In a vacuum, this is a pretty neat concept.
But the idea that this is the "new" version of Expeditions is just silly. It actually has much more in common with Encounters—the only difference is that we have to purchase all the adventures separately. This is no longer a "drop-in, drop-out," "convention-style" experience. In fact, I imagine that these new adventures will be more difficult for conventions to run as well.
As someone who has organized a weekly, dedicated Expeditions group since day 1, these changes are really disappointing. The players in my group like Expeditions because it's a more casual, flexible experience. If real life gets in the way, no problem—they're not required to come every week. If they want to play one week and DM the next, that's perfectly fine as well. Not only are my players and DMs now being expected to pay for the adventures, they're all but guaranteed a lesser experience if they can't make it every week. So, basically, the things they didn't like about Encounters.
I understand that you guys have to make certain changes to keep DDAL viable, but let's at least call a spade a spade—this is a re-design of the entire program, plain and simple. Which is fine!—I'm sure some people will be more interested in this iteration. But I'm becoming increasingly concerned that these changes are the beginning of the end for my group.
