimism.
I just price checked the cards from Armed & Dangerous, the Origins clash pack combined deck, on tcgplayer. Today, the average price of the cards separate as singles is $60. (Low $35, high $163). $60. And that is with 6 months of those cards being a clash pack away from ownership. Imagine what that decklist would look like with no major reprints!
I just don't see a tool on the horizon that is a shortcut into the game anymore. I want to be wrong; I had high hopes in getting an Innistrad deck going, but I fear we'll get 5 janky starters, a toolkit with the same outdated rares (mahamoti djinn, really?) And a fat pack overpriced for its worth.
I think we will have to go through a ful 2-set standard rotation to see what products wizards have in store for us. I predicted that something had to change when they switched to the 2-set paradigm, otherwise it would mean a 50% increase in supplemental product if they released them on a per-block basis. I am pretty sure they will continue to sell some kind of product, as they make crazy money from them, but I have to say that I'm very surprised by the secretive attitude of Wizards lately. They came out with the 2-set paradigm pretty early and explained their choices well - and them completely held back on any information on the products for every year. This lack of communication shows some inner churning in Wizards I guess, having to make decisions that they can't easily agree on. Lets hope for the best.
Shouldn't have made a difference for event decks/clash packs. There has always been one per set, not per block. The 2 set block paradigm would not change the 4 per year that Wizards has been doing. The 2 set blocks actually lined up nicely with an event deck to start off a block, and the clash pack giving us a pseudo-duel deck that was standard legal with the completion of a block.
I always liked the event decks to easily have a somewhat competitive deck on hand for any friends visiting who might want to play a quick game (and having some useful cards in there if I needed to borrow for another deck was a nice bonus).
I think it's clear that Wizards/Hasbro wants to keep most products in the limited play and "booster lottery" realm. That's where the big money is for them. It seems that their marketing department couldn't come up with a good spin on discontinuing these, so they did it quietly hoping no one would notice...
I think there is a wind of changeS in wotc, what is the next step ?
The eventual starvation death of legacy/vintage and the death of a 1,000 bans to modern.
I wouldn't be surprised if in the next few years, you're options are casual (kitchen table, pauper, edh), limited (draft/booster), and pro-tour constructed standard. Oh, and MtGO.
And the irony is that after seeing booster box openings and doing math, it's still cheaper to get the singles at the inflated prices than it is to try and randomly win the lottery to get them. Combined with shipping costs and other issues it's a good thing LGS's can make money off of local tournaments.
Exactly, there is increasingly little middle ground for people who want to play constructed but don't have large budgets. WotC needs MORE, not less, ED/CP type products (and/or stronger intro decks) to get decent cards into player hands easily. I think WotC is putting a lot of its eggs in the limited/draft basket (both in terms of card availability and design) and treating standard as just promotion for the mythic rares in the sets. They certainly don't seem concerned that a decent Standard deck costs as much as a decent large TV.
It would be great if they could create a smaller booster geared more towards constructed and acquiring singles. Something like 1 rare, 3 uncommon, 4 commons -they can tweak these #s, figure out foil rates, etc., but the idea being 8 cards, so less can be charged, and to reduce the wasted cardboard (think good publicity from thinking about the environment) that comes from so many bulk commons... Charge $2.99 instead of $3.99 MSRP for these (8 cards instead of 15). Those packs would be more economical for obtaining singles (whether it's stores cracking wholesale priced packs, or end customers), but at 75% of the MSRP of full boosters, would keep Wizards profits up. 15 card boosters would become "draft boosters", and stay at $3.99, as they provide more cards, and more entertainment value (draft/sealed).
And the irony is that after seeing booster box openings and doing math, it's still cheaper to get the singles at the inflated prices than it is to try and randomly win the lottery to get them. Combined with shipping costs and other issues it's a good thing LGS's can make money off of local tournaments.
Exactly, there is increasingly little middle ground for people who want to play constructed but don't have large budgets. WotC needs MORE, not less, ED/CP type products (and/or stronger intro decks) to get decent cards into player hands easily. I think WotC is putting a lot of its eggs in the limited/draft basket (both in terms of card availability and design) and treating standard as just promotion for the mythic rares in the sets. They certainly don't seem concerned that a decent Standard deck costs as much as a decent large TV.
It would be great if they could create a smaller booster geared more towards constructed and acquiring singles. Something like 1 rare, 3 uncommon, 4 commons -they can tweak these #s, figure out foil rates, etc., but the idea being 8 cards, so less can be charged, and to reduce the wasted cardboard (think good publicity from thinking about the environment) that comes from so many bulk commons... Charge $2.99 instead of $3.99 MSRP for these (8 cards instead of 15). Those packs would be more economical for obtaining singles (whether it's stores cracking wholesale priced packs, or end customers), but at 75% of the MSRP of full boosters, would keep Wizards profits up. 15 card boosters would become "draft boosters", and stay at $3.99, as they provide more cards, and more entertainment value (draft/sealed).
I think everyone would just draft with 6x mini boosters tho, no-one wants to pay full whack for a draft and end up with half as many rares. Better packs would be great, but they'd kill the current packs.
And the irony is that after seeing booster box openings and doing math, it's still cheaper to get the singles at the inflated prices than it is to try and randomly win the lottery to get them. Combined with shipping costs and other issues it's a good thing LGS's can make money off of local tournaments.
Exactly, there is increasingly little middle ground for people who want to play constructed but don't have large budgets. WotC needs MORE, not less, ED/CP type products (and/or stronger intro decks) to get decent cards into player hands easily. I think WotC is putting a lot of its eggs in the limited/draft basket (both in terms of card availability and design) and treating standard as just promotion for the mythic rares in the sets. They certainly don't seem concerned that a decent Standard deck costs as much as a decent large TV.
It would be great if they could create a smaller booster geared more towards constructed and acquiring singles. Something like 1 rare, 3 uncommon, 4 commons -they can tweak these #s, figure out foil rates, etc., but the idea being 8 cards, so less can be charged, and to reduce the wasted cardboard (think good publicity from thinking about the environment) that comes from so many bulk commons... Charge $2.99 instead of $3.99 MSRP for these (8 cards instead of 15). Those packs would be more economical for obtaining singles (whether it's stores cracking wholesale priced packs, or end customers), but at 75% of the MSRP of full boosters, would keep Wizards profits up. 15 card boosters would become "draft boosters", and stay at $3.99, as they provide more cards, and more entertainment value (draft/sealed).
I think everyone would just draft with 6x mini boosters tho, no-one wants to pay full whack for a draft and end up with half as many rares. Better packs would be great, but they'd kill the current packs.
Well, if they did this, Wizards would be happy as now a draft set would sell $18 worth of packs, rather than $12. More sales!
I actually thought about this too while typing the above, but I always hear from draft players about how certain things have to be rare/mythic to not ruin the limited environment (cards too powerful to show up too often). If the drafters like lots of their underpowered commons, let them keep them!
And the irony is that after seeing booster box openings and doing math, it's still cheaper to get the singles at the inflated prices than it is to try and randomly win the lottery to get them. Combined with shipping costs and other issues it's a good thing LGS's can make money off of local tournaments.
Exactly, there is increasingly little middle ground for people who want to play constructed but don't have large budgets. WotC needs MORE, not less, ED/CP type products (and/or stronger intro decks) to get decent cards into player hands easily. I think WotC is putting a lot of its eggs in the limited/draft basket (both in terms of card availability and design) and treating standard as just promotion for the mythic rares in the sets. They certainly don't seem concerned that a decent Standard deck costs as much as a decent large TV.
It would be great if they could create a smaller booster geared more towards constructed and acquiring singles. Something like 1 rare, 3 uncommon, 4 commons -they can tweak these #s, figure out foil rates, etc., but the idea being 8 cards, so less can be charged, and to reduce the wasted cardboard (think good publicity from thinking about the environment) that comes from so many bulk commons... Charge $2.99 instead of $3.99 MSRP for these (8 cards instead of 15). Those packs would be more economical for obtaining singles (whether it's stores cracking wholesale priced packs, or end customers), but at 75% of the MSRP of full boosters, would keep Wizards profits up. 15 card boosters would become "draft boosters", and stay at $3.99, as they provide more cards, and more entertainment value (draft/sealed).
I think everyone would just draft with 6x mini boosters tho, no-one wants to pay full whack for a draft and end up with half as many rares. Better packs would be great, but they'd kill the current packs.
Well, if they did this, Wizards would be happy as now a draft set would sell $18 worth of packs, rather than $12. More sales!
I actually thought about this too while typing the above, but I always hear from draft players about how certain things have to be rare/mythic to not ruin the limited environment (cards too powerful to show up too often). If the drafters like lots of their underpowered commons, let them keep them!
Another option is to sell special draft boxes (cherry picked to avoid game breakers and increase commons) or use something closer to deck-builders toolkits to draft. Why let the game suffer both in design and price to preserve one type of play?
Exactly, there is increasingly little middle ground for people who want to play constructed but don't have large budgets. WotC needs MORE, not less, ED/CP type products (and/or stronger intro decks) to get decent cards into player hands easily. I think WotC is putting a lot of its eggs in the limited/draft basket (both in terms of card availability and design) and treating standard as just promotion for the mythic rares in the sets. They certainly don't seem concerned that a decent Standard deck costs as much as a decent large TV.
It would be great if they could create a smaller booster geared more towards constructed and acquiring singles. Something like 1 rare, 3 uncommon, 4 commons -they can tweak these #s, figure out foil rates, etc., but the idea being 8 cards, so less can be charged, and to reduce the wasted cardboard (think good publicity from thinking about the environment) that comes from so many bulk commons... Charge $2.99 instead of $3.99 MSRP for these (8 cards instead of 15). Those packs would be more economical for obtaining singles (whether it's stores cracking wholesale priced packs, or end customers), but at 75% of the MSRP of full boosters, would keep Wizards profits up. 15 card boosters would become "draft boosters", and stay at $3.99, as they provide more cards, and more entertainment value (draft/sealed).
I think everyone would just draft with 6x mini boosters tho, no-one wants to pay full whack for a draft and end up with half as many rares. Better packs would be great, but they'd kill the current packs.
Well, if they did this, Wizards would be happy as now a draft set would sell $18 worth of packs, rather than $12. More sales!
I actually thought about this too while typing the above, but I always hear from draft players about how certain things have to be rare/mythic to not ruin the limited environment (cards too powerful to show up too often). If the drafters like lots of their underpowered commons, let them keep them!
Another option is to sell special draft boxes (cherry picked to avoid game breakers and increase commons) or use something closer to deck-builders toolkits to draft. Why let the game suffer both in design and price to preserve one type of play?
That would be ideal, but unrealistic as booster sales maximize profits, and Wizards can easily hide behind limited reasons for utility cards being printed at mythic. There are enough limited players to defend these decisions, and constructed players pay the price. And yes, I know that constructed players should be buying singles, not packs, but those singles had to come from somewhere (either drafters or people/stores cracking packs), and printing key cards at the highest rarities drives those prices way up...
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I suggested to wotc that event decks should never be set associated. For example. You buy a dragons of tarkir event deck after shadows over innistrad release. Dragons of tarkir is standard legal, so dragons of tarkir products should be ok right? Nope. The event deck contains khans of tarkir and fate reforged cards, which is no longer standard legal after soi release.
Intro packs had this problem too because they contained cards from the previous core set that did not rotate with the block. With the 2 block paradigm and no core set, intro packs contain exclusively cards from the block so it is ok to have them set associated and still be standard legal as long as that set is standard legal.
Unless event decks contained cards only in the same block, it is a bad idea to make them set associated. A new player won't know that not all cards in the deck are standard legal and would just buy the event deck because the set the deck is associated with is standard legal.
I'm hoping that this is the case and event decks become standalone products.
Well that is never a good sign of things to come. So much for getting some decent prices on staples.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
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Modern
UBG B/U/G control
BBB MBC
WUR Control
WWW Prison
RRR Goblins
Legacy
BBB Pox
UBG B/U/G Control
UWU StoneBlade
UW Miracle Control
When one door closes, another opens. I assure you, WotC will provide as much supplemental product as necessary.
I wouldn't bet on that.
No PWs in the Duel Deck that was meant to have Planeswalkers? No Clash Packs or Event decks? Plus the "Eternal Masters" rumor?
It's pretty clear WotC wants us to have two options: Boosters or Dealers. You aren't getting your cardboard crack any other way.
Now maybe, if they released 2 event decks per year in the middle of the year, both containing planeswalkers from sets that are about to rotate out, meaning you have 3 to 5 months to use them, then that would be a great idea. Would they do it? NOPE.
Here's another reason why Event Decks are going away. It is the fault of the people who crack them open for singles. The product is aimed towards people who don't have a deck, goes to FNM, and has to settle with using an intro pack, or the standard illegal duel deck, which they can't use. WOTC wants to bring in new players, not help existing players with their products. If all the existing players hoard the product, and thus not allowing new players access to the product, then the product is a failure.
Here's the deal. Either the event deck is not FNM competitive enough, or if the event deck is competitive, hoarders buy them up and sell the singles.
I personally buy all 5 intro packs every set and that is all I buy. I am one of those people who doesn't care about tournaments and plays with a few people, but each of us could be using any of over 300 intro packs/theme decks to play against each other. You can't do something like this with duel decks, event decks, and clash packs because there aren't over 300 of them, and to buy 300 event decks straight up is more expensive, and for me, it is the experience of playing the game, and not necessarily trying to have the best deck. The money I spent on 10 intro packs is probably the price of one standard competitive deck. If you are looking to make your deck the best it can be, you will have to pay up, which means you won't have cash to make multiple decks. If your 2 or 3 friends are the same way, then you will only be playing the same 2 decks against each other, hence why you probably go to FNM to play with other players. Not me. I have tons of intro packs. If this intro pack vs that intro pack is boring, I just use a different intro pack and my opponent uses a different one. There are probably 299! match ups for 300 intro packs. Another great thing about my method? You can basically get anybody to be your opponent. Since intro packs are supposedly dumbed down for new players, you can get random Joe off the street to play with you. I've been playing magic against people who don't really play or care about magic religiously, and don't really own any cards.
The idea of the event deck is to have a deck that can be purchased at the store when the person, who is either new or forgot their deck, can have a deck and be competitive without having to play something else, like pogs, in the corner with the other people who don't have decks. The problem as I have addressed is if the deck is competitive enough, meaning it wins let's say, 50% of the matches, it would probably contain a chase card. This means that people would buy these decks up for the card, and not for the fact that they forgot the deck. Later event decks didn't have any chase cards, but they weren't competitive. If people are buying these decks to get chase cards and not for the reason that they are at FNM and have no deck to use, as it was intended for, mind as well just discontinue the product.
If you want a product that gives you chase cards, or brings down the value of some cards, WOTC could easily bundle 3 boosters with a promo version of the chase card. Pokemon and Yugioh does it all the time.
Even if Event decks are gone, I don't think the idea of "I forgot/don't have a deck, therefore I will have to buy one" product isn't going away. It might be in a different form with a different name.
I'm pretty sure future deckbuilder's toolkit might have some sort of standard deck builds in their strategy sheet. The problem with event decks is that you only ever have one or 2 deck builds, while with the deckbuilder's toolkit, it can give you lists for you to build the deck from. At least you won't have to complain that the deck build sucks because you built it yourself, and the decklists in the strategy sheet would be guidelines that you don't have to follow.
Pessimistic view: they want to cut cheap, funny and casual products that give a good access to chase cards and force people into buying packs.
Who wins?
The event deck may be gone, but the idea that spawned the event deck might not be. I'm pretty sure there is going to be some type of product for those who walk into FNM and left their deck with their other pants.
I am even optimistic towards the lowly intro pack. I always find value in everything, and for me, it isn't always about monetary value. 2 hours worth of US minimum wage work nets you an intro pack, unless you are Canadian, then it is an hour and a half. Intro packs may not be up to par against FNM decks, but if you don't care about FNM, and just want to play the game, and you and a friend each have an intro pack, then it is enough.
I also guess there isn't enough of a market of people who left their FNM deck with their other pants, hence why the event deck is gone. The idea of a product for people looking to get into a standard FNM environment might still exist, maybe in the form of a reconfigured deckbuilder's toolkit. The only people which this product probably won't help are those who left their deck with their other pants. Pogs is a fun game though.
UR Mizzix of the Izmagnus ~~~ Build your own win-condition: Finite Spellslinging
UR Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer ~~~ We are the Borg. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own.
WUB Oloro, Ageless Ascetic ~~~ A Guide to dying slowly
UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose ~~~ Marchesa's undying Marionettes
RGW Mayael the Anima ~~~ All Hail the Big Chungus
GWU Chulane, Teller of Tales ~~~ Permanents Only ETB Shenanigans
BGU Sidisi, Brood Tyrant ~~~ Sidisi's Restless Servants
WUBRG The Ur-Dragon ~~~ Dragons eat your face
I don't know, do what everybody else does and build a deck from scratch? Heck, there are plenty decklists out there to netdeck. WOTC doesn't have to hold your hand and have a premade standard deck for you. You don't buy a standard deck, you build it.
The event deck, as it was originally released back in Mirrodin Besieged is designed for people who walk into FNM without a deck because they are either a new player who came in with a MTG player, and as such, doesn't have a deck, or a MTG player who forgot their deck at home. The idea of a product made for people jumping into standard doesn't have to be a prebuilt 60 card deck + sideboard. As I said before, the Deckbuilder's toolkit can be reconfigured so that it contains most of the cards you need to build a semi-competitive deck yourself. If you don't want to build a deck, the product will have a strategy sheet showing example decklists.
Another option would be to take a break from standard, if you really feel that you need to buy an event deck in order to compete in standard tournaments, until there is an announcement of the successor of the event deck.
To be honest, if WOTC discontinued the intro pack, and doesn't replace it with a different under $15 preconstructed product, I'd probably quit magic, as I mostly buy one of each intro pack, and play them against each other. That's just me though. Don't know what you would do with the lack of event decks. I gave you 2 choices.
1. Build your deck.
2. Quit playing standard.
I don't share your optimism.
I just price checked the cards from Armed & Dangerous, the Origins clash pack combined deck, on tcgplayer. Today, the average price of the cards separate as singles is $60. (Low $35, high $163). $60. And that is with 6 months of those cards being a clash pack away from ownership. Imagine what that decklist would look like with no major reprints!
I just don't see a tool on the horizon that is a shortcut into the game anymore. I want to be wrong; I had high hopes in getting an Innistrad deck going, but I fear we'll get 5 janky starters, a toolkit with the same outdated rares (mahamoti djinn, really?) And a fat pack overpriced for its worth.
Shouldn't have made a difference for event decks/clash packs. There has always been one per set, not per block. The 2 set block paradigm would not change the 4 per year that Wizards has been doing. The 2 set blocks actually lined up nicely with an event deck to start off a block, and the clash pack giving us a pseudo-duel deck that was standard legal with the completion of a block.
I always liked the event decks to easily have a somewhat competitive deck on hand for any friends visiting who might want to play a quick game (and having some useful cards in there if I needed to borrow for another deck was a nice bonus).
I think it's clear that Wizards/Hasbro wants to keep most products in the limited play and "booster lottery" realm. That's where the big money is for them. It seems that their marketing department couldn't come up with a good spin on discontinuing these, so they did it quietly hoping no one would notice...
The eventual starvation death of legacy/vintage and the death of a 1,000 bans to modern.
I wouldn't be surprised if in the next few years, you're options are casual (kitchen table, pauper, edh), limited (draft/booster), and pro-tour constructed standard. Oh, and MtGO.
I hold out hope I'm wrong somehow.
It would be great if they could create a smaller booster geared more towards constructed and acquiring singles. Something like 1 rare, 3 uncommon, 4 commons -they can tweak these #s, figure out foil rates, etc., but the idea being 8 cards, so less can be charged, and to reduce the wasted cardboard (think good publicity from thinking about the environment) that comes from so many bulk commons... Charge $2.99 instead of $3.99 MSRP for these (8 cards instead of 15). Those packs would be more economical for obtaining singles (whether it's stores cracking wholesale priced packs, or end customers), but at 75% of the MSRP of full boosters, would keep Wizards profits up. 15 card boosters would become "draft boosters", and stay at $3.99, as they provide more cards, and more entertainment value (draft/sealed).
I think everyone would just draft with 6x mini boosters tho, no-one wants to pay full whack for a draft and end up with half as many rares. Better packs would be great, but they'd kill the current packs.
Well, if they did this, Wizards would be happy as now a draft set would sell $18 worth of packs, rather than $12. More sales!
I actually thought about this too while typing the above, but I always hear from draft players about how certain things have to be rare/mythic to not ruin the limited environment (cards too powerful to show up too often). If the drafters like lots of their underpowered commons, let them keep them!
Another option is to sell special draft boxes (cherry picked to avoid game breakers and increase commons) or use something closer to deck-builders toolkits to draft. Why let the game suffer both in design and price to preserve one type of play?
That would be ideal, but unrealistic as booster sales maximize profits, and Wizards can easily hide behind limited reasons for utility cards being printed at mythic. There are enough limited players to defend these decisions, and constructed players pay the price. And yes, I know that constructed players should be buying singles, not packs, but those singles had to come from somewhere (either drafters or people/stores cracking packs), and printing key cards at the highest rarities drives those prices way up...