Gutting the online singles market through an internet sales tax that nobody wants to pay for might be the straw that breaks the camels back to get more players to boycott WotC since they know the alternative would be to purchase sealed product from local game stores or feel like they're being obligated to purchase card singles they don't want because the card singles with more demand are being hoarded by collectors and Modern players.
This explains the Reserve List buyouts and why Hasbro has been pushing WotC to release more Masters sets. The fact of the matter is that people have been abusing the convenience of the online singles market for Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games to put brick-and-mortar, mom and pop stores, and shopping malls out of business for their own self interest.
That's not really abuse, that's people taking the cheapest route to making a playable deck for constructed. Wizards of the Coast does make it so that someone can build a deck out of a booster box of cards, but at the same time everyone knows the real constructed formats are standard, modern, etc. Also, the people who buy singles are almost always semi-competitive or dedicated commander players at the very least. The people who buy booster boxes and the frankly abysmal planeswalker decks are mostly into the game for fun with friends.
Finally, for people who don't have a bunch of friends to play with and only have time to go to FNM, there is the "it's dangerous to go alone, take this with you!" mind set. Basically, the player buys up a top tier standard deck because they don't want to get crushed and have a bad experience while playing against a bunch of people they are not familiar with.
While that might be the case, it seems as though in regards to yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court hearing that the justices are divided on sales taxes for online purchases. They expressed concerns about imposing crushing burdens on small businesses that sell goods on the internet and about making them liable for back taxes. It seems as though Congress may have been better suited for this case.
The Quill decision didn't make any sense before e-commerce exploded with the argument being made that the problem with it being burdensome for out-of-state retailers to calculate and collect taxes for thousands of state and local jurisdictions had already been solved through modern software. Had they have overruled the Quill Corp. v. North Dakota case from 1992 then entrepreneurs would produce software that would meet the market need.
So no, I don't think it's fair to completely downplay the potential impact this case will have on Magic and other Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games when it comes to heavily relying on the online singles market to make up for the lack of singles inventory at local game stores. It's mostly due to online sellers trying to undercut local game stores by making it harder for those to purchase singles at local game stores.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
It also just makes sense from a revenue perspective. I'm sure numbers would suggest teens and younger players that maybe still have mom and pop paying for their hobbies spend more money than older players that have to balance their disposable income with other obligations. They've been trying to make MTG more kid friendly from a design perspective lately (The uptick in creature/PW based play rather than spell-based play seems indicative of it), so I'm sure this has been on their minds for a while and this opportunity with GS is another rung in the ladder.
If they're trying to target teens and kids, they're going about it completely ass f*ing backwards.
The entire premise of the game is that you're two mages slinging spells at each other, and the idea of literally casting Counterspells and Rituals and throwing Fireballs at my opponent ingame was what drew me into the game way back in 1996.
The intricate gameplay kept me in, so the move towards the simpler Magic: the Zookeepering is completely backwards to me.
I agree to an extent, but it's likely a generational thing. I can't think WotC's obvious effort for gameplay to be more creature based is coincidence, they should be intelligent enough to have done some testing or surveying that lead them to make that decision. I'm sure the more established fans echo your sentiments (I probably fall into that category) but I'm also sure that the average Joe picking up MTG now would gravitate more towards the idea of slamming creatures into each other and using PW abilities.
Looks like President Trump got tired of waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to reach a verdict on an internet sales tax in June. So he decided to eliminate the U.S. Postal Service through an executive order which will effectively end the online singles market for Magic and other Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games. In other words, this is both good and bad for the LGS.
Republicans have been against the practice of e-commerce for years now so this isn't anything new, however they do have a right to be concerned due to how it's already put a lot brick-and-mortar, mom and pop stores, and shopping malls out of business nationwide. Turns out e-commerce was nothing more than a money laundering scheme after all.
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America Bless Christ Jesus
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Gutting the online singles market through an internet sales tax that nobody wants to pay for might be the straw that breaks the camels back to get more players to boycott WotC since they know the alternative would be to purchase sealed product from local game stores or feel like they're being obligated to purchase card singles they don't want because the card singles with more demand are being hoarded by collectors and Modern players.
This explains the Reserve List buyouts and why Hasbro has been pushing WotC to release more Masters sets. The fact of the matter is that people have been abusing the convenience of the online singles market for Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games to put brick-and-mortar, mom and pop stores, and shopping malls out of business for their own self interest.
That's not really abuse, that's people taking the cheapest route to making a playable deck for constructed. Wizards of the Coast does make it so that someone can build a deck out of a booster box of cards, but at the same time everyone knows the real constructed formats are standard, modern, etc. Also, the people who buy singles are almost always semi-competitive or dedicated commander players at the very least. The people who buy booster boxes and the frankly abysmal planeswalker decks are mostly into the game for fun with friends.
Finally, for people who don't have a bunch of friends to play with and only have time to go to FNM, there is the "it's dangerous to go alone, take this with you!" mind set. Basically, the player buys up a top tier standard deck because they don't want to get crushed and have a bad experience while playing against a bunch of people they are not familiar with.
While that might be the case, it seems as though in regards to yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court hearing that the justices are divided on sales taxes for online purchases. They expressed concerns about imposing crushing burdens on small businesses that sell goods on the internet and about making them liable for back taxes. It seems as though Congress may have been better suited for this case.
The Quill decision didn't make any sense before e-commerce exploded with the argument being made that the problem with it being burdensome for out-of-state retailers to calculate and collect taxes for thousands of state and local jurisdictions had already been solved through modern software. Had they have overruled the Quill Corp. v. North Dakota case from 1992 then entrepreneurs would produce software that would meet the market need.
So no, I don't think it's fair to completely downplay the potential impact this case will have on Magic and other Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games when it comes to heavily relying on the online singles market to make up for the lack of singles inventory at local game stores. It's mostly due to online sellers trying to undercut local game stores by making it harder for those to purchase singles at local game stores.
I'm probably missing something here or we're on two totally different wavelengths. First, who actually goes to an LGS to buy singles? This isn't even about the price of a single, this is about being able to find the singles you need for a deck. When Star City Games and Card Kingdom can't keep things in stock all the time with their massive buy lists, small stores have absolutely no way to keep themselves stocked on the singles players need. Most LGS survive off sealed product across multiple games and simply act as a trade hub for local players.
Also, I'm lost as to how this relates to gamestop potentially becoming a place that tournaments get held at. Yes, Gamestop is known for selling second hand goods, so singles selling isn't out of the question, but they aren't going to have any better stock than what LGS already possess.
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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 could see it happening. Gamestop being more magic oriented. I think both sides can find benefit in an agreement. I don't think finding floor space would be a problem either.
I'm probably missing something here or we're on two totally different wavelengths. First, who actually goes to an LGS to buy singles? This isn't even about the price of a single, this is about being able to find the singles you need for a deck. When Star City Games and Card Kingdom can't keep things in stock all the time with their massive buy lists, small stores have absolutely no way to keep themselves stocked on the singles players need. Most LGS survive off sealed product across multiple games and simply act as a trade hub for local players.
Also, I'm lost as to how this relates to gamestop potentially becoming a place that tournaments get held at. Yes, Gamestop is known for selling second hand goods, so singles selling isn't out of the question, but they aren't going to have any better stock than what LGS already possess.
The argument I'm making is a situation in which players are forced to buy singles from an LGS since there would no longer be an alternative to purchase them from online retailers as they're unable to deliver singles without the help of the U.S. Postal Service especially If other mail delivery services get gutted as well. An internet sales tax would be the least of their worries since there would be no way to deliver the singles by mail.
The LGS would pretty much go back to the way it was before e-commerce exploded during the mid-to-late 2000's when we still had to rely on pricing guides with InQuest Gamer and Scrye Magazine. The idea is that If the current LGS model goes back to how it was decades ago then WotC wouldn't have had to go through the trouble of needing to partner with GameStop in order to increase player attendance for their corporate LGS model.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
2011: Best Mafia Performance (Individual) - Best Newcomer
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
I would hate to play in a Game Stop store, it just would not feel right.
I know the point is to attract new players, but it would be annoying to play in the store constantly surrounded my non Magic players milling around and whatnot.
I like my LGS. I suppose if I did not have an LGS I would be behind this idea. But, I dont want WOTC to drive
This is hilarious because my Local Game Shop shares a next-door wall with my Local GameStop.
That actually is kind of funny. I guess someone finishes one pre-release at gamestop and then just walks next door for the next one? Double the draft?
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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 would hate to play in a Game Stop store, it just would not feel right.
I know the point is to attract new players, but it would be annoying to play in the store constantly surrounded my non Magic players milling around and whatnot.
I like my LGS. I suppose if I did not have an LGS I would be behind this idea. But, I dont want WOTC to drive
As opposed to most FLGSs, where people are milling around for RPG books, miniatures, other card games' products...?
I would hate to play in a Game Stop store, it just would not feel right.
I know the point is to attract new players, but it would be annoying to play in the store constantly surrounded my non Magic players milling around and whatnot.
I like my LGS. I suppose if I did not have an LGS I would be behind this idea. But, I dont want WOTC to drive
As opposed to most FLGSs, where people are milling around for RPG books, miniatures, other card games' products...?
Exactly, I have one LGS in my area that is more event-focused and has table space for large events. Most are game or comic book shops where magic is a sideshow and they have a couple of tables in the back and/or drag out a few in the main product area for prereleases.
I would hate to play in a Game Stop store, it just would not feel right.
I know the point is to attract new players, but it would be annoying to play in the store constantly surrounded my non Magic players milling around and whatnot.
I like my LGS. I suppose if I did not have an LGS I would be behind this idea. But, I dont want WOTC to drive
As opposed to most FLGSs, where people are milling around for RPG books, miniatures, other card games' products...?
I think our experiences may vary. At my LGS, the focus is on Magic. Usually during events, it is very rare that there is a lot of people doing things other than MTG. There are some dedicated tabletop gaming tables, and a backroom dedicated for Board games. Other than that, just the occasional customer looking for something. When I am at Gamestop, I often see 10-15 customers in there consistently, far less than it would be at my LGS. YMMV
I would hate to play in a Game Stop store, it just would not feel right.
I know the point is to attract new players, but it would be annoying to play in the store constantly surrounded my non Magic players milling around and whatnot.
I like my LGS. I suppose if I did not have an LGS I would be behind this idea. But, I dont want WOTC to drive
As opposed to most FLGSs, where people are milling around for RPG books, miniatures, other card games' products...?
Exactly, I have one LGS in my area that is more event-focused and has table space for large events. Most are game or comic book shops where magic is a sideshow and they have a couple of tables in the back and/or drag out a few in the main product area for prereleases.
Magic is pretty much the primary focus at my store, I guess every store is different.
I can't imagine MTG at my local Gamestops. There's 2-3 Gamestops near me and I can't see where they would setup enough tables to even hold an 8 person event. Their floor space is way too small. There's no access to bathrooms. You wouldn't let people wander into the back stock area for bathrooms, would you?
I can't imagine MTG at my local Gamestops. There's 2-3 Gamestops near me and I can't see where they would setup enough tables to even hold an 8 person event. Their floor space is way too small. There's no access to bathrooms. You wouldn't let people wander into the back stock area for bathrooms, would you?
Do you know how many LGS I've been to where there were not enough tables for a single draft pod, the floor space was way too small, and there was no access to bathrooms? Do you know how many people across the world have been to the same number of LGS that could be described in this way?
Yet those very same LGS are supposedly the center of our game's "culture", and this GameStop discussion is some kind of suspicious thing.
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Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not watching.
Oh look, another thread about a video from one of the most sensationalist, half-truthful Magic YouTube personalities and people are eating it right up. Can't wait for Rudy's next video on the OMG SUPER REALISTIC NEW FAKES for the umpteenth time.
I can't imagine MTG at my local Gamestops. There's 2-3 Gamestops near me and I can't see where they would setup enough tables to even hold an 8 person event. Their floor space is way too small. There's no access to bathrooms. You wouldn't let people wander into the back stock area for bathrooms, would you?
Do you know how many LGS I've been to where there were not enough tables for a single draft pod, the floor space was way too small, and there was no access to bathrooms? Do you know how many people across the world have been to the same number of LGS that could be described in this way?
Yet those very same LGS are supposedly the center of our game's "culture", and this GameStop discussion is some kind of suspicious thing.
I can't say I've ever been to a store where there were not enough accommodations and a public bathroom for its players...and I've been to stores in several different countries. I get that there might be stores in poorer countries where what you describe is true, but this is GameStop in the USA. Let's keep in mind USA has the largest player base by far. Do we have to play down to the level of stores in poorer countries?
It also just makes sense from a revenue perspective. I'm sure numbers would suggest teens and younger players that maybe still have mom and pop paying for their hobbies spend more money than older players that have to balance their disposable income with other obligations. They've been trying to make MTG more kid friendly from a design perspective lately (The uptick in creature/PW based play rather than spell-based play seems indicative of it), so I'm sure this has been on their minds for a while and this opportunity with GS is another rung in the ladder.
I figured the emphasis on PW's was an attempt to sell storyline, not sure if that's kid friendly per se. Hasn't the game been focusing more or stronger creatures for awhile now.
Any industry needs new customers, even though focusing on them can annoy old customers, it's necessary long term. Not sure if this all is actually effective at this, but the concept is sound.
Seeing MTG product at regular stores helped draw me back into the game.
As many people have said, it's impossible to hold a tournament in a Gamestop due to size (I have NEVER seen a Gamestop with enough room to set up a table and chairs without moving multiple fixtures) However, Gamestop does now own Think Geek, and Think Geek stores are much bigger with more floor space, I think that would be more logistically possible as well as less 'political.'
An MTG alliance might also be part of expanding from video games to nerd culture in general.
I feel like the biggest problem would be employing people at a gameshop who know/understand Magic and could serve as judges. The whole appeal of an LGS is that the employees mostly know your game, and at least one of them is a certified judge of some kind. The people I usually see working at a game shop are just videogame jockeys in high school. No guarantee that they even play Magic. Getting the right employees would be a whole other hoop Hasbro and Gamestop would have to jump through.
Oh look, another thread about a video from one of the most sensationalist, half-truthful Magic YouTube personalities and people are eating it right up. Can't wait for Rudy's next video on the OMG SUPER REALISTIC NEW FAKES for the umpteenth time.
What you just described is what literally every single person does everywhere that isn't doing a Discovery Channel documentary mini series. By the way, those are boring as heck and I do not recommend watching them unless you want to have a man try to explain how magical it is to watch a bored African Lion lounging on a lazy afternoon.
He's a guy with connections reporting on information that he is getting from patrons and his sources. Are you saying that he is lying about Hasbro talking to gamestop about hosting events? What is "half true" about what he said?
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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 feel like the biggest problem would be employing people at a gameshop who know/understand Magic and could serve as judges. The whole appeal of an LGS is that the employees mostly know your game, and at least one of them is a certified judge of some kind. The people I usually see working at a game shop are just videogame jockeys in high school. No guarantee that they even play Magic. Getting the right employees would be a whole other hoop Hasbro and Gamestop would have to jump through.
The problem I think that hasbro is trying to solve is to find a way to keep casual magic alive. The trouble is the model for the game doesn't work in a world where everyone just wants to skip playing draft and jump strait into using the best standard cards in a set. They need to have demand on cards other than what is good in standard, so they are pushing brawl and trying to throw as much promotional material as possible without having all the box EV get thrown into the top end. That's why I said elsewhere I don't think hasbro has faith in WoTC as far as maintaining a balanced game. The company has provably faltered in delivering expected results in their standard environment and caused a lot of drama on top of it, which gets in the way of making money for the shareholders.
That and modern is not adding more value to the standard sets anymore like it used to five or six years ago when it was first officially supported. The entire reason they are obscuring data from MTG Goldfish is to try to manipulate demand on decks and to expand what cards are in demand. They blew up Splinter twin to increase diversity because they can only reprint a card so many times before tanking it. The stores don't want the game to die either so they are now pushing pauper to try to keep the game alive.
Basically, the games age is catching up with it. There's going to have to be a reckoning at some point to just make the game work again. I'm playing force of will and while that game has hilariously bad balance issues, it feels good to open a box of Time Spinning Witch simply because the cards are good and the full arts are amazing. I open a few packs of Dominaria and it feels disposable.
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!
[quote from="CatParty »" url="/forums/magic-fundamentals/magic-general/791893-wotc-in-talks-with-gamestop-to-host-magic?comment=47"]Basically, the games age is catching up with it. There's going to have to be a reckoning at some point to just make the game work again. I'm playing force of will and while that game has hilariously bad balance issues, it feels good to open a box of Time Spinning Witch simply because the cards are good and the full arts are amazing. I open a few packs of Dominaria and it feels disposable.
While broken cards and unbalanced mechanics may make things interesting or exciting for Force of Will players, I can't imagine the game lasting as long as Magic has. That kind of card design and development would likely repel new players as player who got in early would be dominating the local scene. Wizards went too far in the opposite direction and made the game too safe. This might increase new players, but I don't think those players stay as long.
[quote from="CatParty »" url="/forums/magic-fundamentals/magic-general/791893-wotc-in-talks-with-gamestop-to-host-magic?comment=47"]Basically, the games age is catching up with it. There's going to have to be a reckoning at some point to just make the game work again. I'm playing force of will and while that game has hilariously bad balance issues, it feels good to open a box of Time Spinning Witch simply because the cards are good and the full arts are amazing. I open a few packs of Dominaria and it feels disposable.
While broken cards and unbalanced mechanics may make things interesting or exciting for Force of Will players, I can't imagine the game lasting as long as Magic has. That kind of card design and development would likely repel new players as player who got in early would be dominating the local scene. Wizards went too far in the opposite direction and made the game too safe. This might increase new players, but I don't think those players stay as long.
</blockquote>
Don't think that people like the broken cards. If anything everyone is happy that it's improving. The main problem is that Lapis Cluster is still in new frontiers and green is a bit too powerful. In a lot of ways it's basically what MtG was back when it started going up through Urza's Saga. The MtG most people are familiar with today is extremely polished compared to what it was back then, and having lived through the entire affair I do feel confident in FoW lasting the test of time. The only thing they have to do is figure out their own color pie and how to better manage their resource system. Also, Wanderer, which is the eternal format, has a pretty well maintained ban list and is actually better balanced than frontier is at the moment.
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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!
The Quill decision didn't make any sense before e-commerce exploded with the argument being made that the problem with it being burdensome for out-of-state retailers to calculate and collect taxes for thousands of state and local jurisdictions had already been solved through modern software. Had they have overruled the Quill Corp. v. North Dakota case from 1992 then entrepreneurs would produce software that would meet the market need.
So no, I don't think it's fair to completely downplay the potential impact this case will have on Magic and other Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games when it comes to heavily relying on the online singles market to make up for the lack of singles inventory at local game stores. It's mostly due to online sellers trying to undercut local game stores by making it harder for those to purchase singles at local game stores.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
I agree to an extent, but it's likely a generational thing. I can't think WotC's obvious effort for gameplay to be more creature based is coincidence, they should be intelligent enough to have done some testing or surveying that lead them to make that decision. I'm sure the more established fans echo your sentiments (I probably fall into that category) but I'm also sure that the average Joe picking up MTG now would gravitate more towards the idea of slamming creatures into each other and using PW abilities.
Republicans have been against the practice of e-commerce for years now so this isn't anything new, however they do have a right to be concerned due to how it's already put a lot brick-and-mortar, mom and pop stores, and shopping malls out of business nationwide. Turns out e-commerce was nothing more than a money laundering scheme after all.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
I'm probably missing something here or we're on two totally different wavelengths. First, who actually goes to an LGS to buy singles? This isn't even about the price of a single, this is about being able to find the singles you need for a deck. When Star City Games and Card Kingdom can't keep things in stock all the time with their massive buy lists, small stores have absolutely no way to keep themselves stocked on the singles players need. Most LGS survive off sealed product across multiple games and simply act as a trade hub for local players.
Also, I'm lost as to how this relates to gamestop potentially becoming a place that tournaments get held at. Yes, Gamestop is known for selling second hand goods, so singles selling isn't out of the question, but they aren't going to have any better stock than what LGS already possess.
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!
The LGS would pretty much go back to the way it was before e-commerce exploded during the mid-to-late 2000's when we still had to rely on pricing guides with InQuest Gamer and Scrye Magazine. The idea is that If the current LGS model goes back to how it was decades ago then WotC wouldn't have had to go through the trouble of needing to partner with GameStop in order to increase player attendance for their corporate LGS model.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
{мы, тьма}
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
I know the point is to attract new players, but it would be annoying to play in the store constantly surrounded my non Magic players milling around and whatnot.
I like my LGS. I suppose if I did not have an LGS I would be behind this idea. But, I dont want WOTC to drive
That actually is kind of funny. I guess someone finishes one pre-release at gamestop and then just walks next door for the next one? Double the draft?
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!
As opposed to most FLGSs, where people are milling around for RPG books, miniatures, other card games' products...?
Exactly, I have one LGS in my area that is more event-focused and has table space for large events. Most are game or comic book shops where magic is a sideshow and they have a couple of tables in the back and/or drag out a few in the main product area for prereleases.
I think our experiences may vary. At my LGS, the focus is on Magic. Usually during events, it is very rare that there is a lot of people doing things other than MTG. There are some dedicated tabletop gaming tables, and a backroom dedicated for Board games. Other than that, just the occasional customer looking for something. When I am at Gamestop, I often see 10-15 customers in there consistently, far less than it would be at my LGS. YMMV
Magic is pretty much the primary focus at my store, I guess every store is different.
Do you know how many LGS I've been to where there were not enough tables for a single draft pod, the floor space was way too small, and there was no access to bathrooms? Do you know how many people across the world have been to the same number of LGS that could be described in this way?
Yet those very same LGS are supposedly the center of our game's "culture", and this GameStop discussion is some kind of suspicious thing.
(Also known as Xenphire)
I can't say I've ever been to a store where there were not enough accommodations and a public bathroom for its players...and I've been to stores in several different countries. I get that there might be stores in poorer countries where what you describe is true, but this is GameStop in the USA. Let's keep in mind USA has the largest player base by far. Do we have to play down to the level of stores in poorer countries?
I figured the emphasis on PW's was an attempt to sell storyline, not sure if that's kid friendly per se. Hasn't the game been focusing more or stronger creatures for awhile now.
Any industry needs new customers, even though focusing on them can annoy old customers, it's necessary long term. Not sure if this all is actually effective at this, but the concept is sound.
Seeing MTG product at regular stores helped draw me back into the game.
An MTG alliance might also be part of expanding from video games to nerd culture in general.
Vintage: Dredge | Legacy: Burn, Goblins, Soldier | Standard: Mono-Red Aggro
Commander: Nicol Bolas, Sliver Overlord, Rafiq
Casual: Selesnya Saproling Smackdown, Izzet Labs, Rebel
Played since June 2004, mostly inactive June 2011 to March 2018
Other usernames include AlanFromRochester, homerthebeerbaron
MTG checklists from Alpha to Ravnica Allegiance - https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/other-magic-products/third-party-products/805324-checklists-for-everything-from-alpha-to-ravnica
GWUBRDraft my Old Border Nostalgia Cube! and/or The Little Pauper Cube That Could!RBUWG
Modern:WDeath & TaxesW | RUGRUG DelverRUG
What you just described is what literally every single person does everywhere that isn't doing a Discovery Channel documentary mini series. By the way, those are boring as heck and I do not recommend watching them unless you want to have a man try to explain how magical it is to watch a bored African Lion lounging on a lazy afternoon.
He's a guy with connections reporting on information that he is getting from patrons and his sources. Are you saying that he is lying about Hasbro talking to gamestop about hosting events? What is "half true" about what he said?
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!
The problem I think that hasbro is trying to solve is to find a way to keep casual magic alive. The trouble is the model for the game doesn't work in a world where everyone just wants to skip playing draft and jump strait into using the best standard cards in a set. They need to have demand on cards other than what is good in standard, so they are pushing brawl and trying to throw as much promotional material as possible without having all the box EV get thrown into the top end. That's why I said elsewhere I don't think hasbro has faith in WoTC as far as maintaining a balanced game. The company has provably faltered in delivering expected results in their standard environment and caused a lot of drama on top of it, which gets in the way of making money for the shareholders.
That and modern is not adding more value to the standard sets anymore like it used to five or six years ago when it was first officially supported. The entire reason they are obscuring data from MTG Goldfish is to try to manipulate demand on decks and to expand what cards are in demand. They blew up Splinter twin to increase diversity because they can only reprint a card so many times before tanking it. The stores don't want the game to die either so they are now pushing pauper to try to keep the game alive.
Basically, the games age is catching up with it. There's going to have to be a reckoning at some point to just make the game work again. I'm playing force of will and while that game has hilariously bad balance issues, it feels good to open a box of Time Spinning Witch simply because the cards are good and the full arts are amazing. I open a few packs of Dominaria and it feels disposable.
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!
While broken cards and unbalanced mechanics may make things interesting or exciting for Force of Will players, I can't imagine the game lasting as long as Magic has. That kind of card design and development would likely repel new players as player who got in early would be dominating the local scene. Wizards went too far in the opposite direction and made the game too safe. This might increase new players, but I don't think those players stay as long.
Don't think that people like the broken cards. If anything everyone is happy that it's improving. The main problem is that Lapis Cluster is still in new frontiers and green is a bit too powerful. In a lot of ways it's basically what MtG was back when it started going up through Urza's Saga. The MtG most people are familiar with today is extremely polished compared to what it was back then, and having lived through the entire affair I do feel confident in FoW lasting the test of time. The only thing they have to do is figure out their own color pie and how to better manage their resource system. Also, Wanderer, which is the eternal format, has a pretty well maintained ban list and is actually better balanced than frontier is at the moment.
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!