Responding to the Booster Changes

WotC has announced changes to their boosters again. WotC trying to figure out what to do with boosters has been interesting. Unlike other TCGs, Magic's formats have created a diverse player base that demands their product. Every iteration, they need to strike a balance between collectors and players. Their willingness to keep reiterating boosters to meet player demand is commendable. 

If my reading comprehension is adequate, WotC's intent behind the changes was to cut production costs. They know this will upset players, so they had to devise a plan to rebalance the perceived value of what they get when they buy a pack.  

What's happening

Wotc is cutting back on the number of foil commons and uncommons by only allowing them to show up in collector boosters at a reduced rate. They're just straight up removing 3 of them without any replacement from these boosters, bringing the number of cards per collector pack from 15 to 12. For the play boosters, foils are no longer guaranteed, with only rares and mythics now appearing in that foil slot. In addition, they will introduce a God Pack to both collector and play boosters, a pack with 14-15 rares/mythics. 

The Cons (with opinion)

The most glaring problem with this change is that we are still paying the same prices, but getting fewer cards. This is the make-or-break for a lot of people. As most of us acknowledge, we're paying for cardboard with ink on it. Rarity is entirely controlled by WotC, and we, the players, just accept it and use it to fuel our gambling addictions and ego (and I love it, sorry guys).  This looks like they are trying to maximize profits by reducing their production costs. Cutting down on these cards is fairly innocuous in the big picture. No one really cares about these cards as a whole, especially with the crowd touting "Buy Singles". Most of those guys would pick up that same card regardless of rarity. 

The other issue is foils becoming rarer, especially foil commons and uncommons. We don't know if this change will impact the current rates of which foil rares/mythic appear, but for commons/uncommons their rates have dropped by at least 40%. For those who like to foil their decks, this can be an issue in formats like pauper.

Lastly, for those of us who play limited, these god packs are going to be a big issue for the limited play experience, more so sealed than draft. Opening one in sealed will dramatically increase the level of that player's deck. I've been out of the loop on the competitive scene, but if sealed is still played competitively, something will need to change.

The Pros (with opinion)

God packs will be fun to open and fun to chase. The supply of the rares/mythics will increase, making them even more accessible than they already are. 

This is my hot take, but the lower supply of foil commons/uncommons should increase the EV of collector packs. I miss the old days, where if you get lucky and pull a foil Brainstorm or Foil Young Pyromancer (Eternal Masters was a great set at the time), you won a lottery. The return of the foil multiplier will make it worth checking on those cards again. So this is something I'm looking forward as someone who inefficiently acquires his singles.

Brain Surge

We are getting less quantity, and WotC is banking on quality to make up for it. I personally like these changes for the reasons already mentioned. I don't think I'm alone in this sentiment. The community doesn't seem as outrage as before (many of these didn't even succeed). 

To send off, I love paying for less cards because muh value.

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