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The End of an Era
  • 2

    posted a message on The Coronavirus Pandemic and the Future of the Local Game Store (LGS)
    So I recently looked into what Wizards of the Coast has been doing with FNM @ Home events and what concerns me the most about this is that there's no actual paid entry fee to help support Local Game Stores (LGSs) to stay in business even though they can set up online communities through Discord, WhatsApp, and Facebook to help run these events. Also I don't think it's right for Wizards of the Coast to sweep non-WPN stores under the rug by not allowing them to sell Mystery Booster products and singles to stay afloat.


    This is the exact reason why my WPN store is not taking part in the FNM@Home events. Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed, but I fully understand why they don't want to do it and it helps cut the sting a bit when all the prizes are cosmetic anyways (I refuse to spend money on MTGA cosmetics).


    If anything I think the "stay at home" order is making it more difficult for people to sell their MTG collections to LGSs especially since they can only buylist cards through the mail and it has to go through some kind of appraisal by the LGS before you get your money back from it. If Wizards of the Coast hadn't got rid of the MSRP for MTG products by bending the knee to Amazon then there's a good chance that LGS owners wouldn't of been forced to price gouge the Secret Lair: Ultimate Edition products in order to stay in business.


    I don't agree with the first part of that comment. LGSes have greater overhead so their typical offerings for card X will be on the low end or even lower. The advantage is you can easily haggle higher prices or whatever to negotiate higher premiums. Sellers have all sorts of other avenues to sell of their cards via eBay, Craigslist, Facebook, or online merchants. These avenues each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Can't argue the last point.


    This was a deliberate move on Wizards of the Coast's part to make LGSs look bad compared to big box retailers like Walmart and Target as well as online retailers with Amazon being the monopoly they are. All it took was for a Black Swan Event like COVID-19 to occur by amplifying Wizards of the Coast's attempt to do away with LGSs for good so they can continue to focus more on Arena and MTGO despite what Mark Rosewater says. As mentioned earlier, 2020 has been a year where corporations and businesses are really showing their true colors and Wizards of the Coast is no exception.


    Well... yes and no. Paper is too much of a cash cow to completely do away with the format. I don't believe that MTGA and MTGO are where they need to be to completely get rid of paper. For WotC/Hasbro, this is more like icing on a cake, not the cake itself.

    To understand where MTG might be headed, compare the My Little Pony, Transformers, D&D, Nerf, and the recent Ikoria Godzilla cards with the hundreds of Monopoly IP variations introduced since Hasbro bought Parker Bros. Not counting the war time versions, Monopoly really only had two significant versions for sale. Looking at the list, it appears that Hasbro has introduced something on the order of 50 (my calculations may be off) different versions of the game each year since acquiring the IP. There are only a handful or two of digital versions of the game. This is not counting the Monopoly licensing such as for McDonalds and the weird city variations.

    MTG isn't going to die, but we are seeing a (horrendous) transformation into something Monopoly-Like by Hasbro as long as Hasbro controls WotC. It doesn't seem like the Planeswalkers thing is working out like how Hasbro wants it to, so we're going to see more crossover marketing that will possibly expand into something making Magic barely recognizable. Every time I think about what Hasbro seems to be pushing onto WotC, I'm just reminded of the merchandising scene from Space Balls. "Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the game is made. Magic-the T-shirt, Magic-the Coloring Book, Maagic-the Lunch box, Magic-the Breakfast Cereal, Magic-the Flame Thrower. The kids love this one. And last but not least, Jace the doll."

    I believe that WotC is treating LGSes like garbage but it's because big box stores and Amazon probably offer better return on the volume. LGSes require a certain amount of support whereas big box stores just want you to hand them product en-masse. If WotC is given any opportunity to cut costs, you can bank they'll do it.
    Posted in: Magic General
  • 1

    posted a message on Home Interview of MaRo by The 'Professor' at Toarian Community College
    Wonder how the playtesting will go


    There is a very interesting question. Will overpowered or degenerate combo pieces sneak through? Or will they design on the conservative side and cards will be purposely underpowered as to avoid play problems? Wait and see I suppose.


    Remarkably good question. Was Field of the Dead, Oko, and Hogaak someone's pet card?
    Posted in: The Rumor Mill
  • 2

    posted a message on Planeswalker Points are being removed at end of May
    I work for an entity with approximately $14 billion in expenditures this fiscal year. Not a Fortune 500 Smile

    I hear you. I had to build my own Excel spreadsheet tools to pull relevant data when and how I want them because the existing databases (yes, plural) are such patch jobs.

    The real beauty is we started our upgrade probably... five years ago (give or take a year and ramp up) and we're only about half way through. Even better it's live and no one can find the source code to finish the remaining portion for the project. All of the people from the beginning of the project retired.

    So I get to sit here and decide whether I want to craft new queries or use Perl to massage the UI data into something useful.

    Good luck on your project Wink

    Note that my comments in no way shape or form is intended to give WotC an excuse on their crockery. I'm of the firm opinion that WotC discarding the DCI and not porting the data to the new architecture is either lazy or a cost cutting measure or both. Neither of which is excusable.
    Posted in: The Rumor Mill
  • 2

    posted a message on Planeswalker Points are being removed at end of May
    Quote from Xcric »
    whats so difficult about merging it? couldn't they just have a field that asks for dci number when you create/update an account - that's pretty basic isn't it?

    i mean its a minor thing, but it definitely feels like another in the many small missteps that alienate players and disconnect the company further from them, especially veteran players.


    It may be a "minor" thing on the surface but underneath the hood, it's possible that the DCI database is horribly complex. When the original database was born, it very likely had a very small number of tables with a limited amount of interaction across them. But I guarantee that as the years went by, the original developers probably left. New developers came in. Time marched on and some pointy haired boss told those later developers to add a new feature or start tracking something else. They probably looked at the code and the table structure, looked at the clock, and said, "screw it, I'll just add a new table with some new keys and call it done." And that's exactly what they did. Added a new feature without ever actually touching the old code or old database. Then someone else came along looked at those tables , query strings and old code with orders to add a new feature. So instead of changing the table which would likely break old code, they added another table, or two, or three then added more code. Then some feature was obsoleted and that table sat disused but never dropped because dropping that table would break code somewhere else.

    So twenty years later, you have a database with dozens upon dozens upon dozens of tables, half of which the programmer has no idea what they're for or why they're there with so much legacy code that they just write they're own functions to do their own thing because they have no idea what a similarly named function actually does and they don't have the time to figure it out because the boss said they have to produce the code by Monday 9AM and it's already 2AM. Oh, and don't forget that they have to fix an entire block of code they wrote 3 years ago on a whim because they read all about refactoring in "Code Complete" Chapter 24 but completely ignored all the commenting requirements because they thought they would never forget what they wrote at 2AM.

    So yeah, there are times that a simple box that allows a specific entry can be extremely convoluted and far more complex that it seems on the surface. What... what..? what.

    Posted in: The Rumor Mill
  • 4

    posted a message on Planeswalker Points are being removed at end of May
    The real reason why Wizards of the Coast is doing this is because In-Store Play at Local Game Stores (LGSs) are now prohibited due to COVID-19.


    Yeah... I'm going to have to call that out as false. Catalyst? Maybe. But the real reason? No.

    It was bound to happen. If not now, then sometime in the next few years.

    I'm going to agree with some of the other posters, this is a lazy move on WotC's part. To be honest, I was puzzled as to why Arena didn't utilize the DCI for registration when it first came out. Then it hit me while working on my own company database. The DCI database is probably so old and so kludged together that no one at Wizards really understands how it works anymore. How long ago was the DCI number introduced? About 20 years? How many admins worked on it and how many features were added during that time?

    So the Arena guys probably came on board and, due to some combination of inexperience and hard headedness, decided to build the Arena player database from scratch. Or it could have been managements plan the entire time. Either way, management probably decided the cost of maintaining or exporting the old database to a new system wasn't worth the cost so they decided to drop the tables.

    Changing databases isn't easy or cheap but it is always doable, it's just a matter of how much money anyone wants to throw at it.
    Posted in: The Rumor Mill
  • 1

    posted a message on Japanese Exclusives not Included in EN and FR Collector Boosters
    Quote from FlossedBeaver »
    Sorry, had to rant.


    Did you, though? Wizards made it patently clear that their decision to postpone the physical set was to help ensure the health and wellbeing of everybody in the supply chain, from distribution and shipping centers to retailers and consumers. The pandemic has yet to peak in most states (if any), so for them to encourage people to quit self-isolation - even just for a quick stop at the LGS - would be selfish at best, and life threatening at worst. And that's assuming many local games stores haven't already shuttered, which would lead to a further disproportion of benefits upon release.

    Wizards isn't hoarding, they're certainly not profiting from the delay, and absolutely no good can come of pushing them into a rushed product release here. The absence of overpriced cardboard is easily the least disruptive event in most people's lives right now.

    Quote from SavannahLion »
    You're punishing a 70 year old franchise for a disease that most people will forget in less than 5 years? Sad....


    Forgotten, like the Spanish Flu? Like SARS? The friends and family members of the 32,000+ people who have died to coronavirus in the U.S. so far, I'm sure they'll have forgotten. I guess there's no point in being overly sensitive at the expense of a 70 year old fictional lizard monster.


    Absolutely. Keep in mind that my post isn't about minimizing those who have died or their relatives. 2009 flu saw about 12,500 deaths in the U.S. but their deaths aren't any less than COVID-19. This is about how this gesture from WotC isn't what it's cracked up to be.

    Think about this. The vast majority of the people sqawking about a Godzilla Corona card having some bizarre relationship to COVID-19 are just stirring the pot. Just like the bizarre relationship with thr beer.

    The general populous have extremely short term memories over even large events and in five years, give or take, something else will hit the radar and most people will only have the vaguest memory.

    The fact that a game that just happened to have a card of the same unrelated name as the disease is, and will be, completely irrelevant, even amongst those that directly experienced this pandemic five years from now. A lot of people cite 1918 but they do so only because of the media. Two years ago, how many people do you think were even aware of the 1918 flu much less cared about it?

    I think a far better and meaningful gesture would have been to create a Secret Lair Godzilla (even with the new name) and actually donated all the profits to the Red Cross. Players and detractors would absolutely eat that up.

    Feel free to come back to this post in five years and prove me wrong.
    Posted in: The Rumor Mill
  • 1

    posted a message on Chandra's Spellbook and Secret Lair Ultimate Edition (Enemy fetches) announced.
    Quote from Ryperior74 »
    Quote from boombox_smk »
    Since I see the fetches but no images of the chandra cards, here they are


    While I really love the flame effect at the bottom of the cards, I won't buy any more spellbook cards. I bought a foil playset of the Spellbook Jace Negates when they came out, and they curled more than a boomerang within days. Only plus is I can throw 'em at my opponent's spells and they return to my hand.


    Have you ever considered the book weight trick (put curled foils in book then weight it down for a couple of days to aproximatly a week)

    Or maybe a some heat to get the moisture out the non-foil side of foil cards


    It's way too easy to screw up the heat technique. Especially if someone who doesn't actually understand how it all works tries it. Can you imagine? Someone triying to iron their cards? Yeah... Slant


    I'll second the book method, it's the same technique used for decades to flatten, dry and preserve flowers, leaves, and fairies for generations. Care should be taken with foils not to crack the foiling or wrinkle it.
    Posted in: The Rumor Mill
  • 1

    posted a message on Impacts of COVID-19 on Paper Magic
    Closing LGSes does not necessarily equate to the death of Magic, which is what post title suggests:

    R.I.P. Magic: the Gathering (1993-2020)

    Magic appeared at a time when LGS wasn't even a thing, we all had to play in cramped sports card shops, in the backs of video rental stores and pizza parlors. Heck, I played Magic in a comic book store that was smaller than most bathrooms. We had to stand on opposite sides of the counter.

    What kills an LGS, even en masse, is usually a pretty easy answer. So Card Slinger J is probably not too far off on that.

    What can kill MtG isn't quite so easy to answer. Equating the closure of approximately 40% (whatever that number ultimately turns out to be) of all LGSes isn't going to equate to the death of Magic.

    The title is misleading and... what's the term? Click bait?

    edit: removed some saltiness
    Posted in: Magic General
  • 1

    posted a message on Gavin Verhey's Ikoria Commander Hints
    Quote from Avatarof »


    An Ikoria promo poster, someone posted on reddit


    Huh... I really thought the first leaked creature was just well... the only one but this second looks very much the same style. I guess Yu-Gi-Oh is influencing the card art direction for this set? We're going to see a ton of nearly comical spiky beasts from this point forward?
    Posted in: The Rumor Mill
  • 1

    posted a message on Cards that fill their text box?
    So.... I was bored and created these two lists. I forgot about the Planechase Anthology cards.

    Since different printings will cause the text to expand or contract due to how Wizards likes to mess around with things, I examined each individual printing and noted that printing here. More to the point, if there were two printings with identical text, I chose one.

    Due to how cards are typically kept in databases, non alphanumeric characters such as mana symbols count as three characters. In addition some cards have font markup (such as italics), I made no effort to strip that out either. I also didn't filter out unsets or er... that set that no one ever really plays, Planechase? Whatever....

    Top 200 cards with the most text in their box (not including flavor text)
    Bureaucracy - (760) Unglued
    Greater Morphling - (674) Unhinged
    Seek Bolas's Counsel - (579) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Morphic Tide - (496) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Spark Fiend - (476) Unglued
    Talon Gates - (473) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Bottle of Suleiman - (469) Arabian Nights
    Shahrazad - (468) Arabian Nights
    Will Kenrith - (459) Battlebond
    The Grand Calcutron - (459) Unstable
    Underdark Beholder - (455) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Bronze Tablet - (433) Antiquities
    Vesuvan Doppelganger - (430) Unlimited Edition
    Grixis - (427) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Tawnos's Coffin - (425) Antiquities
    Free-Range Chicken - (424) Unglued
    Guardian Beast - (415) Arabian Nights
    Selesnya Loft Gardens - (409) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Ral, Izzet Viceroy - (407) Mythic Edition
    Glimmervoid Basin - (407) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Trail of the Mage-Rings - (405) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Everythingamajig - (405) Unstable
    Domri, Chaos Bringer - (402) Mythic Edition
    Chandra, Pyromaster - (401) Archenemy: Nicol Bolas
    Tidal Influence - (401) Fallen Empires
    Grand Ossuary - (391) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Higure, the Still Wind - (390) Planechase Anthology
    Head to Head - (389) Unhinged
    Rowan Kenrith - (387) Battlebond
    The Aether Flues - (386) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Daretti, Scrap Savant - (385) Commander Anthology Volume II
    Transmute Artifact - (385) Antiquities
    Kharasha Foothills - (383) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Garbage Elemental (d) - (380) Unstable
    Tetravus - (378) Antiquities
    Animate Spell - (377) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Ral's Vanguard - (377) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Corpse Connoisseur - (377) Archenemy
    The Maelstrom - (377) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Oubliette - (375) Arabian Nights
    Jumbo Imp - (374) Unglued
    Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas - (373) Mythic Edition
    Jalum Grifter - (373) Unglued
    Kaya, Ghost Haunter - (372) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Everythingamajig (f) - (370) Unstable
    Primal Growth - (369) Commander Anthology
    Gideon Blackblade - (368) Mythic Edition
    Necroplasm - (368) Commander Anthology Volume II
    Abian, Luvion Usurper - (367) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Jace, the Mind Sculptor - (366) Mythic Edition
    Hangman - (366) Unstable
    Diabolic Servitude - (365) Commander Anthology
    Mine, Mine, Mine! - (365) Unglued
    Bow to My Command - (364) Archenemy: Nicol Bolas Schemes
    Extractor Demon - (364) Archenemy
    Lich - (363) Unlimited Edition
    Karn, Scion of Urza - (362) Mythic Edition
    B.O.B. (Bevy of Beebles) - (362) Unsanctioned
    Riftwing Cloudskate - (362) Duel Decks Anthology: Jace vs. Chandra
    Aretopolis - (362) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Liliana, the Last Hope - (361) Mythic Edition
    Alexander Clamilton - (361) Unsanctioned
    Ol' Buzzbark - (356) Unstable
    Wrexial, the Risen Deep - (354) Commander Anthology Volume II
    Plane-Merge Elf - (354) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Banshee of the Dread Choir - (352) Commander Anthology
    Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni - (352) Planechase Anthology
    Blaze of Glory - (352) Unlimited Edition
    Last Stand - (352) Planechase Anthology
    Banding Sliver - (351) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Nantuko Shaman - (351) Modern Masters
    Grusilda, Monster Masher - (350) Unstable
    Mount Keralia - (349) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Extirpate - (349) Modern Masters
    Grove of the Dreampods - (349) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Jund - (349) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Buzzing Whack-a-Doodle - (347) Unstable
    Over My Dead Bodies - (347) Unstable
    Arahbo, Roar of the World - (345) Secret Lair Drop
    Walker of Secret Ways - (345) Planechase Anthology
    Free-for-All - (345) Unglued
    Enigma Sphinx - (344) Planechase Anthology
    Stone-Cold Basilisk - (344) Unhinged
    Gaea's Liege - (342) Unlimited Edition
    Psychic Network - (341) Unglued
    Puresteel Angel - (341) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Strategy, Schmategy - (341) Unglued
    Search for Tomorrow - (341) Planechase
    Bant - (340) Planechase Anthology Planes
    The Scarab God - (340) Amonkhet Invocations
    Pools of Becoming - (339) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Kaya, Orzhov Usurper - (338) Mythic Edition
    Celestine Cave Witch - (338) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Tibalt the Chaotic - (337) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Tourach's Gate - (337) Fallen Empires
    Largepox - (337) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Phthisis - (336) Modern Masters
    Mosswort Bridge - (336) Archenemy
    Windbrisk Heights - (335) Modern Event Deck 2014
    Jack-in-the-Mox - (335) Unglued
    Garruk, the Veil-Cursed - (333) From the Vault: Transform
    Epochrasite - (332) Commander Anthology Volume II
    Seasinger - (331) Fallen Empires
    Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God - (330) Mythic Edition
    Quicksilver Sea - (330) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Nissa, Worldwaker - (328) Archenemy: Nicol Bolas
    Goblin Kites - (328) Fallen Empires
    Whammy Burn - (328) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Tangle Wire - (326) From the Vault: Twenty
    Goblin Tutor - (326) Unglued
    Priest of Yawgmoth - (325) Antiquities
    Syr Cadian, Knight Owl - (324) Unsanctioned
    Meren of Clan Nel Toth - (324) Commander Anthology
    Entirely Normal Armchair - (323) Unsanctioned
    Ivory Giant - (323) Modern Masters
    Bridge from Below - (322) Modern Masters
    Bloodspore Thrinax - (320) Commander Anthology
    Slaying Mantis - (320) Unsanctioned
    Dwarven Weaponsmith - (320) Antiquities
    Khalni Heart Expedition - (319) Archenemy: Nicol Bolas
    Ajani, Mentor of Heroes - (318) Mythic Edition
    Very Cryptic Command (c) - (317) Unstable
    Ebon Praetor - (316) Fallen Empires
    Kilnspire District - (316) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Molten Disaster - (315) Modern Masters
    Sakashima's Student - (315) Planechase Anthology
    Nahiri, the Harbinger - (314) Mythic Edition
    S.N.O.T. - (314) Unhinged
    Goblin Artisans - (314) Antiquities
    Illusionary Mask - (313) Unlimited Edition
    Gluttonous Troll - (313) Throne of Eldraine
    Jaya Ballard, Task Mage - (313) Premium Deck Series: Fire and Lightning
    Silent-Blade Oni - (312) Planechase Anthology
    Reyhan, Last of the Abzan - (312) Commander Anthology Volume II
    Angel's Grace - (312) Modern Masters
    Lotus Bloom - (312) Modern Masters
    Clone - (312) Unlimited Edition
    Auntie's Snitch - (311) Modern Masters
    Agyrem - (311) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Very Cryptic Command (e) - (310) Unstable
    Raging River - (310) Unlimited Edition
    Baron Von Count - (309) Unstable
    Korozda Guildmage - (309) Commander Anthology
    Flickerform - (308) Commander Anthology
    Tamiyo, the Moon Sage - (307) Mythic Edition
    Velis Vel - (307) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Voracious Dragon - (307) Duel Decks: Knights vs. Dragons
    Twilight Shepherd - (307) Duel Decks: Divine vs. Demonic
    Throat Wolf - (307) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Stet, Draconic Proofreader - (306) Unsanctioned
    Garbage Elemental (e) - (306) Unstable
    Garbage Elemental (b) - (306) Unstable
    Karmic Guide - (305) Commander Anthology
    Earwig Squad - (305) Modern Masters
    Once More with Feeling - (305) Unglued
    Torgaar, Famine Incarnate - (303) Game Night 2019
    Wave of Vitriol - (303) Commander Anthology
    Problematic Volcano - (303) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    Combustible Gearhulk - (302) Kaladesh Inventions
    Dance, Pathetic Marionette - (302) Archenemy Schemes
    Water Gun Balloon Game - (301) Unsanctioned
    Old Man of the Sea - (301) Arabian Nights
    Momir Vig, Simic Visionary - (301) From the Vault: Lore
    Everythingamajig (c) - (301) Unstable
    Jhoira of the Ghitu - (301) Modern Masters
    Interplanar Brushwagg - (300) Mystery Booster Playtest Cards
    My Undead Horde Awakens - (299) Archenemy Schemes
    Jaya Ballard - (299) Mythic Edition
    Simulacrum - (299) Unlimited Edition
    Dr. Julius Jumblemorph - (299) Unstable
    Stinkweed Imp - (299) Duel Decks: Divine vs. Demonic
    Merseine - (299) Fallen Empires
    Garruk, Apex Predator - (298) Mythic Edition
    Myr Battlesphere - (298) Commander Anthology Volume II
    Interplanar Tunnel - (298) Planechase Anthology Planes
    Landfill - (297) Unglued
    Nature Shields Its Own - (296) Archenemy Schemes
    Boomstacker - (296) Unsanctioned
    Double Cross - (296) Unglued
    Deep Spawn - (296) Fallen Empires
    Auratouched Mage - (296) Planechase Anthology
    X - (295) Unstable
    Pallid Mycoderm - (295) Modern Masters
    Shriekmaw - (294) Archenemy
    Urza's Science Fair Project - (294) Unglued
    Mary O'Kill - (294) Unstable
    Gideon Jura - (293) Archenemy: Nicol Bolas
    Ineffable Blessing - (293) Unstable
    Centaur Vinecrasher - (293) Commander Anthology
    Keldon Marauders - (293) Premium Deck Series: Fire and Lightning
    Hammer Jammer - (292) Unstable
    The Ur-Dragon - (291) Secret Lair Drop
    Hunting Moa - (291) Archenemy
    Side Quest - (291) Unstable
    Modular Monstrosity - (290) Unstable
    Everythingamajig (d) - (290) Unstable
    Sorry - (289) Unglued
    Sword of War and Peace - (289) Kaladesh Inventions
    Infernal Spawn of Infernal Spawn of Evil - (289) Unsanctioned
    Aethermage's Touch - (289) Commander Anthology

    Posted in: Commander (EDH)
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