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

[Scribe]

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

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

Yeah, Ragavan. Nothing like a 4 of at $75 USD a pop.

 

[Celebrim]

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

Truly, no trolling, how much do you think you've spent on cards over the years? Or put it another way, how much is your collection worth now?

 

[Zardnaar]

Yeah, Ragavan. Nothing like a 4 of at $75 USD a pop.

Basically a weeks rent here. Not that I pay rent but you get the point.

 

[Scribe]

Truly, no trolling, how much do you think you've spent on cards over the years? Or put it another way, how much is your collection worth now?

Way too much. Not counting things I was flipping, in 5 figure range before I was selling it all. All singles or decks I played (Modern), not like, crates of stuff in a warehouse.

Now? That collection would be worth dramatically less, because its all been reprinted multiple times.

Dont ask for my Games Workshop bill though...

 

[Pedantic]

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.

I don't really think that's true. You've got games that exist entirely for limited play (Keyforge*, Solforge Fusion), you've got an endless variety of cube formats, you've got digital games that arguably hit the appeal of rapid drafting better (Slay the Spire being the quintessential single player example) and heck, maybe we'll finally see the technology for reprintable e-ink cards land in our lifetimes. Netrunner even had an ill-fated draft product in the heyday, which you essentially bought with the an explicit intent to reuse/cube after the initial draft round.

Rarity/sealed boosters arguably led to the initial invention of draft and sealed formats, but they aren't really necessary to enjoy them. That and to horribly mangle a metaphor, MtG is very much the D&D of dude-bashing card games. It's the biggest/oldest/most established market player, but it's got some hoary old design choices it can't escape (lands, primarily) and isn't as built for purpose as modern designs could allow for. Drafting is an intrinsically fun activity which I would argue is actually diluted somewhat by then having to play a bunch of games of Magic in a row.

*Okay, technically Keyforge claims to have a "constructed" model, but it's even more obviously abusive than MtG, and the worst use of a game where you can only buy randomized, uneditable decks.

 

[Celebrim]

Way too much. Not counting things I was flipping, in 5 figure range before I was selling it all.

I rest my case.

I can buy a good board game or a video game for about $50. Just getting into magic is going to run you $2000 or so.

When you were a kid learning to play with Fallen Empire cards, you weren't aware that almost every young adult had a few hundred cards. It was a game that was starting to get mainstream penetration. Lots of people had checked it out.

But it takes a whole lot of those people to make up for one person like you that have spent as much on the game as some people spend on thier house (more, I used to live in the 3rd world). So whales like you controlled the conversation, and at like 50 decision points along the way - not just the stupid Reserve List - WotC made the decision to lose like 5 players to keep you invested.

But eventually, there just aren't any new markets to exploit. But eventually, people realize how much of the reason they are playing is not because they are having fun with it. The frustration that keeps you coming back to play for those little addictive hits of adrenaline and joy gets to be too much. And every time someone like you closes shop, the stock price shudders.

 

[MGibster]

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.

This might be the Games Workshop model. I started playing Magic way back in 1994, and while I enjoyed it well enough I didn't stick with it and ended up giving away all my cards to a kid in 1997. What I remember most about Magic is how it changed the gaming landscape. In a few short years, Magic seemed to be the dominant game almost everywhere. Throughout the mid to late 1990s, a lot of game stores opened up in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area specializing in Magic. I remember being shocked going to a new game store in Plano only to find they sold magic and very little of anything else. Of course, most of those places folded after a few short years.

If Magic collapses, what impact might that have on FLGS? My local game store does a brisk business with Magic (and maybe Pokemon), but they do have a diverse stock. If collectible card games dry up, will game stores be able to stay in business?

 

[Celebrim]

I don't really think that's true.

You're right, but there is no sense arguing. MaRo has done a fantastic job of gaslighting the community over the years.

 

[Scribe]

Just getting into magic is going to run you $2000 or so.

No, the defense does not rest. lol

Just looking right now, a Standard competitive deck is sub $500. There are Modern options for well....ok Modern looks like its extremely expensive right now, but there are budget options if you want to 'play'.

Or, you just go to a draft night, and play Limited.

Its all still 'Magic' after all, and you do not need (I did not for example) start with the most tricked out competitive deck in an expensive format.

You dont need that $1200 Modern deck, and you REALLY dont need that Legacy deck (UR Delver at over $4000...)

I dont eveen know how Vintage is played.

 

[Celebrim]

If Magic collapses, what impact might that have on FLGS?

Pretty huge. Most of them are kept alive by about 20 hardcore players that spend multiple thousands of dollars on every release. That's often the difference between keeping it going and letting it go. Some of them get business from the DBM or Warhammer crowds, but that's probably not enough on its own. And book sales are probably hardly important to the bottom line.

Locally, the real growth in the market has not been traditional FLGS but nerd/gaming themed bars and cafes. Selling a place to hang out seems increasingly more important than selling the products.