Magic has plenty of ways to give itself softer reboots. Standard limits the card pool to recent sets, draft limits it to a single set, and formats like Modern and Pioneer limit it to other timeframes.
The reason Commander has succeeded while Brawl failed is that most people playing casual constructed don't want to have to stop using their old cards. As long as that attitude continues, I can't see Wizards switching to a "new" Magic that lacks that backwards compatibility.
I can't realistically see them do a soft reboot of Magic: The Gathering that invokes the exact same Old School Magic 93/94 format feel of what the game was like that even Richard Garfield himself tried to replicate with KeyForge which I've also seen with other new Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games such as Sorcery: Contested Realm and arguably Flesh and Blood TCG even though nobody actually plays it at my locals where as Grand Archive is just a cheap knock-off of Force of Will TCG years prior.
You also have to keep in mind that depending on how soft the reboot is it would have consequential repercussions to the game's Secondary Market and backwards compatibility is just as much the lifeblood of Magic: The Gathering itself as the importance of playing In-Person at Local Game Stores (LGSs). Unfortunately the competitive aspect of the game has been neglected since the start of the pandemic due to how popular EDH / Commander is and is consequently gate keeping newer players from getting into Magic: The Gathering playing In-Person at Local Game Stores (LGSs).
Because I assume JK Rowling still controls the rights of Harry Potter where the Tolkien Trust has decided to sell out and cash in. Personally I hope Rowling holds out.
Maybe Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro is holding back on doing a Harry Potter crossover in Magic: The Gathering due to the recent controversy surrounding Hogwarts Legacy.
I feel the one ring was a good way of using the flavour associated with the one ring. I don't know how else they could do serialized 1/1 cards without it being pretty absurd
Any villain or unique items from a series - Harry Potter ,Voldemort, horcruxes or hallows, stranger things, vecna or Hawkins lab, iron man, arc reactor, marvel universe infinity gauntlet,
Doubt we'll see the Infinity Gauntlet from the Marvel Universe in Magic: The Gathering since Disney owns Marvel and they'll more than likely add it to Lorcana first before Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro can get that kind of partnership. Stranger Things has already been done before while we missed a Harry Potter crossover with Strixhaven. Why they decided not to is beyond me especially when they literally designed Strixhaven Stadium off of Quidditch.
Turns out there's more new rules and guidelines that YouTube is going to be implementing on their platform aside from this. One of which being that If the name of your YouTube account is deemed offensive or inappropriate then you will be forced to change it within 10 days from now in order to continue using that account. They also recently cracked down on YouTubers using Adblock on their platform by limiting the amount of videos they can watch unless they purchase a premium subscription after three videos so If you disable Adblock on YouTube then you shouldn't have a problem even though it's petty.
I remember nearly 20 years since I got my first job after graduating from high school that my grocery store used to carry issues of Mage Magazine which was entirely dedicated to Magic: The Gathering and was very rare. I remember it either being the 2004 or 2005 issue featuring Mirrodin block back when it was Standard legal while also promoting the North American release of Duel Masters from Japan at the time. I always thought that Duel Masters was inferior to Yu-Gi-Oh! back then since it was competing for that same demographic similar with Pokémon TCG. It's a real shame that Duel Masters never got the same care from Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro that Magic: The Gathering did even with the Kaijudo reboot years later where they devoted EVERYTHING entirely to Magic: The Gathering.
The Intellectual Property (IP) for Duel Masters / Kaijudo was so weak compared to Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon that it felt more like a desperate attempt to attract a kid / teen friendly version of Magic: The Gathering to kids and young teenagers since adults were the target demographic for Magic: The Gathering. I did get around to playing it including the Kaijudo reboot and it had a lot of promise but unfortunately it was short lived. I still even remember the card quality being bad compared to other card games I've played where it felt like it was rushed into production. I think Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro felt that they didn't even need Duel Masters and Kaijudo when Magic: The Gathering was already enough to attract kids and teenagers aside from the established adult base.
Went ahead and made the Commander Azorius instead of Bant especially considering that Blue does have access to cards that add mana such as High Tide and Mana Drain which the first ability of Elyra is based on.
But the reason why those unique 1 of 1 promo cards you mentioned never attracted enough attention to gain million dollar bounties was because Magic: The Gathering itself is not as strong of an Intellectual Property (IP) as Lord of the Rings let alone having the kind of marketing promotions that a lot of these nostalgic franchises have. Universes Beyond for Magic: The Gathering is basically Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro admitting that nobody cares enough about the story and lore for Magic: The Gathering outside of those who've already been cultured into it. How often are you going to see someone cosplay as a Magic: The Gathering character at a convention or dress up their kids as one to go trick-or-treating for Halloween? Why isn't there any Japanese Anime / Manga directly based on Magic: The Gathering to attract new customers to the game itself? What about gorgeous Anime figures of Nissa and Chandra? What about a TV series on Netflix or a new film that isn't Dungeons & Dragons? Why isn't there any good Magic: The Gathering video games?
I think this also speaks to just how much the Magic: The Gathering community continues to gate keep their own game in such a way where it's almost impossible to have the kind of pop culture impact that can help popularize Magic: The Gathering as a brand even more without looking to celebrities like Post Malone to help sponsor for it. I get it we don't want Magic: The Gathering to become a sell out similar with what people used to say about Rock and Roll Bands within the Music Industry in decades past. Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro is now realizing that people aren't going to be cultured into something that they've never been cultured into because they were never born yet so it's hard for them to empathize unless the company takes some kind of effort through marketing promotions to help draw them in for more sales. It's almost as If Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro are deeply ashamed of their own story and lore for Magic: The Gathering to heavily rely on story and lore from other Intellectual Properties (IPs) that are more successful.
I bet you'll be able to see the slump in product sales after this from the moon.
Yep, happens all the time with MegaMillions and Powerball. They sell the tar out of them as the jackpot reaches stratospheric levels then someone wins it and sales plunge off the cliff again until that critical mass is reached again over time. Same will happen here, maybe not to the extent of said Lottos above but it will happen. There are still some dopes out there probably thinking they can still pull the One Ring and buying packs.
There's a sucker born every minute.
P.T. Barnum
I have fairly low hopes that this will not be adopted as a recurring sales strategy going forward.
As Mystic_X stated in another thread related to this topic:
Quote from Mystic_X »
The One Ring was a good and flavorful opportunity for this type of gimmick, but I can't see them doing it again for awhile unless or until an equally epic and unique artifact is turned into a Magic card. What would qualify for such a printing? The Excalibur, The Shroud of Turin, or The Ark of The Covenant perhaps?
Regardless, I should remind you and point out that there have already been some unique 1 of 1 promo cards printed over the years (ie: Proposal, 1996 World Champion, Shichifukujin Dragon, etc). The only difference is those were never found in packs nor did ever attract enough attention to gain million dollar bounties.
The second ability is a bit overzealous, even for a three color. The fact that it doesn't have evasion wants to justify, I'm sure. Most people would just attempt to brute force past it, otherwise.
What kind of evasion ability did you have in mind?
Elyra, Mercadian MerchantWU Legendary Creature - Human Wizard
Shroud
Whenever a spell or ability you control has an opponent pay any mana, at the beginning of your next main phase, add C equal to the total amount of mana paid. This triggers only once each turn. If that player doesn't pay any mana, draw a card instead. This ability triggers only once each turn.
2/2
I really wanted to create an Azorius Commander that could capitalize on Rhystic Study, Mystic Remora, Smothering Tithe, and Esper Sentinel in a way that would make for funny board states and shenanigans in Commander. Might need to go more group huggy with this because as it's currently worded it almost feels as oppressive as Hullbreacher was but isn't as punishing due to not having "instead" worded in the oracle text to where it would've been.
You also have to keep in mind that depending on how soft the reboot is it would have consequential repercussions to the game's Secondary Market and backwards compatibility is just as much the lifeblood of Magic: The Gathering itself as the importance of playing In-Person at Local Game Stores (LGSs). Unfortunately the competitive aspect of the game has been neglected since the start of the pandemic due to how popular EDH / Commander is and is consequently gate keeping newer players from getting into Magic: The Gathering playing In-Person at Local Game Stores (LGSs).
Enchantment
Treat all noncombat damage as though it were Commander damage (If a player would take
21 or more Commander damage that player loses the game).
Discuss.
The Intellectual Property (IP) for Duel Masters / Kaijudo was so weak compared to Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon that it felt more like a desperate attempt to attract a kid / teen friendly version of Magic: The Gathering to kids and young teenagers since adults were the target demographic for Magic: The Gathering. I did get around to playing it including the Kaijudo reboot and it had a lot of promise but unfortunately it was short lived. I still even remember the card quality being bad compared to other card games I've played where it felt like it was rushed into production. I think Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro felt that they didn't even need Duel Masters and Kaijudo when Magic: The Gathering was already enough to attract kids and teenagers aside from the established adult base.
I think this also speaks to just how much the Magic: The Gathering community continues to gate keep their own game in such a way where it's almost impossible to have the kind of pop culture impact that can help popularize Magic: The Gathering as a brand even more without looking to celebrities like Post Malone to help sponsor for it. I get it we don't want Magic: The Gathering to become a sell out similar with what people used to say about Rock and Roll Bands within the Music Industry in decades past. Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro is now realizing that people aren't going to be cultured into something that they've never been cultured into because they were never born yet so it's hard for them to empathize unless the company takes some kind of effort through marketing promotions to help draw them in for more sales. It's almost as If Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro are deeply ashamed of their own story and lore for Magic: The Gathering to heavily rely on story and lore from other Intellectual Properties (IPs) that are more successful.
- Blazing Salvo
- Book Burning
- Breaking Point
- Browbeat
- Combustible Gearhulk
- Demanding Dragon
- Enchanter's Bane
- Molten Influence
- Pia's Revolution
- Rhystic Lightning
- Risk Factor
- Skullscorch
Hope that helps.Legendary Creature - Human Wizard
Shroud
Whenever a spell or ability you control has an opponent pay any mana, at the beginning of your next main phase, add C equal to the total amount of mana paid. This triggers only once each turn. If that player doesn't pay any mana, draw a card instead. This ability triggers only once each turn.
2/2
I really wanted to create an Azorius Commander that could capitalize on Rhystic Study, Mystic Remora, Smothering Tithe, and Esper Sentinel in a way that would make for funny board states and shenanigans in Commander. Might need to go more group huggy with this because as it's currently worded it almost feels as oppressive as Hullbreacher was but isn't as punishing due to not having "instead" worded in the oracle text to where it would've been.
Discuss.