Modern Masters 2: This Time, All the Monies!

Unless you live under a rock like my good friend, Patrick Starfish, by now you've heard the big announcement from Wizards of the Coast that has come out of the World Magic Championships.

Yes Virginia, there is going to be a Modern Masters 2.

Strap in, because I'm not a very happy camper today.

Mi$take$ Were Made

With the first printing of Modern Masters back in 2013, Wizards offered a format defining product.  To say that MMA was in high demand would be like like saying Bernie Madoff knew a little bit about how to make money.  From the first moment that the set was announced with its $6.99 per pack sell point, players speculated.  Who would pay that price per pack?  Would it be worth it?

Having opened a box myself, I can assure you that it was worth it to me.  Barely.  But there was that chance of opening a Tarmagoyf - a then $125 or so card.  I was nervous opening a box of the first edition of Modern Masters even given I was lucky enough to get it for MSRP.

This set?  Well, we do know that Emrakul is being reprinted.  A $50 card currently.  Surely, there will be other cool reprints to be announced during the month leading up to the set releasing.  It is almost entirely too early to jump on a band wagon decrying the MSRP of $6.99 a pack.

WHAT?  This set will list packs at an MSRP of $9.99?  A three dollar increase in 2 years?  Is someone up in Renton smoking the cards instead of printing them?

Ten dollars out of the gate per pack, for something that costs Wizards a fifth of that to produce (that's a fair and likely favorable estimate).  Most of the cards in any given pack are penny commons.  Literally no trade or collector value is assigned.

I'm sure gamers (better yet, collectors) will be lined up around the block for these boxes.  I won't be one.  At $240 for a box of product, Wizards has finally priced me out of the market.  That's even if I can find a seller with product for that price.  I look for a fair value.  Unless I have something of a chance of getting at least 65-70% that value back out of a box, I'm out.  For a product this expensive, I'd like to see that margin increase to 75%.  I stretched myself pretty thin over buying a box of product at $170 last time.  An increase to $240 means I simply can't imagine the circumstances by which I'd entertain purchasing a box - whether to save it, crack it, or share it with friends.

And I don't even want to think about what even participating in a draft will be like.  I would imagine that most drafts will run in the $45-50 and up range.  Yes, to open three packs, stores will charge us about $50 or more (once product dries up from the distribution chain, this price will go up).  Serious grinders with a lifetime of draft experience will eat up and spit out the competition.  I've got a better chance of buying lottery tickets at that price point.

A product, designed to be PLAYED, priced out of the range of a comfortable price point for many drafters.  I wonder how that will work out?

The Other $hoe
And then, the other shoe dropped from the World Magic Championship.  There will be three Grand Prixes held in May to celebrate the launch the product.  The one in the United States is going to be on the East Coast.

What?

[Jumps away from keyboard for a moment to re-read something on his phone]...[mumbles]...[takes phone and throws it at wall]...

I'm sorry, my mistake.  The Grand Prix for Modern Masters 2015 will be held in Las Vegas.  Again.

Cue rejoicing for the city in the desert with the smallest population of players within 50 square miles. (All due respect to players who live there or within 3 hours as I continue - this is a call for parity).  There are about 10 places that come to mind in the US that right off would have had a significantly larger base of players to draw from.

No, that wasn't a problem last time as the event hit about 4,500 participants.  But I must ask, where is the parity?  Why not hold it on the East Coast?  Chicago?  Somewhere near an actual population center?  Why must 80% plus participants fly to get to your event?

In 2013, I consoled myself by thinking that if they did a second Modern Masters we'd get our due out here on the East Coast next time (Washington D.C. perhaps).  I thought there was no way it would be held in Las Vegas two times in a row.

$omeone$ Got to Win
So I raise my glass.

I raise it to game store owners, those who will sell this product as fast as it arrives at a higher price point than $240.

I raise it to Las Vegas, who landed another sweet event.

I raise it to the TO running Las Vegas.  Even base entry fee is likely going to run players into $80-90 a person (practically VIP money for other other events).  It hasn't been announced yet, but it won't be cheap.

I raise it to Wizards, who found a way to ring way too much money out of this product and have created a significant fervor over it.

I raise it to the gamers, as my only non-sarcastic tip of the hat.  You guys rock.

And I'll cry in my glass over the fact that if this is the trend - in any way - for Modern Masters, that Wizards just found a way to kill it.

Why?  Sales begets sales.  I have a stinking suspicion that at this price point, Wizards made a significant miscalculation for what gamers will pay for a pack of 15 cards that mostly have no value.  Want to kill a product line at Wizards?  Nothing does it faster than having underwhelming sales.


Re$pect
This may seem like a rant.  Well, it is.  But it's not directed at the game designers and creators.  Ultimately, it's directed at sales/marketing.  People who came up with the price point for the new product.  To be fair, it is a team that I have no knowledge of but likely includes representatives from Hasbro.  So I'd be remiss in not saying a big, "Thank You, Hasbro," before I sign off this time.

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Reblogs, Retweets, & Mentions of all kinds are appreciated - as an independent writer I'm only read when others like what they see and share with their friends.

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Requiem for an Angel

My brothers and sisters of Magic the Gathering, thank you for joining me on this most solemn of

occasions.  We will be celebrating the life of one of the greatest of creature types in Magic, soon to be relegated to the role of 'Rarely, if ever, Appearing' instead of 'Beloved Mainstay'.

While many of you may not have known our friends angels well, we still welcome you to our service today.  Angels, the most heartwarming and beautiful of creatures, have been with us for many years.  The lives of Angels have touched many, from the LGS whipping boy to the tournament champion.  Angels have been around for so long that we really have no idea what our lives will be like with them.  Please, join with me in a moment of silence as we remember the many Angels that have joined with us to fight back the hoards over the years....

Yes my friends, Magic has all but killed Angels.  They are now on the endangered creatures list.

Death of the Core Set
Core Set 2016 will be the last of Magic the Gathering's Core Sets.  As of September 2017, Core Sets will no longer contribute to Standard, and no more will be made.  For some very good reasons (you can read about it here), Core Sets are going the way of the dodo.  Instead, Standard Format will rely on between 5-6 sets at a time built on a two set block format.  Any given Standard season will be comprised of three blocks and will rotate every 6 months.

This change has been met with a great deal of excitement.  Most people are very happy to see this change, as the advantages are pretty clear for gamers.  First, Standard will NOT become stale.  The faster cycle of rotations will prevent that from happening.  And secondly, it will mean greater excitement as we get twice as many new blocks over a year's time in a Large/Small development cycle.  What's not to like?

Gamers are thrilled.  Design and development at Wizards is thrilled.  This new format has the appearance of being a win-win for everyone.  But that's not the whole story.  There is a pretty large group of people that will be negatively affected by this change.

Constricting Design Space
Undoubtedly, this change will result in constricting design space within the blocks.  Current blocks are 3 sets, often in some configuration of 2 large sets and 1 small set.  Each block represents a world/story within the Magic Community.  And each of these worlds is fully fleshed out by the creative geniuses at Wizards.

Mark Rosewater has made the point that, "...the third set has always been the problem child," in his

article referenced above.  As he described some of the problems, I can see it.  Stretching a story over three sets has got to be a Herculean task.  But it does have one advantage.  Three sets gives the Design team plenty of space to be creative, offering new mechanics, spells, and creatures.

By limiting stories to two sets, one large and the other small, we'll see tighter, more efficient design.  Ideas that don't work in the first two sets can't be floated to the 'problem child'.  They'll be cut.  Reprints that some players come to love to see sneak into sets will no longer happen as often (with the likely exception of cantrips and removal spells), due to the tighter constraints placed on design by the limited card count and set size.

No longer will Design have a large bucket that it needs to fill.  Now, it will have a cup - and it will have to get the job done with that cup every six months.  Story and space will force Design to be very miserly with their set design.

This will be good for competitive players.  Arguably, it will be great for them.  But for casual players, collectors, and everyone else, this new design cycle has the potential to be disappointing.  Yes, as Mark has pointed out we will get to revisit beloved worlds more often.  The change in WotC's approach to design will have a negative affect though on things we've come to love the Core Sets for providing.

Goodbye Angels
So what does the loss of Core Sets really mean?  Aside from no more semi-regurgitated design, it means something pretty important to players.  Several creature types will be going on the endangered species list.  Of them all, I'm going to miss regular printings of angels the most.  Angels are one of the creature types that simply do not fit well into many block stories.  Yes, we saw a one in Gatecrash and a small host of them in Innistrad block - but aside from them they aren't commonly seen in blocks.

The flavor text still gives me chills.

Many angels that have been printed since Magic first started, with most of them in recent years having been consigned to Core Sets or special products (Commander products especially).  I will admit that some of my favorite cards are angels.  I loved playing Serra Angel in M14 draft and loading it up with completely unfair enchantments.  My first Commander deck (which was a very casual attempt) was based on a theme of Angels and Dragons.  Nothing was better than playing a Sunblast Angel after baiting an opponent into attacking me the previous turn.  And I can't forget what a beast Avacyn was for me in M15.  Angels have had some of the best abilities.  At face value, most were at least 4/4 fliers.  Their additional abilities though, whether an ETB pump for your side or a one time trick, always enchanted me as a gamer.

As we go forward, surely angels will make their presence known.  They'll sneak their way into the occasional Duel Deck or Intro Pack.  When angels make sense flavor-wise, we'll get them in blocks. Remember though, unless they find their way into a block they won't be Standard legal.

I know that there will be other creature types that end up relegated to the back of the filing cabinet following this change.  I'll be saddened by their loss as well.  Nothing will make me more sad though - even if I've only been playing for just under 3 years - than knowing that regular appearances by angels will be no more.  Core Set M16 will surely be a bittersweet experience for those of us that love angels in Magic.  I plan on drafting every single one I come across, as a tribute to their greatness in the game.

And if I you happen to spot me at a draft late next summer and I have a little tear in my eye, you'll know it's not allergies.

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Reblogs, Retweets, & Mentions of all kinds are appreciated - as an independent writer I'm only read when others like what they see and share with their friends.

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We, the Undersigned, Want a 3rd Un-set

I've thought long and hard about what is going to transpire here in this article.  I can no longer sit idly by as people ask, again and again, when will there be another Un-set.  Ladies and gentle-gamers, it's time for us to take a stand!

Origins

Some say the original idea for Unglued hatched like some evil little egg from from leftover cards in

 WotC R&D department.  Some say it was a concerted effort by the WotC Illuminati to subvert the masses.  Others believe it was the brainchild of Evil Maro or Marobot.  I personally prefer my pet theory, that one day goblins tunneled up into WotC's offices, poked around and decided everything in progress was rubbish.  The leader of the goblins, one King Gutbuster Gutbuster (this was during the dark period of goblin history when monarchs held double names for twice the respect - this affect was rumored to have lasted exactly 254 days) decided the most prudent course of action would be to find the shortest person (aka, most goblin-like in stature) and hold him or her hostage until a new set was produced to their specifications.  They grabbed Mark Rosewater - and the rest is history.

Whatever the true origin of Unglued, no one is talking (don't you dare go look for Mark Rosewater's Drive to Work Podcasts #13 & 38).  The community of Magic the Gathering was not prepared for that fateful August day in 1998 when 88 new cards were released.  They weren't just any 88 cards though - they were 88 silver bordered cards.  Just over 16 years ago the world was introduced to Unglued, and fans have been clamoring for more ever since.

Un-WHAT?

Just a few short years later, in November of 2004 Y.O.O.R.E. (the year of our rotten egg), WotC dropped another silver bordered gift on the unsuspecting masses.  We received 141 new silver bordered pieces of spectacular puns, witty jokes, and inside-inside cranks.  It must have been great opening that Un-set for the first time.  Can you imagine the feeling of ripping into your box and having a bunch of spring loaded snakes fly out?

[Editor: We have no idea what the author is talking about.  Snakes?  Please.]

After the festivities in 2004, the world waited patiently for another Un-set.  Yet here we are in 2014 (some of us anyway), and it appears that Hasbro/WotC has abandoned Un-sets as possibly Un-profitable.  Or maybe they are Un-appealing to the fans.  Or perhaps they are Un-appetizing to the small, but very vocal, sub-set of Magic aficionados that survive on a diet of Commons and Uncommons.

Some Un-Believable Facts

If we're going to get an Un-set before 2017, we have to act now.  It takes time to put together a set.

 Even an Un-set.  Those crayon drawings just don't throw themselves together, you know?

The last Un-set, Unhinged, was rumored to offer less than exciting sales performance.  Also, since silver bordered cards are only allowed in casual settings it can be argued that Un-sets are a waste of developers time.

Hogwash.

What is the most important thing in life?  Yes!  Money!  And after money?  Yes!  Fast cars!  (You guys sure are smart).  And what is the third most important thing in life?  Yes!  To have a sense of humor!

Un-sets are Hasbro/WotC's way of laughing at themselves.  Since WotC already has tons of money and Hasbro has cornered the market on fast ...err... toys (those Beyblade things could take a finger), it's only fair that they now turn their attention back to what really matters most.  Humor.

Un-Real Expectations
So what can we do as gamers?  Surely, we've asked Rosewater thousands of questions on his Blogatog regarding rules interactions.  We've begged him, time and time again to let those in power at Hasbro and WotC know we want a new Un-set.  Heck, it's even rumored that in his office there is a golden filing cabinet, filled with thousands of card ideas just waiting for the right moment.

We can petition Hasbro and WotC.  I know, I know, it's a trite and boring method to make stuff happen.  But it is a way to make them realize how important the concept of an Un-set is to us.  We want a fun, supplemental, silver-bordered product.  And we don't want any durdling small set either.  We deserve the full size, extra large, Un-set treatment.

When do we want it?  NOW!

How do we want it?  FUNNY!

Who do we want to design it?  MARK ROSEWATER!

Click this link to go to the petition that will change our gaming lives for the better!

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Reblogs, Retweets, & Mentions of all kinds are appreciated - as an independent writer I'm only read when others like what they see and share with their friends.