The Hobbit Prerelease

Today my sons and I played in our Local Game Store's The Hobbit prerelease event. It was our first such event, and our first time playing at our LGS (Games & Stuff in Glen Burnie). This post recaps the experience. 

Weeks/Days Before the Event

- You must sign up and pay in advance (they generally sell out). Make sure you choose your preferred time slot!

- We watched Tolarian Community College's guide to The Hobbit prerelease (it's a good video)

Arriving at the Event

I had never done a prerelease, so I didn't know what to expect. Observations:

- the event capped at 40 people

- most people were in their twenties to forties, with a few outliers on each end. My children (aged 10 and 14) and their friend were the youngest there.

- you can (but needn't) bring in bags, dice, card sleeves, playmats, tokens, lands, food and drink. We brought playmats and decided to buy deck sleeves there. We did not bring lands or drink . . . I wish I had brought a bag and some bottled waters; carrying things around was fine but could have been easier.

- we did the noon event (they also had 8am and 4pm slots). We didn't get started until 1230 at the earliest, though, since the first event ran over

- you scan a QR code to sign in. That prompted me to download a Magic companion app on my phone, and sign in to that using my Wizards of the Coast account (which I had, but didn't remember the password . . . had to reset that). That took time, but we arrived 30 minutes early, so no worries.

- I had paid for three people, so they asked me (since my app has only my name) who my "+2s" were. I gave them the names, and since my boys didn't have phones or Wizards accounts, the event organizer manually entered them in the system (without issue).

Building your Deck

We settled down to wait. Once everything was ready, we were assigned tables (via a common screen and our apps, if you had it). The organizers passed out prerelease decks and we were given 50 minutes to build a deck. You didn't have to stay at your table to build; some people moved around to be with friends.

A prerelease deck contains 6 The Hobbit play boosters (14 cards + a token in each), 1 foil rare or mythic card, four foil full-art plains, and a 20-sided spindown die. Using only these cards (plus basic lands, provided by you or the store if needed), you build a 40-card deck. Wizards has an official prerelease guide page that give you recommendations, including the mana curve. (Give that page a glance; there are some good things on it.) The general guidance is to have 24 non-land cards.

I built my deck, adhering closely to recommended practices. I settled on blue-green; a mixture of elves and big green creatures. Blue-green is one of the archetypes in this set (see the official page link above, or the graphic below, for the others).

Here is a picture of my deck:

And in decklist form:

Blue cards:

Elvenking's Harper

Enchanted River's Grasp

Gandalf, Wandering Wizard

Mirkwood Mediator

Plunder the Trollshaws

Riddles in the Dark

Sound the Trumpets

Green cards:

Bejeweled Warg

Beorn, Reluctant Host

Gigantic Big Bear

Mirkwood Pathmaker

Old Fat Spider

Ordinary Bear

Quarrel

Radagast of Rhosgobel

Warg Tactics (x2)

Wargling

Wood Elves

Multicolored:

Mirkwood Nurturer

Silvan Reveler

Thranduil, Sindarin Liege

Artifacts:

Giant's Boulder

Thror's Map

Lands:

Elvenking's Halls

Island (x6)

Forest (x9)

15 creatures, 16 lands, 9 other (a mixture of ramp, card draw, and removal). I felt reasonably good about this. Then the games began.

Playing the Matches

Prerelease events are three rounds. Each is a best-of-three match (so you will play three opponents and 6-9 games). You get 50 minutes for each round, but they will let you go over (once the clock hits zero, players are instreucted to play five more turns in the game before concluding). My record in a nutshell:

- Match 1: lost, 1-2 (against a black/red deck)

- Match 2: won, 2-1 (against a black/red deck)

- Match 3: won, 2-1 (against a black/green deck)

I finished 18th out of 40 with a win percentage of 55.6% and opponent win percentage of 40.2%. Anyone who won two matches got two Hobbit booster packs (yay!). If you won three, you got four packs. If you went 2-0-1 (tying instead of losing), you got three packs.

My sons finished 9th and 22nd, respectively. Their match records were 2-1 and 1-2, respectively, but the one was ranked much higher than I because of the strength of his opponents (their overall record was better than the ones I beat). In fact, he was the top-ranked 2-1 player, and I was the bottom-ranked.

Reflections

- I was nervous for my kids, not knowing if they would encounter aggressive, creepy, or strange opponents. I was needlessly worried; everyone had a great attitude. If you forgot something in the game, your opponent would generally point it out, even if it was to their detriment (nobody was cutthroat or annoying). 

- I felt safe leaving my stuff to go to the bathroom.

- I was surprised how varied the match length could be—some people could kick out three games against a given opponent in 20 minutes; others took the whole time. If you finished early, you were welcome to wander around and watch other games.

- It was tiring. Arriving early, we were there 5 hours. 

- It was a great time and a fun way to experience the new set.

This is a serious enough time commitment that I won't be doing this for each release, but I look forward to attending select events in the future. 

Happy Birthday, Magic

Black Lotus; the most famous and expensive Magic card

Today is Magic's birthday. On 5 August 1993, Alpha was released and the collectible card genre was born. This post focuses on the gifts Magic has given to me over the years. In no particular order:

- Fun. This game is a blast. I've played thousands of games over the years, and it never gets old. The ever-increasing and -shifting cardpool makes this a continually new (yet always familiar) experience, and can result in hilarious card interactions or game situations. I love that.

- Facilitating friendship. Games are a great way to meet and pass the time with others, leading to new or deeper friendships. As I mention on the reflections page, this game has stayed with me and led to new relationships over decades and continents.

- Creativity and exploration. As of today, there are over 32,000 unique Magic cards. This leads to functionally infinite permutations (and hence decks). Exploring the possibilities in this game gets the creative juices going. There's always something new to check out, and there are always new approaches to investigate.

- Education. This is an odd one, perhaps, but Magic has encouraged my children (and others') to develop their reading, math, and analytical skills. It can increase your vocabulary and appreciation/understanding of grammar (precise wording matters greatly for tight rules). Certain sets can even expose you to other cultures (through fantasy eyes).

- Beauty. The art, card frames, and even mechanics in the game can be a thing of wonder, well worth enjoying in and of themselves.

- Challenge. With so many card options, Magic offers challenge in two arenas: building your deck and executing its strategy. Competing is a great way to grow and spur each other on to improvement.

- Surprise. I'm still a sucker for opening packs. The 'blind buy' aspect of this game is amazing (and addicting). And with so many deck options, you never know what you might encounter in a given game, leading to constant surprises (not always pleasant) there, too.

Happy birthday, Magic.  

Magic Will Get More Marvel-lous

Half of 2027's sets were recently announced:

• Nauctis (2/5)
• Unannounced Universes Beyond set (4/9)
• Kamigawa: Titan Breach (6/4)
• Unannounced Universes Beyond set (8/6)
• Zhalfir (10/1)
• Unannounced Universes Beyond set (11/19)

The three we know are "in-universe" sets and look pretty cool; each got a trailer (Nauctis, Titan Breach, and Zhalfir). More on those another time. Today I will focus on, and speculate about, the three unannounced UB sets.

In past posts, I've talked about these. Magic has expanded into other IPs and will continue doing so; it will be half of all releases next year. So what will they be? Let's start with the most obvious: we will get another Marvel set.

So far we've had two Marvel sets: Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel Super Heroes. Each has contained one infinity stone. In the Marvel universe, there are six infinity stones. Not hard to predict that there will be four more Marvel-themed Magic sets. But which ones? Our only clues are what cards have (and haven't) been released so far. Based on that, here are my guesses:

- X-men (the most obvious choice; we've seen only a few mutants so far, but they must have a dedicated set planned)

- Guardians of the Galaxy (no Star-lord or Groot? they must change that)

- Marvel Knights? (less certain; they've released Daredevil and related characters, but not Ghost Rider or Punisher)

I have no idea what else they could do here. But it seems like we'll get one Marvel set per year for the next four years.

Okay, so if a Marvel release is one of the three UB sets for 2027, what about the other two? Here are some properties Magic has yet to explore and seem like prime candidates:

- Star Wars (D&D, also owned by Wizards of the Coast, announced a Star Wars partnership at GenCon. That cements a Star Wars Magic set as likely in my mind.)

- Harry Potter

- DC Comics

- video game properties (Zelda? Mario? Castlevania? Dragon Quest?)

Other UB options could be a return to previously-visited IPs:

- D&D-, Lord of the Rings-, Warhammer-, and other-themed sets

We shall see. Until next time . . . keep exploring.

An Analysis of Deck Themes

Last time, I proposed a framework of deck themes, arguing that all (or nearly all) decks focus on themes in one or more of the 12 categories. Today, I evaluate my own decks against this framework and identify trends. I focus on Commander decks.

I looked at the 56 Commander decks I currently have and mapped each to its primary deck theme (some had more than one). Excel for some reason inverted the list (so my category 12 is presented first), but order is irrelevant; the below chart shows the results.

Not surprisingly, I love kindred decks (a subcategory under the "Creature Attributes" type); over a quarter of my decks fall here. 

My next favorite type is . . . "Type," by which I mean decks that work based on certain spell types being cast ("whenever you cast a noncreature spell . . . ") or having a certain number of card types (artifacts, etc.) on the battlefield. 

My third favorite categories are a tie between "Transition" and "Combat/Damage." Transition decks cover a wide range, including enter the battlefield, discard, and sacrifice decks. Combat/damage decks focus on combat ("whenever a creature you control attacks [or does damage], . . .").

My top four categories in aggregate account for 67% of my decks.

My biggest surprise is not having any Commander decks focused on a counter theme (I have casual 60-card decks that do so). As one who enjoys exploring all this game offers, I'll have to put constructing a Commander deck with this theme on my list. And maybe back off the kindred decks for while.

Until next time . . . keep exploring.

Magic Gets (More) Legendary

Daredevil, a card from the latest set

The latest Magic set, Marvel Super Heroes, released days ago. The latest "Universes Beyond" set, it comes with a slew of new legendary creatures; this card type is the subject of today's post.

Introduction

In Magic, legendary is a supertype (printed before its card type(s)). Legendary cards of any kind (most are creatures, but there are also legendary artifacts, enchantments, planeswalkers, and more) are subject to the "legend rule." From the comprehensive rules:

704.5j If two or more legendary permanents with the same name are controlled by the same player, that player chooses one of them, and the rest are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “legend rule.”

Basically, you can have only one legendary card with a given name on the battlefield at a time (you can still include four copies of it in your deck, if you are playing a non-singleton format).

The Way Things Were

Legendary creatures have been around since 1994 (appropriately, they were introduced in the Legends set). Though Legends had a lot of them (55), legendary creatures were less than 10% of most sets released thereafter. And that's intuitive . . . "legend" implies scarcity (if everyone is legendary . . . nobody is). Plus, if you could have only one card on the battlefield at a time . . . why pump your deck full of potentially unplayable cards?

The Way Things Are

Two things have put the spotlight on legendary creatures in recent years: 1) Commander, and 2) Universes Beyond sets.

Commander, Magic's most popular multiplayer format, is singleton—you can have only one copy of a given non-basic-land card in your deck, so the normal drawback of legendary creatures doesn't impact deckbuilding here. And your commander must be a legendary creature, so pumping out lots of those expands options.

Universes Beyond (UB) sets, about which I have blogged at length, have increasingly dominated Magic's release plans. What do players want to see within a given UB set? Their favorite characters. Look at the below table covering the past 15 "normal" expansion releases. It is no surprise that the UB sets (in red below) produced in the last three years have 36% legendary creatures on average . . . whereas the "in-universe" sets produced in that same time have 8.2% of that card type. In Marvel Super Heroes, legendary creatures are almost 50% of the set . . . wow.

The Way Things Will Be

Commander will likely remain most popular multiplayer format, and UB sets are here to stay. I expect legendary creatures to continue to be produced at an astonishing clip. Consider how many legendary creatures were printed up to and including the following years:

2010: 444 unique legendary creatures

2015: 611 unique legendary creatures

2020: 1084 unique legendary creatures

2021: 1276 unique legendary creatures

2022: 1623 unique legendary creatures

2023: 2026 unique legendary creatures

2024: 2348 unique legendary creatures

2025: 2827 unique legendary creatures

2026: 3354 unique legendary creatures (and we're only halfway through!)

It took 27 years (1993-2020) to get to 1000 unique legendary creatures . . . then just 3 years to get the next thousand, and things keep accelerating.

Is this good or bad? I cannot say. It is certainly different . . . and makes me wonder if the preponderance of legendary creatures will eventually alter how the game is played. If it hasn't already.

Until next time . . . keep exploring.

Standard, Stagnating

Brink of Madness card art

In my first post of the year I mentioned two current problems in Magic. Last time I looked at the first: Universes Beyond sets getting unhinged. Today I look at the second: how Standard is stagnating. 

Standard is stagnating; Wizards appears to be devoting less time and energy to the format. In terms of numbers of sets, Standard is actually bloating (more on that below), but the increase in sets does not correlate to a better environment.

I argue four factors have resulted in the stagnating state of Standard:

- increase in pace of releases

- changes to Standard legality duration

- thematic inconsistency due to elimination of blocks

- the rise of Universes Beyond

I cover each in turn below, then conclude looking at the impact in aggregate.

Increase in the Pace of Releases

We used to see four Standard-legal sets per year. We now see six or seven*. 

Changes to Standard Legality Duration

Sets legal in Standard used to max out at two years, and they would change every September: the four oldest sets would rotate out. At any given time, there would be 5-9 sets in Standard. The shortest would be in the format just 15 months; the longest 24 months. (I explain this more here and show a graphic here.) Then things changed.

In 2023, Wizards announced changes to Standard rotation. Sets could be in Standard for up to three years. Coupled with the increase of release pace, that puts us at quite a pace. There are currently 13 sets legal in Standard (most recent release first): 

• Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Marvel’s Spider-Man
• Edge of Eternities
• Final Fantasy
• Tarkir: Dragonstorm
• Aetherdrift
• Foundations
• Duskmourn: House of Horror
• Bloomburrow
• Outlaws of Thunder Junction
• Murders at Karlov Manor
• The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
• Wilds of Eldraine

They keep adjusting the rotation date, too; Standard rotates next on 1 January 2027. Since we're getting seven sets this year . . . we'll have 20 sets legal in Standard by December. Twenty. Then six will rotate and we'll still have a monster 14 sets in the format.

Thematic Inconsistency Due to Elimination of Blocks

Magic operated in the block format for years; I explain that more here. They went away from that model in 2018, though a few releases followed it unofficially through linked themes:

- Guilds of Ravnica, Ravnica Allegiance, and War of the Spark (2018-19)

- Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Crimson Vow (2021)

- Dominaria United, Brothers' War, Phyrexia: All will be One, March of the Machine, Aftermath (2022-23)

Since 2023, though, it's been the wild west thematically, and things started to get weird. The list of current Standard-legal releases with their respective theme:

• Wilds of Eldraine: a riff on Grimm's Fairy Tales
• The Lost Caverns of Ixalan: return to the land of dinosaurs, merfolk, pirates, and vampires
• Murders at Karlov Manor: investigating murder
• Outlaws of Thunder Junction: the wild west
• Bloomburrow: woodland creatures
• Duskmourn: Eighties' horror films
• Foundations: core set
• Aetherdrift: Magic's homage to Mariokart
• Tarkir: Dragonstorm: dragons
• Final Fantasy: fantasy video game series
• Edge of Eternities: Magic goes to space
• Spider-man: comic book
• Avatar: kids' cartoon based on an Asian-inspired world

That is a motley mix indeed.

The Rise of Universes Beyond

I mentioned this last time; see there for more.

The Effects in Aggregate

There are now tons of sets in Standard, released at a much faster pace, with no thematic consistency between them. Some results:

- Wizards has less time to design/test a given release

- Players have less time do explore a given release

- Wizards has to choose if a given set should be consistent with itself (and true to 'its world,' if a UB set) or address some problems in Standard by releasing cards tailored to inject life and variety into the format. My impression: they largely choose the former.

In short, the above realities make the Standard metagame overwhelming for designers and players alike, encouraging players to explore other formats (like limited or Commander). Standard is left to rot.

--------

Enough with my concerns; this post and last helped me get it out of my system. There is time and a chance for Wizards to right things. And the cool thing about this game is that you can focus on the formats you do enjoy. I just miss a vibrant Standard.

*just stop already.

Universes Beyond, Unhinged

Horn of Greed, a preview from the summer 2026 Marvel set

Last time, I mentioned two concerns about where Magic is heading. Today I address the first: the explosion of Universes Beyond (UB) sets, the incorporation of external Intellectual Property (IP) into the game. 

Five years ago (February 2021), Wizards announced its foray into UB. A paragraph from that article bears highlighting:

That said, Universes Beyond cards will not be Standard legal. We strive to make Magic cards that are widely useful, but Universes Beyond will be above and, well, beyond our normal Standard releases. So nothing much is changing with our normal cadence of releases for Standard. This is purely a cool thing we're doing in addition to all the other cool things we're already doing.

That statement is no longer true; Wizards announced in October 2024 that UB sets would now be Standard legal. As I mentioned the other day, four of the seven releases this coming year are UB sets, and all are Standard legal. The "in addition to all the other cool things" has become "the main cool thing." And that, to me, is not cool to all.

I wrote about UB sets in 2023, and I mentioned there a feeling of dread. It appears my fears are coming to pass. Things have ramped up considerably; here is the history of UB releases so far, with Standard legal releases in italics:

2021:

- Dungeons & Dragons* (Adventures in Forgotten Realms)

2022:
- Warhammer 40K (Commander decks only)

- Dungeons & Dragons (Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate; a set for Commander draft)

2023:
- The Lord of the Rings

- Dr. Who (Commander decks and collector booster packs only)

2024:
- Fallout (Commander decks and collector booster packs only)
- Assassin's Creed (small release; a starter deck, 7-card packs, and collector booster packs only)

2025:

- Final Fantasy
- Marvel's Spider-man

- Avatar: The Last Airbender

2026:

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

- Marvel

- The Hobbit

- Star Trek

See what is happening? UB sets were initially what was intended: "one-offs" to be enjoyed in their own way. But now . . . we went from zero UB Standard legal sets (in 2022-24) to three (2025) to four (2026). It is taking over. 

What is driving the change? I think the answer is obvious: greed. Wizards wants to draw people in; that makes sense and is part of typical business practice. The way they're doing it is by selling out, in a sense: they're becoming less 'unique.' They had a strong in-world mythos; they are downplaying that. I think we're losing something along the way.

To be clear: I'm not wholly against UB sets. I think their D&D, Lord of the Rings, and Avatar sets were great. I'm against the dominance of UB sets at the expense of in-world releases. 

And I'm curious as to the nature of some UB releases, too: Avatar and TMNT are based on kids' cartoons, rated for ages 7+. Magic is inherently 13+. Younger kids can and do play, of course (mine have for years), but I'm wondering if the target is younger kids (trying to draw on the Pokemon market, I imagine) or adults who look nostalgically at those two properties. We'll see.

Another concern: some UB sets feel out of place due to their genre. Magic is inherently a fantasy game; sets like D&D, Lord of the Rings, and Final Fantasy mesh well. Avatar works. Spider-man feels strange to me, and Star Trek feels even weirder. These take the game away from a fantasy focus to more of a "can we absorb everything" feel, leading some online jokesters to speculate about what is coming in future years:

Time will tell if the UB focus is the future or a fad. Ultimately, the game will be driven by the dollars it brings in.

*the 2021 D&D set was Standard legal because it is owned by Wizards, so it is not an external IP.

Looking Ahead

Arcane Teachings card art

Happy New Year! What will 2026 bring in Magic, both corporately and personally?

Corporately

Wizards intends to continue its release pace, with seven sets in 2026. 

The total list is:

- Lorwyn Eclipsed (in-world set)

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (universes beyond set)

- Secrets of Strixhaven (in-world set)

- Marvel Superheroes (universes beyond set)

- The Hobbit (universes beyond set)

- Reality Fracture (in-world set)

- Star Trek (universes beyond set)

Four universes beyond sets (in red above) to three in-world. Wizards continues to focus on other intellectual properties (IPs). I reflected on some ramifications last year, and those still hold. The bottom line: the game feels less like traditional Magic all the time (even as I acknowledge some IPs work very well in this game engine).

A new product I am excited about: a draft night box. This comes with 12 play boosters (suitable for a four-person draft), lands, and a collector booster (for the draft winner). I may get one of these per set and have some fun with friends.

Reminder: Standard rotation (which happened last summer) will not happen in 2026 as Wizards aligns it to the new year (1 January 2027). This, combined with the mix of in-world and UB sets, makes for some very strange possibilities (from a thematic perspective).

I have two concerns about the corporate state of the game: UB sets and Standard 'bloat.' More on those in the next two posts.

Personally

Collecting:

I don't see myself collecting a lot of new cards this year except for the TMNT and Hobbit sets. I am intrigued by Lorwin Eclipsed—I loved Lorwyn the first time around—but we'll see as they set gets previews. As always, I have a goal to minimize my collection more. I get rid of a bunch each year, honing down what I have to the things I enjoy and play the most. 

Building:

I want to build more Commander decks and cubes this year. I have two cubes now and want two more (Innistrad- and Lorwyn-themed). For Commander, I'd like a 'viable' but thematic and fun deck in each of the one-, two-, and three-color combinations.

Playing:

I'd love to play more across all formats (casual, standard, Commander, cube, sealed, draft, pauper, etc.), but especially Commander and cube.

To 2026!

Looking Back

Hapless Researcher card art

2025 is nearly in the books; it is time to take a look back at the year in Magic.

Wizards kept to a blazing pace, releasing a lot of product in 2025. Ignoring the digital-only releases on Arena, the main releases this year were as follows (with 'regular' expansions in Italics):

The Sets

- Innistrad Remastered: January 24 (compilation set)
- Aetherdrift: February 14
- Tarkir Dragonstorm: April 11
- Final Fantasy: June 13
- Edge of Eternities: August 1
- Marvel's Spider-man: September 26
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: November 21

This year was a little 'simpler' to follow in that only the first release was a non-expansion; the rest were 'traditional' in the sense that they were released as regular expansions with typical products (booster packs/etc.) and legal in Standard.

The big trend this year was the Universes Beyond (UB) sets. Three of the final four releases (in red above) were from intellectual property outside the Magic universe. Expect that to continue (more on that next year). 

I didn't play a ton of Standard (or limited) this year, so I didn't explore these sets as much as I would have liked. But many of them didn't grab me, either. Going set by set:

- Innistrad: I liked and collected the originals; I got a box of this for Christmas and enjoy it.

- Aetherdrift: I couldn't get into the theme. This is basically Mario Kart with a Magic spin to it. Didn't seem like it belonged.

- Tarkir: Nice to return to this plane, and who doesn't love dragons? This one was okay.

- Final Fantasy: I didn't play the games, so this didn't do much for me, though it seems well-received in general.

- Edge of Eternities: Magic in space. Same with Aetherdrift; it felt out of place to me.

- Spider-man: this under-powered set was underwhelming (though fun for Spidey fans).

- Avatar: this is a good one; the universe lends itself well to Magic's mechanics.

According to Magic head designer Mark Rosewater, the two best-selling sets were Final Fantasy and Avatar, respectively. The best-selling in-universe set was Tarkir. The worst-selling was Aetherdrift.

The Singles

CoolStuffInc showed their bestsellers from each expansion and each rarity (the latter was regardless of release year).

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I didn't see a TCGPlayer article on annual bestsellers. According to AI, here are the most-sold singles in 2025 (with rarity, color, and set following):

The One Ring (mythic, colorless, Tales of Middle Earth)

Cloud, Midgar Mercenary (mythic, white, Final Fantasy)

Tifa Lockhart (rare, green, Final Fantasy)

Sazh's Chocobo (uncommon, green, Final Fantasy)

Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon (rare, land, Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

Sol Ring (uncommon, colorless, many sets)

Craterhoof Behemoth (mythic, green, many sets)

Ledger Shredder (rare, blue, Streets of New Capenna)

Note that half of these are not from 2025 releases.

Personal Thoughts

Magic is getting more 'commercial' by decreasing their in-universe sets and focusing on external properties. The two best-selling sets being UB means this will continue. I wonder if the days of original Magic content are diminishing.

Personally, my year in Magic centered on the continued reduction and organization of my collection. The last quarter of the year I focused on making fun (or improved) Commander decks; after a series of posts I did on the types of cards to include, I realized that some of my earliest creations were terrible. I am correcting that.

What will next year hold? More on that in January.

Magic Goes (Back) to MSRP . . . Sorta

Treasure token card art

In the beginning [of Magic], there were MSRPs ("Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price"). This price was printed on the pack or starter deck directly, so it was clear to consumers what Wizards expected vendors to charge. Of course, a given store didn't have to follow that, but if one was marking things up, people would know immediately.

In 2019, Wizards stopped offering MSRP for the reasons they listed in this article. That led, not surprisingly, to price variation and frustrated customers.

In 2024, Wizards announced a return to listing MSRP for Magic products. That article lists suggested prices for Foundations, Innistrad Remastered, and Aetherdrift. And subsequent releases get their own "Collecting _____" articles that include MSRP. Three other examples of recent and upcoming sets:

Final Fantasy:

MSRPs for Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY will be set as follows:

• Play Booster: $6.99
• Collector Booster: $37.99
• Commander Deck: $69.99
• Collector's Edition Commander Deck: $149.99
• Bundle: $69.99
• Gift Bundle: $89.99
• Starter Kit: $19.99

Edge of Eternities:

MSRPs for Edge of Eternities will be set as follows:

• Play Booster: $5.49
• Collector Booster: $24.99
• Commander Deck: $44.99
• Bundle: $53.99

Marvel's Spider-man:

MSRPs for Magic: The Gathering | Marvel's Spider-Man will be set as follows:

• Play Booster: $6.99
• Collector Booster: $37.99
• Bundle: $69.99
• Scene Box: $41.99

A few observations:

- Intellectual Property sets (called "Universes Beyond") cost much more; one pack is 27% more than a 'in-world' Magic release; Bundles are 32% more. As I've said previously, there is an upward trend in Magic doing IP-based sets; perhaps profit margin is one reason why.

- Though MSRPs are back, that has not stopped vendors from upcharging from the outset. Or scalpers from buying up stock from [say] Target and upcharging online. (In one local game store, I saw Final Fantasy Commander Decks selling for $90 today.) It is exasperating.

- From my prior point, do your research before buying. TCGPlayer is a good place to check for market value of a given product, regardless of MSRP. Sometimes product value swings in consumers' favor. If you know where to look.

There are two points to remember as you navigate this world:

- Buying singles is always the cheapest way to collect.

- A given product is only worth the value people are willing to pay to get it. Be patient, shop around, and don't give into the hysteria. Or scalpers.

Magic Goes to Space

This month, I'll post somewhat random reflections on Magic. Today: Magic in space.

Ten days ago, the latest Magic set, Edge of Eternities (EOE), was released. This is the first time Wizards released a futuristic sci-fi set [I don't count Doctor Who], and as you'd expect, this one focuses on space. I won't do a full set review here, but will highlight some new card subtypes or abilities featured.

Spacecraft

A new type of artifact, spacecraft require 'charging' (the game ability word is "station"), whereby you tap creatures to put counters on the artifact, and once it has a certain number, it becomes an artifact creature (enabling it to attack/etc.). Some spacecraft have abilities that benefit your side before they become creatures (see Lumen-Class Frigate below). There are 22 spacecraft in this set.

Planets

A new type of land, planets enter tapped. They have basic mana-producing capabilities, but like spacecraft, they can be 'charged' to trigger a better ability. There are five planets in this set.

Warp

Warp is an ability. It offers a different casting cost to cast the card from your hand; if you do, it goes into exile during the end step, and can be cast later from exile for its normal cost. Warp is away to temporarily benefit from an ability earlier in the game, but have it as an option to return later.

Ignoring the mechanics themselves for a moment, my mind immediately goes to the future of the game. Introducing spacecraft and planets sets up Wizards for more forays into other Intellectual Properties. Will we see a Star Wars Magic set at some point? Or Star Trek, or Babylon 5, or [pick your sci-fi show of choice]? 

Coming back to the mechanics, does the flavor or spirit of the mechanics introduced here lend itself to such forays into other IPs? In other words, would playing a Star Destroyer but then having to charge it before it can attack fit with the Star Wars theme? I'm not sure. But I think/hope Wizards does plan such things in advance, because once you introduce a card subtype, it is very hard to alter it. As they have made pushing boundaries and exploring more IPs a stated goal, my mind immediately reads into new abilities and sees if they hint at what is to come.

Farewell, March of the Machine: The Aftermath

 Rounding out standard rotation month, today I look at March of the Machine: The Aftermath.

Released in May 2023, March of the Machines:the Aftermath (MAT) is exactly what the name indicates: the conclusion of the battle started in ONE and continued in MOM. This micro-set has only 50 cards and came in smaller booster packs (called 'epilogue' boosters, they had only 5 cards), though each card had various versions (frames) which swelled the total set to 230.

With such a small card base, there weren't any real themes other than 'legendary matters'; this was considered an extension of the March of the Machines set.

Favorites

Most are multi-colored legendary characters that either saw use in my legendary deck or are fun commanders.

Good Riddance

Here, only Nissa annoyed me, and she heralded landfall shenanigans that got out of hand fast if you didn't deal with her promptly.

General rule: when Wizards releases a micro-set, don't bother buying packs. Buy the singles you want. There is nothing here of sizable value that warrants the blind buy.

Farewell, Phyrexia: All Will Be One

Continuing rotation month, today I look at Phyrexia: All Will Be One.

I knew something was off . . . I skipped this one and went right to March of the Machines last time (which foreshadows how I felt about this set). Anyway . . .

Released in February 2023, Phyrexia: All Will Be One (ONE) is the invasion by everyone's favorite bad guys . . . told from their point of view.

The mechanics in this set revolve around the bad guys:

- poison counters, which is an alternate win/lose condition (you lose the game if you get 10 poison counters)

- proliferate, a returning mechanic, where you add a counter to a creature (or opponent/etc.) of a type they already have on them (here, usually poison or oil counters)

- toxic, which is related to poison counters

- corrupted, which heralds an ability that triggers based on an opponent's number of poison counters

Favorites

I don't care for the Phyrexians, which is why I forgot about this set. And yet, there are a handful of cards I used and will miss. Vanish into Eternity is a nice removal spell. Karumonix is a cool rat. I used Phyrexian Arena, Phyrexian Obliterator, and Sheoldred's Edict in a fun black tempo deck I ran. Cacophony Scamp is great in red burn decks. Glissa was good in my legendary deck, and Darkslick Shores is an example of the useful non-basic lands featured in this set.

Good Riddance

All of the cards I will not miss all center around control decks that lengthened games.

I don't mind poison counters, but for whatever reason, this set is (yet another) that didn't do it for me.

Farewell, March of the Machine

Continuing rotation month, today I look at March of the Machine.

Released in April 2023, March of the Machine (MOM) continues the story arc begun in Dominaria United. After the Brothers' War, the Phyrexians come and shake things up with their machine; the multiverse opposes them as everyone bands together.

This set features a new card type: battle. A battle is kind of like an enchantment that is played on your opponent's side of the table. It has an initial value, and when you attack, you can choose to attack it rather than the other player (or a planeswalker they control). If your attack succeeds, you remove that much damage from the battle, and when it hits zero, it transforms and comes over to your side. See below example.

The mechanics in this set included:
- Incubate, which allows you to place and grow tokens on the battlefield
- Convoke, where you can tap creatures to help pay for spells 

- Backup, which adds +1/+1 tokens to another creature when a creature with backup enters

The main themes in this set are Phyrexians (61 cards) and "team up" legends, featuring two classic legendary creatures on one card (18 cards). This set also featured a supplemental collection called "Multiverse Legends," which had 65 variant-frame creature cards from Magic's history. (And, as before, there were also different frames for these, making for 261 cards total. Sheesh.)

Favorites

As with last time, this set didn't do much for me. Faerie Mastermind was nice; Etali was popular. Four green cards (two of which were battles) were intriguing. I did like the two hero cards; two examples below.

Good Riddance

Only one card jumps out: Sunfall. Exile all creatures and then incubate X, potentially granting you a big creature, was very annoying.

Yet another forgettable set (for me).