WotC Hasbro CEO is going to have a Fireside Chat With Investors Over WotC

[Pedantic]

I don't really keep up with MtG news, but I consistently find myself shocked whenever outrage over something WotC is doing spills over into my channels. I'm admittedly probably a little more invested in the "loot boxes should be illegal, or at least clearly marked as gambling" camp than most people, but the degree to which MtG needs to overstep, when the basic structure of the product already feels exploitative is baffling from the outside. I've been spoiled by the Netrunner model, where you just get all the cards in one pack and move on.

It's truly ridiculous what they're pushing, and it's honestly alarming how far they have to go before it's viewed as overstepping. The whole thing, all the way back to the initial rise of MtG cards as a collector's item, just looks like the worst excesses of videogames, and heck even some of the crypto/NFT nonsense, just 25 years before its time.

 

[Charlaquin]

I must have been a trend setter. I bailed when Jace the Mindsculptor was being silly in standard.
Saw a lot of this coming.

Jace was quaint compared to the cesspool standard became.

 

[Charlaquin]

I don't really keep up with MtG news, but I consistently find myself shocked whenever outrage over something WotC is doing spills over into my channels. I'm admittedly probably a little more invested than most people in the "loot boxes should be illegal, or at least clearly marked as gambling" camp than most people, but the degree to which MtG needs to overstep, when the basic structure of the product already feels exploitative is baffling from the outside. I've been spoiled by the Netrunner model, where you just get all the cards in one pack and move on.

It's truly ridiculous what they're pushing, and it's honestly alarming how far they have to go before it's viewed as overstepping. The whole thing, all the way back to the initial rise of MtG cards as a collector's item, just looks like the worst excesses of videogames, and heck even some of the crypto/NFT nonsense, just 25 years before its time.

I mean, the card rarity model is essential for the function of limited formats, which are a heck of a lot of fun. But yeah, accessible versions of cards should be available for constricted play.

 

[Scribe]

It's truly ridiculous what they're pushing, and it's honestly alarming how far they have to go before it's viewed as overstepping. The whole thing, all the way back to the initial rise of MtG cards as a collector's item, just looks like the worst excesses of videogames, and heck even some of the crypto/NFT nonsense, just 25 years before its time.

I mean on one hand, yes.

On the other, as one who had/has an unhealthy relationship with it (and I am not even kidding, I can accept it) the model they had going for a long time, was actually great.

I am a fan of the Reserve List. I think conceptually it set a line in the sand that said 'yes this is a collectible' and those cards clearly retained and grew in value. I mean Black Lotus...

I've bought into decks, had them appreciate, and flipped them. Singles as well. There is no harm in this, as long as (was noted earlier) a format exists where people can buy in cheap, and play. That was Standard/Limited.

The problem started, (and I swear to anything you hold dear) back when they banned Splinter Twin, and let Eldrazi live. They abandoned the integrity of the game, and it only got worse. I complained for years. If I hadnt walked away I would STILL be complaining. Spoilers: I'm doing it now.

There is no harm in things having a value, because you could always crack one, and a lot of times the chase cards for constructed would suck in limited, which was a fantastic model. People would show up, play limited, flood the market (drive down costs of Standard) and constructed or the few eternal playables would filter to the wider community.

IT WAS GOOD.

Eventually though, Wizards got greedy. It wasnt enough, they needed more profit. They had to push more eternal players into buying cards (Legacy was unmoving for a long time, and Modern would MAYBE take 2 or 3 cards out of a set) and so FIRE happened.

This ruined the KNOWN power rate of the cards, and tossed Legacy (and even VINTAGE) for a time into turmoil, and forget Modern, it was busy being ruined by 'direct to Modern' sets.

Then you have the rise of EDH/Commander, and Standard just became...well I dont know. This kind of waste of time format that has zero relevance.

I lost the thread here, but yes, its gambling. Yes, its underhanded to a degree, but thats card collecting in a nutshell, and this was ON TOP of what was at one point, one of the great games of human history, and I honestly mean that.

What they have done to Magic is actually tragic, and I hope some greedy executives lost their shirts over it.

 

[Celebrim]

WotC has done an amazing job of keeping MtG going for this long, but the end is not unexpected because back in the era of Chronicles they made the decision that the way to keep the game alive was keep the whales addicted and double down one what their big spending customers wanted. For 25 years MtG has been getting less and less approachable as a game, harder and harder to teach to new players, more and more expensive to get into and stay into, as at every step of the way when faced with a choice between selling smaller number of cards to more players and larger numbers of cards to fewer players, they chose to go with fewer players.

 

[Scribe]

WotC has done an amazing job of keeping MtG going for this long, but the end is not unexpected because back in the era of Chronicles they made the decision that the way to keep the game alive was keep the whales addicted and double down one what their big spending customers wanted. For 25 years MtG has been getting less and less approachable as a game, harder and harder to teach to new players, more and more expensive to get into and stay into, as at every step of the way when faced with a choice between selling smaller number of cards to more players and larger numbers of cards to fewer players, they chose to go with fewer players.

I truly, no trolling, do not believe this to be correct in any sense.

The model of Limited being a major focus of design, Standard rotation, and the 'big' formats of Modern/Legacy/Vintage, was factually profitable, and sustainable. The game was no harder to teach when I left it a few years ago, than when I learned it myself as a kid back with Fallen Empires.

The RL did not harm the game. Its in fact the recent betrayal of the spirit of the RL, which is the catalyst for this call tomorrow!

I really hope its recorded and uploaded to youtube so I can watch it after my meetings are over.

 

[Zardnaar]

Is block and draft still a thing? They were affordable as well.

Also liked sealed back in the day.

Looked at a modern burn deck thinking it's cheap but it requires this 2/1 mythic for R.

 

[Scribe]

Is block and draft still a thing? They were affordable as well.

Also liked sealed back in the day.

Looked at a modern burn deck thinking it's cheap but it requires this 2/1 mythic for R.

Yeah, Limited -> Draft. Block went away.

That mythic is probably the monkey, from a 'direct to Modern' set.

 

[Zardnaar]

Yeah, Limited -> Draft. Block went away.

That mythic is probably the monkey, from a 'direct to Modern' set.

Yeah it was the monkey I forget it's name.

Jackal pup was a 2/1 common, Goblin Guide a rare but still.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Yeah it was the monkey I forget it's name.

Jackal pup was a 2/1 common, Goblin Guide a rare but still.

Kerd Ape!