This is an extremely dangerous precedent for WotC to be setting and I suspect nothing good will come of it.
Neat. It took WotC exactly 2 attempts to prove me correct. And now Nexus of Fate is pushing close to $40. It's almost like this is exactly what people were afraid of when they announced this stupid new BaB promotion to begin with. And this is simply the latest in a a long line of terrible decisions WotC has made in the past few years. My confidence in MtG hasn't been this low since Darksteel.
We really owe it to ourselves to stop buying boxes and not support this tactic.
I want to buy boxes because I like a set, and maybe because there are cool foils and alternate arts as BAB promos. I do not want to buy boxes to get access to a card that is otherwise not available. Luckily, I hate extra turn spells and did not feel the need to buy a box of a core set.
Really frustrating that us flocking to get these promos has told WOTC that this promo is successful.
Agree with Dunharrow. I avoided buying a box because of Nexus of Fate, and I won't buy a box of the next Ravnica set if it's a pushed staple. Either do something nifty and casual (since they aren't in the set, there is a ton of design space they can use) or reprint, as suggested above, a staple that is in the set already.
Otherwise, Wizards is in the position where they need/should reprint the cards in other avenues, just to meet demand.
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The "Crazy One", playing casual magic and occasionally dipping his toes into regular play since 1994.
Currently focusing on Pre-Modern (Mono-Black Discard Control) and Modern (Azorious Control, Temur Rhinos).
Find me at the Wizard's Tower in Ottawa every second Saturday afternoons.
The Buy-a-Box promo is really about supporting LGS's, not as much about pushing box sales. On that front, I would say that Nexus of Fate has been very successful, but it seems that there is no way for the Buy-a-Box promo to make everyone happy, since the promos basically did virtually nothing to move boxes at LGS's for years and years, and making mechanically exclusive cards as BaB promos seems like a sure way to change that (and I'm sure it did). The inevitable tradeoff for that success is players complaining that it's too expensive if they hypothetically wanted to buy it (which, ironically, most players who are complaining have no interest in playing the card).
I'm not saying that there's nothing wrong with the strength of Nexus of Fate or the BaB promo system in general, but that it isn't as clear cut as many are making it sound.
The Buy-a-Box promo is really about supporting LGS's, not as much about pushing box sales. On that front, I would say that Nexus of Fate has been very successful, but it seems that there is no way for the Buy-a-Box promo to make everyone happy, since the promos basically did virtually nothing to move boxes at LGS's for years and years, and making mechanically exclusive cards as BaB promos seems like a sure way to change that (and I'm sure it did). The inevitable tradeoff for that success is players complaining that it's too expensive if they hypothetically wanted to buy it (which, ironically, most players who are complaining have no interest in playing the card).
I'm not saying that there's nothing wrong with the strength of Nexus of Fate or the BaB promo system in general, but that it isn't as clear cut as many are making it sound.
Exclusivity should not be a gimmick when your game is built for a competive environment. If it were just to collect the cards, fine - have chase cards. This is the wrong carrot to hang off the stick.
I personally try and keep a pretty decent stock of modern playables and decks because it's my preferred format. Initiatives like this create artificial barriers to entry on decks in they misjudge a card because of artificial scarcity to pad sales.
I'm 100% dissastisfied with Nexus of Fate. Either they print it in an upcoming set and it takes a mythic slot from us, they leave it alone and paper tournaments are a crap shoot, or they find a way to get it in the hands of people who don't have hundreds of dollars for every set release to acquire a playset - which hurts the people who paid for the gimmick in the first place.
There is no elegant solution in my eyes.
My initial assessment was that the card was fine for edh, but if modern turns didn't want it then it was probably too weak and okay. While I stand behind my initial assessment, I thought control was going to be a much bigger player in standard than it was at the PT. The meta could correct itself.
I would like to say that some of these choices were pretty decent (the ones that I put an asterisk on) from a Standard playable stand point. Hell, I actually understand Burning Sun's Avatar for the person who likes big dumb dinosaur effects. However, there were a few choices which were complete misses, such as Goblin Dark-Dwellers for Oath of the Gatewatch (which doesn't highlight any of the primary themes of the set)and Skyship Stalker (c'mon, we ALL know this is hot garbage outside of draft/sealed, plus doesn't introduce us any of the mechanics of the set) as the biggest culprits of poor choices.
I know that R&D/FFL/WotC doesn't know what cards are going to be standouts and great standard playables from each set, but I know they have a pulse of the Standard environment and know what cards are going to be somewhat playable. If you want to throw a bone to the local game stores, make the BAB a planeswalker from each set. That would solidify a strong portion of people wanting a box at that point. No one complains about free planeswalkers, even if they're bad!
They should simply provide 3 Showdown Booster Packs instead of the promo.
Something that is just value, regardless of what card they pick.
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If you have to pick a card to make it a promo its pretty much always the wrong choice, and if its a good card, people still want it badly, which at least doesnt mean its only available for buying a box, like the stupidity that is the Nexus.
Also, the fact its a foil only card is really weird too.
They made PROXY copies of the card for the Pro Tour so the guy could play the Nexus in his deck (as its the only foil and it warps, which would make it a "marked card" , which is just the pinnacle of irony, as the card shuffles it back again and again, and you are FORCED to play the foil).
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If they wanted to play it super save, they could provide a set of 5 basic lands with special full art, these are always great in value or just to play them yourself.
Buy-a-Box promo having value while not being costly to produce allows WotC to guarantee that your booster boxes are not a financial risk. This means boxes get sold and singles make it into circulation. This is a good thing.
Not being in the set is not at all the same as a promise to never reprint them. The only thing that could feasibly be problematic is if they became a staple in Standard, which I'm sure they are aware of and take steps to avoid. If the card is a popular in casual circles, there's always the possibility of it being reprinted elsewhere at a later date.
Expensive singles has always been a thing. This is nothing new.
If they were willing to use mythics (wouldn't have the same problem as prerelease promos because the quantity is so limited) I think they could probably pick hits with fairly high reliability. Standouts from the last few years are:
Core 19: Nicol Bolas
Dominaria: Karn, Teferi, Lyra
RIX: Immortal Sun, Rekindling Phoenix
Ixalan: Carnage Tyrant
Hour: Nicol Bolas, Scarab God
Amonkhet: Hazoret, Gideon, Liliana
AER: Heart of Kiran
Kaladesh: Chandra, Torrential, Marvel
EMN: Emrakul
SOI: Avacyn
Oath: Kalitas, Nissa, TKS
BFZ: Gideon, Ulamog
Yes this lists benefits from hindsight and several sets are harder to figure out, but for the most part these are the most obviously pushed cards in the set. Play design should let them figure out the chase cards even better. Chase mythic promos might even sell boxes better than unique promos since you know that they're aiming these cards to be constructed staples, rather than niche cards like unique promos.
Sales are dropping because the player base is shrinking. The obvious solution is to increase player retention and attract new customers, but that takes time and in the mean time hasbro is riding their ass to stop the drop in sales. They are trying all kinds of sales tactics, but the bottom line is that players will not spend infinite money on magic cards. I do think the backlash over this is a bit ridiculous. It's a 4 of in one deck. Considering that the average box has about 3 mythics, so when it comes to opening boxes this is the most common mythic. The issue is not so much raw supply, but rather circulation. Casual players tend to buy boxes, while competitive players buy singles, so the casual players are sitting on all the copies currently in circulation. The way they are distributed copies are going to disappear into collections, but if the price stays up people will just buy boxes for a profit until it settles back down. It's going to take longer than usual since stores can't sell the promo's with out laundering them through players, but it will happen eventually.
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Sales are dropping because the player base is shrinking. ...but if the price stays up people will just buy boxes for a profit until it settles back down.
Except the promos were only available for preordering boxes before the set released (and therefore before it was determined how sought the card would be) and all existing copies are now in circulation at this point...? Is that not how this promo works?
I love the "value" from the buy-a-box promo this time, especially when opening a junk box. I buy one per set to support LGS even though I could get them cheaper online. However, for the exclusivity, they need to make the always Mythics, Future Shifted one set. So buy a box could be quality, and value initial for those desperate for immediate results but enough copies for the majority of it's standard run.
This is a crap tactic that players should NOT be supporting.
They said 'heard you loud and clear' after everyone *****ed about exclusive BoB promos and here we are... still pushing it out exclusive.
They should be punished with fewer boxes purchased. Stand up for yourselves people. Even if you have the money don't.
They're making so many bad decisions in so many places lately please don't reward them for this craptastic BoB crap.
I'm clearly missing something here. Everyone is up in arms. Is this card even good? I kinda like the unique buy-a-box thing. The value of this is just driven by enraged hype, right? Firesong and Sunspeaker is way cooler than Nexus of Fate anyway. You know this is gonna be a 2$ card when they reprint it.
Buy-a-Box promo having value while not being costly to produce allows WotC to guarantee that your booster boxes are not a financial risk. This means boxes get sold and singles make it into circulation. This is a good thing.
Not being in the set is not at all the same as a promise to never reprint them. The only thing that could feasibly be problematic is if they became a staple in Standard, which I'm sure they are aware of and take steps to avoid. If the card is a popular in casual circles, there's always the possibility of it being reprinted elsewhere at a later date.
Expensive singles has always been a thing. This is nothing new.
You seem to be missing the point. The problem is that the current most expensive card (what some might called a "chase card") in Core 2019 literally cannot be opened from a pack of Core 2019. That does the opposite of drive sales. It just means if someone wants to play Nexus of Fate in a standard event, they are literally FORCED to use the secondary market. WotC gets no direct benefit from that, and most likely neither does the LGS because it is almost always cheaper to order singles online. There is really no way to spin this in a positive light. WotC messed up. Again. Surprise surprise.
Just wait until they decide that it'd be cool to make the next Fatal Push a Buy a Box promo.
Why is it ok to make a card that is LEGAL to play promo only? How is that not a crap road to be going down?
With all the great decisions WotC has been making in the past 3 years how can anyone trust them to not eventually go there? They're already incrementally going there since this latest promo is rocketing in price/demand compared to the first time they did this. They must think they're geniuses. Working as intended!!
I'm clearly missing something here. Everyone is up in arms. Is this card even good? I kinda like the unique buy-a-box thing. The value of this is just driven by enraged hype, right? Firesong and Sunspeaker is way cooler than Nexus of Fate anyway. You know this is gonna be a 2$ card when they reprint it.
As a former competitive-turned-casual, yes NoF is a really good card in Standard. Imagine Beacon of Tomorrows at reduced cost AND instant. Gets increasingly better with more and more walkers on board.
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
Melek, Izzet Paragon
Oona, Queen of the Fae
Bruna, Light of Alabaster
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Rhys the Redeemed
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Sen Triplets
The Mimeoplasm WUBRGSliver OverlordGRBUW WUBRGSliver Hivelord(Superfriends)GRBUW
This is a crap tactic that players should NOT be supporting.
They said 'heard you loud and clear' after everyone *****ed about exclusive BoB promos and here we are... still pushing it out exclusive.
They should be punished with fewer boxes purchased. Stand up for yourselves people. Even if you have the money don't.
They're making so many bad decisions in so many places lately please don't reward them for this craptastic BoB crap.
a) At the rate WotC is working in advance, we probably would still be getting them for the next 3-4 sets even if they had decided to stop doing them immediately after the Firesong and Sunspeaker feedback.
b) Yes. Maro said that they heard the comminty loud and clear, but he also said that they got the opposite feedback from game stores (? I think) and other people in the community. Basically he played the "people who complain about this/want this and that are just a vocal minority" card, as he often does. And while he obviously does that in order to not be overly blunt ("it made us money, so we'll keep doing it"), there probably is some good deal of truth to it.
I think we'll see this continue for a year or two at least. Nexus of Fate has proven to be a strong card, but it's not exactly format-warping (yet) anf it's just their second exclusive BaB promo, so they still have plenty of room for "excuses" to continue doing them (we'll pay attention in the future, something something play design etc). Nexus may be their first misstep with these, but they haven't messed up enough yet. Maybe a few people will stop buying boxes over this, but sadly I don't think the point is reached yet where they will seriously have to consider whether they want to continue them or not. Imo in order to do that you'd need a Saheeli/Felidar guardian tier incident.
If we're unlucky, the new BaB promos will essentially become the new mythic rarity: An unpopular thing that nevertheless managed to establish itself long-term.
I'm actually more inclined to believe the dissenters to the rage over the buy a box promo change are simply submitting their own feedback direct to Wizards rather than posting it on the internet because they feel intimidated and don't want to catch all the venom that might be thrown their way. I 100% understand that the majority opinion of the vocal internet posters is that it's a terrible change, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's representative of the majority of players. I'm also not sure what a reasonable change might be because they've already tried chase rares like Day of Judgment and Celestial Colonade as buy a box promos, chase mythics like Ajani Vengeant, Emrakul the Aeons Torn and Wurmcoil Engine as prerelease promos, and yugioh has already tried promos from the next set in 3 pack combos similar to the blister packs third parties do for Magic. The next set promos in yugioh go for like $1 and if they did chase ones, people would just yawn when the next set came out and ***** about opening a chase card from a pack that's now worth only a tiny fraction of what it would be. I'm sure that's what got the chase rare and mythic promos taken away in the first place. So, what would be a reasonable solution everyone can get on board with? I"m sure if we could find a consensus solution that would make everyone happy, Wizards would be more than happy to do it.
There is literally no way you can "like" the promo in that product, unless you just randomly decided to buy a box and reap the reward.
The thing is, if you think a head what benefits the game, this hurts it a lot.
However, putting 40$ into your box for "free" very clearly makes it more attractive for a store to actually sell said box, much better than a 0,50$ card that nobody really wants anyway.
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But why stop at this point ?
WotC can go totally over board, give out a special card for Grand Prix, Pro Tour, PPTQ, PTQ, FNM, why just promo cards ? Make them ALL unique to these events and you dont get them anywhere else, each event gets its own card that you only get at these events.
At that point it becomes much clearer why its a bad idea, but its not like they could not do that, and i would bet they arent far away from actually doing that (Given they have exclusive Magic Arena cards, that dont exist in paper at all, and the stupidity that is the "foreign" cards that are legal in standard in china, but not outside of it, crap like that just shows that they lost any sensible idea and just go all out nuts).
All this crazy stuff is only irrelevant because the cards simply are intentionally BAD and so dont matter at all in constructed, but the issue still lingers around, as doing that is just that terrible.
The Nexus is just the first card (given the Ajani in the planeswalker deck was "somewhat" playable in its own combo) that is a real constructed card.
This will get worse, much much worse, before they decide they "listen" to the crying community and reverse back.
(The insanity is, almost all the decisions they made are either reverted or flat out terrible for the game, they just dont think ahead in time, they completely lost that ability).
a) At the rate WotC is working in advance, we probably would still be getting them for the next 3-4 sets even if they had decided to stop doing them immediately after the Firesong and Sunspeaker feedback.
I don't buy this at all. They can easily say 'put out a different promo' even if they've printed them up or change the policy and use the printed promos for another purpose. They can even shred them all. If it's not included in boosters they have a wealth of things they can do to stop the madness.
Now the pros are speaking up and hopefully when they 'complain' WotC pays a little more attention. It is not good for the game nor the format to have a low supply card that is one shot you got it or not to be legal in standard or any format. The is just the tip of the iceberg and they should NOT be willing to continue down this road and we as consumers shouldn't allow them the peace to keep going until it really explodes in their face. Because nothing they've done in the past three years has done that...
I have my playset, bought a box and traded for the 3 others because I intended to play the card in my deck.....people who are complaining only does so because they either missed the boat or lost money tradewise for waiting.
I hope the BAB promo stays that way.
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I have my playset, bought a box and traded for the 3 others because I intended to play the card in my deck.....people who are complaining only does so because they either missed the boat or lost money tradewise for waiting.
I hope the BAB promo stays that way.
I got mine so screw everyone else isn't good for the game. I believe the article touches on that.
I have my playset, bought a box and traded for the 3 others because I intended to play the card in my deck.....people who are complaining only does so because they either missed the boat or lost money tradewise for waiting.
I hope the BAB promo stays that way.
I got mine so screw everyone else isn't good for the game. I believe the article touches on that.
Exactly, this isn't supposed to be a thing. It's one thing if they're only available in Commander boxes but quite another if it's a one shot deal. I was surprised, and very leery, with the last BAB exclusive promo and I really didn't like how the Battlebond promos were handled but these are narrow cards with very limited appeal. But Nexus? Yeah... not so much.
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I want to buy boxes because I like a set, and maybe because there are cool foils and alternate arts as BAB promos. I do not want to buy boxes to get access to a card that is otherwise not available. Luckily, I hate extra turn spells and did not feel the need to buy a box of a core set.
Really frustrating that us flocking to get these promos has told WOTC that this promo is successful.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
Otherwise, Wizards is in the position where they need/should reprint the cards in other avenues, just to meet demand.
Currently focusing on Pre-Modern (Mono-Black Discard Control) and Modern (Azorious Control, Temur Rhinos).
Find me at the Wizard's Tower in Ottawa every second Saturday afternoons.
I'm not saying that there's nothing wrong with the strength of Nexus of Fate or the BaB promo system in general, but that it isn't as clear cut as many are making it sound.
Exclusivity should not be a gimmick when your game is built for a competive environment. If it were just to collect the cards, fine - have chase cards. This is the wrong carrot to hang off the stick.
I personally try and keep a pretty decent stock of modern playables and decks because it's my preferred format. Initiatives like this create artificial barriers to entry on decks in they misjudge a card because of artificial scarcity to pad sales.
I'm 100% dissastisfied with Nexus of Fate. Either they print it in an upcoming set and it takes a mythic slot from us, they leave it alone and paper tournaments are a crap shoot, or they find a way to get it in the hands of people who don't have hundreds of dollars for every set release to acquire a playset - which hurts the people who paid for the gimmick in the first place.
There is no elegant solution in my eyes.
My initial assessment was that the card was fine for edh, but if modern turns didn't want it then it was probably too weak and okay. While I stand behind my initial assessment, I thought control was going to be a much bigger player in standard than it was at the PT. The meta could correct itself.
Ruinous Path - BFZ*
Goblin Dark-Dwellers - Oath of the Gatewatch
Elusive Tormentor - Shadows over Innistrad
Thalia, Heretic Cathar - Eldritch Moon*
Skyship Stalker - Kaladesh
Scrap Trawler - Aether Revolt
Archfiend of Ifnir - Amonkhet*
Wildfire Eternal - Hour of Devastation
Burning Sun's Avatar - Ixalan
Random Double Face Card - Rivals of Ixalan*
I would like to say that some of these choices were pretty decent (the ones that I put an asterisk on) from a Standard playable stand point. Hell, I actually understand Burning Sun's Avatar for the person who likes big dumb dinosaur effects. However, there were a few choices which were complete misses, such as Goblin Dark-Dwellers for Oath of the Gatewatch (which doesn't highlight any of the primary themes of the set)and Skyship Stalker (c'mon, we ALL know this is hot garbage outside of draft/sealed, plus doesn't introduce us any of the mechanics of the set) as the biggest culprits of poor choices.
I know that R&D/FFL/WotC doesn't know what cards are going to be standouts and great standard playables from each set, but I know they have a pulse of the Standard environment and know what cards are going to be somewhat playable. If you want to throw a bone to the local game stores, make the BAB a planeswalker from each set. That would solidify a strong portion of people wanting a box at that point. No one complains about free planeswalkers, even if they're bad!
Standard: Risky Burn, Aggro/Burn, Tempo
Modern: Goblins, Budget 8 Rack, Soul Sisters, 42 Land Swan Hunt, Stompy, Burn
Pauper: Miracles, Madness
Something that is just value, regardless of what card they pick.
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If you have to pick a card to make it a promo its pretty much always the wrong choice, and if its a good card, people still want it badly, which at least doesnt mean its only available for buying a box, like the stupidity that is the Nexus.
Also, the fact its a foil only card is really weird too.
They made PROXY copies of the card for the Pro Tour so the guy could play the Nexus in his deck (as its the only foil and it warps, which would make it a "marked card" , which is just the pinnacle of irony, as the card shuffles it back again and again, and you are FORCED to play the foil).
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If they wanted to play it super save, they could provide a set of 5 basic lands with special full art, these are always great in value or just to play them yourself.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
Not being in the set is not at all the same as a promise to never reprint them. The only thing that could feasibly be problematic is if they became a staple in Standard, which I'm sure they are aware of and take steps to avoid. If the card is a popular in casual circles, there's always the possibility of it being reprinted elsewhere at a later date.
Expensive singles has always been a thing. This is nothing new.
Older Magic as a Board Game: Panglacial Wurm , Mill
Core 19: Nicol Bolas
Dominaria: Karn, Teferi, Lyra
RIX: Immortal Sun, Rekindling Phoenix
Ixalan: Carnage Tyrant
Hour: Nicol Bolas, Scarab God
Amonkhet: Hazoret, Gideon, Liliana
AER: Heart of Kiran
Kaladesh: Chandra, Torrential, Marvel
EMN: Emrakul
SOI: Avacyn
Oath: Kalitas, Nissa, TKS
BFZ: Gideon, Ulamog
Yes this lists benefits from hindsight and several sets are harder to figure out, but for the most part these are the most obviously pushed cards in the set. Play design should let them figure out the chase cards even better. Chase mythic promos might even sell boxes better than unique promos since you know that they're aiming these cards to be constructed staples, rather than niche cards like unique promos.
Older Magic as a Board Game: Panglacial Wurm , Mill
They said 'heard you loud and clear' after everyone *****ed about exclusive BoB promos and here we are... still pushing it out exclusive.
They should be punished with fewer boxes purchased. Stand up for yourselves people. Even if you have the money don't.
They're making so many bad decisions in so many places lately please don't reward them for this craptastic BoB crap.
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My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
Why is it ok to make a card that is LEGAL to play promo only? How is that not a crap road to be going down?
With all the great decisions WotC has been making in the past 3 years how can anyone trust them to not eventually go there? They're already incrementally going there since this latest promo is rocketing in price/demand compared to the first time they did this. They must think they're geniuses. Working as intended!!
As a former competitive-turned-casual, yes NoF is a really good card in Standard. Imagine Beacon of Tomorrows at reduced cost AND instant. Gets increasingly better with more and more walkers on board.
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
so it's going to be popular in EDH as well.
Reprint Stasis!
Control needs more love.
EDH:
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
Melek, Izzet Paragon
Oona, Queen of the Fae
Bruna, Light of Alabaster
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Rhys the Redeemed
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Sen Triplets
The Mimeoplasm
WUBRGSliver OverlordGRBUW
WUBRGSliver Hivelord(Superfriends)GRBUW
b) Yes. Maro said that they heard the comminty loud and clear, but he also said that they got the opposite feedback from game stores (? I think) and other people in the community. Basically he played the "people who complain about this/want this and that are just a vocal minority" card, as he often does. And while he obviously does that in order to not be overly blunt ("it made us money, so we'll keep doing it"), there probably is some good deal of truth to it.
I think we'll see this continue for a year or two at least. Nexus of Fate has proven to be a strong card, but it's not exactly format-warping (yet) anf it's just their second exclusive BaB promo, so they still have plenty of room for "excuses" to continue doing them (we'll pay attention in the future, something something play design etc). Nexus may be their first misstep with these, but they haven't messed up enough yet. Maybe a few people will stop buying boxes over this, but sadly I don't think the point is reached yet where they will seriously have to consider whether they want to continue them or not. Imo in order to do that you'd need a Saheeli/Felidar guardian tier incident.
If we're unlucky, the new BaB promos will essentially become the new mythic rarity: An unpopular thing that nevertheless managed to establish itself long-term.
The thing is, if you think a head what benefits the game, this hurts it a lot.
However, putting 40$ into your box for "free" very clearly makes it more attractive for a store to actually sell said box, much better than a 0,50$ card that nobody really wants anyway.
----
But why stop at this point ?
WotC can go totally over board, give out a special card for Grand Prix, Pro Tour, PPTQ, PTQ, FNM, why just promo cards ? Make them ALL unique to these events and you dont get them anywhere else, each event gets its own card that you only get at these events.
At that point it becomes much clearer why its a bad idea, but its not like they could not do that, and i would bet they arent far away from actually doing that (Given they have exclusive Magic Arena cards, that dont exist in paper at all, and the stupidity that is the "foreign" cards that are legal in standard in china, but not outside of it, crap like that just shows that they lost any sensible idea and just go all out nuts).
All this crazy stuff is only irrelevant because the cards simply are intentionally BAD and so dont matter at all in constructed, but the issue still lingers around, as doing that is just that terrible.
The Nexus is just the first card (given the Ajani in the planeswalker deck was "somewhat" playable in its own combo) that is a real constructed card.
This will get worse, much much worse, before they decide they "listen" to the crying community and reverse back.
(The insanity is, almost all the decisions they made are either reverted or flat out terrible for the game, they just dont think ahead in time, they completely lost that ability).
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
I don't buy this at all. They can easily say 'put out a different promo' even if they've printed them up or change the policy and use the printed promos for another purpose. They can even shred them all. If it's not included in boosters they have a wealth of things they can do to stop the madness.
Not a big deal? Read this.
https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/what-to-do-about-nexus-of-fate/
Now the pros are speaking up and hopefully when they 'complain' WotC pays a little more attention. It is not good for the game nor the format to have a low supply card that is one shot you got it or not to be legal in standard or any format. The is just the tip of the iceberg and they should NOT be willing to continue down this road and we as consumers shouldn't allow them the peace to keep going until it really explodes in their face. Because nothing they've done in the past three years has done that...
I hope the BAB promo stays that way.
Standard: XDon't play.X
Legacy: BUReanimatorUB
Vintage: URBWGDBRU
I got mine so screw everyone else isn't good for the game. I believe the article touches on that.
Exactly, this isn't supposed to be a thing. It's one thing if they're only available in Commander boxes but quite another if it's a one shot deal. I was surprised, and very leery, with the last BAB exclusive promo and I really didn't like how the Battlebond promos were handled but these are narrow cards with very limited appeal. But Nexus? Yeah... not so much.