The art for that Vraska is outstanding. It's not the worst PW deck walker we've seen, and she can immediately ult with Doubling Seasonto make a wide board also go very tall- if she were one mana cheaper I would call it Commander playable. The Attendant is trash, but a removal spell with a lifegain rider and tutor seems, again, pretty okay for casual tables. So close, yet so far.
Good. It's a new player kit and should not have exclusive cards that are of any worth.
Theres a difference between worth and playable. These are neither. They can design good cards but keep value low by toning back design somewhat, or increasing supply
These are almost playable, but not really, theyre missing just that tiny bit that keeps it from being nothing more than a purist collectors piece.
Theres a difference between worth and playable. These are neither. They can design good cards but keep value low by toning back design somewhat, or increasing supply
These are almost playable, but not really, theyre missing just that tiny bit that keeps it from being nothing more than a purist collectors piece.
So why even bother.
Because these products are supposed to introduce new players to the game. They're not for us. If they had actual Standard playable cards in them they'd be a failure. So it's good that none of these cards seems particularly worth playing.
So Vraska is building an army? For or against Bolas.... Or neither.
For, for now. Remember, she doesn't remember meeting Jace on Ixalan; all she remembers is a fiction placed seemlessly in her memory by Jace so Bolas won't suspect treachery. Meanwhile, Jace is acting as a Memory Jar.
Anyway, the planeswalker's okay, if she didn't cost 5BG. The last ability is a bit A and B, since it wants you to run a lot of creature cards and a lot of tokens. Not too A and B (since you can run it with, okay, the only thing I have is Open the Graves, in Standard and much better cards like Abzan Ascendancy in other formats) but it's there.
I'd say Doubling Season reprint, but we just had one of those.
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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!
Theres a difference between worth and playable. These are neither. They can design good cards but keep value low by toning back design somewhat, or increasing supply
These are almost playable, but not really, theyre missing just that tiny bit that keeps it from being nothing more than a purist collectors piece.
So why even bother.
Because these products are supposed to introduce new players to the game. They're not for us. If they had actual Standard playable cards in them they'd be a failure. So it's good that none of these cards seems particularly worth playing.
The starters should be playable and upgradeable. A starter product shouldn't be weak, it should be simple to play and use. Imagine a new player going to the store with this. The company wants the new player to get destroyed so they become angry and buy more cards just so they can win? It really is pitiful when it comes to products that are precons with wizards most of the time.
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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!
By what metric? Standard playability? Legacy playability? These are desgined for beginning players, they're not supposed to be "good".
Honestly, it royally irritates me when people judge a card solely by the "playable" label. 90% of MtG's cards are dismissed as "hot garbage" or "jank" or "trash" as if their very existence was offensive, simply because they aren't "playable". Emmara Tandris was offensive due to how much of a waste it was of her character. Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist was offensive for being shoved into a nonblack deck themed around altruism, missing the chance to make him UB or UBR like he should have been. Cards designed for casual or limited play, or to help beginners learn the game as the case may be, do not deserve to be treated like some kind of cancerous growth. They serve a purpose that all those precious, competitive $20+ rares and mythics never could.
Comments like this could be shoved into any topic, and they carry the same amount of meaning and weight: none. Saying a card is "bad" means nothing if you can't even bother to explain why you think it's "bad" in the first place. And don't tell me it'd be better if it cost less, that's painfully obvious. Lightning Bolt would be better if it cost 0 or dealt 4 damage, that doesn't mean it should. You want to call the card bad? Then tell me how it fails at its actual job, which in fact is not to be the newest addition to your competitive FNM deck but to help a new player learn how to play the game. The cards are simple and easy to understand, not so cheaply costed and effective as to be chased after by Spikes, nor rare and expensive enough to be pursued by scalpers. This is a product you pick up for a first time player, like a friend or family member, so they can get a grasp of the basic rules of the game.
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MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Good. It's a new player kit and should not have exclusive cards that are of any worth.
Perhaps you can both be right. I agree that adding powerful exclusive cards to entry level products would have an undesirable effect on their market value. I also happen to agree with Giulio that these cards do indeed suck.
The starters should be playable and upgradeable. A starter product shouldn't be weak, it should be simple to play and use. Imagine a new player going to the store with this. The company wants the new player to get destroyed so they become angry and buy more cards just so they can win? It really is pitiful when it comes to products that are precons with wizards most of the time.
Except players that go to FNM aren't a majority. Most people that play Magic do so casually at their own kitchen tables. I don't know about you, but I started playing Magic against my friend on my bedroom floor with a pile of cards that would have been laughed out of an FNM. I had like 8 Thorn Elementals because I thought it was awesome and didn't even know how the card worked. Didn't matter to me, I still had a blast thinking Llanowar Elves let you search a Forest out of your deck.
These decks are for those players. They don't care if a card is competitively viable. They just want to play with cards they think are sweet, like for instance... special Planeswalker cards.
Tbh while I know these products are intended for new players, the first advice I'd give a new player would always be "don't buy these".
Which is a little bit sad.
And why would you do that?
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MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Tbh while I know these products are intended for new players, the first advice I'd give a new player would always be "don't buy these".
Which is a little bit sad.
I agree from the perspective that a person looking to play Magic seriously would regret this.
These products are great for my 8-year old or for people who want to have something around to play with once every few months.
Theres a difference between worth and playable. These are neither. They can design good cards but keep value low by toning back design somewhat, or increasing supply
These are almost playable, but not really, theyre missing just that tiny bit that keeps it from being nothing more than a purist collectors piece.
So why even bother.
Because these products are supposed to introduce new players to the game. They're not for us. If they had actual Standard playable cards in them they'd be a failure. So it's good that none of these cards seems particularly worth playing.
The starters should be playable and upgradeable. A starter product shouldn't be weak, it should be simple to play and use. Imagine a new player going to the store with this. The company wants the new player to get destroyed so they become angry and buy more cards just so they can win? It really is pitiful when it comes to products that are precons with wizards most of the time.
The problem is that veteran players gobble the product up if it is too good. That leaves nothing for the actual intended audience. It is also difficult to assess what the meta will be like months and months in advance of the set coming out (doubly so around the time of a rotation). Something could be standard playable one day and trash the next. It is easier to just avoid potential problems and make a product that can help new players learn the game. Plus, the decks only cost 15 bucks and include 2 boosters. So really, the deck is only costing them 7 bucks. These are perfectly serviceable 7 dollar decks.
Tbh while I know these products are intended for new players, the first advice I'd give a new player would always be "don't buy these".
Which is a little bit sad.
... Why? They are 15 bucks and include 2 boosters. So the brand new player is getting a whole deck for 7 bucks. A deck specifically designed to help brand new players learn how to play.
Tbh while I know these products are intended for new players, the first advice I'd give a new player would always be "don't buy these".
Which is a little bit sad.
And why would you do that?
Because they will not help a new player as a whole. The cards are jank and have no play ability against anything other than other plainswalker decks. The decks are poorly built. They don't provide a good launching point. Honestly I could build a better single expansion all common deck. In fact I build such decks fairly often.
When I see a new player I teach them with the free decks wizard provides and if they like the game I help them build a deck out of draft leftovers. These decks would retail for less than those plainswalker decks had the bought the cards as singles, but are better decks, with better cards. Yes they will still lose a lot but at least CAN win as the deck is at least built right with a good curve. And upgrading is easier as the deck has a better base.
I have taught over thirty people how to play in in my life. Most still playing to this day. My advice on these products is to avoid most of them. Play the starter deck I give them. Update ones collection though draft, prereleases and singles. Well and Commander decks as they often have good value and are playable out of the box if they want to start playing commander.
I would never suggest anyone buy a painswalker deck outside of collectors wanting to own them for completeness sake. They are just a bad product. Poorly built, poor card quality, and poor value. There is no upside for them to start the game with these weak decks that aren't a real upgrade to the free decks wizards gives newbies. I am with Azurhawk, my advice to new players is not to buy those decks. They aren't a good starting point. They don't demonstrate how to build a good deck. They are needlessly bad and aren't a good product for anyone really.
Tbh while I know these products are intended for new players, the first advice I'd give a new player would always be "don't buy these".
Which is a little bit sad.
And why would you do that?
Because they will not help a new player as a whole. The cards are jank and have no play ability against anything other than other plainswalker decks. The decks are poorly built. They don't provide a good launching point. Honestly I could build a better single expansion all common deck. In fact I build such decks fairly often.
When I see a new player I teach them with the free decks wizard provides and if they like the game I help them build a deck out of draft leftovers. These decks would retail for less than those plainswalker decks had the bought the cards as singles, but are better decks, with better cards. Yes they will still lose a lot but at least CAN win as the deck is at least built right with a good curve. And upgrading is easier as the deck has a better base.
I have taught over thirty people how to play in in my life. Most still playing to this day. My advice on these products is to avoid most of them. Play the starter deck I give them. Update ones collection though draft, prereleases and singles. Well and Commander decks as they often have good value and are playable out of the box if they want to start playing commander.
I would never suggest anyone buy a painswalker deck outside of collectors wanting to own them for completeness sake. They are just a bad product. Poorly built, poor card quality, and poor value. There is no upside for them to start the game with these weak decks that aren't a real upgrade to the free decks wizards gives newbies. I am with Azurhawk, my advice to new players is not to buy those decks. They aren't a good starting point. They don't demonstrate how to build a good deck. They are needlessly bad and aren't a good product for anyone really.
Thank you. This myth or just mindless acceptance that new players should be playing with piles of objectively bad cards and the idea that we should be okay with WOTC profiting from selling lazy designs that they themselves know are bad both need to end. The only options on the design scale for these things isn't either this or cards so powerful these decks will be bought at by scalpers. If it didn't occur to most of the people in this thread so far, the settings on the good old R&D-ometer aren't limited to 0 and 11. Assuming that when it is pointed out, rightly, that these cards and this product is bad and does nothing beneficial for new players, that the person bringing up grievances with the product either wants something specifically for them or wants something of a very high power level is a weak strawman attempt to discredit criticism and it's honestly pathetic.
Giving players things that they can build on top of and grow from is not only a good strategy of nurturing a healthy and growing playerbase, but is also simply a good business decision. What sense does it make for WOTC to build a product for which a new player cannot find a playgroup at a game store or college campus or high school club? I don't know where you guys have been playing but you don't have to have an area full of spikes to be very underpowered with a planeswalker deck. Creating a product for new players should actually mean that it gives them an avenue to play with other magic players somewhere other than a kitchen table. There does not need to be a product tailored specifically to players who do not play any of fnm, draft, sealed, commander or any sanctioned format because these players can pick up just about anything mtg off the shelf and have it apply to their games. But if these decks had some form of play value, not monetary value, that doesn't matter with these, some level of decent, middle of the road, "hey there's a bunch of pretty okay cards in here" kind of play value, then those same beginners who bought these decks might be able to turn them into something that can put up a decent fight at an LGS, maybe with some tips from established players (and it would still benefit kitchen table players just the same). Oh look at that an opportunity for interaction with the community in a positive, mentoring kind of way.
As these decks are now I cannot with a good conscience recommend that any new player waste $15 on one of these and I've told several of other alternatives to these and that's going to continue as long as these decks keep going the way they have been. My comments are about how PW decks have been in aggregate, not on these specific decks because we haven't seen much of them yet (but I don't have a lot of faith for them).
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"Pop in, find a dragon, roast a dragon."
-Chandra Nalaar
Going against the crowd, I actually like Vraska. Her ultimate is bonkers and plays nicely with Undergrowth. It might see fringe competitive play but is an include in EDH.
'buster
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'buster
HR Analyst. Gamer. Activist | Fearless, and forthright | Aggro-control is a mindset. Elspeth and Jhoira rock my world.
Thank you. This myth or just mindless acceptance that new players should be playing with piles of objectively bad cards and the idea that we should be okay with WOTC profiting from selling lazy designs that they themselves know are bad both need to end. The only options on the design scale for these things isn't either this or cards so powerful these decks will be bought at by scalpers. If it didn't occur to most of the people in this thread so far, the settings on the good old R&D-ometer aren't limited to 0 and 11. Assuming that when it is pointed out, rightly, that these cards and this product is bad and does nothing beneficial for new players, that the person bringing up grievances with the product either wants something specifically for them or wants something of a very high power level is a weak strawman attempt to discredit criticism and it's honestly pathetic.
You're missing the point. These cards are only "objectively bad" if the only lens you look through is toward competitive viability, and even then I think you're underestimating them. The Ral, Caller of Storms Planeswalker deck card would be borderline Standard playable if not for the fact that Ral, Izzet Viceroy does essentially the same thing but slightly better (maybe? Splitting 3 damage as you choose could end up being better than Viceroy's minus ability) and 1 mana cheaper. It's not like he's totally unplayable jank. Vraska, Regal Gorgon fared a little worse this time, and I don't think she'd be viable in really any Standard environment, but even so, giving a big ol' Dino a +1/+1 counter and menace can steal some games against decks that aren't tier 1. So let's just clear that up right now; calling these cards "objectively bad" is just simply wrong. They're not as far off as you seem to think they are.
Second, you seem to think R&D can actually hit a power level target at will. Spoiler alert: they can't. So when push comes to shove, they're going to err on the side of caution with these products because a mistake in the other direction (i.e. printing an actual competitive Planeswalker deck card) would be a monumental screw up. It would be Nexus of Fate all over again. R&D is toeing a pretty fine line here of making Planeswalkers that are appealing to newer players but that cannot be appealing to competitive players for Standard (or God forbid, Modern). Of course they're going to play it safe, and rightfully so. Despite that, they've done a reasonable job of making borderline playable Planeswalkers for these decks. For example, I wouldn't be embarrassed to cast Ral, Caller of Storms in my FNM deck, it's slightly overcosted but the power is there, and it will almost certainly be cheaper monetarily than the Viceroy version.
But as I mentioned right at the start, all of this is beside the point. This product is for the people that don't even know what Magic is, the people who happen to see it on a shelf at Target or Walmart and are curious enough to buy it (or ask their parents to buy it). You do that by showing off exciting foil Planeswalkers, and cards that let you find your exciting foil Planeswalkers. Not by building a functional but boring as all hell deck of vanilla cards with a decent curve. If a person is asking you how to start playing Magic, this product isn't really for them because they've already taken the first steps themselves (asking a friend or going specifically to a LGS, for example), in which case a Welcome Deck would probably be a better fit. But calling Planeswalker decks objectively bad is to ignore their primary purpose, which is to entice people with no knowledge or interest in the game to pick it up and give it a try.
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Thanks to DarkNightCavalier from Heroes of the Plane Studios for this sick Signature.
Good. It's a new player kit and should not have exclusive cards that are of any worth.
Theres a difference between worth and playable. These are neither. They can design good cards but keep value low by toning back design somewhat, or increasing supply
These are almost playable, but not really, theyre missing just that tiny bit that keeps it from being nothing more than a purist collectors piece.
So why even bother.
none
Modern
UBG B/U/G control
BBB MBC
WUR Control
WWW Prison
RRR Goblins
Legacy
BBB Pox
UBG B/U/G Control
UWU StoneBlade
UW Miracle Control
Typical Planeswalker Deck Quality...I suppose they have to be careful when Green is in the ID as Green could theoretically Ramp that hard.
Still shame to see such good art go to waste.
For, for now. Remember, she doesn't remember meeting Jace on Ixalan; all she remembers is a fiction placed seemlessly in her memory by Jace so Bolas won't suspect treachery. Meanwhile, Jace is acting as a Memory Jar.
Anyway, the planeswalker's okay, if she didn't cost 5BG. The last ability is a bit A and B, since it wants you to run a lot of creature cards and a lot of tokens. Not too A and B (since you can run it with, okay, the only thing I have is Open the Graves, in Standard and much better cards like Abzan Ascendancy in other formats) but it's there.
I'd say Doubling Season reprint, but we just had one of those.
On phasing:
The starters should be playable and upgradeable. A starter product shouldn't be weak, it should be simple to play and use. Imagine a new player going to the store with this. The company wants the new player to get destroyed so they become angry and buy more cards just so they can win? It really is pitiful when it comes to products that are precons with wizards most of the time.
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!
By what metric? Standard playability? Legacy playability? These are desgined for beginning players, they're not supposed to be "good".
Honestly, it royally irritates me when people judge a card solely by the "playable" label. 90% of MtG's cards are dismissed as "hot garbage" or "jank" or "trash" as if their very existence was offensive, simply because they aren't "playable". Emmara Tandris was offensive due to how much of a waste it was of her character. Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist was offensive for being shoved into a nonblack deck themed around altruism, missing the chance to make him UB or UBR like he should have been. Cards designed for casual or limited play, or to help beginners learn the game as the case may be, do not deserve to be treated like some kind of cancerous growth. They serve a purpose that all those precious, competitive $20+ rares and mythics never could.
Comments like this could be shoved into any topic, and they carry the same amount of meaning and weight: none. Saying a card is "bad" means nothing if you can't even bother to explain why you think it's "bad" in the first place. And don't tell me it'd be better if it cost less, that's painfully obvious. Lightning Bolt would be better if it cost 0 or dealt 4 damage, that doesn't mean it should. You want to call the card bad? Then tell me how it fails at its actual job, which in fact is not to be the newest addition to your competitive FNM deck but to help a new player learn how to play the game. The cards are simple and easy to understand, not so cheaply costed and effective as to be chased after by Spikes, nor rare and expensive enough to be pursued by scalpers. This is a product you pick up for a first time player, like a friend or family member, so they can get a grasp of the basic rules of the game.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
These decks are for those players. They don't care if a card is competitively viable. They just want to play with cards they think are sweet, like for instance... special Planeswalker cards.
And why would you do that?
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
I agree from the perspective that a person looking to play Magic seriously would regret this.
These products are great for my 8-year old or for people who want to have something around to play with once every few months.
The problem is that veteran players gobble the product up if it is too good. That leaves nothing for the actual intended audience. It is also difficult to assess what the meta will be like months and months in advance of the set coming out (doubly so around the time of a rotation). Something could be standard playable one day and trash the next. It is easier to just avoid potential problems and make a product that can help new players learn the game. Plus, the decks only cost 15 bucks and include 2 boosters. So really, the deck is only costing them 7 bucks. These are perfectly serviceable 7 dollar decks.
... Why? They are 15 bucks and include 2 boosters. So the brand new player is getting a whole deck for 7 bucks. A deck specifically designed to help brand new players learn how to play.
When I see a new player I teach them with the free decks wizard provides and if they like the game I help them build a deck out of draft leftovers. These decks would retail for less than those plainswalker decks had the bought the cards as singles, but are better decks, with better cards. Yes they will still lose a lot but at least CAN win as the deck is at least built right with a good curve. And upgrading is easier as the deck has a better base.
I have taught over thirty people how to play in in my life. Most still playing to this day. My advice on these products is to avoid most of them. Play the starter deck I give them. Update ones collection though draft, prereleases and singles. Well and Commander decks as they often have good value and are playable out of the box if they want to start playing commander.
I would never suggest anyone buy a painswalker deck outside of collectors wanting to own them for completeness sake. They are just a bad product. Poorly built, poor card quality, and poor value. There is no upside for them to start the game with these weak decks that aren't a real upgrade to the free decks wizards gives newbies. I am with Azurhawk, my advice to new players is not to buy those decks. They aren't a good starting point. They don't demonstrate how to build a good deck. They are needlessly bad and aren't a good product for anyone really.
Nice undergrowth reference in the ultimate. Makes you wonder how strong the PW decks will lean into their respective guild mechanic.
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
Giving players things that they can build on top of and grow from is not only a good strategy of nurturing a healthy and growing playerbase, but is also simply a good business decision. What sense does it make for WOTC to build a product for which a new player cannot find a playgroup at a game store or college campus or high school club? I don't know where you guys have been playing but you don't have to have an area full of spikes to be very underpowered with a planeswalker deck. Creating a product for new players should actually mean that it gives them an avenue to play with other magic players somewhere other than a kitchen table. There does not need to be a product tailored specifically to players who do not play any of fnm, draft, sealed, commander or any sanctioned format because these players can pick up just about anything mtg off the shelf and have it apply to their games. But if these decks had some form of play value, not monetary value, that doesn't matter with these, some level of decent, middle of the road, "hey there's a bunch of pretty okay cards in here" kind of play value, then those same beginners who bought these decks might be able to turn them into something that can put up a decent fight at an LGS, maybe with some tips from established players (and it would still benefit kitchen table players just the same). Oh look at that an opportunity for interaction with the community in a positive, mentoring kind of way.
As these decks are now I cannot with a good conscience recommend that any new player waste $15 on one of these and I've told several of other alternatives to these and that's going to continue as long as these decks keep going the way they have been. My comments are about how PW decks have been in aggregate, not on these specific decks because we haven't seen much of them yet (but I don't have a lot of faith for them).
-Chandra Nalaar
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Want to play a UW control deck in modern, but don't have jace or snaps?
Please come visit us at the Emeria Titan control thread
'buster
HR Analyst. Gamer. Activist | Fearless, and forthright | Aggro-control is a mindset.
Elspeth and Jhoira rock my world.
Second, you seem to think R&D can actually hit a power level target at will. Spoiler alert: they can't. So when push comes to shove, they're going to err on the side of caution with these products because a mistake in the other direction (i.e. printing an actual competitive Planeswalker deck card) would be a monumental screw up. It would be Nexus of Fate all over again. R&D is toeing a pretty fine line here of making Planeswalkers that are appealing to newer players but that cannot be appealing to competitive players for Standard (or God forbid, Modern). Of course they're going to play it safe, and rightfully so. Despite that, they've done a reasonable job of making borderline playable Planeswalkers for these decks. For example, I wouldn't be embarrassed to cast Ral, Caller of Storms in my FNM deck, it's slightly overcosted but the power is there, and it will almost certainly be cheaper monetarily than the Viceroy version.
But as I mentioned right at the start, all of this is beside the point. This product is for the people that don't even know what Magic is, the people who happen to see it on a shelf at Target or Walmart and are curious enough to buy it (or ask their parents to buy it). You do that by showing off exciting foil Planeswalkers, and cards that let you find your exciting foil Planeswalkers. Not by building a functional but boring as all hell deck of vanilla cards with a decent curve. If a person is asking you how to start playing Magic, this product isn't really for them because they've already taken the first steps themselves (asking a friend or going specifically to a LGS, for example), in which case a Welcome Deck would probably be a better fit. But calling Planeswalker decks objectively bad is to ignore their primary purpose, which is to entice people with no knowledge or interest in the game to pick it up and give it a try.