MTG Salvation

I'm very curious to know other people's experiences and opinions.
Is anyone else finding it impossible to buy this product?

I've been patiently waiting for it to be available online for preorder at my LGS (which is literally the top MTG seller in Canada), but apparently after weeks of apparent shipping delays, I realized tonight that only the singles (both regular and foils) are available for purchase at ridiculously inflated prices.

For the record, I don't "need" any of these cards and already own multiples of every card included, but wanted the new alternate arts (preferably in foil... who doesn't, right?). Regardless, I'm still upset.

Was it not Wizards' intent to allow their customers (not their retail distributors, but actual players and collectors) to buy this box set in its entirety?

Quite frankly, I feel like Wizards failed many commander players with this product and only rewarded LGSs who clearly felt it wasn't in their best interest to allow anyone to buy this product so they could chop it up for additional profits.

Don't misunderstand... I'm not against stores buying back singles from such box sets to resell from players who bought the box and don't want to keep everything included for themselves. In fact, I appreciate that they do because often I don't want the whole set anyway. However, specifically not alloying any customers to buy this product as it was intended to be sold is extremely disappointing and should be a violation of Wizards' distribution policy which (to the best of my knowledge) forbids (or used to forbid) the reselling of buy-a-box, fnm, and gameday promos (which hadn't previously been sold or traded back to stores) that were specifically meant to be given away as rewards for in-store events.

One can't help but ask...
Why wasn't this released as a Secret Lair product which anyone could order and actually receive a copy of, instead of what is essentially a rebranded From the Vault product, which as we knew from past experience would be, and is now seemingly impossible to find because of the existing price hikes on the singles included (which as we all know were only artificially inflated due to scarcity prior to the reprints)?

One would think when a product like this is released there would be a fair but modest mark-up from MSRP,... say bringing the product to $100 for the regular box and $200 for the premium version (which was my initial price estimate when this was first announced). However, evidently I now have to pay $350+ tax CAD instead for the entire set because stores will ONLY let me buy the cards as singles?!

Seems pretty insane considering I remember paying $225 (plus tax) albeit at a different store for Commander's Arsenal upon release (which obviously included a retail mark-up at the time but seemed fair) and had more (and arguably better) cards included!

I'm sorry if this comes off a rant thread, but I truly want to understand the logic behind Wizards' terrible decision (in my opinion) to only sell this product through stores knowing what they would likely do to take advantage of the primary consumer base (actual players).

Whoever at Wizards made the decision should be ashamed of themselves, and I hope they (and Hasbro executives) read this knowing that they would've easily and undoubtedly sold many more copies of this box set (and made significantly more profit) by cutting out greedy middlemen had this set of green commander staples been released as a Secret Lair instead. In other words: EPIC FAIL!

Had it been sold online that way instead (properly and respectfully), I myself would've ordered two premium editions (one to keep sealed), but instead I'm buying NONE (sorry Wizards, but you lost a sale by your own doing), and will refuse to ever buy the singles individually out of principle because I can't in good conscious support the specific dismantling of such box sets. If I ever get them, it will have to be via a trade with another player, and if not, c'est la vie!

Opening booster boxes for singles resale is one thing, but opening very limited print run box sets which players literally yearn for, patiently wait for with anticipation once announced, and have the right to buy sealed in their box is quite another.

Struggling through Covid-19 times notwithstanding, I still say shame on every retailer who put their own profits over players (real people most of whom have limited disposable income) and seemingly didn't care one iota about making any of their long time supporters happy in this instance.
Your decision was wrong, unethical, and this long-time big-spending customer denounces and condemns it!
Apology deserved and expected.

Thank you for your insights and for reading.

Matt Stewart?
That's an easy one.
Here are some others to compare with if you have doubts the signature is real.
Some of us collect signed cards and will happily take them off players' hands if they want to sell or trade them at the right price. In fact, I do so as often as I can, and I was certainly looking forward to getting several hundred more signed by artists at Magicfest before this year's events were cancelled, something which I'll have to double or triple up on to compensate for whenever such events and opportunities eventually resume.
Some people don't like them and many consider such cards damaged, but depending on the card and the artist, signatures can fetch a premium, especially if you have a complete set signed, the artist is deceased, on the new "Artists Reserved List", or the card is a staple in particular formats.

Y'know how Wizards failed us with this product?
It was the perfect opportunity to reprint unholy grotto as a much needed bonus full-art expedition which would've easily boosted sales.
For the love of zombies, how come only the survivors got special treatment?

Quote from rowanalpha »

Quote from flaming infinity »

So, what does this have to do with Stoneforge Mystic? Yes, it gives you a tutor for it but we can already do that for cheaper. Yes, it'll let you put it onto the battlefield for 1W instead of 1B and gives you a creature you can equip with it, but you're talking 8 mana split over two turns for this. Batterskull was good with stoneforge because it gave you a creature the equipment was already equipped to. Now, Stonehewer Giant gets around those problems, but why wouldn't you want Colossus Hammer, Argentum Armor, even Batterskull over this? I mean it's a cute card I'd like to slide into a commander deck occasionally because I like the flavor, but I see no reason why it's powerful. Now, it is powerful enough for me to enjoy since it does something I'd like to do at a decent enough rate, but just like the other cards, I see absolutely nothing to be worried about. We're talking formats with every Magic card ever printed. Cards either have to cost less mana or do something you can't do with other cards to be competitive.

You're right, I was mixing up stoneforge's ability with an auto-attach for some reason.

Yup. If you already have Hammer of Nazahn in play and this enters, things become slightly dangerous

Quote from leslak »

https://twitter.com/nessameowmeow/status/1312960832238575618?s=20

That thing is kinda of playable, not that good but if people wants to make a point and play one or more in legacy than this equipment could be the offender.

Exactly.
This card is cute, balanced, legendary, and can only be played in black but likely won't be good enough for legacy (I'd rather play jitte any day of the week), so there will certainly be enough in circulation for those who want it, especially because not everyone even plays black to begin with, and stores will order a lot of this product to chop up for resale.

As a Commander player, this annoys me much less than the new swords printed in Modern Horizons which fit into many more decks, and will become much more scarce on the open market than this over time unless reprinted frequently enough to keep up. Just look at how high the swords are which just got reprinted in Double Masters! Regardless, I suspect this, like the other cards in this not so secretive of a lair anymore, will also be reprinted soon with their Magic counterpart names. In the interim, we just have to wait and remain calm and optimistic.

For me, Forgotten Realms invokes nostalgic memories of creating my own world and narrative with Unlimited Adventures. Those were the days!

I can barely wait for the eventual Secret Lair: Back to the Future!

Just think of the flavorful possibilities!...

DeLorean, Time Machine 5
Artifact - Vehicle
8/5
Crew 2
Whenever DeLorean attacks, roll a 6-sided die. If you roll 1 to 5, go back in time that many turns. If you roll 6, restart the game (reset the board state as needed). If you've travelled to the future, DeLorean gains flying.

Flux Capacitor, 3
Legendary Artifact
When flux capacitor enters the battlefield put a mile counter on it.
At the beginning up your upkeep, double the number of mile counters on Flux Capacitor.
Whenever a crewed vehicle attacks, if Flux Capacitor has 88 or more mile counters on it, restart the game with Flux Capacitor and a 1/1 white human teenager token with vigilance under your control, then take an extra turn at the beginning of your first end step.

Marty's Hoverboard, 3
Vehicle
20/15
Crew 4
Creatures crewing hoverboard gain reach, haste, and vigilance, and can attack or block as though they're not tapped.
Hoverboard can't attack opponents who only control islands
You may remove a counter from a teenager rather than paying Marty's Hoverboard's crew cost

Biff, 3BW
Legendary Creature - Geriatric Human Bully
3/3
When Biff enters the battlefield, each opponent loses 1 life, put a +1/+1 counter on Biff for each life lost this way.
At the beginning of each combat, goad target creature.
Whenever Biff attacks and isn't blocked, ask that opponent "What's the matter McFly? Chicken?"
If Biff is Geriatric on the battlefield and you go back in time, put Biff to the top of your library, and cards named Biff enters with the creature type Adult instead with a manure counter, and target opponent sacrifices a non-teenager creature
If Biff is Adult on the battlefield and you back in time, put Biff to the top of your library, and cards named Biff enter with the creature type Teenager instead with a manure counter
Creatures with manure counters have infect

Marty McFly, Temporal Abductee, WW
Legendary Creature - Teenager Human Slacker
4/1
Partner with Doc Brown
When Marty McFly crews a Vehicle, they each gain Protection from Bullies until end of turn.
If Marty McFly is on the Battlefield and you go back in time, Put Marty McFly onto the Battlefield. If you've previously gone back in time this game, target opponent creates a token copy of Marty McFly.

Doc Brown, Mad Scientist, WRU
Legendary Creature - Geriatric Human Scientist
2/3
Partner with Marty McFly
Geriatrics can't block or be blocked by Teenagers
When Doc Brown, Mad Scientist attacks, draw a card.
When Doc Brown, Mad Scientist Crews DeLorean, Time Machine, flip a coin. It if comes up heads, take an extra turn after this one. If it comes up tails, rolls a 6-sided die, go back in time a that many turns, and target opponent draws two cards.
Whenever Doc Brown is dealt damage, targeted, or destroyed by a Time Paradox, say "Great Scott!"

Time Paradox, 4
Instant
Put target Teenager to the top of it's owner's library or Destroy target non-teenager, then Scry 2

Duelist Magazine, 2
Legendary Publication - Almanac
Equip 3
At the beginning of each upkeep, create a treasure token and put a +1/+1 counter on equipped creature
If a Human you control is equipped with Duelist Magazine and go back in time, put the equipped creature onto the battlefield, and put Duelist Magazine to the top of your library. If you go back to 1994, increase the value of your Magic card collection exponentially.

Marvin Berry, Chuck's Non-existent Cousin, BB
Adult Human Musician
2/2
Whenever Marty McFly equips a Guitar, Phone your most musically talented cousin and remind them you exist
Marvin Berry has all activated abilities of musicians in graveyards

You know you want it!

Quote from Eryops »

Quote from Mystic_X »

Wait...I think I just figured it out!
We're going back to Innistrad next year, right?
Innistrad has lots of zombies.
Therefore, Rick must be the new Odric!
Just look at the mechanics... It makes perfect sense!
Chances are all of these cards will be in the upcmoing Innistrad with different names, and these will be the alternate art/alternate name preemptively released promo variants!
Riddle solved!
Case closed!

If it's something as innocent as this, that would be great. Many aspects of my internets are exploding, and looking at Rick and replacing it with Odric, that eases some of the surprising stress I've had about Magic over the last couple of days.

But since we're in the Rumor Mill, who would the other cards translate to then? The next generation of Innistrad heroes?

It probably is!
This is why I don't understand why so many people are making a mountain out of a molehill.
Who knows... Perhaps those who are complaining are even working for Wizards, and are trying to draw more attention to the product in hopes that the apparent controversy helps boost sales. After all, infamy lasts longer than fame, and bad attention is still good free advertising as evidenced by the spike in sales and prices of recently banned collectible cards which are no longer playable due to cancel culture for having "offensive art" (if such a thing even exists, but that's an entirely different philosophical discussion regarding the subjective nature of what may or may not be offensive and how we interpret then process external stimuli).

Honestly, Wizards marketing executives are probably dancing in their socially distanced bubbles now with glasses of champagne in celebration of how much talk this product is getting and how they can already feel confident they made the correct decision. After all, it's a guaranteed seller (albeit, not for everyone which is obvious, and the same could be said about any product they release. I for example had zero interest in Jump/Start and simply ignored it instead of coming here to complain about those few new commander staples being included which I couldn't get at the price I wanted and which are already super high that I never even needed to begin with since my decks are healthy enough without them). Regardless, initial mistakes like low print runs can always be easily corrected with reprints (assuming they're even mistakes and not intentional as a way to boost hype and inflate the secondary market which Wizards must realize when high is a barometer of their success at producing a product people want, which in turn draws in investors adding momentum to the cycle).

This is what I think...
Rick is Odric
Darryl is likely the new Legendary Huntmaster of the Fells or Ulrich
Glenn is likely the new Geist of Saint Traft
Michonne is likely the new Legendary Grim Flayer
Neegan is likely a new creature Sorin, or a legendary Falkenrath Aristocrat

Comforting, isn't it?
To consider that possibility

Even if I'm wrong, there's still nothing to panic or be fearful about.

To all concerned who are (in my opinion) overreacting...
I beg you to relax over this.
It's not worth risking hypertension.
Brew some chamomile tea, find some indica, listen to Chopin or pick up your own acoustic guitar, play a game with fewer less complex game pieces like chess...whatever it takes.

It's pointless, if not counter-productive to spend energy being upset at this decision.
It was made, seemingly despite previous complaints regarding similar issues which apparently fell on deaf ears.
Conclusion: Our input and criticisms here are effectively inconsequential, at least for the most part, and that's just something we'll all have to live with. Yelling at the sky for rain during a dry season does nothing when nobody is up there listening.

Let's at least be happy for the gifted actors whose likenesses have now been immortalized in a game so many people love!
Can't we be happy for Andrew Lincoln and his co-stars who were all great in their roles on the show?
Nobody at Wizards cares if some players don't like the show or if they didn't earn that level of showcasing
Should we expect them to care if we're also upset at whoever among the actors has never even played a game of Magic? Why bother?
For all we know, the actors more upset than people here because they never consented to being associated with this game (and by extension the toxic elements and backlash hyperbole of gaming culture) or were even included in the decision to having their character's cards printed.

What if, hypothetically, Wesley Crusher appeared as a Star Trek Secret Lair card?
Considering that's a series with time travel, portals, other worlds and dimensions, would such a crossover be more appropriate than The Walking Dead "invading" the Magic megaverse?
Wil Wheaton even plays Magic (or at least he did at some point) and has also culturally crossed-over before to the Big Bang Theory (which everyone I know thought was absolutely hilarious). But I digress...

Why care if Wizards is making the same mistakes they used to?
They're doing so knowingly at least, and that's their prerogative.
Rest assured, time will heal all wounds.

People complained about the Godzilla lands.
Personally, I don't like or understand the appeal of Guru Lands but won't hate on their existence or the people who want to buy them.
They're literally basic lands which cost hundreds of dollars but function the same as other worthless cardboard.
Nice art and controversial artist notwithstanding, quite frankly, there's nothing "guru" about them in my eyes.
They're lands for suckers who want to show off and have more money than they know what to do with, but anyone who is smart and buys them wouldn't even play with them, that's the catch most people don't understand. They'll never help you win games, but they might score you points impressing friends or invite theft. One thing is for certain: The more they're played, the more they're at risk of going down in value, but if they're not, they'll always at least retain or go up in value.

Case in point some cards should never be played with and were never meant to be, regardless of whether the border is black, white, silver, or gold.
The color of card borders is illusory to a true collecting connoisseur

Back to the specific topic at hand...
People who claim certain things are inherently "wrong" with regards to these TWD cards (or the similar aforementioned poorly distributed in the past promotional cards like mana crypt, etc) certainly don't speak for me or the majority of players (not that I necessarily represent the majority of players either because I play this game on a level few seem to understand).
How do I know this?
Because the majority of Magic players don't even know about these cards yet!
In fact, contrary to popular belief (or rather, the beliefs of players who congregate here and on similar forums), the majority of Magic players don't even read these forums or look at spoilers, let alone cling to Wizards' twitter and reddit feeds 24/7 like some of us who are clearly too invested, obsessed, and distracted by this game and the perpetual stream of updates to game pieces, mechanics, formats, and the overall environment which are virtually impossible for anyone to keep up with (unless they don't work and have no other social life or family obligations) to properly put things into perspective.

Realistically, the only people who should be upset about the low distribution (or lack thereof in certain countries) are those who solely identify as investors and collectors. The people who want to buy these, perhaps in bulk, to hold onto, then unload years from now as supply becomes scarce and they go up.

Players who never keep extra product sealed and have difficulty getting these cards for any reason never really needed them anyway, because nobody needs them. Nobody was missing or asking for these mechanical designs up until now, nobody among the player base asked for TWD cards to be produced, and nobody would have them if we weren't already living in a Twilight Zone alternate timeline where they weren't printed, so does it really change anything if you're stuck in this particular instance of space and time, you're in a have-not country where this doesn't get shipped, and other random people in other countries have them either to play with, leave in a binder, or keep on their shelves?

How would that in any way change your life for the worse?
Because you know that someone out there has something, or has access to something which you don't?
Boo-Hoo-Hoo!

You can't
Always get
What you want...
(Sing it with me now!)

To reiterate what the objective, experienced, critically-thinking, profit-making, cultured, game-enthusiastic, mature adults in the room agree upon, these aren't format warping game pieces in any way, and if you choose not to buy them for any reason, you don't have to regret that decision either. If you suspect you will, or have distain or angst towards whomever does own them, you may need to seek professional therapy to deal with those internal anger issues which are obviously causing misdirected frustration at a game manufacturer (and their other, happier clients) for, of all things, producing game pieces which some (but not all) players like (which is the case with cards from literally every set which gets printed).

These cards will change your life about as much as...
Yoda randomly appearing in SoulCalibur 4
Arnold as the T-800 being in Mortal Kombat 11
And look what happened to the Street Fighter world over the years! Have you seen the Roster in Marvel vs Capcom 3? (would they keep making these games and adding more characters if they weren't fun to play, popular, and profitable?)
Do those games (still) upset you too, and if so, ask yourselves, why?

Fun fact....I recently downloaded Eddie Murphy in a Delirious costume for WWE 2K20!
His move set may not be the best, but seeing him walk down the entrance ramp still makes me smile <- Hint: this is what matters most to people who play games for the right reason (recreational fun above all else)

Remember when they added that invasive new marshmallow shape into your box of Lucky Charms?!
Did General Mills betray it's consumers by changing how many colors were in your cereal bowl?
Why wasn't everybody who ate cereal, or anybody among consumers for that matter polled before they made that huge game-changing decision?
Wasn't 7 supposed to be the lucky number?!
Who cares?
Companion mechanic effectively gave some players an 8th card in hand!
My point is, Wizards and Leprechauns can correct those mistakes, and we can always pick out the marshmallows we don't like to play with...I mean eat!

This is simply what happens when cultural ideas intersect and there's an opportunity for profit.
Consumers want more colors, sounds, sparkles, border patterns, gimmicks, and gum with their cards!
It's all just eye-candy and other forms of mental stimulation.
TWD Magic cards are an example of good product marketing, something Hasbro and Wizards clearly knows much more about that I would assume most people on this forum. They want to draw in new players (as always) and figure fans who are enjoying the final season of TWD and don't know about Magic cards or who've heard about them but never played, may feel more inclined to now that familiar faces are on cards, particularly commander-esque cards which can be built around for fun, multiplayer, casual games, which often exclude the players who apparently don't even want to see these cards exist to begin with. That's the irony... The people who want them and the people who don't will likely never even be sitting at the same table!

Should we blame businesses for trying to make profit when that's their primary intent and function (if successful)?
Y'know what old saying... "If you can't beat em, join em"?
This is where I (and other smart players who are in it for the endgame) follow the adage and you fail; Where I keep trading up into older staples and growing my portfolio, and you keep buying into Standrad then trading at a loss as the new trendy netdeck-of-the-week keeps emerging and eclipsing other good cards which people are too apprehensive to even try using, cards which I pick up when they bottom out and then flip back six months to six years later when the combo piece gets printed, the buyout begins for those late to the party, and my copies go up eight to twenty times in value.

Other people are happy
Other people are having fun
How does their fun diminish yours?
Is it some sort of zero-balance equation where you and your opponent who plays cards you don't like can't BOTH have fun?
What a novel concept!...Two (or more) people, playing a game, for the sake of playing and having fun in the process!
Isn't that the primary purpose of playing any game?
If you're playing Magic solely for the competition aspect, then again these won't bother you because your competitive opponents likely won't play them, and if they do, you'll seemingly be at an advantage since they're mechanically sub-par by today's standards.

Just know in advance that by neglecting to buy these, you will be missing out on an opportunity to trade them back at a profit later for the cards you actually do want but don't want to pay for in cash now because they're already higher in price than you believe they should be. As they say with any newly hyped product destined for appreciation, you have to get in on the ground floor, that's now.

There's always two games being played...
The game on the battlefield, and the market game.
Am I the only one who buys cards he doesn't want to play with while they're low so I can trade them back for other pieces later once they go up?
Quite frankly, in the grand scheme of things, the latter is more important to me, and should be more important to all of you too, but if you still care more about going 5-0 at the next standard event than you do about amassing a million dollars or more in easy-to-store equity which goes up in value much faster than most mutual funds, you should be focusing on more formats.

My comment about having a lot of signed cards was simply to illustrate that I have a vast and diverse portfolio of cards, both old and new, both competitive and forgotten, many of which I don't like, many of which I never play with or intended to play with, but were still simply acquired as part of a now very valuable ongoing collection project. The details aren't important, but you can be certain I know what I'm talking about and wasn't trying to diminish the Magic knowledge of younger players of the "common folk" (which was your label, not mine) who may not have been following this game as long as I have or who know less about collecting (at no fault of their own) than I do through decades of first hand experience. This has nothing to do with trying to make anyone jealous or you thinking I'm some sort of Magic elitist who wants to brag. On the contrary, I'm trying to help and offer good constructive advice to whomever will listen which has worked for me about collecting and trading up for profit to share what could also be a profitable experience for others who play this game differently than I do, as opposed to languishing over the perpetual frustrations of getting caught in the cycle of playing paper Standard which more experienced players know is a trap inside a sinkhole for losing money.

At this moment, I'd like to offer a Special and Thankful shout-out to 'Markers', who is the one who motivated me years ago to build up my signatures collection and take my collecting more seriously, which I have been.

I'll conclude with this for those who are still upset.
Put your anger aside, think logically and critically about every dollar you spend on particular cards, and figure out why it's beneficial not to miss certain opportunities more than others, and buy cards you may not even like or want to support for being culturally offensive. This is no different than a limited special edition sneaker than you don't want to wear and nobody needs to run faster but will still go up in value. Nowadays the long term market increases are all about rare promos, Commander staples, and Reserved list cards. Either use that knowledge to your own advantage, or be stubborn on principle and lose out. You can treat Magic as a game and also as a retirement fund (they're not mutually exclusive). The choice is yours.

Exactly
Fake News!

Wait...I think I just figured it out!
We're going back to Innistrad next year, right?
Innistrad has lots of zombies.
Therefore, Rick must be the new Odric!
Just look at the mechanics... It makes perfect sense!
Chances are all of these cards will be in the upcmoing Innistrad with different names, and these will be the alternate art/alternate name preemptively released promo variants!
Riddle solved!
Case closed!

Quote from Dank "n Derpy Gamer »

Quote from Mystic_X »

Wow. What makes everyone in the world entitled to get Magic cards (new or old) at the same price and rate of distribution?

Imagine that, people expect WotC, after making a promise to not do things perceived to be detrimental to the game, to stick to that promise. What a shocker.

Honestly, I don't disagree that people will, and have overreacted at some point, but IMO, trying to gaslight the people who are raising valid points is just gonna make the discussion more heated, not less, especially when made in a way that ignores what actually has been said. Same with the rest of your post, which amounts to running with an incredible strawman, and using it to make all sorts of jabs at players who are very passionate about the situation, jabs that are irrelevant (when they aren't outright name-calling and blind dismissal) to the complaints lodged, as if you were actually rebuking them.

It's the same crap that makes the RL so hard to discuss, the same tendency to respond with extreme poison. It's just as BS there as it is here.

Pardon me for asking, but how would you know what is or isn't difficult to discuss?
You joined this forum in June, have 5 posts to date, and couldn't even rebuttal me beyond dismissing and calling me a strawman when you can't deny I'm correct in everything I said, so that makes you some sort of expert on the topics of supplemental products for collectors and the Reserved List?

With all due respect, I've been playing off and on for over twenty years, am heavily invested in this game, have more artist-signed cards than everyone you know combined, love and hate many aspects of Magic, and have no major qualms with any product I don't like, want to play with, or want to collect only for the sake of collecting. I simply don't purchase those products and that's that; how any normal person would react.

The only gaslighting going on is from those who cry that "the sky is falling, Magic is slowly dying" every time some new product gets announced or released which rubs them the wrong way. We heard it when dual-faced cards were released, probably when planeswalkers and flip cards were released (though I wasn't playing during Lorwyn or Kamigawa), when rule changes, bannings, and unbannings occurred, etc. Personally, I'm happy with Secret Lair. I get what I want, ignore what I don't, and life goes on. It's certainly better than having to wait in line before the LGS opens on the release day of Commander's Arsenal or From The Vault, then having to win some sort of in-store raffle just to have the opportunity to buy one because stores never had enough supply to accomodate demand. That was a disaster...travelling all the way to a store, waiting, and potentially leaving empty handed because there were no preorders and every store marked the box sets up like crazy. Would you prefer that experience?

Anyway, as we've all already established, it's Their game!
Wizards can design it however they want, and we can play however we want (some even design and print their own custom sets and cubes!), so that's the bottom line. Play with the cards which appeal to you and your friends.
Don't like the design philosophy? Go support another game developer!
Honestly, I see good sales on Xbox One games all the time. I myself was even tempted to download No Man's Sky after the recent update and improved reviews.

Either way, please stop with the hyperbole as nothing "detrimental to the game" has been committed here, and if you honestly perceive these cards as such, it's clear you're too new too the game or simply bad at evaluating card strength in an already powercrept degenerate metagame. This isn't me trying to be righteous, these are the facts. Lastly, I don't know what "promise to not do things" you're referring to. Sounds pretty vague and ambiguous. What year did this occur in? Was it also written on a promo foil scroll inked in Phyrexian scripture and human blood?

Quote from Iceheart_Omnis »

On one hand, good riddance Uro. I'm really happy to see that stupid design out, however, considering Omnath is still a thing I don't see the format getting substantially better but hey, gotta sell those packs. On the other hand, I can't see Lotus Cobra being ban-worthy, a 2/1 for 2 without any defensive ability can be kept in check by pretty much every single removal spell in the format.

Exactly, but the problem is everyone now seemingly forgets to play removal because Magic has apparently become a game where everyone races to get their mythic finishers out while ignoring the fact that there's another game being played by the opposition. Arena has also increased best-of-one popularity which has no sideboarding, and only encourages less interactive responses. Many players make a similar mistake in chess and go when they overextend an attack while preemptively thinking they have a tempo advantage, but are overlooking a change in lines of sight or a countermove in their opponent's strategy which causes things to change drastically and disrupt the delicate balance of power in the board state.

Quote from OrzhovPlaneswalker »

The best thing about this whole dumpster fire is that the more WotC tries to deny that there's a problem, the more public the problem gets.

Heck, it might even be the case that I won't have to even dedicate too many resources punking the players that use these in multiplayer formats. Once the cards are played it will be suddenly become an in-house race between players to see who can eliminate the offending creature and/or defeat the player using them first!

Its Secret Lair: Whack-a-Mole!!

A problem or "dumpster fire" doesn't exist simply because you and a few other contrarians believe or say it does.
Perhaps put it to a survey here and let's see the results after several thousand votes to at least get a better metric with which to judge the community's reaction.
Targeting and teaming up on specific players early on has always been a thing.
I've felt the flank attacks many times while piloting Kaalia or Grand Arbiter Augustine, but I shouldn't feel pressured to switch decks if I don't want to

The trick is, you make a game out of it...
You and five friends sit down for a game of emperor commander and play Neegan, Grimgrin, and Geth (or Gisa, or Gisa and Geralf) vs Glenn, Michonne, and Darryl!
Wouldn't that be fun?!

Quote from Decadent_Creed »

The people saying things like, "let people have their fun" are ironically being super nasty to others in this thread.

Is this supposed to be a play on "Let them eat Cake"?
On topic, would anyone really care today if Baron Sengir (a card on the reserved list) was named "Count Dracula" instead?
Look, all they had to do to circumvent the list was print Sengir, the Dark Baron instead!

Similarly, functional or semi-functional reprints of these TWD characters could still be printed at a later date (perhaps even sooner than we realize) with different names, and more importantly perhaps as slightly better cards whose names correspond to "legendary" individuals (who ironically we've never even heard of) on a specific Magic plane, and we could all explore their narratives together! Then, wouldn't everyone be happy and get what they wanted?