Also on another note. The best thing to happen to the Pokémon card game was leaving wotc. Pokémon cards are flourishing while mtg is struggling.
As a MTG player we’re all suffering from wallet fatigue, all these new sets and supplemental sets with the addition of special “limited edition” print runs (Secret Lair), etc. Are pissing off everyone, not to mention politicizing the game, forcing inclusion instead of letting it happen naturally, etc.
…and the cherry on top of this pile of garbage was the 30th anniversary packs made for “the players” to “celebrate Magic’s 30th anniversary” which have proxies of the original Alpha run print including the “power 9”, each booster pack is $250 and come in packs of 4… NONE of the cards are legal in ANY format, people were excited to be able to draft Alpha/Beta cards for the 30th anniversary and get spit on the face with the high price-tag and limited availability.
The people running this clown show should get fired, Magic the Gathering is dying a slow and painful death by suicide.
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I think the problem was them releasing 40 sets in one year. Just from what I heard on Alpha Investments.
The takeaway is not that MTG is struggling. The BoA analyst’s assessment was basically the opposite – it’s that Hasbro’s has been over-capitalizing on MTG’s success in order to inflate the value of the property over the short-term (but to the detriment of its long-term value).
Basically, BoA’s conclusion was that Hasbro is risking the long-term value of their most valuable property by becoming overly reliant on its success.
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As someone who plays MtG casually but likes to keep updated with competitive decks and the meta, I would say that is impossible to keep up with the releases and the game itself.
I can’t buy cards or packs from a brand-new expansion while they’re already releasing spoilers from the next product. You receive the singles you need for your decks and you already have to put money aside for the next preorder at the same time. Nothing feels exciting, because everyone is already talking about what will be next. I feel like I don’t have time to enjoy my new cards that a couple of weeks after they’re not “new” anymore.
I would also say that Arena ruined the experience for casuals. Players are not opening packs of the new expansions because it is cheaper online. I’m not an analyst, but I feel that Arena is kind of backstabbing the company because players socialize less due to online gaming and buy less cardboard. In addition to that, if the majority of the experience is online then the life span of a player will be lower, due to the huge competition that other online software can offer. An online player spends less and stays attached to the game for less time.
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I wonder how those struggles are comparable or not comparable to Pokemon.
Japan has also stepped up the number of sets being released every year and although English hasn’t followed necessarily, the set sizes are humongous.
The disparity between the chase cards and the rest of the cards also continues to widen or at least the pervading mentality has become alt art or bust. Not that the rainbows or full arts are pretty or desirable but it doesn’t make sense to open packs when you don’t want most of the set even though they have the same rarity or are actually rarer than alt arts.
Pokemon also forces LGS to take products that do not sell like theme decks and collection boxes for unpopular Pokemon like Hisuian Electrode V or Boltund V but even Pikachu V boxes etc. don’t sell through because the art sucks. That isn’t a recipe for success for stores that are meant to promote your product.
And even with a billion cards printed per set minimum for the latest sets, master sets are impossible to pull. We’re not even talking trophies, graded cards etc. Just raw set cards and it’s still too expensive for people to complete.
Even though I have advocated for replacing FA cards with AA cards, if the pull rates do not increase, that would just make the problem worse. It’s better that more of the cards will hold value and makes sense for people to open, but collecting them all would be even more futile than it is today. In the last year there were 18 AAs, you would have that minimum in 1 set.
Let’s see what Scarlet and Violet brings with the price increases.
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I hope SV boxes will 100% of the time have a secret rare pull. If you are paying $90-$100 (and more once the price increases start), you should have that guarantee. Currently its about 1 secret on average, but I think it should be moved to 100% at a minimum. Ideally, the box would have 1 secret guaranteed, with a diminishing chance for a 2nd, 3rd, even 4th. If I’m going to pay the most amount of money for a product, I sure do hope I can at least get a secret rare out of the deal.
Something that bothers me is that V alts are not secret rares, while VMAX ones are. Its also uncertain what the rates are for these cards. Presumably rarer than secret rare pulls, but its so inconsistent that its hard to know for sure.
I also want to say in comparison with how Pokémon handled the 25th anniversary with celebrations. Making it affordable and available. Wotc really dropped the ball with the 30th anniversary set.
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I love this kind of content, it’s close to perfection.
I’m always wondering if something like this gets played during the stakeholder’s meeting. It would be hilarious. Companies administration is so detached from reality that it would blow their mind.
I like the statement that MtG influencers are using: “people are voting with their wallet”
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Some of y’all are spoiled by modern pull rates!
You were guaranteed maybe a full art during the B&W to furious fists era
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Here is a timestamp to the question about slowing down the MTG releases:
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What a robust nonanswer.
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“nooot reeeally…ooh nice!” 
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Grab 10 darts and throw them at the wall. Each is a different product. Some you buy direct, some from your LGS and some are just Amazon dumps. Now repeat every 4.5 weeks. This is modern MTG
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I have a question to more engaged mtg players: How hard is it now compared to 5 years ago to keep up with the meta in an individual format, assuming you only play that format?
i get the fact that if the cards are designed to power creep the previous ones, excessive releases can be pretty annoying but if it’s spread across different formats is it that bad? Maybe it’s an unpopular opinion but in pokemon, I don’t really care about having too much of a good thing. Pokemon has been releasing way more sets and arts and products, and while overwhelming if one were to go in with the “gotta catch em all” mentality, I’m never going to complain about having more options…
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I think the problem with power creep in MTG is the concept of eternal formats, such as Commander (EDH), where most cards from Magic’s history are playable in the format. I’ll venture to say that it’s irritating and exhausting. I’m primarily an EDH, branching into cEDH, player. With every new release, there seems to be more “made for commander” type cards that continually outclass format staples or your favorite legendary creatures. For a simple example, cards like Commander’s Sphere or Worn Powerstone have practically been replaced by cards such as Arcane Signet or Liquimetal Torque. Legendary creatures that were once the cream of the crop, most powerful in their color identity, are now afterthoughts because a better version of them exists or will soon exist. If you were to look at decks on TappedOut.net from just a few years ago, you’d see mana rock, draw, and removal staples in about every color that have been taken over by newer, and frankly, better versions of the same cards. It’s practically unheard of in my playgroup of about 20 people to play a mana rock that costs more than 2 cmc (mana value) unless it has “win the game” on it ( I mean this literally in a sense, look at Strixhaven Stadium). I mean, with every set, there seems to be some new form of removal or counterspell on steroids that make me go, “Welp, there’s no reason to run Go for the Throat any longer when Infernal Grasp now exists.” It’s almost as if WOTC purposefully outclasses different staples to “spice up” standard play, while at the same time getting EDH players to empty their wallets on better versions of cards they already own. Needless to say, it’s stressful to feel the need to continually be updating decks that you may have already spent months, and sometimes years “perfecting.”
TL;DR - It’s annoying, stressful, and can feel like a money grab from WOTC sometimes…
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From a draft/sealed perspective, the game has been really fucking good recently. DMU was easily a top 10 draft format of all time. SNC was mediocre, but Kamigawa was fantastic (not far behind DMU, IMO).
Brother’s War came out the other day and while I don’t have a firm opinion on it yet, it’s also looking to be a great format.
So yeah, as a primarily limited player, I’ve been very happy with recent sets. And in terms of constructed balancing, things have improved significantly from the 2017-2019 era of constant mistakes. But as far as the other shit WotC is currently doing with MTG, not a fan lol.
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As someone with 0 magic cards, I’m loving this drama and the stream of crazy Rudy videos every few hours.
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