First they started doing this with the Secret Lair Drops and after the release of Mystery Booster they decided to create a "pseudo" Reserve List known as The List which are basically reprints of old cards only found in Collector's Editions of Standard legal sets where the pull rates are so low that Local Game Stores (LGSs) are unable to carry enough of these reprinted singles in stock let alone someone buying enough of these $25+ Collector's Edition booster packs to where there's enough supply to meet demand for these reprints. Thankfully it seems as though Strixhaven Collector's Edition is breaking this trend with Mystical Archive where the pull rates for these reprints aren't garbage. So why did Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro intentionally make the supply for these reprints lower similar with how they chose to never correct the market supply for Jumpstart? So that when they release a Secret Lair Drop of these reprints they can capture the Secondary Market at a higher price point compared to making these reprints more accessible for people who still buy at Local Game Stores (LGSs).
This is why I'm deeply concerned about the future of reprints for Paper Magic going forward. Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro has sort of found a way to increase their profits by bottle necking supply on purpose. Jumpstart's lack of supply wasn't entirely their fault yet they saw an opportunity for money and just went with it from there which also seemed to be what they've done with Double Masters and Time Spiral Remastered. So now because of the lack of Jumpstart supply at Local Game Stores (LGSs) they can now release Secret Lair Drops of these reprints instead but by the time they're released online there's a chance that they may have already gotten reprints in products that don't have a limited print run for them or with abysmal pull rates to shrink supply for the sake of profit. What makes this even worse are whales hoarding these Collector's Edition sealed products to try to flip online for a quick buck (even more so with Strixhaven Mystical Archive) by increasing demand for reprints further because the supply of these reprints are continuing to dry up within the Secondary Market.
"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
"The List" is in Set Boosters, not Collector Boosters.
True. What baffles me is why Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro simply refuse to distribute reprints from "The List" in Set Boosters to where you're guaranteed to pull one out of every pack which would increase the incentive for Local Game Stores (LGSs) to do mass box openings to sell these reprinted singles to customers. Instead all they're really doing is making it harder for these reprints to flood the Secondary Market because they want to capture that market price point for whenever they release Secret Lair Drops for cards on "The List" in the future. However most of the cards that they've chosen to reprint as Secret Lair Drops as of late aren't even on "The List". Either that or they want to give whales a reason to hoard Set Boosters with these reprints from "The List" by restricting access for these cards to flood the Secondary Market.
"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
This is why I'm deeply concerned about the future of reprints for Paper Magic going forward. Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro has sort of found a way to increase their profits by bottle necking supply on purpose. Jumpstart's lack of supply wasn't entirely their fault yet they saw an opportunity for money and just went with it from there which also seemed to be what they've done with Double Masters and Time Spiral Remastered. So now because of the lack of Jumpstart supply at Local Game Stores (LGSs) they can now release Secret Lair Drops of these reprints instead but by the time they're released online there's a chance that they may have already gotten reprints in products that don't have a limited print run for them or with abysmal pull rates to shrink supply for the sake of profit. What makes this even worse are whales hoarding these Collector's Edition sealed products to try to flip online for a quick buck (even more so with Strixhaven Mystical Archive) by increasing demand for reprints further because the supply of these reprints are continuing to dry up within the Secondary Market.
"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
My Friend Code is: 0146-9645-8893
"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