The more I think about it, the more I feel few, if any of the cards will be in the actual set, which really sucks because all of these cards need an actual reprint.
Never say never, but wizards of the coast has consistently shown they will not reprint certain eternal tournament staple cards outside of specialty products.
Basically, the company has been out of touch for a long time with their most dedicated players and have become something like EA or Activision Blizzard in the Card gaming world. At Blizcon this year Blizzard / Activision announced they are making a mobile diablo game to the most dedicated players they have. One of those players actually asked on camera if this was an early April Fools Joke, and then someone else even asked if the game was going to come to PC, which when the answer was revealed as a no, resulted in boos from the entire audience.
Wizards of the Coast is in that kind of a position with their game and it's frankly pretty embarrassing. They are doing better now thanks to largely luck and throwing a lot of different ideas out on the field.
And One of the staff asked if the fans had phones kkkkk hilarious
I mean, It has become a thing(kind of a trend) in some game companies, they lost their touch with the fans and just asume we will buy every thing they sell (and in some cases it is true) but lets hope the people in charge see that they need to change or at least get back to what made their game a secess
The more I think about it, the more I feel few, if any of the cards will be in the actual set, which really sucks because all of these cards need an actual reprint.
Never say never, but wizards of the coast has consistently shown they will not reprint certain eternal tournament staple cards outside of specialty products.
Basically, the company has been out of touch for a long time with their most dedicated players and have become something like EA or Activision Blizzard in the Card gaming world. At Blizcon this year Blizzard / Activision announced they are making a mobile diablo game to the most dedicated players they have. One of those players actually asked on camera if this was an early April Fools Joke, and then someone else even asked if the game was going to come to PC, which when the answer was revealed as a no, resulted in boos from the entire audience.
Wizards of the Coast is in that kind of a position with their game and it's frankly pretty embarrassing. They are doing better now thanks to largely luck and throwing a lot of different ideas out on the field.
If there's one thing that's keeping my hopes up right now that all of these cards are part of a $10/pack Masters set and these are special edition variations of cards you can get in a singular set, it's that this group of cards has a rare land cycle. Not only does it have a rare land cycle, but it's arguably the most requested land cycle not including the enemy fetchlands which had a reprint last year. If these 40 cards are related to a Masters set and the main set doesn't have this land cycle, people are going to be furious. And if this isn't part of a Masters set and this is how we're getting our ally manlands reprinted, people are going to be furious. The Invocations, which didn't really have a major theme, didn't have a land cycle. This gives me hope that we'll see at least some of these cards in the Masters set. I just hope it isn't just the land cycle that's in the set itself and everything else is extra, kind like how the Masterpieces had a few cards in the corresponding set, and everything else was just extra that you could draft.
Never say never, but wizards of the coast has consistently shown they will not reprint certain eternal tournament staple cards outside of specialty products.
Basically, the company has been out of touch for a long time with their most dedicated players and have become something like EA or Activision Blizzard in the Card gaming world. At Blizcon this year Blizzard / Activision announced they are making a mobile diablo game to the most dedicated players they have. One of those players actually asked on camera if this was an early April Fools Joke, and then someone else even asked if the game was going to come to PC, which when the answer was revealed as a no, resulted in boos from the entire audience.
Wizards of the Coast is in that kind of a position with their game and it's frankly pretty embarrassing. They are doing better now thanks to largely luck and throwing a lot of different ideas out on the field.
instead of out of touch, i see it as a concerted strategy. whether you think that strategy is good or will payoff is what is debatable.
customer brand loyalty is a form of capital to be spent like anything else. companies like blizz/act or wotc/hasbro have that in spades because of long established franchises. at some point the return for continually investing in customers that show up on their own just isnt that great, so you look for growth. so when avid gamers (video or tabletop) say things like 'they are catering to casuals' they are absolutely right, because its the largest relatively untapped consumer base. so you push products or projects that serve as gateways into the serious stuff.
this also coincides with trends changing as a result of new/improved technology. mobile and tablet development is easier than ever, and the technology is widespread enough that even the less technologically inclined own devices to participate.
the downside of this, and which might ultimately be their undoing, is that lightweight application development has fierce competition. the 'disc in box' sales model is dying, and platforms for online distribution (like steam or other app stores) coupled with crowdfunding mean indie studios can operate more easily with lower overhead.
from my perspective it looks like wizards is trying to keep up with corporate business trends but failing to realize how far out of their depth they are since theyve been isolated in their own bubble for so long. which explains their chaotic and often times contradictory behavior.
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Modern: UWGSnow-Bant Control BURGrixis Death's Shadow GWBCoCo Elves WCDeath and Taxes (sold)
Never say never, but wizards of the coast has consistently shown they will not reprint certain eternal tournament staple cards outside of specialty products.
Basically, the company has been out of touch for a long time with their most dedicated players and have become something like EA or Activision Blizzard in the Card gaming world. At Blizcon this year Blizzard / Activision announced they are making a mobile diablo game to the most dedicated players they have. One of those players actually asked on camera if this was an early April Fools Joke, and then someone else even asked if the game was going to come to PC, which when the answer was revealed as a no, resulted in boos from the entire audience.
Wizards of the Coast is in that kind of a position with their game and it's frankly pretty embarrassing. They are doing better now thanks to largely luck and throwing a lot of different ideas out on the field.
instead of out of touch, i see it as a concerted strategy. whether you think that strategy is good or will payoff is what is debatable.
customer brand loyalty is a form of capital to be spent like anything else. companies like blizz/act or wotc/hasbro have that in spades because of long established franchises. at some point the return for continually investing in customers that show up on their own just isnt that great, so you look for growth. so when avid gamers (video or tabletop) say things like 'they are catering to casuals' they are absolutely right, because its the largest relatively untapped consumer base. so you push products or projects that serve as gateways into the serious stuff.
this also coincides with trends changing as a result of new/improved technology. mobile and tablet development is easier than ever, and the technology is widespread enough that even the less technologically inclined own devices to participate.
the downside of this, and which might ultimately be their undoing, is that lightweight application development has fierce competition. the 'disc in box' sales model is dying, and platforms for online distribution (like steam or other app stores) coupled with crowdfunding mean indie studios can operate more easily with lower overhead.
from my perspective it looks like wizards is trying to keep up with corporate business trends but failing to realize how far out of their depth they are since theyve been isolated in their own bubble for so long. which explains their chaotic and often times contradictory behavior.
There's a huge difference between what Blizz/Act is doing vs. what MTG is doing. What Blizz/Act reeeaaalllyyyy effed up about was they made the announcement at Blizzcon, which is an event where only the most hardcore fans would go to. Why would you announce something that's catered to the exact opposite group as those attending the event? That makes zero sense at all. That's I think where they screwed up the most. If they announced it rather casually in a press release with info et al., I don't think it would've gotten nearly as much hate. But, of course, the fact there's no PC Diablo in sight, yet they're releasing this mobile game, at an event where its attendees were hoping for a new PC release, really pisses people off.
Wizards is screwing up for other reasons. Marketing 101 says that it's significantly more difficult and costly to attract new customers than it is to keep existing customers. Wizards big problem is their game has way too much turnover; the game is too damn expensive. When it comes to video gaming, the fanciest special edition game is $300 at most. Perhaps there are some super rare ones with like giant statues in it that retail for more, but most video game special editions are maybe $100-$200 with a few outliers, but that game will last you many hours. And if you aren't intersted in the special edition, the base game can be gotten for $60, and with several expansions maybe it'll be $150 total. With a game like Diablo, the game with expansions that'll last you several years may cost you $200 in the end, maybe. When it comes to Magic, $200 might not even get you a Standard deck, and that deck will rotate in less than 2 years. And that doesn't factor the upgrades you need as Standard evolves and new sets release. Good Modern decks can be $750 or more, and you may need upgrades within a few years. Let's not even get into Legacy and Vintage. Even EDH decks can be several hundred dollars. Magic is just so much more expensive. The problem is that Wizards is trying to treat the game, the paper game at least, like it can be catered to casuals. Casuals are not going to spend hundreds or even thousands on a game like Magic, when the game itself may not last you more than a couple years without significant upgrades. They're trying to get people into the game with Arena, but it's not the same as traditional paper MTG.
What Wizards can do is go the route of Pokemon or YGO and prevent cards from getting super expensive. They can reprint cards into oblivion and try and get more butts into seats at FNM and maybe people would be more interested if the most expensive deck in Standard was $100 rather than $400 or whatever. Of course the hardcore MTG people, those who have been involved with the game for many years, might just stop playing as a result of damaged consumer confidence, uncertainty about card prices et al. and you're stuck trying to rebuild a consumer base. The problem is that right now Wizards is trying to play both sides, and they're suffering mightily for it. Despite their refusal to officially acknowledge it, of course they monitor the secondary market, Masters sets are designed around an EV value determined by the secondary market. And don't even get me started on the Reserve List. But they can't do all of that and still try and act like they're doing all they can to bring in new players. Some hobbies are just exclusive and expensive, and that's perfectly okay. And for most of Magic's life, Magic has been that expensive hobby. But if Wizards is really interested in getting new blood into the paper game, they're going to have to do something about the prohibitively expensive aspect of the game. Maybe UMA is Wizards' turning a new leaf, putting most of what players want when it comes to high value cards into a single Masters set, crashing the prices of these cards and making the game more accessible. And maybe they'll announce the end of the Reserve List. I jest, but we've yet to see any indication of this. Wizards has been talking from both sides of its mouth, and for all we know this will just be a BaB scheme, and the UMA set will be decent if not good and people will continue to thirst for specific reprints, while these promos do nothing to the price of the cards and are just mere collectors' items.
I know what I want, and I know I'm setting myself up for disappointment. It's just tough to figure Wizards out, since they're trying to cater to both the enfranchised player and the new player and losing at both.
Ugin is going to get really bad once all the fatties are colourless. I sold all mine. Sell sell sell!
He's going to be absolutely rotten. Hangarback walker has already nerfed him quite significantly. I reckon he'll be $3 junk within 2 months of rotation
Whoever got lavaclaw reaches for their apology might need another apology,
I'll take a free 7 to 10 dollar card. They can send it to me.
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
This is a nice perk for those that missed their purchase, but hoping that these find their way to a Masters set of some sort.
Nearly all of them need a reprint, and $ are available if this is even a new Hasbro-only sales thing.
Not sure how they would do this if they are "box toppers" for a set, getting a Balefire Dragon instead of a Demonic Tutor or Engineered Explosives = :(.
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The "Crazy One", playing casual magic and occasionally dipping his toes into regular play since 1994.
Currently focusing on Pre-Modern (Mono-Black Discard Control) and Modern (Azorious Control, Temur Rhinos).
Find me at the Wizard's Tower in Ottawa every second Saturday afternoons.
Never say never, but wizards of the coast has consistently shown they will not reprint certain eternal tournament staple cards outside of specialty products.
Basically, the company has been out of touch for a long time with their most dedicated players and have become something like EA or Activision Blizzard in the Card gaming world. At Blizcon this year Blizzard / Activision announced they are making a mobile diablo game to the most dedicated players they have. One of those players actually asked on camera if this was an early April Fools Joke, and then someone else even asked if the game was going to come to PC, which when the answer was revealed as a no, resulted in boos from the entire audience.
Wizards of the Coast is in that kind of a position with their game and it's frankly pretty embarrassing. They are doing better now thanks to largely luck and throwing a lot of different ideas out on the field.
instead of out of touch, i see it as a concerted strategy. whether you think that strategy is good or will payoff is what is debatable.
customer brand loyalty is a form of capital to be spent like anything else. companies like blizz/act or wotc/hasbro have that in spades because of long established franchises. at some point the return for continually investing in customers that show up on their own just isnt that great, so you look for growth. so when avid gamers (video or tabletop) say things like 'they are catering to casuals' they are absolutely right, because its the largest relatively untapped consumer base. so you push products or projects that serve as gateways into the serious stuff.
this also coincides with trends changing as a result of new/improved technology. mobile and tablet development is easier than ever, and the technology is widespread enough that even the less technologically inclined own devices to participate.
the downside of this, and which might ultimately be their undoing, is that lightweight application development has fierce competition. the 'disc in box' sales model is dying, and platforms for online distribution (like steam or other app stores) coupled with crowdfunding mean indie studios can operate more easily with lower overhead.
from my perspective it looks like wizards is trying to keep up with corporate business trends but failing to realize how far out of their depth they are since theyve been isolated in their own bubble for so long. which explains their chaotic and often times contradictory behavior.
There's a huge difference between what Blizz/Act is doing vs. what MTG is doing. What Blizz/Act reeeaaalllyyyy effed up about was they made the announcement at Blizzcon, which is an event where only the most hardcore fans would go to. Why would you announce something that's catered to the exact opposite group as those attending the event? That makes zero sense at all. That's I think where they screwed up the most. If they announced it rather casually in a press release with info et al., I don't think it would've gotten nearly as much hate. But, of course, the fact there's no PC Diablo in sight, yet they're releasing this mobile game, at an event where its attendees were hoping for a new PC release, really pisses people off.
Wizards is screwing up for other reasons. Marketing 101 says that it's significantly more difficult and costly to attract new customers than it is to keep existing customers. Wizards big problem is their game has way too much turnover; the game is too damn expensive. When it comes to video gaming, the fanciest special edition game is $300 at most. Perhaps there are some super rare ones with like giant statues in it that retail for more, but most video game special editions are maybe $100-$200 with a few outliers, but that game will last you many hours. And if you aren't intersted in the special edition, the base game can be gotten for $60, and with several expansions maybe it'll be $150 total. With a game like Diablo, the game with expansions that'll last you several years may cost you $200 in the end, maybe. When it comes to Magic, $200 might not even get you a Standard deck, and that deck will rotate in less than 2 years. And that doesn't factor the upgrades you need as Standard evolves and new sets release. Good Modern decks can be $750 or more, and you may need upgrades within a few years. Let's not even get into Legacy and Vintage. Even EDH decks can be several hundred dollars. Magic is just so much more expensive. The problem is that Wizards is trying to treat the game, the paper game at least, like it can be catered to casuals. Casuals are not going to spend hundreds or even thousands on a game like Magic, when the game itself may not last you more than a couple years without significant upgrades. They're trying to get people into the game with Arena, but it's not the same as traditional paper MTG.
What Wizards can do is go the route of Pokemon or YGO and prevent cards from getting super expensive. They can reprint cards into oblivion and try and get more butts into seats at FNM and maybe people would be more interested if the most expensive deck in Standard was $100 rather than $400 or whatever. Of course the hardcore MTG people, those who have been involved with the game for many years, might just stop playing as a result of damaged consumer confidence, uncertainty about card prices et al. and you're stuck trying to rebuild a consumer base. The problem is that right now Wizards is trying to play both sides, and they're suffering mightily for it. Despite their refusal to officially acknowledge it, of course they monitor the secondary market, Masters sets are designed around an EV value determined by the secondary market. And don't even get me started on the Reserve List. But they can't do all of that and still try and act like they're doing all they can to bring in new players. Some hobbies are just exclusive and expensive, and that's perfectly okay. And for most of Magic's life, Magic has been that expensive hobby. But if Wizards is really interested in getting new blood into the paper game, they're going to have to do something about the prohibitively expensive aspect of the game. Maybe UMA is Wizards' turning a new leaf, putting most of what players want when it comes to high value cards into a single Masters set, crashing the prices of these cards and making the game more accessible. And maybe they'll announce the end of the Reserve List. I jest, but we've yet to see any indication of this. Wizards has been talking from both sides of its mouth, and for all we know this will just be a BaB scheme, and the UMA set will be decent if not good and people will continue to thirst for specific reprints, while these promos do nothing to the price of the cards and are just mere collectors' items.
I know what I want, and I know I'm setting myself up for disappointment. It's just tough to figure Wizards out, since they're trying to cater to both the enfranchised player and the new player and losing at both.
Part of the cost issue is the games age. MTG is the oldest running trading card game currently being played and has years of backlog to work through. The other problem is the failure to recognize and understand the need for reprinting cards that are tournament staples in a way that effectively drops their costs. Snapcaster Mage was a 25 dollar card at one point and my brother owns four of them. Noble Hierarch used to be sub 20 as well, but because of supply limitations and a poor reprint policy it's price has climbed to over 50 usd, with no signs of dropping. Even if MtG overall got cheaper, it's actually the problem of how much money must be expended on a single card that really dampers the game. 20 dollars to 25 dollars is high, but doable for most dedicated commander players. Having to pony up a 3-4x multiplier on the second hand market to acquire the copies needed for a modern deck or legacy deck is extremely problematic. We wont get to see good brews from less competitive players around specific cards if those cards are out of budget for all but the deeply devoted.
From a marketing standpoint having a poster child card that costs 80+ might be a good indicator of health for the game. It is probably better for the true health of the game if such cards got reprinted and due to demand held prices around 30-40 dollars tops.
However, this doesn't really include cards like these UMA ones. I basically got two hypothetical outcomes for where these are going to show up:
1) They are masterpiece cards that are added to a non-standard specialty product like Unhinged, Battlebond, Conspiracy, etc.
2) They are masterpiece cards for the upcoming Ravnica Alliance set that will be part of the collectors edition box.
If they are spoiling them right now in November, it's totally possible that they are part of a product being released this December for Christmas.
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="MysticLeviathan »" url="/forums/magic-fundamentals/the-rumor-mill/800876-uma-ultimate-box-topper-promos-35-40?comment=162"]
However, this doesn't really include cards like these UMA ones. I basically got two hypothetical outcomes for where these are going to show up:
1) They are masterpiece cards that are added to a non-standard specialty product like Unhinged, Battlebond, Conspiracy, etc.
2) They are masterpiece cards for the upcoming Ravnica Alliance set that will be part of the collectors edition box.
If they are spoiling them right now in November, it's totally possible that they are part of a product being released this December for Christmas.
Apparently one of the events, a GP I think, in early December was changed from team limited to just limited. This very well could be part of a U Masters product, whether that be Ultimate Masters, Unlimited Masters, or some other name. And I do think this is the case. I think this is some kind of promotion for U Masters, hopefully as a boxtopper a la Ixalan Fliplands that can you can get from LGSs as an incentive to buy from them.
Now whether or not these cards are actually part of said Masters set is yet to be known. It could be that none or few of the cards are part of the Masters set, which I think would be extremely unfortunate, as so many of these cards are desired reprints. Or each of these cards could be in the set itself. But if they are, is this like a normal Masters set? Will it be $10/pack? Will the set size be the same, with roughly 101 commons, 80 commons, 53 rares, and 15 mythics? Or it could be as you said, something completely unrelated to a Masters set. But with the MA part of the set code, I kinda feel like it has to be part of some Masters set.
It's kinda annoying not knowing. I'm glad we have just about everything known.
This is a nice perk for those that missed their purchase, but hoping that these find their way to a Masters set of some sort.
Nearly all of them need a reprint, and $ are available if this is even a new Hasbro-only sales thing.
Not sure how they would do this if they are "box toppers" for a set, getting a Balefire Dragon instead of a Demonic Tutor or Engineered Explosives = :(.
These were also given out to those who purchase and received their boxes. What a deal.
Yes the disparagy between say a tasigur and a snapcaster is quite a lot. True thats the way all the masterpieces have been so far but there are like 25+ AMAZING cards in this set and the bottom ten are much less.
Well there goes the price on my Invention Mana Vault and my Foil Snapcaster hehehehehe
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Been a member here for over a dozen years. Playing since '95 just got lost in the twitch shuffle.
I'm most curious to see what the artifact hole is... so many possibilities, but I can't think of anything super iconic in that range. One of the colourless slots has to be OG Kozilek, and my guess for the other one is Emrakul, the Promised End, because who doesn't want more Emrakul?
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Koko's Homebrews: Just Brew You! Live streaming Casual Magic: the Gathering
Sundays at 7:00 PM Eastern Time / 4:00 PM Pacific Time
Follow along on Instagram (@kokoshomebrews) as I create casual tribal decks
and try to build around crazy combos, then play em on stream!
I'm most curious to see what the artifact hole is... so many possibilities, but I can't think of anything super iconic in that range. One of the colourless slots has to be OG Kozilek, and my guess for the other one is Emrakul, the Promised End, because who doesn't want more Emrakul?
Gaddock Teeg makes the most sense as the final multicolored card.
The final question now is Mox Opal or Mana Crypt or perhaps a different card between Engineered Explosives and Platinum Emperion.
Well, no, the other "final question" is whether Kozilek is #2 or #3. If #2, then Ugin, the Spirit Dragon is in. If #3, then Karn Liberated is in.
I would personally hope for it to be Ugin with the Ugin's Fate promo art because that would look amazing with this foil full-art treatment.
Indeed. And for similar reasons I kinda hope the missing card that is unverified-reported to be Gaddock Teeg is actually the special foil treatment Kaya, Ghost Assassin.
[quote from="MysticLeviathan »" url="/forums/magic-fundamentals/the-rumor-mill/800876-uma-ultimate-box-topper-promos-35-40?comment=162"]
However, this doesn't really include cards like these UMA ones. I basically got two hypothetical outcomes for where these are going to show up:
1) They are masterpiece cards that are added to a non-standard specialty product like Unhinged, Battlebond, Conspiracy, etc.
2) They are masterpiece cards for the upcoming Ravnica Alliance set that will be part of the collectors edition box.
If they are spoiling them right now in November, it's totally possible that they are part of a product being released this December for Christmas.
Apparently one of the events, a GP I think, in early December was changed from team limited to just limited. This very well could be part of a U Masters product, whether that be Ultimate Masters, Unlimited Masters, or some other name. And I do think this is the case. I think this is some kind of promotion for U Masters, hopefully as a boxtopper a la Ixalan Fliplands that can you can get from LGSs as an incentive to buy from them.
Now whether or not these cards are actually part of said Masters set is yet to be known. It could be that none or few of the cards are part of the Masters set, which I think would be extremely unfortunate, as so many of these cards are desired reprints. Or each of these cards could be in the set itself. But if they are, is this like a normal Masters set? Will it be $10/pack? Will the set size be the same, with roughly 101 commons, 80 commons, 53 rares, and 15 mythics? Or it could be as you said, something completely unrelated to a Masters set. But with the MA part of the set code, I kinda feel like it has to be part of some Masters set.
It's kinda annoying not knowing. I'm glad we have just about everything known.
</blockquote>
I genuinely hope they are not doing another masters set. Targeting that segment of the market has proved to be bad for the health of the game as a whole, as it just bred resentment and led to a lot of problems.
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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!
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And One of the staff asked if the fans had phones kkkkk hilarious
I mean, It has become a thing(kind of a trend) in some game companies, they lost their touch with the fans and just asume we will buy every thing they sell (and in some cases it is true) but lets hope the people in charge see that they need to change or at least get back to what made their game a secess
If there's one thing that's keeping my hopes up right now that all of these cards are part of a $10/pack Masters set and these are special edition variations of cards you can get in a singular set, it's that this group of cards has a rare land cycle. Not only does it have a rare land cycle, but it's arguably the most requested land cycle not including the enemy fetchlands which had a reprint last year. If these 40 cards are related to a Masters set and the main set doesn't have this land cycle, people are going to be furious. And if this isn't part of a Masters set and this is how we're getting our ally manlands reprinted, people are going to be furious. The Invocations, which didn't really have a major theme, didn't have a land cycle. This gives me hope that we'll see at least some of these cards in the Masters set. I just hope it isn't just the land cycle that's in the set itself and everything else is extra, kind like how the Masterpieces had a few cards in the corresponding set, and everything else was just extra that you could draft.
instead of out of touch, i see it as a concerted strategy. whether you think that strategy is good or will payoff is what is debatable.
customer brand loyalty is a form of capital to be spent like anything else. companies like blizz/act or wotc/hasbro have that in spades because of long established franchises. at some point the return for continually investing in customers that show up on their own just isnt that great, so you look for growth. so when avid gamers (video or tabletop) say things like 'they are catering to casuals' they are absolutely right, because its the largest relatively untapped consumer base. so you push products or projects that serve as gateways into the serious stuff.
this also coincides with trends changing as a result of new/improved technology. mobile and tablet development is easier than ever, and the technology is widespread enough that even the less technologically inclined own devices to participate.
the downside of this, and which might ultimately be their undoing, is that lightweight application development has fierce competition. the 'disc in box' sales model is dying, and platforms for online distribution (like steam or other app stores) coupled with crowdfunding mean indie studios can operate more easily with lower overhead.
from my perspective it looks like wizards is trying to keep up with corporate business trends but failing to realize how far out of their depth they are since theyve been isolated in their own bubble for so long. which explains their chaotic and often times contradictory behavior.
UWGSnow-Bant Control
BURGrixis Death's Shadow
GWBCoCo Elves
WCDeath and Taxes(sold)There's a huge difference between what Blizz/Act is doing vs. what MTG is doing. What Blizz/Act reeeaaalllyyyy effed up about was they made the announcement at Blizzcon, which is an event where only the most hardcore fans would go to. Why would you announce something that's catered to the exact opposite group as those attending the event? That makes zero sense at all. That's I think where they screwed up the most. If they announced it rather casually in a press release with info et al., I don't think it would've gotten nearly as much hate. But, of course, the fact there's no PC Diablo in sight, yet they're releasing this mobile game, at an event where its attendees were hoping for a new PC release, really pisses people off.
Wizards is screwing up for other reasons. Marketing 101 says that it's significantly more difficult and costly to attract new customers than it is to keep existing customers. Wizards big problem is their game has way too much turnover; the game is too damn expensive. When it comes to video gaming, the fanciest special edition game is $300 at most. Perhaps there are some super rare ones with like giant statues in it that retail for more, but most video game special editions are maybe $100-$200 with a few outliers, but that game will last you many hours. And if you aren't intersted in the special edition, the base game can be gotten for $60, and with several expansions maybe it'll be $150 total. With a game like Diablo, the game with expansions that'll last you several years may cost you $200 in the end, maybe. When it comes to Magic, $200 might not even get you a Standard deck, and that deck will rotate in less than 2 years. And that doesn't factor the upgrades you need as Standard evolves and new sets release. Good Modern decks can be $750 or more, and you may need upgrades within a few years. Let's not even get into Legacy and Vintage. Even EDH decks can be several hundred dollars. Magic is just so much more expensive. The problem is that Wizards is trying to treat the game, the paper game at least, like it can be catered to casuals. Casuals are not going to spend hundreds or even thousands on a game like Magic, when the game itself may not last you more than a couple years without significant upgrades. They're trying to get people into the game with Arena, but it's not the same as traditional paper MTG.
What Wizards can do is go the route of Pokemon or YGO and prevent cards from getting super expensive. They can reprint cards into oblivion and try and get more butts into seats at FNM and maybe people would be more interested if the most expensive deck in Standard was $100 rather than $400 or whatever. Of course the hardcore MTG people, those who have been involved with the game for many years, might just stop playing as a result of damaged consumer confidence, uncertainty about card prices et al. and you're stuck trying to rebuild a consumer base. The problem is that right now Wizards is trying to play both sides, and they're suffering mightily for it. Despite their refusal to officially acknowledge it, of course they monitor the secondary market, Masters sets are designed around an EV value determined by the secondary market. And don't even get me started on the Reserve List. But they can't do all of that and still try and act like they're doing all they can to bring in new players. Some hobbies are just exclusive and expensive, and that's perfectly okay. And for most of Magic's life, Magic has been that expensive hobby. But if Wizards is really interested in getting new blood into the paper game, they're going to have to do something about the prohibitively expensive aspect of the game. Maybe UMA is Wizards' turning a new leaf, putting most of what players want when it comes to high value cards into a single Masters set, crashing the prices of these cards and making the game more accessible. And maybe they'll announce the end of the Reserve List. I jest, but we've yet to see any indication of this. Wizards has been talking from both sides of its mouth, and for all we know this will just be a BaB scheme, and the UMA set will be decent if not good and people will continue to thirst for specific reprints, while these promos do nothing to the price of the cards and are just mere collectors' items.
I know what I want, and I know I'm setting myself up for disappointment. It's just tough to figure Wizards out, since they're trying to cater to both the enfranchised player and the new player and losing at both.
I am working on getting a pic but I can confirm Gaddok Teeg is a promo as well.
Buddy got it yesterday.
Your friend needs to send a photo to prove it.
I'll take a free 7 to 10 dollar card. They can send it to me.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Could be even more than that, depending on where the UMA series goes after this. Even the cheapest masterpieces are in the $20 range.
Nearly all of them need a reprint, and $ are available if this is even a new Hasbro-only sales thing.
Not sure how they would do this if they are "box toppers" for a set, getting a Balefire Dragon instead of a Demonic Tutor or Engineered Explosives = :(.
Currently focusing on Pre-Modern (Mono-Black Discard Control) and Modern (Azorious Control, Temur Rhinos).
Find me at the Wizard's Tower in Ottawa every second Saturday afternoons.
The final question now is Mox Opal or Mana Crypt or perhaps a different card between Engineered Explosives and Platinum Emperion.
Part of the cost issue is the games age. MTG is the oldest running trading card game currently being played and has years of backlog to work through. The other problem is the failure to recognize and understand the need for reprinting cards that are tournament staples in a way that effectively drops their costs. Snapcaster Mage was a 25 dollar card at one point and my brother owns four of them. Noble Hierarch used to be sub 20 as well, but because of supply limitations and a poor reprint policy it's price has climbed to over 50 usd, with no signs of dropping. Even if MtG overall got cheaper, it's actually the problem of how much money must be expended on a single card that really dampers the game. 20 dollars to 25 dollars is high, but doable for most dedicated commander players. Having to pony up a 3-4x multiplier on the second hand market to acquire the copies needed for a modern deck or legacy deck is extremely problematic. We wont get to see good brews from less competitive players around specific cards if those cards are out of budget for all but the deeply devoted.
From a marketing standpoint having a poster child card that costs 80+ might be a good indicator of health for the game. It is probably better for the true health of the game if such cards got reprinted and due to demand held prices around 30-40 dollars tops.
However, this doesn't really include cards like these UMA ones. I basically got two hypothetical outcomes for where these are going to show up:
1) They are masterpiece cards that are added to a non-standard specialty product like Unhinged, Battlebond, Conspiracy, etc.
2) They are masterpiece cards for the upcoming Ravnica Alliance set that will be part of the collectors edition box.
If they are spoiling them right now in November, it's totally possible that they are part of a product being released this December for Christmas.
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!
Well, no, the other "final question" is whether Kozilek is #2 or #3. If #2, then Ugin, the Spirit Dragon is in. If #3, then Karn Liberated is in.
I would personally hope for it to be Ugin with the Ugin's Fate promo art because that would look amazing with this foil full-art treatment.
Apparently one of the events, a GP I think, in early December was changed from team limited to just limited. This very well could be part of a U Masters product, whether that be Ultimate Masters, Unlimited Masters, or some other name. And I do think this is the case. I think this is some kind of promotion for U Masters, hopefully as a boxtopper a la Ixalan Fliplands that can you can get from LGSs as an incentive to buy from them.
Now whether or not these cards are actually part of said Masters set is yet to be known. It could be that none or few of the cards are part of the Masters set, which I think would be extremely unfortunate, as so many of these cards are desired reprints. Or each of these cards could be in the set itself. But if they are, is this like a normal Masters set? Will it be $10/pack? Will the set size be the same, with roughly 101 commons, 80 commons, 53 rares, and 15 mythics? Or it could be as you said, something completely unrelated to a Masters set. But with the MA part of the set code, I kinda feel like it has to be part of some Masters set.
It's kinda annoying not knowing. I'm glad we have just about everything known.
These were also given out to those who purchase and received their boxes. What a deal.
Yes the disparagy between say a tasigur and a snapcaster is quite a lot. True thats the way all the masterpieces have been so far but there are like 25+ AMAZING cards in this set and the bottom ten are much less.
Well there goes the price on my Invention Mana Vault and my Foil Snapcaster hehehehehe
Live streaming Casual Magic: the Gathering
Sundays at 7:00 PM Eastern Time / 4:00 PM Pacific Time
Follow along on Instagram (@kokoshomebrews) as I create casual tribal decks
and try to build around crazy combos, then play em on stream!
|| WBG || GW || GB || GWU ||
Artifact is Mana Vault
Live streaming Casual Magic: the Gathering
Sundays at 7:00 PM Eastern Time / 4:00 PM Pacific Time
Follow along on Instagram (@kokoshomebrews) as I create casual tribal decks
and try to build around crazy combos, then play em on stream!
|| WBG || GW || GB || GWU ||
Invention Mana Vault is WAY prettier than this new one.
Indeed. And for similar reasons I kinda hope the missing card that is unverified-reported to be Gaddock Teeg is actually the special foil treatment Kaya, Ghost Assassin.
I genuinely hope they are not doing another masters set. Targeting that segment of the market has proved to be bad for the health of the game as a whole, as it just bred resentment and led to a lot of problems.
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!