If it were me in-charge of ditching the reserve list, I would leak/spoil images of an upcoming set with low-level reserve list cards on it. Let people speculate till they ask the question out right, then tell them the list is gone and the company will print the cards when and where they deem appropriate.
But as a company, I would guess like most of the other in this thread, X amount of notice and slow reprint implementation.
As a low-level (very low-level) player of the game, I wish they would just par down the list to the Duals and Mox. I see little sense to keep cards like Roc of Kher Ridges caged behind Volcanic Island. They don't even HAVE to reprint them, just let people know that they COULD....
And I am telling you that WotC will not do it because they are well aware that it would be a huge waste of money to do so.
They don't have to print physical copies. Just put them up as e-books like the last batch of Rav. And if they did print physical copies it might generate more interest in fat packs.
As a personal anecdote (the least scientific thing on the planet, I know...), I - along with 4 other friends - stopped buying fatpacks (and by extension all kinds of booster packs) because the novels were removed and the price saw no significant drop.
What are you talking about? The way their fiction is produced right now is where the interest is. The reason they stopped doing the novels was because there was zero interest there. Why would they change from a successful concept to one that already failed?
The big failure was the quality of the authors. The interest now is generated by authors that can craft good stories. If you go in with better authors, you will come out the other side with better books. It might even be easier now with the focus (even if they pull it back) on the Gatewatch.
The only way I can see the novels coming back is if they did some kind of Print-on-Demand anthology of cleaned-up story articles from the website. All they'd need is someone to tinker with the formatting and they could easily put out an ebook at least.
This would be acceptable (and if I'm being honest with myself, preferable)... I was hoping that was their intent from the beginning when they announced they were done with novels.
I am very biased in favor of the novels though. I would not be playing MTG today had I not randomly found the Onslaught novel sitting on a shelf at my library....
I understand the logistics behind it. It takes time to craft a story, it takes time to write it, revise it, approve it, and print it. That amount of time is not afforded very easily when dealing with the timeline of releasing the sets. Finding the authors is a pain as well.
I love the mothership story articles, but it feels like they leave patches in the world.
What I would love to see is more storytelling in the form of card art. IIRC, the bulk of the Weatherlight block's card art was ripped from the novles. They brought that back with "Stoy Spotlight", but it would be nice to see that expanded.
8. Eliminate special products. Put those special cards into standard sets. No more EDH support unless you buy a standard booster pack. This idea that sets can't be big is dumb. Add every new card only in standard products.
I agreed with you till this one.... There are some keywords and effects that would not translate well and would more than likely be seen as lowering the pack EV for the overall set due to stand unplayability.
Power-level (for both formats) might also be a concern because EDH is made to play at turns 6+ where Standard is in its end-game around turn 7.
It also lets Wizards put more reprints (though recently they have been shoddy reprints) into circulation, leaving more space in Standard sets for new cards.
Prophet of Kruphix is only a problem if your playgroup doesn't run removal, has zero threat assessment skills and builds their decks to play without interacting with problems from other decks as if they're playing solitaire. In my play group he is almost always killed within one or two turns of entering the battlefield or everyone guns for that player. ... Just this last weekend he got killed 4 or 5 times in a row after being played and the Prophet of Kruphix player scooped. Unless the players are just flat out ignorant, the bad politics of playing him result in the perceived "problem" fixing itself.
Was beat to the punch... but still.... the similarity is shocking...
Vig triggers have become too abuseable over the past few sets for this to fully replace him.
And I agree with yours!
On another note, if you want a very "different" feeling GU deck,
try Ezuri, Claw of Progress.
He can do some really fun stuff (giant Cephalid Constable is a personal favorite),
and he doesn't work very well as a "lieutenant".
I do love Ezuri, Claw of Progress, he's the deck I play when I don't want to think while playing EDH!
My LSG finally picked up a Cephalid Constable for me too, been bugging them for months about it
I don't know if she'd be better Commanding Momir Vig or vice versa, but either way, I want it.
As someone who *always* evaluates new GU commanders through this lens,
I would recommend staying with Momir Vig, Simic Visionary- he can fetch Rashmi up with ease,
and she allows him to cast two creatures for the price of one.
She may actually restore some of the power he lost when Prophet of Kruphix was banned.
The beauty of this general is that Vig decks now have an etiquette general that dosent completely change how the deck functions.
I agree with your assessment though....
Vig triggers have become too abuseable over the past few sets for this to fully replace him.
Have you seen his price lately?
Especially the foil?
Given how popular he is as a Commander, I'd say there's a *very* good chance that art is for his creature card.
Last I checked he was around 8 for non foil thats a far cry from his 3-5 of years past, but not a price that makes him worth printing over other characters that hold more lore.... The art doesn't look much like a creature card to me, the action makes it look like an enchantment.... if not for being on the reserved list it would make some decent Survival of the Fittest art....
To be fair, she was almost a custom-made enabler for Momir Vig, Simic Visionary, and frankly,
my MV deck will be *extremely* sad to lose her.
Mine too, but adaptation is what Vig is about.... As sad as this ban is, Ive been preparing for it for a while and now have little use for PoK in Vig....
“Grab an axe and defend the gate! Your despair is an extravagance we can ill afford.” —Thalia, Knight-Cathar
Terror falls from the skies on blood-spattered wings, and nameless horrors lurk in the shadows. These pages, lavishly illustrated with the award-winning art of Magic: The Gathering, are your entry into a world beset by terrible evils on all sides and betrayed by the hope it held most dear. Tread lightly as you follow the heroic Planeswalkers of the Gatewatch as they investigate these dark mysteries, for the nightmare they will uncover is a threat to the whole Multiverse.
The mysteries of Innistrad—its peoples, provinces, and monsters—await your arrival. But be careful as you peer into the darkness, for you might find something staring back.
James Wyatt is a Senior Game Designer on the creative team for Magic: The Gathering®. Over the course of more than 14 years working on the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, he wrote five novels and contributed to dozens of game sourcebooks, including Oriental Adventures, the Eberron Campaign Setting, and three different Dungeon Master’s Guides.
But as a company, I would guess like most of the other in this thread, X amount of notice and slow reprint implementation.
As a low-level (very low-level) player of the game, I wish they would just par down the list to the Duals and Mox. I see little sense to keep cards like Roc of Kher Ridges caged behind Volcanic Island. They don't even HAVE to reprint them, just let people know that they COULD....
The Eternals are nothing inside of the crystal, and not metal, so they are well suited to take on the phyrexian hordes.
Or the writers can create a new place with a new threat.... Probably related to whatever Ral is dealing with....
They don't have to print physical copies. Just put them up as e-books like the last batch of Rav. And if they did print physical copies it might generate more interest in fat packs.
As a personal anecdote (the least scientific thing on the planet, I know...), I - along with 4 other friends - stopped buying fatpacks (and by extension all kinds of booster packs) because the novels were removed and the price saw no significant drop.
The big failure was the quality of the authors. The interest now is generated by authors that can craft good stories. If you go in with better authors, you will come out the other side with better books. It might even be easier now with the focus (even if they pull it back) on the Gatewatch.
This would be acceptable (and if I'm being honest with myself, preferable)... I was hoping that was their intent from the beginning when they announced they were done with novels.
I am very biased in favor of the novels though. I would not be playing MTG today had I not randomly found the Onslaught novel sitting on a shelf at my library....
I understand the logistics behind it. It takes time to craft a story, it takes time to write it, revise it, approve it, and print it. That amount of time is not afforded very easily when dealing with the timeline of releasing the sets. Finding the authors is a pain as well.
I love the mothership story articles, but it feels like they leave patches in the world.
What I would love to see is more storytelling in the form of card art. IIRC, the bulk of the Weatherlight block's card art was ripped from the novles. They brought that back with "Stoy Spotlight", but it would be nice to see that expanded.
Glad to see one of my Dirty Dozen back in the game!
I agreed with you till this one.... There are some keywords and effects that would not translate well and would more than likely be seen as lowering the pack EV for the overall set due to stand unplayability.
Power-level (for both formats) might also be a concern because EDH is made to play at turns 6+ where Standard is in its end-game around turn 7.
It also lets Wizards put more reprints (though recently they have been shoddy reprints) into circulation, leaving more space in Standard sets for new cards.
Was beat to the punch... but still.... the similarity is shocking...
I do love Ezuri, Claw of Progress, he's the deck I play when I don't want to think while playing EDH!
My LSG finally picked up a Cephalid Constable for me too, been bugging them for months about it
I agree with your assessment though....
Vig triggers have become too abuseable over the past few sets for this to fully replace him.
It took 10 years for Wizards to make a general to compete with Vig.
Last I checked he was around 8 for non foil thats a far cry from his 3-5 of years past, but not a price that makes him worth printing over other characters that hold more lore.... The art doesn't look much like a creature card to me, the action makes it look like an enchantment.... if not for being on the reserved list it would make some decent Survival of the Fittest art....
Mine too, but adaptation is what Vig is about.... As sad as this ban is, Ive been preparing for it for a while and now have little use for PoK in Vig....
Gideon - Fred
Chandra - Daphne
Nissa - Velma
Jace - Shaggy
and starring Tibalt as Scooby-Doo