Just a thought, but how much better does Jump Start become if they bring back Madness for the Rakdos guild? Would they be mad enough to try? Apologies for the dad joke thrown in there.
I have played the blue tron mirror all of once and yes, it is painful. However, the deck does do better against land hate like field of ruin and assassin's trophy because blue tron doesn't need to drop a bomb turn 3-4 to win the same way green does in many matchups. Oh you blew up two urza's mines in a row? That's cool, I'll use the islands you gave me to repeal your threat, remand it on your turn, then play wurmcoil on turn six anyways.
6 Modern GP just from Jan through March. Only 2 Standard. 0 Legacy. In case anyone was worried about Modern support going forward, this is a very promising indicator of significant support moving forward. It also means more metagame evolutions and GP datapoints for us to consider.
Hmm weird wonder why there is so little Standard...do they overpower Ravnica Allegiance or something and think it will be a mess or did they underpower it so much will get a stagnate format again.
It might be as simple as demand. If WOTC thinks they can make more money via advertisements on twitch, they will show what brings the most eyes (definitely modern). If WOTC thinks it can generate more sales, they will focus on limited and standard. This could suggest a change in the purpose of the GPs. Possibly.
Fair enough but if WOTC wants to push Modern then lets hope the next Masters Set actually moves the dial on the price of modern staples especially and I am on a loop the goddamn manabase.
Fair enough but if WOTC wants to push Modern then lets hope the next Masters Set actually moves the dial on the price of modern staples especially and I am on a loop the goddamn manabase.
Is the mana even an issue? I know Tarns are bad again but I haven't looked at the rest of the fetches for a while.
Honestly, since land base is required for every deck I simply think lands not on the reserve list should be dirt cheap. So I use Land Bases as a bit of microcosm cause it personally annoys me the most but obviously all staples should be down in price. Like why in the world does Noble Hierarch for instance cost almost 70 bucks. Honestly, I have yet to see an explanation for the pricing of cards that makes sense if one is to believe WOTC and Hasbro are not lining their pockets in the Secondary Market somehow. I mean sure incompetence is an answer I suppose but its hard to imagine them being this incompetent in reprinting by accident. If the goal is to increase the player base then I don't see how cutting the cost to play is not near the top of the ideas.
Honestly, since land base is required for every deck I simply think lands not on the reserve list should be dirt cheap. So I use Land Bases as a bit of microcosm cause it personally annoys me the most but obviously all staples should be down in price. Like why in the world does Noble Hierarch for instance cost almost 70 bucks. Honestly, I have yet to see an explanation for the pricing of cards that makes sense if one is to believe WOTC and Hasbro are not lining their pockets in the Secondary Market somehow. I mean sure incompetence is an answer I suppose but its hard to imagine them being this incompetent in reprinting by accident. If the goal is to increase the player base then I don't see how cutting the cost to play is not near the top of the ideas.
The last time they did mass reprinting resulted in the reserved list and from what I have heard was close to killing the game off entirely so it's natural they are reluctant to completely destroy the secondary market.
Honestly, since land base is required for every deck I simply think lands not on the reserve list should be dirt cheap. So I use Land Bases as a bit of microcosm cause it personally annoys me the most but obviously all staples should be down in price. Like why in the world does Noble Hierarch for instance cost almost 70 bucks. Honestly, I have yet to see an explanation for the pricing of cards that makes sense if one is to believe WOTC and Hasbro are not lining their pockets in the Secondary Market somehow. I mean sure incompetence is an answer I suppose but its hard to imagine them being this incompetent in reprinting by accident. If the goal is to increase the player base then I don't see how cutting the cost to play is not near the top of the ideas.
The last time they did mass reprinting resulted in the reserved list and from what I have heard was close to killing the game off entirely so it's natural they are reluctant to completely destroy the secondary market.
That story is a tale of exaggerated reactions pre-reddit. There was one big reprint set and some vendors and collectors lost their minds. Rather than have a discussion, WOTC made the reserved list. However, with the existence of master's sets this is, I believe, a very reasonable way to look at non-RL cards:
WOTC has the reserved list. Those cards are protected from a collection/investment perspective. Go nuts there. Every card not on the list is subject to reprint in any quantity at any time. To speak of WOTC as if it has some legal obligation to protect the price of hierarch is simply false (I know you're not really doing that, genini, specifically). You invest at your own risk. I solely look to MtG finance as a way of buying before a spike or avoiding a buy before a reprint. That's it. I have no intention of trying to profit from my transactions, and neither should anyone else. Let's remember, Karn, Engineered Explosives, Noble Hierarch, Snapcaster Mage and others were in the $40-ish range a year ago. These spikes are not the result of increased demand. These spikes are the result of WOTC punting big time on two consecutive masters sets after MM17 literally made modern cheaper than it had been in like four ******* years. Then, rather than saying they would do better next time, WOTC says modern masters is dead, to be replaced with "theme" reprint sets. So those prices that were being held down in part due to the risk factor shot up. Vendors all said "well there's almost no chance of reprints, so let's jack up our prices."
I bought burn specifically to avoid that bull*****. I have said to many people before "I can't justify spending $70 on a single card. I would never be able to complain about money issues and feel righteous at all if I spent $300 on snapcaster mages." And prices never fall due to lack of demand because of price memory. People and companies would rather sit on their cards than sell below that mark they see online. The only way hierarch gets cheap is a) WOTC reprints it, at rare, in a new set (a standard reprint would crush it, good even one major card getting reprinted in standard would scare the ***** out of investors) or b) so few are sold over a significant period of time that more and more people who need the money drop their prices (holidays might help. if enough people need a grand for various gifts and trips they may drop a $80 card to $65. liquidity has a cost).
I work at a bank and earned a bachelor's in economics. I geek out over this kinda stuff, yet I hate the EV mentality of modern magic. Too many people buy cards or decks with the intention of playing for however many months or years, then feeling entitled to selling that deck for at least equal what they spent to purchase it. That is dumb. This is a hobby. Buy at your own risk. Never expect a profit. WOTC isn't an investment firm.
I think there is a fundamental issue with Modern's costs right now, but they can be completely tied to a small list of things.
1. Reprints stopped happening in the way they should. The last great reprint set gave us the Zen Fetches.
2. Modern continued to grow in popularity, with Standard sets fueling the creation of new archetypes (Humans and Spirits) which combined with item 1...
3. A lot of cards that are 'best in class' and will likely never be improved on (Noble Hierarch) when levered by popular decks, explode.
I will lament, forever, not getting my play set for $120 when it was sitting in my bloody cart.
I think that covers it and again how does WOTC plan to grow the market if proper decks are this costly? I mean sheesh its not cost competitive with any other game be it TCG or Videogames. I mean sure eventually WOTC probably wants to be totally online but that is a long way off, it certainly has one advantage over Hearthstone far less RNG dependent and online gets rather of one weakness for MTG complicated rules issues by having the program take care of that stuff. But again online is long term, paper is still dominant.
They dont want Modern to grow. They want Standard to grow. Modern's presence is 100% despite what Wizard's has done, not because of anything they have done to actively improve it's health.
Fair enough but its not like the average Standard Deck is cheap compared to other entertainment options. Besides that Mono Blue Tempo Deck which is what $30-50.
They dont want Modern to grow. They want Standard to grow. Modern's presence is 100% despite what Wizard's has done, not because of anything they have done to actively improve it's health.
I'm pretty sure they are wildly happy with Modern growth, especially given the overwhelming Modern GP presence. I think they would also like Standard to suck less, but probably not at the expense of Modern.
Right. I'm not implying they want Modern to fail, but they are riding Modern's success which is what it is organically. People, players, viewers, have spoken and its Modern which is the best format for those various groups.
They wish Standard was as loved as Modern is, because its Standard that cracks the packs, but its Modern that is 'the Peoples format'. Maybe they just got tired of losing out on Twitch to SCG in the head to head.
They dont want Modern to grow. They want Standard to grow. Modern's presence is 100% despite what Wizard's has done, not because of anything they have done to actively improve it's health.
I'm pretty sure they are wildly happy with Modern growth, especially given the overwhelming Modern GP presence. I think they would also like Standard to suck less, but probably not at the expense of Modern.
I think we're seeing Modern become the format they always wanted it to become, a non rotating format that's not hampered (as much) by supply issues. We're just starting to see a payoff on that potential now. Remember, Modern has around 15,500 cards in it at this point. That is about the same number of cards that Legacy had in it when Modern released and the format is far more popular than Legacy was in 2011.
WOTC can profit from modern. That's a big deal. They are much more limited in legacy. This is the result of a reserved list afflicting one format and not the other. Hell, I dont know about you guys but I built a standard deck when good promos like fatal push were an option. If WOTC picked FNM promos with eternal playability, it would do wonders to bring modern-only types like myself towards the ol' type 2.
Right. I'm not implying they want Modern to fail, but they are riding Modern's success which is what it is organically. People, players, viewers, have spoken and its Modern which is the best format for those various groups.
They wish Standard was as loved as Modern is, because its Standard that cracks the packs, but its Modern that is 'the Peoples format'. Maybe they just got tired of losing out on Twitch to SCG in the head to head.
WOTC will follow the money...Modern has got a color combo and/or deck archtype for almost everyone at this point that at least has a chance to win...granted some colors/color combos of course lag behind.
My point though is going to be hard to maintain growth and popularity at the current Price Point. If anything though you think WOTC would love reprint sets considering they don't even have to commission new art.
WOTC can profit from modern. That's a big deal. They are much more limited in legacy. This is the result of a reserved list afflicting one format and not the other. Hell, I dont know about you guys but I built a standard deck when good promos like fatal push were an option. If WOTC picked FNM promos with eternal playability, it would do wonders to bring modern-only types like myself towards the ol' type 2.
I agree. Since I'm currently on the GW 'fair' deck myself, I almost contemplated THINKING about playing current Standard. If they actually gave me a reason, I may do so.
Blue Tron, eh? That makes me super happy. What a time to be alive haha 😆
A good time for Turns I bet too.
Spirits
https://www.cfbevents.com/2019
(Image of schedule - https://goo.gl/6sNQmX)
6 Modern GP just from Jan through March. Only 2 Standard. 0 Legacy. In case anyone was worried about Modern support going forward, this is a very promising indicator of significant support moving forward. It also means more metagame evolutions and GP datapoints for us to consider.
Spirits
Is the mana even an issue? I know Tarns are bad again but I haven't looked at the rest of the fetches for a while.
Spirits
The last time they did mass reprinting resulted in the reserved list and from what I have heard was close to killing the game off entirely so it's natural they are reluctant to completely destroy the secondary market.
That story is a tale of exaggerated reactions pre-reddit. There was one big reprint set and some vendors and collectors lost their minds. Rather than have a discussion, WOTC made the reserved list. However, with the existence of master's sets this is, I believe, a very reasonable way to look at non-RL cards:
WOTC has the reserved list. Those cards are protected from a collection/investment perspective. Go nuts there. Every card not on the list is subject to reprint in any quantity at any time. To speak of WOTC as if it has some legal obligation to protect the price of hierarch is simply false (I know you're not really doing that, genini, specifically). You invest at your own risk. I solely look to MtG finance as a way of buying before a spike or avoiding a buy before a reprint. That's it. I have no intention of trying to profit from my transactions, and neither should anyone else. Let's remember, Karn, Engineered Explosives, Noble Hierarch, Snapcaster Mage and others were in the $40-ish range a year ago. These spikes are not the result of increased demand. These spikes are the result of WOTC punting big time on two consecutive masters sets after MM17 literally made modern cheaper than it had been in like four ******* years. Then, rather than saying they would do better next time, WOTC says modern masters is dead, to be replaced with "theme" reprint sets. So those prices that were being held down in part due to the risk factor shot up. Vendors all said "well there's almost no chance of reprints, so let's jack up our prices."
I bought burn specifically to avoid that bull*****. I have said to many people before "I can't justify spending $70 on a single card. I would never be able to complain about money issues and feel righteous at all if I spent $300 on snapcaster mages." And prices never fall due to lack of demand because of price memory. People and companies would rather sit on their cards than sell below that mark they see online. The only way hierarch gets cheap is a) WOTC reprints it, at rare, in a new set (a standard reprint would crush it, good even one major card getting reprinted in standard would scare the ***** out of investors) or b) so few are sold over a significant period of time that more and more people who need the money drop their prices (holidays might help. if enough people need a grand for various gifts and trips they may drop a $80 card to $65. liquidity has a cost).
I work at a bank and earned a bachelor's in economics. I geek out over this kinda stuff, yet I hate the EV mentality of modern magic. Too many people buy cards or decks with the intention of playing for however many months or years, then feeling entitled to selling that deck for at least equal what they spent to purchase it. That is dumb. This is a hobby. Buy at your own risk. Never expect a profit. WOTC isn't an investment firm.
1. Reprints stopped happening in the way they should. The last great reprint set gave us the Zen Fetches.
2. Modern continued to grow in popularity, with Standard sets fueling the creation of new archetypes (Humans and Spirits) which combined with item 1...
3. A lot of cards that are 'best in class' and will likely never be improved on (Noble Hierarch) when levered by popular decks, explode.
I will lament, forever, not getting my play set for $120 when it was sitting in my bloody cart.
Spirits
Spirits
Fair enough but its not like the average Standard Deck is cheap compared to other entertainment options. Besides that Mono Blue Tempo Deck which is what $30-50.
I'm pretty sure they are wildly happy with Modern growth, especially given the overwhelming Modern GP presence. I think they would also like Standard to suck less, but probably not at the expense of Modern.
They wish Standard was as loved as Modern is, because its Standard that cracks the packs, but its Modern that is 'the Peoples format'. Maybe they just got tired of losing out on Twitch to SCG in the head to head.
Spirits
I think we're seeing Modern become the format they always wanted it to become, a non rotating format that's not hampered (as much) by supply issues. We're just starting to see a payoff on that potential now. Remember, Modern has around 15,500 cards in it at this point. That is about the same number of cards that Legacy had in it when Modern released and the format is far more popular than Legacy was in 2011.
WOTC will follow the money...Modern has got a color combo and/or deck archtype for almost everyone at this point that at least has a chance to win...granted some colors/color combos of course lag behind.
My point though is going to be hard to maintain growth and popularity at the current Price Point. If anything though you think WOTC would love reprint sets considering they don't even have to commission new art.
I agree. Since I'm currently on the GW 'fair' deck myself, I almost contemplated THINKING about playing current Standard. If they actually gave me a reason, I may do so.
Spirits
Would make sense to 'shake up' the new GP season.
Spirits