The only major issue I'm seeing with doing so many back to back ravnica sets is diminishing returns. Is the plane really special if we hit it three times in a row, even with different or new mechanics across them? That's an entire year dedicated to nothing but one plane, and it sounds like the complete opposite of what they were trying to do with going to single big sets.
Under the old block model, we would have spent a year in Ravnica too, three sets in a row. I don't worry about diminishing returns in this sense because Ravnica is very broad (there's ten guilds to include which necessitates at least two sets anyway), and they've been explicit that the third set is really about something else even if it happens to take place on Ravnica.
Basically imagine if you got RTR block, except instead of the "pivot set" Dragon's Maze, you have an Avacyn Restored/Rise of the Eldrazi style "breakaway set" in that slot, which is explicitly not about the guilds.
That's not really an accurate comparison. The closest thing to this that was done before is Lorwyn and Shadowmoor blocks. Even then, the individual sets were not as big as the sets they are planning to put out. Plus, this says nothing about what core 2020 is going to be focused on.
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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!
Return to Ravnica block was absolutely three sets. It was two large and one small, but it was still three sets. We’ve done three sets for the majority of blocks. It’s only from Battle for Zendikar to Ixalan (such a short time really) that two was the norm. Two sets is necessary just to fit the ten guilds, as people keep pointing out too. Combined with the third set hopefully being a large shift it’s really not that much.
1. This is yet another flip-flop on the blocks versus single large sets change. Yes, each is a large set, but they are basically 3 sets conjoined by setting, theme (two-color combos) and plot (Bolas, again). In essence, this is a three-large-set block released over a full year.
I don't see the problem. They, first, will be mechanically different, e.g. there will be fewer tokens in the not-Selesnya set, for instance. Or less mill in the not-Dimir set. And of course each guild mechanic will only appear in its set. (Though it's possible something like split cards or hybrid will appear in both/all three sets.) The third set will probably not be set up with pairs.
You really can't do Ravnica any other way. The other rule, specific to Ravnica, is mixing allied with enemy, since we already did "allied, then enemy" in Invasion block, and did it again in Shadowmoor block, albeit with all hybrid.
2. This suggests that they do not have any new ideas. They stated that they want to layer new and old settings like bacon, 1 new, 1 old. This is a breaking of that promise. Ixalan was for children. Dominaria was fun but watered down power-wise. Surely they have a Viking world or Western world or post-apocalyptic world they can use in the next 12 months?
Okay, first things first, Ixalan being "for children" (I assume you mean underpowered, or Timmyish? And don't confuse the two.) doesn't mean it's breaking that promise if that was a promise. (More on that in a second.)
Secondly, they never said that. In fact, the first two settings under the two-block paradigm were old, the next three were new.
3. Each set will be drafted separately, as they are large sets. This leads to the stupidity of unevenly-colored limited play. This is why I did not enjoy Ixalan draft: the color combos are not balanced. Now, each of the first two large sets will have only have the guilds. Dragon's Maze was the most fun Ravnica to play in limited, and that will not happen this time around.
There will still be ways to draft off. Innistrad had the same thing, but I still drafted a UR evasion-heavy deck, and people still drafted BGU self-mill. Similarly, Ixalan still had archetypes like BG reanimator, WU flyers, and WU control.
There are archetypes outside of the colors. You just can't draft gold cards in those colors. (You can, however, draft hybrid, split cards, and the like.)
4. The beauty of Ravnica is that it never needed a top-down plot of theme; the color pie, and the two-color guilds were the plot, and their identity and interrelationship was what made it fun. It was world-view tribal, rather than race type tribal. Now, it will be overshadowed by the serialized cartoon style of Gatewatch v Bolas, and only two years after Amonkhet (less really), which already did this.
Because Amonkhet didn't leave things unresolved.
(Also, can we stop overusing the word "tribal"? It refers to race, like Lorwyn; class, like Morningtide; and certain undead conditions, like Innistrad block.)
However, there is a larger problem. The Battlebond set disclosure released with this makes me wonder what direction WOTC is moving with the game. They are trying to market to a casual audience, but if that is there focus (rather than being like Dota, and building around a popular professional scene with millionaire players), why invest so many resources into pro points, e-celebrity, and perks for Magic's "elite"? There is a lack of focus. They are releasing too much supplemental product, and the main product is suffering, Dominaria aside.
They're always trying to attract new players. I'm not sure what you're saying here. At best, you seem to be saying Ixalan was underpowered, and I would agree.
What makes this more disturbing is that Ravnica is a precious resource that should be tended to with care. It's a setting that is always going to be enjoyable, unless its milked to exhaustion. This, combined with the casual-and-pro-at-once shotgun approach, makes me feel almost like WOTC is strip-mining its own IP for short-term gain.
Ironically, where this can be seen is a product quite opposite to MTG and its player base: the UFC. Under Zuffa and the Fertitta brothers, the UFC was built around a theory that the best should fight the best, and that the sport was for warriors. Each weight class was tended to in order to set up compelling challengers to the belt whether the present champion defended or was dethroned. Great matchmaking and fighter development produced stars like Ronda Rousey, Georges Saint Pierre, Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar, and eventually, mega star Conor McGregor.
Never assume two things are opposite. Though you just said Dominaria was good, but now you're talking about the problems with nostalgia? Focus!
This, combined with the far-left tilt of the virtue signaling in Magic, makes me feel like the current team lacks both creativity (right brain) or business sense (left brain). Or did I get that backwards? Anyway, this is my take, and its too long, but it is what it is. I feel like the IP is being wasted, and ideology and culture is overshadowing ideas and logic.
Recognizing that transgender people exist?
Nope, WOTC isn't "far-left". They're if anything what I call the "muh mission creep" position (named after some infamous posts on r/atheism), which is standard for businesses. For instance, I'd argue their policy requiring employees have a college degree disproportionately impacts people from an underprivileged background. (Which, despite what certain Democrats think, isn't just white people; in fact, many alt right types are investment bankers, but I digress.)
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Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
I work in the games industry. There's a lot of different reasons companies have started recognizing/representing minority experiences more over the years. Some part of it is that designers/devs aren't just mindless profit-seeking automatons, we're working creatives trying to make something we're proud of. Some part of it is that it's legitimately good business: people of color, women, and LGBTQ people play games, and they're an underserved market in some respects. Making a game more inclusive requires legitimate effort, it's not a free roll, but lots of people in the industry think it's worth it for a combination of market and personal reasons. There's no sinister agenda at play here, we just think games are generally better (and they do better) if they're inclusive, and audiences (when you look at actual data and not angry yelling on internet forums) tend to agree.
The other secret reason for this of course is... the angry grognards who get mad about inclusion in games are just a bad audience. They won't buy or be interested in things that aren't the same four tired genres given the same four tired creative treatments. And they'll happily harass or attack devs over trivial nonsense; if you try to cater to that crowd, good luck when your game doesn't run perfectly on some youtuber's machine... expect to get review brigaded on steam, to have your game bought then refunded at the last minute, to get directly harassed on social media, to be told repeatedly that the game isn't worth the price tag, etc. Most devs just aren't interested in catering to an audience that has sky-high expectations mixed with seething resentment of game devs, unsurprisingly.
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On average, Magic players are worse at new card evaluation than almost every other skill, except perhaps sideboarding.
I work in the games industry. There's a lot of different reasons companies have started recognizing/representing minority experiences more over the years. Some part of it is that designers/devs aren't just mindless profit-seeking automatons, we're working creatives trying to make something we're proud of. Some part of it is that it's legitimately good business: people of color, women, and LGBTQ people play games, and they're an underserved market in some respects. Making a game more inclusive requires legitimate effort, it's not a free roll, but lots of people in the industry think it's worth it for a combination of market and personal reasons. There's no sinister agenda at play here, we just think games are generally better (and they do better) if they're inclusive, and audiences (when you look at actual data and not angry yelling on internet forums) tend to agree.
The other secret reason for this of course is... the angry grognards who get mad about inclusion in games are just a bad audience. They won't buy or be interested in things that aren't the same four tired genres given the same four tired creative treatments. And they'll happily harass or attack devs over trivial nonsense; if you try to cater to that crowd, good luck when your game doesn't run perfectly on some youtuber's machine... expect to get review brigaded on steam, to have your game bought then refunded at the last minute, to get directly harassed on social media, to be told repeatedly that the game isn't worth the price tag, etc. Most devs just aren't interested in catering to an audience that has sky-high expectations mixed with seething resentment of game devs, unsurprisingly.
Except profits are down ever since the goal posts of what is "righteous" have been moved. People are not as interested, since the price goes up with the pedanticism. The average gamer is still a less-than-social white kid in middle America, or Asian kid in Japan. And they are not moved by transgender war leaders, or more female than male warrior (while none having more than an A cup). The numbers bear this out.
You misquoted me. I think Dominaria, flavor wise, is fantastic. I am a fan of nostalgia. I am not a fan of milking previous product rather than developing a sustainable level of new ideas.
You can insist the numbers support your viewpoint as much as you like but that doesn't make it true.
It’s just a victim complex. MtG has issues but characters like Alesha aren’t really one of them. It’s kind of hard for me to grasp that self centered of a perspective. Not everything has to be made to cater to an individuals taste, Magic has plenty for most everyone.
Except profits are down ever since the goal posts of what is "righteous" have been moved. People are not as interested, since the price goes up with the pedanticism. The average gamer is still a less-than-social white kid in middle America, or Asian kid in Japan. And they are not moved by transgender war leaders, or more female than male warrior (while none having more than an A cup). The numbers bear this out.
And you can prove that it was Wizards including a variety of people that caused this decline? You keep making claims that including non-caucasian, non-male, non-straight characters are ruining the game. The only way they are ruining the game is giving people with the opinion that this is a massive conspiracy against the poor, downtrodden, middle-class, white guy more ammunition to complain about on internet forums.
And you made a statement that including people who look different is, and I'm using your words here, "far-left tilt of the virtue signaling".
Please tell me, what is the neutral position here? If including Huatli, and Saheeli, and Teferi is a political statement, what should these characters look like to avoid any political leaning?
- The amount of product they pump out and how it translates into sales. Means, they pump out a ton more product but that doesnt sell good enough. Dominaria and Unglued did surprisingly well and are a glimmer of hope , but at the same time we get Wall Mart product lines that are a direct insult to any magic player.
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So there is quite a bunch of data to look at and locally it ofcourse depends a lot on how your store or region is doing, as some regions are a wasteland for magic as stores are dying out and other regions might bloom (especially if they have some heavy hitter players that order tons of product, some stores can only exist because of some individuals that buy an extraordinary amount of product).
According to the comments on the reports you posted, Hasbro's entire gaming section was going up in 2017, then Toys R Us crashed and that killed it?
Like, I'll re-read your links when it's not past midnight but I feel like even MaRo's plan to kill Magic can't be blamed for an entire other company collapsing and taking with it the main international route for Hasbro game sales.
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“Tell me who you walk with, and I'll tell you who you are.” Esmeralda Santiago Art is life itself.
And no, actually, nice try, but I did not say that people who "look different" are part of a leftist tilt. I have loved the Teferi character for 20 years. Shanna, Huatli, Saheeli, all characters that make sense. The sets were set in those cultures, it does not feel forced.
But half of Benalia, including its Marshall (highest ranked military order) being randomly black after 25 years of it clearly being a white feudal society? Forced. Lyra, the leader of Serra's angels, randomly black? Forced. A transexual elf? Jesus freaking christ forced. These characters were not asked for by the community. They were asked for by a smattering of people, some of whom are not even players, and the rest of push came from inside WOTC.
And I do not think the decline is a coincidence. The same is happening (happened) in comics. I also think its hilarious how much uglier the female characters got, but that is besides the point. If I had the time, I would compare the number of busty women and muscular men in artwork in say Ravnica 1 versus Dominaria. One day maybe.
So they put MTG with Monopoly in that particular games division. I do not think TRU's closure/bankruptcy has crippled Monopoly sales so much to drag down that value, and MTG is not a product I think of as being marketed for TRU, or TRU making up a large chunk of wholesale orders.
Better question is how has MTG's price risen relative to cost of production. shipping, and cost of running local gaming stores. I remember in the early 2000's, when all PTQs were $20 entry fee. Maybe $25 for Sealed, unsure so many years later. What are they now? I know the cost of GP's has risen absurdly.
Also, is there actual data out there showing Magic is performing poorly (and since when, and by how much) or is it just received wisdom in this forum?
Obviously, Wizards and Hasbro are keeping any specific financials close to them other than Hasbro's 10K annual financial reports. I think the internet populace's perception of Magic doing poorly is mostly about Standard. The combination of anecdotes from players going to local LGSes and not having good Standard turnout (or unfun times playing against the same "solved" decks) and isolated blog/Twitter statements by Mark Rosewater and other WotC employees about mistakes in Standard is creating a perception that Magic is performing poorly. I think in the last 10K statement, Hasbro combined all their hobby income into one line item (gaming), obscuring Wizards' individual income contribution, so it makes it difficult to determine Wizards' financial health.
"Magic is doing poorly" is becoming as frequent a statement as "Nintendo is doing poorly and should become third-party."
There's no info here separating Magic from the rest of Hasbro's gaming division, which includes dozens of games (Magic and Monopoly are just the most notable ones). And revenue in that division were up in 2017; they're down for Q1 2018 relative to last year, but that doesn't mean anything specifically for Magic because the numbers are muddled with a ton of other brands that are all themselves doing well or poorly. As the report for Q1 2018 mentions, "First quarter 2018 revenues were negatively impacted across all Brand Portfolio categories by the liquidation of Toys“R”Us in the U.S. and U.K., along with uncertainty in its other operations, as well as retail inventory overhang, primarily in Europe," which is borne out by the across-the-board decrease in revenue; obviously TRU's demise heavily impacts the market for things like Monopoly and Pokémon TCG.
Basically people who want to see a narrative of Magic dying look at those numbers and their confirmation bias takes over completely.
Rudy isn't a real source. Having a bunch of sealed product in your basement doesn't make you an authority on player base numbers.
- The amount of product they pump out and how it translates into sales. Means, they pump out a ton more product but that doesnt sell good enough. Dominaria and Unglued did surprisingly well and are a glimmer of hope , but at the same time we get Wall Mart product lines that are a direct insult to any magic player.
A company pumping more product isn't a sign that it's doing badly, and you have shown no evidence that the product underperformed, or by how much it underperformed, or that the underperformance has something to do with market saturation or some failure to cater enough to the mtgs poster crowd.
So there is quite a bunch of data to look at and locally it ofcourse depends a lot on how your store or region is doing, as some regions are a wasteland for magic as stores are dying out and other regions might bloom (especially if they have some heavy hitter players that order tons of product, some stores can only exist because of some individuals that buy an extraordinary amount of product).
There's a lot of anecdotal evidence of stores doing poorly, I'll take that, but how much of this has to do with Magic product specifically rather than with other difficulties is hard to say. I imagine it's tough running an LGS in an urban area where the rent is super high but you can't markup your product based on the local economy like the coffee shop next to you does, because you're competing with online retailers.
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On average, Magic players are worse at new card evaluation than almost every other skill, except perhaps sideboarding.
And no, actually, nice try, but I did not say that people who "look different" are part of a leftist tilt. I have loved the Teferi character for 20 years. Shanna, Huatli, Saheeli, all characters that make sense. The sets were set in those cultures, it does not feel forced.
But half of Benalia, including its Marshall (highest ranked military order) being randomly black after 25 years of it clearly being a white feudal society? Forced. Lyra, the leader of Serra's angels, randomly black? Forced. A transexual elf? Jesus freaking christ forced. These characters were not asked for by the community. They were asked for by a smattering of people, some of whom are not even players, and the rest of push came from inside WOTC.
And I do not think the decline is a coincidence. The same is happening (happened) in comics. I also think its hilarious how much uglier the female characters got, but that is besides the point. If I had the time, I would compare the number of busty women and muscular men in artwork in say Ravnica 1 versus Dominaria. One day maybe.
Dudes saying transparently racist things like "wow this black character in this fantasy artwork is so forced, I can't believe they didn't make this fictional society all white like I ignorantly believe real medieval europe was!" is way worse for sales than the recent dearth of cheesecake in card art
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On average, Magic players are worse at new card evaluation than almost every other skill, except perhaps sideboarding.
I also don't like it. Wotc is creatively bankrupt, and has no idea how to design fun and interesting sets anymore. Returning to return to Ravnica is just a sad attempt to squeeze out money, because Ravnica is popular. For example Ixalan was garbage, but the marketing push was basically ''buy our products cuz pirates and dinosaurs xd''.
I also don't like it. Wotc is creatively bankrupt, and has no idea how to design fun and interesting sets anymore. Returning to return to Ravnica is just a sad attempt to squeeze out money, because Ravnica is popular. For example Ixalan was garbage, but the marketing push was basically ''buy our products cuz pirates and dinosaurs xd''.
Ixalan is very creative. I’m not a fan of Dinosaurs or Pirates, but that they made a cohesive feeling set with so many disparate components is impressive, as well as White Vampires and Green Merfolk, which feel fitting. While I’m not a fan of Amonkhet they managed to weave Bolas and Egyptian stuff fairly well. And Kaladesh too is a lovely plane.
But half of Benalia, including its Marshall (highest ranked military order) being randomly black after 25 years of it clearly being a white feudal society? Forced.
Wait, you're telling me that more than a generation after a bunch of black refugees flooded the white society, that society has a bunch of black people in it? STOP THE PRESSES!
Also, you may have a misunderstanding of either Benalia or Feudalism, because neither Benalia nor New Benalia are Feudal societies. (And they aredifferent societies.)
And no, actually, nice try, but I did not say that people who "look different" are part of a leftist tilt. I have loved the Teferi character for 20 years. Shanna, Huatli, Saheeli, all characters that make sense. The sets were set in those cultures, it does not feel forced.
But half of Benalia, including its Marshall (highest ranked military order) being randomly black after 25 years of it clearly being a white feudal society? Forced. Lyra, the leader of Serra's angels, randomly black? Forced. A transexual elf? Jesus freaking christ forced. These characters were not asked for by the community. They were asked for by a smattering of people, some of whom are not even players, and the rest of push came from inside WOTC.
And I do not think the decline is a coincidence. The same is happening (happened) in comics. I also think its hilarious how much uglier the female characters got, but that is besides the point. If I had the time, I would compare the number of busty women and muscular men in artwork in say Ravnica 1 versus Dominaria. One day maybe.
Dudes saying transparently racist things like "wow this black character in this fantasy artwork is so forced, I can't believe they didn't make this fictional society all white like I ignorantly believe real medieval europe was!" is way worse for sales than the recent dearth of cheesecake in card art
Ad hominem go! No, "bro", it is not racist to say that inaccurate over-representation that reflects neither reality nor the fan base (or even the fan-bases' politics) is not smart or fair. I do not have to explain to you why inaccurate "diversity" is improper; the burden is on you.
And yes, Europe was overwhelmingly white. The trope is based on a pink washing of Medieval Europe, without the rape, plague, and generally toothless broken people. But yes, overwhelmingly white. Unless you count the Moors of Spain (who were outright invaders, and eventually expelled as a politically relevant people) or Jews, who were traders and merchants (I would know, my ancestors were amongst them.)
The burden isn't on us to explain why it's an issue, it's on you. Which you will fail to do so because it isn't an issue. Simple and clean when it wraps up like that.
Benalia is not reality. Representing the fanbase isn't the point of the planes they create. I can safely say that I am not, at any point, a Sphinx in this life. Does that mean Sphinxes should be gone? You'll say no of course and probably try to paint it as a false equivalency, but the simple fact is that planes exist as themselves. They aren't meant to represent the playerbase. And if the player base is somehow buckling under other races then that's an issue with the players, not Wizards.
And no, actually, nice try, but I did not say that people who "look different" are part of a leftist tilt. I have loved the Teferi character for 20 years. Shanna, Huatli, Saheeli, all characters that make sense. The sets were set in those cultures, it does not feel forced.
But half of Benalia, including its Marshall (highest ranked military order) being randomly black after 25 years of it clearly being a white feudal society? Forced. Lyra, the leader of Serra's angels, randomly black? Forced. A transexual elf? Jesus freaking christ forced. These characters were not asked for by the community. They were asked for by a smattering of people, some of whom are not even players, and the rest of push came from inside WOTC.
And I do not think the decline is a coincidence. The same is happening (happened) in comics. I also think its hilarious how much uglier the female characters got, but that is besides the point. If I had the time, I would compare the number of busty women and muscular men in artwork in say Ravnica 1 versus Dominaria. One day maybe.
Dudes saying transparently racist things like "wow this black character in this fantasy artwork is so forced, I can't believe they didn't make this fictional society all white like I ignorantly believe real medieval europe was!" is way worse for sales than the recent dearth of cheesecake in card art
Ad hominem go! No, "bro", it is not racist to say that inaccurate over-representation that reflects neither reality nor the fan base (or even the fan-bases' politics) is not smart or fair. I do not have to explain to you why inaccurate "diversity" is improper; the burden is on you.
And yes, Europe was overwhelmingly white. The trope is based on a pink washing of Medieval Europe, without the rape, plague, and generally toothless broken people. But yes, overwhelmingly white. Unless you count the Moors of Spain (who were outright invaders, and eventually expelled as a politically relevant people) or Jews, who were traders and merchants (I would know, my ancestors were amongst them.)
I never said anyone, let alone you specifically, is a racist; I said that statements like that are racist. And they are, because they're just a bigoted form of special pleading: Dragons, wizards, and vampires are all okay but suddenly realism and accuracy is really important when it comes to people's skin color or gender. That's not fooling anyone.
"Medieval Europe was overwhelmingly white" is a ridiculously broad and blatantly untrue statement. Dark-skinned people ("white" and "black" as we understand them today are racial concepts that did not exist to medieval Europeans) did demonstrably live in Europe in many times and places. Are there times and places that don't show evidence of that? Yes; but evidence in the middle ages is sparse in the first place, so you can't even assume that those places would have been unfamiliar with dark-skinned folk. There are African-borne Roman legionnaires buried in Britain, and obviously the entire Mediterranean world was a melting pot of African, Middle Eastern, and Southern European cultures. Examples of medieval or renaissance art featuring dark-skinned figures abounds if you actually bother to research it. So even if something were purporting to be accurate and historical, which Magic isn't, it's not accurate or historical to portray an all-white European past; it's at best making a big unsupported assumption that just so happens to align with racist ideology.
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On average, Magic players are worse at new card evaluation than almost every other skill, except perhaps sideboarding.
Every single thread I've seen Negator_402 in ends up being derailed into this stuff.
Anyway, I don't have an issue with Return to Return to Ravnica getting 3 sets, since you need at least 2 for the Guilds and the last one is presumably for the Bolas invasion. It's also still the 25th anniversary, so using one of the popular planes makes some sense in that context, and it's relatively "safe". Also, while I don't share the hostility towards the Gatewatch or Bolas storyline, I do want it to end at some point so we can get something new. So, I'm not opposed to it ending here.
And you can prove that it was Wizards including a variety of people that caused this decline? You keep making claims that including non-caucasian, non-male, non-straight characters are ruining the game. The only way they are ruining the game is giving people with the opinion that this is a massive conspiracy against the poor, downtrodden, middle-class, white guy more ammunition to complain about on internet forums.
He could be upper-middle class, or even überrich. Let's not pretend rich, educated coastal urban types can't have this kind of view. In short, let's not be Daily Kos.
I was prepared for a righteous rant about how most players don't live in the US or Japan, how he has no idea the ethnic background of those US players (yo), or their sexual orientation, or how high school clique doesn't matter worth a lick in the real world but if we must go that route, Bob Maher (yes, that Bob) started playing after a sports injury, so, fractal wrongness ahoy!, but I think it'll be easier to just remember that the general response to this attitude among gaming companies is #ByeFelicia and leave it at that.
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Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
That's not really an accurate comparison. The closest thing to this that was done before is Lorwyn and Shadowmoor blocks. Even then, the individual sets were not as big as the sets they are planning to put out. Plus, this says nothing about what core 2020 is going to be focused on.
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 don't see the problem. They, first, will be mechanically different, e.g. there will be fewer tokens in the not-Selesnya set, for instance. Or less mill in the not-Dimir set. And of course each guild mechanic will only appear in its set. (Though it's possible something like split cards or hybrid will appear in both/all three sets.) The third set will probably not be set up with pairs.
You really can't do Ravnica any other way. The other rule, specific to Ravnica, is mixing allied with enemy, since we already did "allied, then enemy" in Invasion block, and did it again in Shadowmoor block, albeit with all hybrid.
Okay, first things first, Ixalan being "for children" (I assume you mean underpowered, or Timmyish? And don't confuse the two.) doesn't mean it's breaking that promise if that was a promise. (More on that in a second.)
Secondly, they never said that. In fact, the first two settings under the two-block paradigm were old, the next three were new.
There will still be ways to draft off. Innistrad had the same thing, but I still drafted a UR evasion-heavy deck, and people still drafted BGU self-mill. Similarly, Ixalan still had archetypes like BG reanimator, WU flyers, and WU control.
There are archetypes outside of the colors. You just can't draft gold cards in those colors. (You can, however, draft hybrid, split cards, and the like.)
Because Amonkhet didn't leave things unresolved.
(Also, can we stop overusing the word "tribal"? It refers to race, like Lorwyn; class, like Morningtide; and certain undead conditions, like Innistrad block.)
They're always trying to attract new players. I'm not sure what you're saying here. At best, you seem to be saying Ixalan was underpowered, and I would agree.
Wat?
Never assume two things are opposite. Though you just said Dominaria was good, but now you're talking about the problems with nostalgia? Focus!
Recognizing that transgender people exist?
Nope, WOTC isn't "far-left". They're if anything what I call the "muh mission creep" position (named after some infamous posts on r/atheism), which is standard for businesses. For instance, I'd argue their policy requiring employees have a college degree disproportionately impacts people from an underprivileged background. (Which, despite what certain Democrats think, isn't just white people; in fact, many alt right types are investment bankers, but I digress.)
On phasing:
The other secret reason for this of course is... the angry grognards who get mad about inclusion in games are just a bad audience. They won't buy or be interested in things that aren't the same four tired genres given the same four tired creative treatments. And they'll happily harass or attack devs over trivial nonsense; if you try to cater to that crowd, good luck when your game doesn't run perfectly on some youtuber's machine... expect to get review brigaded on steam, to have your game bought then refunded at the last minute, to get directly harassed on social media, to be told repeatedly that the game isn't worth the price tag, etc. Most devs just aren't interested in catering to an audience that has sky-high expectations mixed with seething resentment of game devs, unsurprisingly.
It’s just a victim complex. MtG has issues but characters like Alesha aren’t really one of them. It’s kind of hard for me to grasp that self centered of a perspective. Not everything has to be made to cater to an individuals taste, Magic has plenty for most everyone.
And you can prove that it was Wizards including a variety of people that caused this decline? You keep making claims that including non-caucasian, non-male, non-straight characters are ruining the game. The only way they are ruining the game is giving people with the opinion that this is a massive conspiracy against the poor, downtrodden, middle-class, white guy more ammunition to complain about on internet forums.
And you made a statement that including people who look different is, and I'm using your words here, "far-left tilt of the virtue signaling".
Please tell me, what is the neutral position here? If including Huatli, and Saheeli, and Teferi is a political statement, what should these characters look like to avoid any political leaning?
- For once you have the Hasbro Sales Report you can compare over the years.
https://investor.hasbro.com/news-releases/news-release-details/hasbro-reports-first-quarter-2018-financial-results
https://investor.hasbro.com/news-releases/news-release-details/hasbro-reports-full-year-and-fourth-quarter-2017-financial
- Another is the decline in number of active player.
Rudy Comment about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSxd49zAnvA
- The amount of product they pump out and how it translates into sales. Means, they pump out a ton more product but that doesnt sell good enough. Dominaria and Unglued did surprisingly well and are a glimmer of hope , but at the same time we get Wall Mart product lines that are a direct insult to any magic player.
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So there is quite a bunch of data to look at and locally it ofcourse depends a lot on how your store or region is doing, as some regions are a wasteland for magic as stores are dying out and other regions might bloom (especially if they have some heavy hitter players that order tons of product, some stores can only exist because of some individuals that buy an extraordinary amount of product).
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
Like, I'll re-read your links when it's not past midnight but I feel like even MaRo's plan to kill Magic can't be blamed for an entire other company collapsing and taking with it the main international route for Hasbro game sales.
Art is life itself.
And no, actually, nice try, but I did not say that people who "look different" are part of a leftist tilt. I have loved the Teferi character for 20 years. Shanna, Huatli, Saheeli, all characters that make sense. The sets were set in those cultures, it does not feel forced.
But half of Benalia, including its Marshall (highest ranked military order) being randomly black after 25 years of it clearly being a white feudal society? Forced. Lyra, the leader of Serra's angels, randomly black? Forced. A transexual elf? Jesus freaking christ forced. These characters were not asked for by the community. They were asked for by a smattering of people, some of whom are not even players, and the rest of push came from inside WOTC.
And I do not think the decline is a coincidence. The same is happening (happened) in comics. I also think its hilarious how much uglier the female characters got, but that is besides the point. If I had the time, I would compare the number of busty women and muscular men in artwork in say Ravnica 1 versus Dominaria. One day maybe.
Better question is how has MTG's price risen relative to cost of production. shipping, and cost of running local gaming stores. I remember in the early 2000's, when all PTQs were $20 entry fee. Maybe $25 for Sealed, unsure so many years later. What are they now? I know the cost of GP's has risen absurdly.
Obviously, Wizards and Hasbro are keeping any specific financials close to them other than Hasbro's 10K annual financial reports. I think the internet populace's perception of Magic doing poorly is mostly about Standard. The combination of anecdotes from players going to local LGSes and not having good Standard turnout (or unfun times playing against the same "solved" decks) and isolated blog/Twitter statements by Mark Rosewater and other WotC employees about mistakes in Standard is creating a perception that Magic is performing poorly. I think in the last 10K statement, Hasbro combined all their hobby income into one line item (gaming), obscuring Wizards' individual income contribution, so it makes it difficult to determine Wizards' financial health.
"Magic is doing poorly" is becoming as frequent a statement as "Nintendo is doing poorly and should become third-party."
There's no info here separating Magic from the rest of Hasbro's gaming division, which includes dozens of games (Magic and Monopoly are just the most notable ones). And revenue in that division were up in 2017; they're down for Q1 2018 relative to last year, but that doesn't mean anything specifically for Magic because the numbers are muddled with a ton of other brands that are all themselves doing well or poorly. As the report for Q1 2018 mentions, "First quarter 2018 revenues were negatively impacted across all Brand Portfolio categories by the liquidation of Toys“R”Us in the U.S. and U.K., along with uncertainty in its other operations, as well as retail inventory overhang, primarily in Europe," which is borne out by the across-the-board decrease in revenue; obviously TRU's demise heavily impacts the market for things like Monopoly and Pokémon TCG.
Basically people who want to see a narrative of Magic dying look at those numbers and their confirmation bias takes over completely.
Rudy isn't a real source. Having a bunch of sealed product in your basement doesn't make you an authority on player base numbers.
A company pumping more product isn't a sign that it's doing badly, and you have shown no evidence that the product underperformed, or by how much it underperformed, or that the underperformance has something to do with market saturation or some failure to cater enough to the mtgs poster crowd.
There's a lot of anecdotal evidence of stores doing poorly, I'll take that, but how much of this has to do with Magic product specifically rather than with other difficulties is hard to say. I imagine it's tough running an LGS in an urban area where the rent is super high but you can't markup your product based on the local economy like the coffee shop next to you does, because you're competing with online retailers.
Dudes saying transparently racist things like "wow this black character in this fantasy artwork is so forced, I can't believe they didn't make this fictional society all white like I ignorantly believe real medieval europe was!" is way worse for sales than the recent dearth of cheesecake in card art
Ixalan is very creative. I’m not a fan of Dinosaurs or Pirates, but that they made a cohesive feeling set with so many disparate components is impressive, as well as White Vampires and Green Merfolk, which feel fitting. While I’m not a fan of Amonkhet they managed to weave Bolas and Egyptian stuff fairly well. And Kaladesh too is a lovely plane.
Also, you may have a misunderstanding of either Benalia or Feudalism, because neither Benalia nor New Benalia are Feudal societies. (And they are different societies.)
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
And yes, Europe was overwhelmingly white. The trope is based on a pink washing of Medieval Europe, without the rape, plague, and generally toothless broken people. But yes, overwhelmingly white. Unless you count the Moors of Spain (who were outright invaders, and eventually expelled as a politically relevant people) or Jews, who were traders and merchants (I would know, my ancestors were amongst them.)
Benalia is not reality. Representing the fanbase isn't the point of the planes they create. I can safely say that I am not, at any point, a Sphinx in this life. Does that mean Sphinxes should be gone? You'll say no of course and probably try to paint it as a false equivalency, but the simple fact is that planes exist as themselves. They aren't meant to represent the playerbase. And if the player base is somehow buckling under other races then that's an issue with the players, not Wizards.
I never said anyone, let alone you specifically, is a racist; I said that statements like that are racist. And they are, because they're just a bigoted form of special pleading: Dragons, wizards, and vampires are all okay but suddenly realism and accuracy is really important when it comes to people's skin color or gender. That's not fooling anyone.
"Medieval Europe was overwhelmingly white" is a ridiculously broad and blatantly untrue statement. Dark-skinned people ("white" and "black" as we understand them today are racial concepts that did not exist to medieval Europeans) did demonstrably live in Europe in many times and places. Are there times and places that don't show evidence of that? Yes; but evidence in the middle ages is sparse in the first place, so you can't even assume that those places would have been unfamiliar with dark-skinned folk. There are African-borne Roman legionnaires buried in Britain, and obviously the entire Mediterranean world was a melting pot of African, Middle Eastern, and Southern European cultures. Examples of medieval or renaissance art featuring dark-skinned figures abounds if you actually bother to research it. So even if something were purporting to be accurate and historical, which Magic isn't, it's not accurate or historical to portray an all-white European past; it's at best making a big unsupported assumption that just so happens to align with racist ideology.
Anyway, I don't have an issue with Return to Return to Ravnica getting 3 sets, since you need at least 2 for the Guilds and the last one is presumably for the Bolas invasion. It's also still the 25th anniversary, so using one of the popular planes makes some sense in that context, and it's relatively "safe". Also, while I don't share the hostility towards the Gatewatch or Bolas storyline, I do want it to end at some point so we can get something new. So, I'm not opposed to it ending here.
He could be upper-middle class, or even überrich. Let's not pretend rich, educated coastal urban types can't have this kind of view. In short, let's not be Daily Kos.
I was prepared for a righteous rant about how most players don't live in the US or Japan, how he has no idea the ethnic background of those US players (yo), or their sexual orientation, or how high school clique doesn't matter worth a lick in the real world but if we must go that route, Bob Maher (yes, that Bob) started playing after a sports injury, so, fractal wrongness ahoy!, but I think it'll be easier to just remember that the general response to this attitude among gaming companies is #ByeFelicia and leave it at that.
On phasing: