Them putting these in the list is honestly, what I think is, them looking to push set boosters more and likely trying to get rid of draft boosters.
They won't get rid of draft boosters. Limited is a big enough part of Magic that the monetary losses would be significant. If even a product like MH2 is designed to be drafted, then drafting is just too much of a moneymaker to get rid of.
So there is a Merfolk God in this set and the Professor doesn't get a preview card? After not getting one in the set about a school? I hate it that he voiced a few honest opinions, which he has always been known for, didn't say one thing that was untrue, almost nothing that was even controversial, and it looks like they are just washing their hands of him. If you want positive reviews of stuff, stop making the wrong choice on almost every decision, don't shoot the messenger.
I'm not at all surprised. Unfortunately he's gone from making informed opinion videos to knee-jerk reaction videos. He constantly downplays the huge amount of work that goes into designing cards, pre-con decks, and products. He refers to "mistakes" that are actually sound business decisions. He comes off as insulting these days; in his earlier years, he would put more effort into becoming informed before making a video, and he was much more willing to give the benefit of the doubt. He also whines about not getting previews, or on a recent video how he didn't get press contact from Wizards. I agree with him sometimes, but sometimes he comes off as entitled, insulting, or just plain wrong. If I'm Wizards, why do I want to give this guy anything, when all he does is insult my employees' work and complain about everything I do?
I think there's a great diversity in previewers this season (and this year). The Professor will survive without previews; his channel isn't going anywhere.
I’ve got to call you on this.
When has Prof ever insulted the hard work of the designers? He’s rightly criticized the poorly designed cards and the new design mandate that cards be made more and more powerful and bans can sort it out later. But he’s never insulted the people designing the cards.
When has Prof made uninformed videos? He’s made opinion videos from the perspective of an advocate for the consumer, but I don’t recall him ever making an uninformed, knee jerk reactionary video that contained incorrect info.
And some of the products he’s been most happy with for the last several years have been precons.
He thinks that the yearly Commander precons (the 4 or 5 decks with ~80 new cards that are designed to be played against each other) should be the same price as the beginner-level precons with a handful of new cards (that aren't designed to play against each other specifically), despite the fact that there is way more work required to balance 5 decks against each other, while designing that many new cards also takes a lot more work and playtesting than a handful of new cards in a beginner-level product. Then he says silly things like "they shouldn't cost more just because there's a few more foils in them", as if that's an argument anyone was making (which no one was). If I'm an employee and I hear "all of your time and hard work isn't worth charging more for the product you worked on", and "it only costs more because of foils, not because of that time and hard work", I'd feel like my work was insulted. And if he had done his research (perhaps by talking to card designers, or even just reading Maro's articles on card design and set design), he would know just how much work is put into making those cards and decks.
Also, "But he’s never insulted the people designing the cards." - I never said that he did. I said he insulted their work. Please read more carefully.
Check out his latest video about the ending of pro play in Magic. It's nothing but knee-jerk reactionary crap. He calls it a "mistake" throughout, when it definitely isn't. But instead of researching the amount of players who actually care about pro play, vs. the number of players who wouldn't know who "LSV" or "PVDDR" from a hole in the ground (hint: the vast majority of players have no idea who any pro player is), he calls it a "mistake" and and acts like it's going to hurt Magic (it won't). That's also the video in which he whines about not getting any press contact from Wizards.
These are just a couple of examples from the past couple of years that have made me much less interested in his videos, because he's gone from being that "consumer advocate" to making whiny complainy videos that don't show any evidence that he's researched what he's talking about. There's more, but I don't feel like going through his channel to point them all out.
I will say I still like his product review videos that aren't Magic-specific. For example, I watched a recent review of inner sleeves that was quite good, and I bought some specifically because he said they were good (and they were, I was quite happy with them). When there's no emotion involved, he's still quite good at reviewing products.
I remember a few years ago there was some issue (can't remember which issue offhand) where he made a video a few days after the issue popped up. At the beginning of it he said "I almost didn't make this video, because other people have already said what I feel, and I didn't think I had anything to add. I only made this because so many of my viewers requested that I do." I think he never should have made that video; it seems like the start of him making videos simply because his viewers want to see him complain about whatever it is they're complaining about. He's probably found that this style of video gets him more views, and ultimately more ad revenue, so he makes these over-the-top reactionary videos that play into whatever complaints the average viewer is making. Good business decision on his part, but it isn't going to win him any friends at Wizards for it.
He refers to "mistakes" that are actually sound business decisions.
Unless by "sound business decisions" you mean ones that will result in increased income no mater the cost then yeah, those are sound business decisions all right.
So there is a Merfolk God in this set and the Professor doesn't get a preview card? After not getting one in the set about a school? I hate it that he voiced a few honest opinions, which he has always been known for, didn't say one thing that was untrue, almost nothing that was even controversial, and it looks like they are just washing their hands of him. If you want positive reviews of stuff, stop making the wrong choice on almost every decision, don't shoot the messenger.
I'm not at all surprised. Unfortunately he's gone from making informed opinion videos to knee-jerk reaction videos. He constantly downplays the huge amount of work that goes into designing cards, pre-con decks, and products. He refers to "mistakes" that are actually sound business decisions. He comes off as insulting these days; in his earlier years, he would put more effort into becoming informed before making a video, and he was much more willing to give the benefit of the doubt. He also whines about not getting previews, or on a recent video how he didn't get press contact from Wizards. I agree with him sometimes, but sometimes he comes off as entitled, insulting, or just plain wrong. If I'm Wizards, why do I want to give this guy anything, when all he does is insult my employees' work and complain about everything I do?
I think there's a great diversity in previewers this season (and this year). The Professor will survive without previews; his channel isn't going anywhere.
I'm curious who they thought would be the target group for these.
Occasionally people ask for these on Maro's blog. Then there's usually some replies from other people who also want them. It's probably a very small market, but for a print-to-order product, that's perfect, so those who want them get them, and WotC doesn't overprint something not a lot of people want.
But at that point isn't it just a slough or pond or some other naturally-occurring waterbody? "Pool" implies something artificial.
What? It's "Pool" you thought sounded artificial? I thought it was "Breeding".
When I think of "pool" I think of a concrete and tile basin filled with chlorinated water for people to swim in (or a kiddie pool or whatever). But as someone pointed out above, "tide pool" is a natural thing, so fair point there (I live in the middle of North America, away from tides, so it didn't occur to me). "Breeding" is a very natural thing, so no, that didn't sound artificial at all.
As an flavor-centered EDH player, I've always been hoping for a Breeding Pool with more whimsical art. Instead we get a Breeding Pool with horror art. I mean, i guess the name "Breeding Pool" is hard to match with any whimsical concept, but still - I've like a broader variety of what's being depicted in my art. Like maybe a nice pond where cute frogs lay their eggs...
Agreed. It could be a card on Theros (a tide pool), Lorwyn (one of the many small bodies of water there), Zendikar (the expedition had amazing art), or even Ixalan (has that tropical climate)
Instead we've only had horror art and unnatural city/Ravnica art for it, which is perplexing and off theme for it IMO
Well, the name "Breeding Pool" does kind of have an artificial flavor to it. It heavily implies bioengineering.
Breeding Pool to me implies natural biology, where aquatic creatures are mating. A rich habitat of diverse marine organisms.
But at that point isn't it just a slough or pond or some other naturally-occurring waterbody? "Pool" implies something artificial.
It was definitely both mechanics and setting/flavour. Many English-speaking players found it difficult to keep track of which Japanese-sounding name belong to which card. There were other issues too, like Spirits that looked nothing like spirits, Serpopards/Catoblepases (ie deep flavour cuts) at common, and more. The mechanics were pretty bad overall, but so was the setting and flavour for the average non-weeb.
Yes that was my point is BOTH, I'm not disagreeing that the flavor were not-unpopular . WHAT I'm disagreeing with is that people believing the kamigawa block mechanics are actually good and it's the flavour that made it bad.
Gotcha. It was a bit hard to understand what you were saying, so thank you for the clarification. Glad we're both on the same page.
Nah it's the card mechanics in the block, regardless what they say.
It was definitely both mechanics and setting/flavour. Many English-speaking players found it difficult to keep track of which Japanese-sounding name belong to which card. There were other issues too, like Spirits that looked nothing like spirits, Serpopards/Catoblepases (ie deep flavour cuts) at common, and more. The mechanics were pretty bad overall, but so was the setting and flavour for the average non-weeb.
Just to chime in on the "what casual players play" discussion, many play 60-card play what you own (including or not including silver-bordered cards), many play Commander (same), and many (like mine) play both. We allow silver-bordered cards so long as they aren't too ridiculous (no throwing cards or shooting my deck with a nerf gun). I have a RUG Contraption commander deck and a WU Watermarks 60-card deck that I play.
I wish they had used another colour border for these, but for my playgroup it's likely no one is going to buy these anyway. We're all already overwhelmed with the increase in products lately, so ignoring these will help keep down the amount of cards we're all buying. If someone shows up with Gandalf as their commander, I don't think anyone will send them away from the table, but it's likely it won't even come up.
My playgroup doesn't run proxies (and if someone joins us, we don't allow them to run proxies either), as it would lead to an arms race that no one wants to happen. Eventually everyone would decide to just run 4 Black Lotuses in every deck, and games would devolve into Turn 0 nonsense. Not to mention how difficult it would be to keep track of the board state of 5 players all running sharpied lands as their decks.
I'm assuming you mean with the date stamp at the bottom of the art? I haven't heard of those ending up in draft boosters, but stranger things have happened. Probably a one-off accident.
They won't get rid of draft boosters. Limited is a big enough part of Magic that the monetary losses would be significant. If even a product like MH2 is designed to be drafted, then drafting is just too much of a moneymaker to get rid of.
I would bet it will be the same day MH2 is added to Gatherer. Would make sense to update the database all at once, instead of two separate times.
He thinks that the yearly Commander precons (the 4 or 5 decks with ~80 new cards that are designed to be played against each other) should be the same price as the beginner-level precons with a handful of new cards (that aren't designed to play against each other specifically), despite the fact that there is way more work required to balance 5 decks against each other, while designing that many new cards also takes a lot more work and playtesting than a handful of new cards in a beginner-level product. Then he says silly things like "they shouldn't cost more just because there's a few more foils in them", as if that's an argument anyone was making (which no one was). If I'm an employee and I hear "all of your time and hard work isn't worth charging more for the product you worked on", and "it only costs more because of foils, not because of that time and hard work", I'd feel like my work was insulted. And if he had done his research (perhaps by talking to card designers, or even just reading Maro's articles on card design and set design), he would know just how much work is put into making those cards and decks.
Also, "But he’s never insulted the people designing the cards." - I never said that he did. I said he insulted their work. Please read more carefully.
Check out his latest video about the ending of pro play in Magic. It's nothing but knee-jerk reactionary crap. He calls it a "mistake" throughout, when it definitely isn't. But instead of researching the amount of players who actually care about pro play, vs. the number of players who wouldn't know who "LSV" or "PVDDR" from a hole in the ground (hint: the vast majority of players have no idea who any pro player is), he calls it a "mistake" and and acts like it's going to hurt Magic (it won't). That's also the video in which he whines about not getting any press contact from Wizards.
These are just a couple of examples from the past couple of years that have made me much less interested in his videos, because he's gone from being that "consumer advocate" to making whiny complainy videos that don't show any evidence that he's researched what he's talking about. There's more, but I don't feel like going through his channel to point them all out.
I will say I still like his product review videos that aren't Magic-specific. For example, I watched a recent review of inner sleeves that was quite good, and I bought some specifically because he said they were good (and they were, I was quite happy with them). When there's no emotion involved, he's still quite good at reviewing products.
I remember a few years ago there was some issue (can't remember which issue offhand) where he made a video a few days after the issue popped up. At the beginning of it he said "I almost didn't make this video, because other people have already said what I feel, and I didn't think I had anything to add. I only made this because so many of my viewers requested that I do." I think he never should have made that video; it seems like the start of him making videos simply because his viewers want to see him complain about whatever it is they're complaining about. He's probably found that this style of video gets him more views, and ultimately more ad revenue, so he makes these over-the-top reactionary videos that play into whatever complaints the average viewer is making. Good business decision on his part, but it isn't going to win him any friends at Wizards for it.
Yes, that's exactly what I mean.
I'm not at all surprised. Unfortunately he's gone from making informed opinion videos to knee-jerk reaction videos. He constantly downplays the huge amount of work that goes into designing cards, pre-con decks, and products. He refers to "mistakes" that are actually sound business decisions. He comes off as insulting these days; in his earlier years, he would put more effort into becoming informed before making a video, and he was much more willing to give the benefit of the doubt. He also whines about not getting previews, or on a recent video how he didn't get press contact from Wizards. I agree with him sometimes, but sometimes he comes off as entitled, insulting, or just plain wrong. If I'm Wizards, why do I want to give this guy anything, when all he does is insult my employees' work and complain about everything I do?
I think there's a great diversity in previewers this season (and this year). The Professor will survive without previews; his channel isn't going anywhere.
Occasionally people ask for these on Maro's blog. Then there's usually some replies from other people who also want them. It's probably a very small market, but for a print-to-order product, that's perfect, so those who want them get them, and WotC doesn't overprint something not a lot of people want.
When I think of "pool" I think of a concrete and tile basin filled with chlorinated water for people to swim in (or a kiddie pool or whatever). But as someone pointed out above, "tide pool" is a natural thing, so fair point there (I live in the middle of North America, away from tides, so it didn't occur to me). "Breeding" is a very natural thing, so no, that didn't sound artificial at all.
But at that point isn't it just a slough or pond or some other naturally-occurring waterbody? "Pool" implies something artificial.
Yes it does. That's where emblems live.
That's "draws", not "draw". You might be somewhat right though: "You and that player/opponent each draw three cards".
I'm hoping for the completion of the Battle lands cycle. (Or the slow fetches, but those aren't likely in a Standard set.)
Gotcha. It was a bit hard to understand what you were saying, so thank you for the clarification. Glad we're both on the same page.
This part had nothing to do with your post; it was a general reply to earlier discussion about silver-bordered cards in casual games.
It was definitely both mechanics and setting/flavour. Many English-speaking players found it difficult to keep track of which Japanese-sounding name belong to which card. There were other issues too, like Spirits that looked nothing like spirits, Serpopards/Catoblepases (ie deep flavour cuts) at common, and more. The mechanics were pretty bad overall, but so was the setting and flavour for the average non-weeb.
Just to chime in on the "what casual players play" discussion, many play 60-card play what you own (including or not including silver-bordered cards), many play Commander (same), and many (like mine) play both. We allow silver-bordered cards so long as they aren't too ridiculous (no throwing cards or shooting my deck with a nerf gun). I have a RUG Contraption commander deck and a WU Watermarks 60-card deck that I play.
I wish they had used another colour border for these, but for my playgroup it's likely no one is going to buy these anyway. We're all already overwhelmed with the increase in products lately, so ignoring these will help keep down the amount of cards we're all buying. If someone shows up with Gandalf as their commander, I don't think anyone will send them away from the table, but it's likely it won't even come up.
Commander Legends had Collector Boosters.