MM17 kind of sucks. Opening it reminds me of opening a box from INN/RTR and not in a good way. *Lots* of chaff. My drafts have been fair, but my box opening was really disappointing.
I opened 4x mythics:
-Sphinx's Revelation
-Entreat the Angels
-Domri Rade
-Cavern of Souls
Notable rares:
-Goblin Guide
-Damnation
-Marsh Flats
-Scalding Tarn
-*Foil* Evil Twin (**** this card)
-Zero good uncommon/common foils
I bought a 2nd box but now I don't want to open it. Literally the best card in the set, the one out of 20 cases card, foil Tarmogoyf, won't even pay for half a box.
The "unlimited print run/2nd print run" rumors are also not helping. I don't like having this much uncertainty swirling around something that costs $240/box and from which you have to recover a couple of pricey mythics, a couple of pricey rares and a good foil to even break even. If they do a 2nd print run on this set, I'm not buying an eternal set ever again. If they want to deal with people sitting on their hands, waiting for more deflation, they're welcome to that economy. I don't like feeling like an idiot for ordering something when it's released.
If they do release a 2nd run, then that will absolutely *crush* EV. And I doubt prices will rebound strongly - people are pointing at MM1 and MM2, but those were reprints of older sets with lower original print runs. This is a reprint of *heavily* printed sets. The fetches will be OK, but the stuff from INN and RTR will likely never recover fully.
Also, the color quality of these cards are super *****ty. I have two tarns pulled from packs and both are *very* light. Like, "Maybe that's fake because it's so light" light.
3 cards spoiled for MM17 - Griselbrand, Domri Rade and some jank angel. Presumed Snapcaster Mage on the box.
3 cards keeping me from preordering MM17. Griselbrand has never recovered after rotating after Standard. He's only just now cracking $10 again and he's going straight back down. The other two aren't T1 modern playable. And worth practically nothing.
Three bannings in Standard is not the sign of a healthy standard, and that's something that should have been caught in R&D. Hence, tailspin. If you want to ignore all that, fine - you can fling insults about undies in wads to someone else. I'm glad you're seeing Standard growth, because all I'm seeing is decline. Post Aether tournaments have had the same turnout as pre Aether tournaments.
Dismember is not a valid analogue - it was in MM17 and some supplementary sets, along with being a promo. Fatal Push is in extreme demand and the set is not being opened much, at least anecdotally.
Bad R&D. It's only going to get worse before it gets better, since R&D works on sets a year or two ahead of when they're released.
R&D from a game design side or a sales side? From a sales side, I don't understand. Why buy cards if you don't get to play them? I Haven't bought a box since Theros was released (the set, not the block). Mostly because I liked the idea of seeing what I happened to pull and getting my hands on most copies of the commons and uncommons I needed to build a variety of decks. Gimmicks, like the Masterpiece Series don't appeal to me, although I do understand they appeal to other players/collectors. I, however, like playing with my cards and want to use them for the purpose for which they are intended.
Bad R&D on the game design side is leading to desperate/bad decision on the sales side. Nobody wants bans, but if they're forced because people simply give up on the format...well...it leads to gimmicks like Masterpieces. That and the intrinsic drive of sales to increase sales at all costs.
Love when people trash talk the Masterpiece series and say it's a gimmick and response to low sales, yet in this instance in the same post the same guy acknowledges they work years in advance, so they wouldn't have known to include them based on sales. Or how switching to the 2x-rotation would effect turn out even if the idea of not letting Standard get stale was a good intention. Or that they'd need to make bannings that they have. "More testing" isn't the answer because it's like any complex system in that you need more eyes and time to break something than most developers for anything have to test it. Same thing happens in many other games. But using master pieces as a scapegoat is hilarious when people were complaining about the most expensive Standard since Cawblade and Masterpieces resulting in lower Standard prices from more supply being opened, and adding rare and in-demand older cards like many of the artifacts and lands in the series. Find another scapegoat.
The masterpieces seem like an easy cheesy add-on. No testing required as they are non-standard legal and so rare that if they do break limited, it will only happen when someone opens the right cards. Commission the art and tack them on into packs, seems easy.
It's not a scapegoat - it's the canary in the coal mine. Standard sales are down despite the Masterpieces.
Bad R&D. It's only going to get worse before it gets better, since R&D works on sets a year or two ahead of when they're released.
R&D from a game design side or a sales side? From a sales side, I don't understand. Why buy cards if you don't get to play them? I Haven't bought a box since Theros was released (the set, not the block). Mostly because I liked the idea of seeing what I happened to pull and getting my hands on most copies of the commons and uncommons I needed to build a variety of decks. Gimmicks, like the Masterpiece Series don't appeal to me, although I do understand they appeal to other players/collectors. I, however, like playing with my cards and want to use them for the purpose for which they are intended.
Bad R&D on the game design side is leading to desperate/bad decision on the sales side. Nobody wants bans, but if they're forced because people simply give up on the format...well...it leads to gimmicks like Masterpieces. That and the intrinsic drive of sales to increase sales at all costs.
Jesus people, Mardu Vehicles dominated because let's face it, people didn't build their decks and sideboards for the match up. There's been plenty of PTs where the aggro deck comes out and triumphs because everyone was so caught up with something else. BG and Jeskai/Saheeli will adjust and knock down Mardu a peg or two. BG has Ishkanah and Liliana to mess with the creatures while control will adjust their removals and boardwipes. I think however, BG will definitely have the easier time of the two.
I may not be the biggest fan the format right now but at least there are three distinct archetypes that are completely different from one another that fit into aggro/midrange/control.
The problem is the perception of a single deck dominating. Presumably they made the 3 standard bans because they knew people were leaving Standard - this was their chance to prove that things have changed, but if it looks like things haven't...well...the recent regime likes bans. So now they're weighing the people on the sidelines vs. the people who have paid $15 each for Hearts of Kirans or Gideons or Scrapheap Scroungers or whatever is on the potential chopping block.
I'm eager to see what banlist reaction they have. I really think they're starting to realize that R&D is the issue, and if that's the case, their sets in the pipeline are uber ****ed. That would explain the doubling up of ban announcements.
If they decide to throw out more bans, the future of Magic finance is starting to look real shaky.
Heart of Kiran is the winner for this Pro Tour. Scrapheap Scrounger as well - price doesn't reflect it, but it's in every top 8 deck I think. And good ol' Gideon hasn't gone anywhere.
R&D is in a tailspin and since they were working on this set a couple of years ago, I suspect we're going to see a lot of *****tiness due to *****ty R&D for the next year or so.
Ban murmurs are keeping everything slightly down, I suspect. The fate of Magic hinges upon the post-pro tour ban announcement. They're going to set the precedent for the next couple of years.
Paradox Engine and Inspiring Statuary have shot through the roof. That Saffron guy made a deck with them and there are some quiet rumors that there are a couple of pro teams on the tech. Engine is $8 and rising, Statuary is $3 and rising. I don't think I'll bite at this time, the downside seems real while the gains may not be worth it at this point, but it's something to watch out for.
You joke, but let's not forget that they have another banlist update after the Pro Tour. I don't think any of these cards are OP, but I didn't think Reflector Mage or Copter were that bad either, just ubiquitous. If that's the only standard, then watch out.
I opened 4x mythics:
-Sphinx's Revelation
-Entreat the Angels
-Domri Rade
-Cavern of Souls
Notable rares:
-Goblin Guide
-Damnation
-Marsh Flats
-Scalding Tarn
-*Foil* Evil Twin (**** this card)
-Zero good uncommon/common foils
I bought a 2nd box but now I don't want to open it. Literally the best card in the set, the one out of 20 cases card, foil Tarmogoyf, won't even pay for half a box.
The "unlimited print run/2nd print run" rumors are also not helping. I don't like having this much uncertainty swirling around something that costs $240/box and from which you have to recover a couple of pricey mythics, a couple of pricey rares and a good foil to even break even. If they do a 2nd print run on this set, I'm not buying an eternal set ever again. If they want to deal with people sitting on their hands, waiting for more deflation, they're welcome to that economy. I don't like feeling like an idiot for ordering something when it's released.
If they do release a 2nd run, then that will absolutely *crush* EV. And I doubt prices will rebound strongly - people are pointing at MM1 and MM2, but those were reprints of older sets with lower original print runs. This is a reprint of *heavily* printed sets. The fetches will be OK, but the stuff from INN and RTR will likely never recover fully.
Also, the color quality of these cards are super *****ty. I have two tarns pulled from packs and both are *very* light. Like, "Maybe that's fake because it's so light" light.
3 cards keeping me from preordering MM17. Griselbrand has never recovered after rotating after Standard. He's only just now cracking $10 again and he's going straight back down. The other two aren't T1 modern playable. And worth practically nothing.
Dismember is not a valid analogue - it was in MM17 and some supplementary sets, along with being a promo. Fatal Push is in extreme demand and the set is not being opened much, at least anecdotally.
The masterpieces seem like an easy cheesy add-on. No testing required as they are non-standard legal and so rare that if they do break limited, it will only happen when someone opens the right cards. Commission the art and tack them on into packs, seems easy.
It's not a scapegoat - it's the canary in the coal mine. Standard sales are down despite the Masterpieces.
Bad R&D on the game design side is leading to desperate/bad decision on the sales side. Nobody wants bans, but if they're forced because people simply give up on the format...well...it leads to gimmicks like Masterpieces. That and the intrinsic drive of sales to increase sales at all costs.
The problem is the perception of a single deck dominating. Presumably they made the 3 standard bans because they knew people were leaving Standard - this was their chance to prove that things have changed, but if it looks like things haven't...well...the recent regime likes bans. So now they're weighing the people on the sidelines vs. the people who have paid $15 each for Hearts of Kirans or Gideons or Scrapheap Scroungers or whatever is on the potential chopping block.
Same as the old boss
I'm eager to see what banlist reaction they have. I really think they're starting to realize that R&D is the issue, and if that's the case, their sets in the pipeline are uber ****ed. That would explain the doubling up of ban announcements.
If they decide to throw out more bans, the future of Magic finance is starting to look real shaky.
R&D is in a tailspin and since they were working on this set a couple of years ago, I suspect we're going to see a lot of *****tiness due to *****ty R&D for the next year or so.
Ban murmurs are keeping everything slightly down, I suspect. The fate of Magic hinges upon the post-pro tour ban announcement. They're going to set the precedent for the next couple of years.
Edit: Probably not - I think it's referring to Winding Constrictor and not NOose Constrictor.
You joke, but let's not forget that they have another banlist update after the Pro Tour. I don't think any of these cards are OP, but I didn't think Reflector Mage or Copter were that bad either, just ubiquitous. If that's the only standard, then watch out.