I mean, it's objectively true. A competitive game with a clearly defined goal and a format that emphasizes mutual enjoyment are strange bedfellows. They're inherently at odds with one another, which leads to all kinds of feel bads. This is exacerbated by an unnecessarily permissive banlist that accommodates playstyles that the RC pooh-poohs. Contrasted with Dungeons and Dragons, a collaborative storytelling game, it's easy to see the distinction.
I have issues with the argument you, and others, have made here. It's based on the idea that the strategies are allowed within the rules and that the game is inherently competitive. Both of these arguments are not relevant as the issue is a social one. To the greater community the game is not inherently competitive. No one, whether it be Wizards, the Rules committee, or the average players, would call EDH "competitive." You may view it that way, and you have every right to do so, but the greater community does not.
Same goes for the "stax" is part of the game argument, it is known to be looked upon by the majority with distaste. Evidence for this can be seen in modern card design, relative popularity on EDHRec of MLD and Stax pieces, and anecdotal evidence from the community at-large. Once again, you may hold this belief that Stax is reasonable and should be fine, and you have every right to believe that. However, you are at odds with the majority of players with-in the community in that respect.
The argument here is a social one. Is it socially acceptable to ambush people with strategies that are known to be widely disliked? That seems to be antagonistic to sociable practices of the greater EDH community, and that's literally the definition of "anti-social." In my view, people who want to play these less popular strategies owe a simple warning to the people they intend to play with. Not providing any warning, given how common knowledge the distaste for the strategies is, seems to just be disrespectful of those at the table.
That is just my opinion. Be social, friendly, and courteous to others. The game is more fun when everyone is on the same page.
But what would really happen? The prices of the so called bomb cards would fall dramatically because of the high supply.
And this is a problem...?
Two issues. You kill consumer confidence on a level like we haven't seen since chronicles. Think similar to if they banned 5 of the top 10 most expensive cards in every major format. Do we want another reserve list, because that's what it took to save the game last time they printed things into oblivion.
The other issue is the immense harm you do to the singles market. You could sink hundreds of lgs and online vendors all in one fell swoop. The loss of thousands of dollars in inventory value can easily bankrupt a lgs. They won't even recoup the losses through sealed product, because that is cheap with no margins.
Literally, the reckless reprinting people want nearly killed the game 20 years ago, and would be just as bad, if not worse, today. The argument to crash singles prices makes no economic sense to Wizards or to the health of the game and ignores history. A middle ground of controlled reprints is the only long term solution that works.
So now that we know the mythics and all(?) of the rares I still don't see the reason why they increased the price of boxes by $100. So far nothing sticks out that screams "This is why."
I, personally, don't believe Wizards can win here. From what I've read, many people on here want pure charity. They want Wizards to burn reprint equity for less than the market will pay. They want Wizards to give up financial gain to make a product arbitrarily cheaper. Wizards, being a company, has no incentive to do this. That asking price might be too expensive for some, but that doesn't preclude it from being a fair price none-the-less.
This set is insane from a value perspective. It's estimated value is well beyond any other set we've seen. In my opinion it is only fair for Wizards to ask a higher price given what they've put into the set. I think expecting different is expecting altruism, and altruistic companies don't survive very long.
TL:DR Wizards raised the MSRP because the market will pay it. You may not think it's worth the new price, but the market disagrees.
I have issues with the argument you, and others, have made here. It's based on the idea that the strategies are allowed within the rules and that the game is inherently competitive. Both of these arguments are not relevant as the issue is a social one. To the greater community the game is not inherently competitive. No one, whether it be Wizards, the Rules committee, or the average players, would call EDH "competitive." You may view it that way, and you have every right to do so, but the greater community does not.
Same goes for the "stax" is part of the game argument, it is known to be looked upon by the majority with distaste. Evidence for this can be seen in modern card design, relative popularity on EDHRec of MLD and Stax pieces, and anecdotal evidence from the community at-large. Once again, you may hold this belief that Stax is reasonable and should be fine, and you have every right to believe that. However, you are at odds with the majority of players with-in the community in that respect.
The argument here is a social one. Is it socially acceptable to ambush people with strategies that are known to be widely disliked? That seems to be antagonistic to sociable practices of the greater EDH community, and that's literally the definition of "anti-social." In my view, people who want to play these less popular strategies owe a simple warning to the people they intend to play with. Not providing any warning, given how common knowledge the distaste for the strategies is, seems to just be disrespectful of those at the table.
That is just my opinion. Be social, friendly, and courteous to others. The game is more fun when everyone is on the same page.
Two issues. You kill consumer confidence on a level like we haven't seen since chronicles. Think similar to if they banned 5 of the top 10 most expensive cards in every major format. Do we want another reserve list, because that's what it took to save the game last time they printed things into oblivion.
The other issue is the immense harm you do to the singles market. You could sink hundreds of lgs and online vendors all in one fell swoop. The loss of thousands of dollars in inventory value can easily bankrupt a lgs. They won't even recoup the losses through sealed product, because that is cheap with no margins.
Literally, the reckless reprinting people want nearly killed the game 20 years ago, and would be just as bad, if not worse, today. The argument to crash singles prices makes no economic sense to Wizards or to the health of the game and ignores history. A middle ground of controlled reprints is the only long term solution that works.
I, personally, don't believe Wizards can win here. From what I've read, many people on here want pure charity. They want Wizards to burn reprint equity for less than the market will pay. They want Wizards to give up financial gain to make a product arbitrarily cheaper. Wizards, being a company, has no incentive to do this. That asking price might be too expensive for some, but that doesn't preclude it from being a fair price none-the-less.
This set is insane from a value perspective. It's estimated value is well beyond any other set we've seen. In my opinion it is only fair for Wizards to ask a higher price given what they've put into the set. I think expecting different is expecting altruism, and altruistic companies don't survive very long.
TL:DR Wizards raised the MSRP because the market will pay it. You may not think it's worth the new price, but the market disagrees.