Randomization and you

[AllisterH]

Technically..this probably is better suited for one of the other forums but I do believe that it needs to be said to people who don't play "collectible" games or haven't played since the early 90s. Mainly due to both the Gammaworld and Fortune decks threads where I've seen multiple comments about the "disadvantages" of randomization.

In M:TG, Nobody who plays the CONSTRUCTED format ACTUALLY buys random boosters. There are 3 sources to get the "exact" card you want if you are looking/building a specific deck.

Internet Resellers - pretty much any internet store that sells "randomized" boosters also sells the INDIVIDUAL cards as well.

E-bay - Self explanatory. Indeed, there are people that will sell you 4 copies of the entire expansion if needed.

FLGS - If your FLGS sells boosters, it sells the individual cards.

The people who are buying the random boosters are people like me who prefer the LIMITED format and then sell off the cards to buy into another game of Limited.

Randomization is actually what drives the prices lower for most cards as without the randomization format, you lose the Limited players buying boosters and those who sell individual cards.

 

[Dice4Hire]

Well, I quit MTG back when Mirage was the newest set, so it has been a long while.

Back in those days, most players I saw bought a box or two of boosters, with the occasional starter box also, plus a few random boosters and starters when th whim took them, and then traded or bought what they needed online or at stores.

As for collectible games and roleplay, I am not in favor of it. It is not the same thing. I want a whole set of the car if I am gonna use them.

The people who are buying the random boosters are people like me who prefer the LIMITED format and then sell off the cards to buy into another game of Limited.

Yes, but how is this a collectible card game to you? It sounds like you do not collect at all......

 

[AllisterH]

For me..it isn't.

Indeed..I'm not sure there _IS_ any sort of "gotta catch them all" in any so called "collectible" game these days thanks to the factors I mentioned in my 1st post.

I remember garbage pail kid and I remember how hard it was to get specific cards and indeed, that was part of the appeal and the "collectible" aspect to the garbage pail kids.

These days though? It's not just M:TG but stuff like baseball cards, stamps etc have all been affected by the rise of the internet and specialty shops. It's not hard at all to get full sets of things even if they are "randomized".

 

[Verdande]

I think it's a silly marketing gimmick that's attempting to camoflague a blatant money-grab, and one that's going to fade fast. That's all.

 

[Dausuul]

I think it's a silly marketing gimmick that's attempting to camoflague a blatant money-grab, and one that's going to fade fast. That's all.

It's been going for about 15 years now in M:tG and 7 years in DDM, so I wouldn't take it for granted that it's going to fade.

The way I see it, it's the equivalent of random loot drops in MMOs. If you want to look on it (sorta) benignly, it's a form of gambling, making the act of purchasing into entertainment: What am I gonna get this time? If you want to look on it less benignly, it's a form of Skinnerian conditioning to induce customers to buy against their own rational interests. Either way, it does finance the production of minis that otherwise would not be economically viable.

Me, I don't buy boosters except once in a while when I happen to be in my FLGS and feel like taking a whirl. The vast bulk of my mini collection comes from online singles purchases; I certainly would never buy boosters in an attempt to get any particular mini.

 

[AllisterH]

I think it's a silly marketing gimmick that's attempting to camoflague a blatant money-grab, and one that's going to fade fast. That's all.

But that's what I'm trying to get across.

You do NOT have to buy a booster/random pack of cards to get the SPECIFIC card you want these days. Hell, it hasn't been true since the rise of the FLGS and ebay.

If I went to mtgsalvation and told them"oh I hate buying packs to make a deck" they would "kindly" mock me for buying packs.

The only people that buy packs/cases are the limited fans while the Constructed fans simply buy the singles.

Seriously, why do people still insist on buying a random pack to get the specific item they want when there are MULTIPLE options to get said specific item?

 

[Sunseeker]

Seriously, why do people still insist on buying a random pack to get the specific item they want when there are MULTIPLE options to get said specific item?

Because, quite simply, of the cost. Yes, certainly I can go out and buy Emrakul or Gideon, or Bolas or Vengevine, but the fact is, those 4 cards alone are going to run me right up near $100. Just for 4 cards. For a hundred dollars, I could buy an entire booster box.

Sure, I may not get the 4 cards I want the most, but there are lots of good cards in any set, and there are probably 20 cards I want a lot, but not as much as say my top 5. Some people, like myself, see the 3rd-party cost of these cards and go: "you know, it's just a piece of paper". And I do enjoy collecting the cards actually. I didn't use to, but now I do, and whenever I have the money, I pick up cards in bulk, I usually get discounts, and probability is on my side that I will get the cards I want anyway, and probably a lot more.

Which IMO, is why Wizards introduced the "pauper" format, that is, a form within constructed(or limited) that is based around building a good deck with a limited number of rares(I think 2 is the max) or none at all.

 

[Nifft]

Seriously, why do people still insist on buying a random pack to get the specific item they want when there are MULTIPLE options to get said specific item?

I have bought, and may continue to buy, randomized plastic DDM packs.

I do this for several reasons:
- Price. Random is usually "good enough" at a low price. Compared to the price of individual minis -- which I also buy when I have a hankering for something specific -- the price per unit of satisfaction is quite high with the random packs.
- Inspiration. "Oh my, that is a nice looking troll. Huh, how can I work a troll into the next session..."
- Apathy. If I can make good repeated use of 2 of the minis per booster pack, the rest are effectively free. If I can make use of more, great! If not, meh, they don't take up all that much space.

Cheers, -- N

 

[humble minion]

I have in the past bought a fair number of cases of random ddm boosters. Part of that is because I'm in australia whereas all the singles ebay sellers aren't, and postage costs are murder. The other part is that when you're starting out with ddm in particular (this probably wouldn't apply to magic cards though) the great majority of miniatures you'll get in a booster are useful. But once you've been going for a while you'll have accumulated dozens of orcs and skeletons and armoured dwarves with axes and don't need any more, and it becomes a waste of money to keep buying boosters stuffed with 'minion' miniatures you don't need, and the singles market looks more attractive.

But wotc doesn't randomise sets (whether of ddm or magic cards) for the benefit of its customers. It's for the benefit of the supply chain, and flgs who only having to order/shelve/inventory track one item ('set X booster pack') rather than dozens of individual items that have to be shelved individually (requiring loads of shelf space), ordered individually, manufactured and packaged individually, etc, etc, etc. It's a decision to accept a large waste of material (the huge number of common/uncommon miniatures that will never get used) to minimise the waste of time and effort at the retailer/consumer end. Which is a very classic late-20th-century-throwaway-consumer-society sort of tradeoff to make...

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

Seriously, why do people still insist on buying a random pack to get the specific item they want when there are MULTIPLE options to get said specific item?

Seriously, why don't people just proxy the cards they want?

I don't know, but everybody has their reasons.