The critical comments on the r/mtg subreddit have been hidden by downvotes. The only thing left are comments with positive scores, so I’m writing this post.
I was interested in reading Mark Rosewater’s state of Design 2012. Some of the more refreshing aspects of the article were its acknowledgement of problems confronting the Magic community. I think an open acknowledgement of weaknesses and challenges is critical to the viability of games. These days even Nintendo can post a loss.
Mark Rosewater claims one of the problems with Magic the Gathering is the barrier to entry facing new players. Magic the Gathering is a complex game that costs a lot to play.
The solution from Mark Rosewater’s perspective was Duels of the Planeswalker. To me, this solution falls short for several reasons. First, access to the underlying technology is a cost barrier in itself. Second, it ignores viable alternatives such as Captain’s matches which can provide people a dynamic way to learn to play Magic in a social real space setting. Third, there is no attempt at bundling the two products. In some games, we see real space products bundled with digital ones. It would help an LGS attract more business if boosters came with unlock codes for MTGO. Fourth, this solution ignores paper Magic and all of its social components.
A simpler solution would be one in which players can purchase paper products for a low price. As the costs for printing non-foil cards are fairly fixed, I do not see why a set of four cards for each release could not be sold for much less money. I feel that at 5 cents a card, most releases could sell for about $50. To me, in an era of $15 games like CS:GO, that is still an enormous profit.
The current system is cost-prohibitive to many players. Many of the cards- like Bonfire- are inaccessible to players. There is no need for a card like Bonfire to be selling at three times the cost of a complete game.
The current system is costly and labor intensive to the LGS. Every time a new card is released, that card requires the shop owner to update and inventory the card. Some shop owners feel that there is money to be made the old way- by selling expensive singles. I do not think the players are very interested in the old model of doing this kind of business. Often times, shops offer a pittance and resell the card much higher. Players have no interest in selling an Oblivion Ring to a shop for a nickel that will resell it to another player for $1. Players are aware that they stand to lose in the long run under this scenario.
Tools like Deckbox.org are standardizing trade values to try to facilitate fair trades between players. (Deckbox.org is a trading tool. I sometimes see players on Reddit trying to sell their collection for those prices. Those are not prices for selling, those are trade values people. There is a difference.)
The current system is time consuming for players. I’ve talked extensively about the amount of time it takes me to acquire my paper singles. Buying singles online or in realspace, it takes an enormous amount of time for me to go from store to store or site to site to try to acquire my collection. I spend hours sifting through bulk boxes or in transit from place to place. Most people are going to be too busy to do this.
The current process is illegitimate. The fact that the prices vary so extensively from one store to another only reinforces my opinion that there is no underlying basis for the card values. The prices are not based on supply and demand. They are based in part on the perceived win-utility of the card (e.g. pay to win).
An affordable one-box solution would allow players to save time and money. It would allow shop owners to save time, money, and labor as well. Instead of constantly inventoring product, the shop owners could dedicate staff to learning the rules (becoming accredited judges) and organizing and running events.
The learning curve can be overcome by introducing players to the games through formats like Captain’s matches. Captain’s matches can provide watch-and-learn opportunities and participatory Magic gaming. The matches can be run with even or odd players and are a great way to introduce new players to the game.
The next part of Mark Rosewater’s post involves a concept called resonance. The underlying concept is fine, but it requires you ignore the obvious fact that even with the Lord of the Rings trilogy at blockbuster movie status, WOTC won’t commit to reintroducing Dwarves.
Finally, Mark Rosewater talks about making Magic casual. The format restrictions are at some odds with that. I’ve played in casual anything goes environments. Those environments are extremely challenging but also affordable as card prices tend to drop as cards rotate out of being standard legal.
The never-ending system of planned obsolence (e.g. format rotations) takes its toll on the player’s budgets. Some cards become expensive when they rotate in while other cards crash in value.
Rotation required I spent hours reorganizing my collection to be rotation safe and incurred the additional expense of purchasing new boxes to house the new rotation safe cards in.
Shop owners at most LGS are aware of the cyclical nature of these demands. Most price high for early adopters and then drop prices to clear excess inventory. Low shop inventories make the quest to acquire collections more time consuming.
The theory behind rotations was to level the playing field between new players and established ones. Let’s be serious, a new player is still going to be at a disadvantage. Rotation eliminated about 1/3 of my standard legal collection, but that still gives me more options than most people starting fresh.
The condition for me, as an established player, does not change that much as I still have to deal with the pay-to-win nature of Magic the Gathering. Paying to win reduces the skill and legitimacy of Magic.
In a collection of almost 6,000 cards (1,500 standard legal cards), I have 5 standard legal dual lands. This places me at a serious competitive disadvantage.
It is for this reason, that my most recent gaming investment was in CS:GO. CS:GO will in all likelihood provide me with hundreds of hours of competitive and balanced game play for the cost of only $15. It’s basically a reboot, but it’s the first reboot in several years. It’s not modeled on planned obsolence but a result of incremental technology changes. It’s also an option. If I, as the owner of CS:S, do not want to buy CS:GO, I do not have to.
The format changes in Magic feel much more forced. Many playing opportunities at shops are standard.
At its worst, a rotation brings on additional expenses like replacing Terramorphic Expanse with Evolving Wilds. Even the flip card mechanic Mark Rosewater mentioned brings on the additional expense of buying another sleeve, a proxy check list card, and finding more space in my deck boxes. I was able to buy Gatstaf Shepherd for 3 cents, but had to buy the supporting proxy for 5 cents.
A lot of people criticize me for complaining about a five cent cost. I’ve said before, that five cents becomes hundreds of dollars once you consider the number of cards I purchase.
As for some of the casual formats Mark Rosewater mentioned, the pricing models and format changes make it unlikely I will adopt them. I like Planechase. Unfortunately, the pricing models and rotation policies in existence mean I do not have the money to dedicate to any more WOTC products. I’m simply spending my time and money acquiring the new cards I need to replace the old ones.
Rotations are also reducing the amount of cards I’m buying. I used to buy more than 4 of a card. Now, I basically only buy 4 and in rare cases 8 of any given card. I tend to buy at the lowest available price whenever possible. Supply problems and time constraint issues mean sometimes I pay a little more. Overall, my investments in Magic are trending down.
As a player, I’ve continued playing Magic on my terms. I invest in budget cards. I cap my single card purchases at a $1 maximum and focus on cards that cost less than 25 cents. By purchasing singles, I’ve been able to stay well below the average price of a booster.
Looming over all of this is CS:GO. Fifteen dollars. An optional upgrade after eight years. No pay to win issues.
magicmakrel 