Be sure to watch Rachel Weeks Shuffle Up & Play Commander with us here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uHZX2bxcEQE.html and Bloomburrow w/ Reid Duke, Jim Davis, and Mason Clark here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BGqAJHAtYzw.html
MARo apparently pulled a "I thought you guys wanted less product" in responding to the criticisms of this being a con-exclusive. Like, what? Wanting a less rapid-fire release rate isn't wanting, or being OK, with what IS being printed being needlessly limited (instead of, for instance, treating MB2 like MB1). Holy disingenuousness, Batman!
Rosewater's comment on it including a remark along the lines of "everyone's always asking for less product, not more" but in a way that felt way snarkier was particularly unneeded. No, Mark, that isn't what we mean when we say "we want less product." We mean we want more than a month's breathing time between products, less garbage products like Epilogue/Beyond Boosters, and more stuff akin to MB2. The real product fatigue is the onslaught of questionable sets with no downtime, not necessarily the actual quantity.
So you want product overload, just as long as it seems valuable. Bloomburrow is super popular and seemed the same way, but terrible monetarily to open.....why tf arent we learning lessons lmao....WHO CARES THAT YOU CANT JUST MASS BUY BOXES TO RIP. 9.5/10 people wouldnt even draft with em. Just opening for a chance at a rare treatment and more bulk. Stop buying boxessss.
@@TrogdorbadThis sucks when you don’t use the context - it’s just mining for grievances. He literally says in his post that the reason this product even exists is because part of the Conventions budget was used to create it, specifically for Conventions (and, subsequently, Festival in a Box for folks who can’t/don’t attend cons). This wasn’t simply “you guys said you didn’t want any more product, so nyeh!”, but him acknowledging that the release schedule is already packed and set for the next several years, so budget aside there wasn’t even room for this as a retail release anyway. Yeah, I want a box of it too. I also know that MB1 probably wouldn’t have gone retail if the convention circuit hadn’t shut down for a year for COVID. I’m willing to accept that this decision wasn’t made with as much mustache-twirling as has been implied. EDIT: To get ahead of this - sure, I’d 100% relegate Assassin’s Creed and some of the other UBs to conventions and replace them in the lineup with MB2, but we’re always gonna hurt someone else to tweak things to our preferences. I know a few people who LOVE AC or Fallout who also would not go to a convention just to get some product, so hiding it there sucks for them, too. There’s no good answer, but there is *an* answer, so I’m just trying to highlight it rather than demonizing the people involved.
@@justinleach4775 "He literally says in his post that the reason this product even exists is because part of the Conventions budget was used to create it, specifically for Conventions (and, subsequently, Festival in a Box for folks who can’t/don’t attend cons)." Just because it was created using the convention budget doesn't mean they can't release it outside of conventions.
You know what really sucks for stores? They're forced to take on product that just rots on shelves, like aftermath and the set-specific jumpstart boosters, but when something like this comes along and it's clearly very popular and desireable, they're not allowed it.
Whoever decided this is stupid. Point and case. Some one really fucked up here and I honestly would fire this person if I were wotc, I'd fire them without pay and sue them for damages, both financially and the reputation. wotc have been doing awful lately and we need people to really speak up and call for the company to find a new ceo. Who in their right mind would greenlight this?
@@jumpkicking what if this idea's parents are just Hasbro & Stakeholders? WotC can't fire their superiors ... and WotC do not have the courage to close everything, detach from Hasbro and create a brand new company that is "backward-compatible with M:tG cards"
@@marcoottina654 That's not really how corporate works, there are departments for everything. Someone in some department for marketing and sales came up with this, and it was greenlit.
The fact that Mark Rosewater said they won't bring Myster Booster 2 to stores because "players complaints about too much product releases" is so offensive it goes all the way to being borderline hilarious. Ah yes, the players would definitely prefer two more Universes Beyond and five Secret Lairs instead of a set that actually refers to Magic.
Wait, you mean to tell me you *don't* think 7 card boosters for an outside IP no one asked for is less exciting to you than Mystery Booster 2? Surely you jest!
Mark never said it wouldn’t go to stores. He just said it was paid for by the convention budget and that that’s where it is currently, no one has said directly it will never be in stores.
So let me get this right. WOTC released a million products one after another, then proceeded to announce an absolutely insane product that will make players fall in love with the game again, and then proceeded to NOT release it into the stores???? God thats just horrendous.
@@THEInkedPotassium Because its conception and budget came from conventions. It makes perfect sense that they would want it to be convention exclusive.
That's Hasbro for you they want to make people buy the secret lairs it's not the same like buying an actual booster box Hasbro does not understand that. They are a liberal piece of crap ran company. They'll run it into the ground unfortunately they'll take wizards of the Coast with it which is sad.
I agree. They seem to overload on Universes Beyond product releases (I have zero interest in) but then when it comes to OG MTG art/lore cards are like "nah".
The most WOTC product of all time. Release the OG which was panned until it was opened and became universally loved, then seeing the success, make a followup and absolutely botch it, for no good or even logical reason at all, literally sabotaging their own sales, creating huge backlash. No other company can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like WOTC.
Shop owner here. I'm guessing that this MB2 will be the Christmas Release, so they can show how they listened to the fan base, or use the demand for it to justify the 4-week release schedule for product that has driven most of my players to buying only singles instead of sealed product like they used to. Maybe both; they're not mutually exclusive.
The demand is so obvious, but it may take a bit to build up the supply, they wouldn't want to mess up the acorn stamp again... let alone the other varieties. There's no way this "controversy" isn't just a marketing ploy so they can announce the retail release in a few months when they can match how much they think it will sell.
nah, por eso desde que sacaron el secret lair de the walking dead yo no volvi a comprar producto oficial de magic. Ahora solo proxys. Que se jodan los de wizards
I just stared playing magic about a year ago and I love building and play testing decks. Seeing a product as cool as this one with so many great reprints, arts, and fun playtest cards only to be gatekept from it by the creators themselves is absolutely soulcrushing...
There's no way that's happening. If logistically they planned for limited sales and conventions, they just aren't going to be able to revamp that production line for what would be needed to get it out to LGS or even box retailers.
@ExtraVictory As a Magic player who is dabbling in YGO, I like how things are over there. Pretty much every good rare has a special version, making the base version cheaper. The new sets are like microsets. My only complaint is the pack size and the amount of SRs and URs you need to make a reasonable deck.
i mean unironically there shouldve been an artist credit for whoever's idea it was, they still made the art regardless of what it looks like (even if they werent the person who filled it in with a black box themselves)
It's crazy even that if it is offered at a convention, they didn't even say you can purchase a box there, you have to register in an EVENT. I spent my days at MTGcon Chicago on line with artists so I wouldn't even have time to play the draft.
Because people would buy boxes and resell them. During mystery booster one, they would even open the packs because people were signing up, getting their packs and dropping ftom the draft.
Rosewater's explanation for why they aren't releasing it to the public is such a slap in the face. "Players have been complaining about an overload of product, so we decided not to release this "Ode to Magic" set to the general public." This set is the stuff we want!!!!!!! We don't want another 15 Secret Lairs and several mini sets that just bloat the release schedule. We want the fun stuff, the good stuff.
That wasn't really Rosewater's explanation, though. He said that the Conventions team wanted some cool exclusive to get people to come to conventions, and the team made one for them. You're free to dislike that explanation too, but that's what he said - the product overload was more of a side comment.
I wouldn't blame R&D for the bloat. I doubt they get a say on who their brand is going to partner with. They're probably being shoved Universes Beyond down their throats as much as the players are.
There are so many cool cards in this set that I want, the nostalgia levels are off the chart, it makes me sad the secondary for alot of them will be ridiculous if this remains a super limited set, and that sucks. My wallet is going to hate me.
Brasil? Is that in Nevada? In Canada we get product but the act of having to send it across the border means auto-markup. But I guess it could be worse. My condolences.
Nothing like making sure people have tremendous FOMO and drive spikes in any mythical secondary like ensuring John and Jane Public can't have ready access to it.
Good thing I have my own Mystery Booster 2. (It's my partner's 2 tote tubs stuffed with magic cards from the 90s that their dad used to play with that we're going to sort this weekend)
I heard abt MB2, and thought "hey that sounds neat", and then I starting seeing photos of white border daze and wasteland and uro, future sight underworld breach and brainstorm and swords to ploughshares, and I thought "these cards are gorgeous, I absolutely want to get in on this, I heard MB1 was in stores too!" And then I saw Gavin's tweet saying it's not coming to shelves near me, and I genuinely don't think I've ever been so disappointed in my life. this set looks like a total blast and I would like to play it but because I can't justify travelling to events, I don't know if I'll ever get a chance for it, and that sucks!
I don't live in the US... i have no access to either conventions or secret lairs unless they are brought here at a big mark up. I really wanted to open a few packs, but i will probably never be able.
I honestly think the postage costs will be higher than the product itself. It happened with Secret Lair for at least a year down here in Australia, until they shrunk the package to that envelope. And Festival In A Box is a little bigger than an envelope...
To share my anecdote about the cost of cons, I went to Gen Con and it cost about $700 for hotel, food, and transport. And then another $150 for 4-day entry plus a $20 "service charge" and shipping for the badge ($15 for shipping was optional to be transparent, but still, that's a bit of an absurd cost for shipping). That's ~$850 just to get in the door. Counting the various amounts of entry fees to the events then on top of the above likely brought it to almost $1000. You be the judge if this is ok or not. (Spoiler: it's not ok. $150 for a full weekend pass is overpriced as you then still have to pay for all the internal events)
So let me get this straight: in order to get the magic experience I'm actually looking for... the cost to me now is... the cost of attending a convention? The monetary cost, the time, the travel... all of that...
Yes! And if Wizards was given the choice between making this experience available to everyone or not making it all, they never would have created it in the first place.
@@aalang If you want to go to a concert but can't afford it, you can still listen to the music online for free, though. These are endlessly reprintable pieces of cardboard that loads of people would want to simply buy, yet wotc stops this for absolutely no reason.
Hope you aren't like me and have real world hangups like... I don't know, a baby coming that you'll need to take care of probably for the entire time this product is available. Oh well, sucks to be me I guess I'll never get this product I'm wildly interested in (because we know the SL drop will be sold out by scalpers seconds after posting and everyone else will be stuck on the broken fucking website for hours only to not get anything).
MB2 will be in stores, but it will be either later in year or xmas. They are generating fomo to get a boost of sales of magic fests. Remember, MB1 didnt have the play test cards in regular boxes, only magic fest versions
I am exclusively a commander player, this mystery box 2 thing sound really kool. First half of this video: wow! Would love some of those reprints for my collection and the playtest cards seem really fun. I may try draft format for the first time with this! Then the video continued. At this point even if they release some version of this in stores, I would just buy singles.
Magic The Gathering is extremely expensive where I live. But I got to experience opening two Mystery Boosters; it's kinda sad to know that despite all the overwhelming amount of products coming out, the game simply gets harder and harder to get into.
The first and last mtg booster box I ever bought was a mystery booster box. I really enjoyed the product since each and every booster felt like a throwback to my childhood when I started playing magic for the very first time. Unfortunately, I had no opportunity to draft with mystery booster boxes at the time. Now I finally have a playgroup to draft with but wotc apparerently does not want my money anymore... sad day indeed 😅. I really hope they change their minds. Thank you prof for spreading the word 😊.
I hope it follows the original roadmap. I'm a returning player and I've now bought 3 of the original boxes, they are such an amazing pack cracking experience and I'd be stoked to get to actually draft these this time around. This is also why almost every paid event I am doing at Magic Con Vegas are around mystery boosters.
You totally nailed all points, Prof. I never understand why the companies that rely on their customers and should want them to be happy so they keep buying their products, hit them with more and more disappointing decisions, resulting in fewer people wanting and even being able to play the actual thing, like mystery booster 2.
MB1 : “let’s make something that will keep our LGS partners relevant during a pandemic, while also keeping event support!” MB2 “Sorry players, you aren’t shareholders, and they keep saying the line has to go up, so this is a FOMO product to make sure they stay happy”
MB1 came out before Covid, and as part of wizards program to help LGS, they made the Store version of it and gave them some for free. I believe it was also supposed to be convention exclusive only, but circumstances changed that.
@@RBGolbat The retail edition of MB1 came out literally the same day that the first COVID-cancelled MagicFest's were supposed to start. I remember buying one because I had nothing else to do after my original plan of drafting MB1 convention boosters at MF Detroit all weekend were cancelled.
Likening this to anything shareholder related is so disingenuous. They would make more money off of it if they sold it retail, it's relegated to conventions because the convention team made it happen.
@@eewweeppkk True. As a (small time) Hasbro shareholder I want them to listen to their customers and sell them a good product. The release decision on MB2 seems more like an internal politics thing than an actual economical one.
Thank you so much for bringing up health as an accessibility barrier. Between seeing the surge of covid SDCC and GenCon attendees got and the impact massive crowds can have on cptsd/autism, my family isn’t able to attend massive cons. I also think draft is a more fun experience to share among friends (who will also have the courtesy to test and stay home if sick and have basic hygiene) than with strangers. To be able to get a box of these in a year to play with loved ones would be really fun, but sadly fun and short-term profits are often at odds.
Thanks for speaking out for the average and casual player, prof! I feel like WotC has been appealing to collectors and higher-income players more than us lately, especially considering the limited releases and artificial scarcity with products such as the MB2 and Monty Python set :(
Wow. It's hard to quantify how disappointing that is. When you said at the beginning of the episode, not available at an LGS, I was thinking we'd have to go directly through Wizards to get it. To only be able to get it through secret lairs, or attending a convention. I am someone who cannot go into crowded places, anxiety gets way too high. So it's basically the same as saying "I will never have access to them."
I'm so sad that I can't get this. I LOVED the original mystery boosters and would have bought this new one in cases (or atleast multiple boxes, depending on the price...). Man, why can't we have nice things?! ._.
I feel like the untapped market for Secret Lairs that WotC could easily do is keeping the "Limited Supplies" options as being a special foil or serialized variant with different/special art on cards (For the scalpers and collectors who can afford it to fight over) and having the old print to order style on "regular art" for standard foil and non-foils in a more affordable fashion. More money for WotC and more accessibility for players who want to buy into the secret lair sets. This idea comes to mind thinking about how the Serialized versions of the March of the Machines Phyrexian Praetor cards had special art that wasn't available on their non-serialized variants.
Mystery boosters are incredibly fun to open. Can't explain the level of difference between them and other boosters. I actually enjoyed every booster opening. Something new and interesting each time. I opened them after having a stinker of a time with wilds of eldraine which despite being a good set for me was a horrific booster experience involving boosters seemingly of the same two types of duplicate cards and I opened a lot with the assumption statistically I was going to find different boosters but no. My boosters felt like "filler boosters" that should have been 1/3 of each booster box to spread the value evenly only I got all the filler packs. That's after 2 prerelease packs, 1 booster box, 6 collector boosters and 4 bundles. 80% of my boosters had the same cards from common to rare. Mystery boosters literally restored my faith in booster pack opening despite being aware that it's a totally unique experience but at least reminding myself that it doesn't always suck to open them.
I am in the midst of opening a pack a day (really fun way to have something to look forward to every day) of WOE and you’re absolutely correct. It’s a rotation of the same cards over and over again. And predominately dominated by one color. I’m trying not to let my cynicism kick in but I’m starting to get annoyed that I have sometimes 6 of one card from one booster box. I get it’s all luck of the draw and buyer beware but it’s supposed to boost your collection not move laterally.
Thinking objectivelly of the business decision to not bring mystery booster 2 to retail stores I see only 2 possible reasons: 1 - Hasbro and WOTC genuinly think it wouldnt sell, which seems silly 2 - They know it would sell and are using outrage to get free publicity
or 3 - This will increase attendance for their cons, in particular those who are on the fence. It's a logical marketing decision by the con team and why they used their budget to do it.
@@Dstinct the con team definitly doesnt have the power to choose something as important as the release strategy for a whole product and the number of people going to cons arent down to justify something like this in the first place
@@cabuuuuum Actually, they do and they did that exactly. Maro explained that this whole thing of MB2 existing is basically cause the guys at the Con used their budget to finance it. If they had not done that, there would not exist MB2 at all
Its so disappointing that these wont be able to be bought in stores. Many Magic the Gathering players at my LGS were so excited for these packs and now, as far as we know, we wont be able to. Also waiting for that Behind the Campus video. Looking forward to that!
11:11 Here’s the thing: ‘being good for the player base’ is *inherently* good for business. Even if you legitimately *hate* the fanbase, from a purely selfish standpoint, you should want them to be happy. It makes you more money.
long-term plans to not cause the same spikes in the 3-months sells charts. So no, Hasbro & stakeholders will NOT hear about long-term plans. Just short-terms ones to get the stakeholders happy about the marketing strategies.
It won't the Marketing team do not listen to the Playerbase. They just listen to Hasbro, stakeholders and marketing strategies. Full stop. Short-term gains are causing the major spikes, as well as the FOMO for a limited event (both in time and space) about a limited-access&print product. THAT's a marketing strategy is it a long-term one ? a viable one? a strategy that nourish the Playerbase and ensures more and more people will stick to Magic and spend their money in Magic? NO *_but it causes some spikes in the 3-months-period sells chart!_*
I like the idea of delaying the retail release. Alternatively they could replace the futuresight frame and white border cards with regular frame printings in the retail edition, so that the convention edition has something unique.
It's funny that you bring up sneakerheads; I was a sneakerhead before I got into Magic, then when I did get into Magic, I realized: "great, another hobby where I can't get the product I want." 😂
I absoloutley adored the first mystery booster set. M first booster box purchase. (and o far only) Was really happy when i saw this, and then ofc WOTC had to burst the fun.
I think you delay the release of MB2 by a year before it goes to retail, but I really feel that the magic of these sets are the test cards and think they should also be included in the retail version if it ever happens.
I haven't purchased any magic cards for the last couple years but this set is cool enough where i would seriously consider buying it. And hilariously, it's the only one i won't be able to get
I hope they come to stores. I attended 4 drafts of the original. The owner of the store also had 2 of the convention boxes. It was amazing to draft that one as well.
The previous Festival in a Box Las Vegas (2023) was up for sale for weeks and did not sell out. In fact, it sold so poorly that WotC had to give away the extra stock as Magic Arena event prizes.
I’m still waiting for them to be like “okay, we’ll do a retail version. That’ll be $350 a box, only available in limited quantities on Amazon. Good luck…”
Prof come on man, iss that even a question? hell yes that needs to be in stores. I adored the first mystery booster, that was one of the best things i'd ever bought, it got me some of the best reprints I'd ever needed, and it was so much FUN. Change it up so we get something other than the playtest cards though. Those aren't fun to me.
Happy 11th anniversary of the greatest channel of the magic the gathering committee, I hope the best for you and the channel Professor. Thanks for teaching me the rops of mtg
If we take MaRo at his word: 1) is it a problem to have a convention only product to excite people at conventions? 2) Is it possible to make a convention only product that wouldn’t have people complaining online about not being able to get it at home? 3) Is the convention in a box limited release print run or is it print to sell?
I completely agree with you prof, I'd even like to be able to just buy single packs of the mystery boosters, would also love to get a box. Unfortunately, this year has been rough financially and I'll probably miss out on this product like I'm sure many others will.
Honestly, the number of videos where Prof is asking WOtC to sell us things we want to buy & not cram more of what we aren't interested in is crazy. At this point, if they follow your advice they should owe you a sellers fee.
I wish they would hire you for your insight. Every video you make has valid points that could make them more and more money. YOU know what the players want.
I'll point out the fact the Mystery Booster Retail Edition was supposed to retail for around $100 but when stores realized it was a limmited release they scalped the box prices up to $300 after only a couple months.
Goblin Gang Leader, a card that was Arena only and functionally an identical Beetleback Chief, is seeing it's first ever paper printing in this set, a set we cannot get ahold of. A relatively simple card that should be an easy to obtain staple of casual Goblin commander, is now locked behind this unobtainable set. A card that should cost about 50 cents is now going to fetch a ridiculous price by scalping casual Goblins players. Good job Wizards. Honestly I'm not even sure if this card will be considered commander legal? Since it's technically a reprint set, which usually doesn't change format legality, but perhaps "first paper printing" is an exception. If anyone knows the answer to this please let me know, thanks!
@@winter945 Thanks for your reply, I found an answer from the official Wizards article "What's Inside Mystery Booster 2?" "Three cards will be joining Eternal Magic with Mystery Booster 2, two of which appear in the Future Sight frame. Mardu Outrider and Goblin Gang Leader previously appeared in the MTG Arena Beginner Set, and Velukan Dragon has existed in the Magic database for over 20 years. Now, they're available for tabletop shenanigans." This quote is also particularly funny, since it completely ignores commander, their entire focus for the past however many years: "Much like the Eternal-legal printing of Arden Angel, we do not foresee these cards making an impact in any Constructed formats. Instead, they're a fun way to add different aspects of Magic history to Mystery Booster 2." Again, good job Wizards.
I only play magic with my brother but we love drafting packs and building limited decks while we discover the sets. Being able to play this set would have been a blast
As someone who lives in EU, I am just happy that Prof mentioned some very overlooked facts.... Okay but I have to add that I am incredibly jaded at this point, the quality drop of the play boosters has hurt the sealed product beyond repair.
As a disabled person there's already enough out there I do not and will never have access to, limiting fun play from a hobby away from people when there are ways to not do that, and they've done it before, I honestly don't see the sense in it. People who go to the conventions are already getting an exclusive experience, getting to go in the first place is a privilege. I guess people have a hard time seeing things if they've never had to go without. Its just silly cards in a silly game we all like to play, make them accessible in some manner, even if you remove some things or change some things that's fine, I think it's fun for the convention goers to get a special experience for them because they are giving their money and time to it. But I would too if I could, and there's a whole lot of other people who would too.
As someone with a group of friends who are always drafting, playing sealed, and enjoying EDH . We would definitely buy this product. We're constantly looking for new ways to get together and mix things up and this set would be perfect for that. It's fun, offers a quick draft experience, and stays fresh with the variety of cards available. So, I was shocked to find out that it's not available at any of our local stores. We would absolutely want to draft this or at least have the option to buy it locally. I’m actually getting ready to head out for a draft right now, and I can’t believe this isn’t an option. It seems like a no brainer!
No, it too was a convention thing, that got a retail release largely because the pandemic shut stores down so they looked for an alternative way of getting it out.
@@Welverin The retail release was literally the same day that the first COVID-cancelled MagicFests were supposed to begin in March 2020, which was only four months after the Convention Edition boosters released. Those had nothing to do with the pandemic. What you're thinking of, I think, is when Wizards released the convention booster boxes to stores at some point in 2021 that Wizards was still sitting on after the conventions they were *planning* on using them at were cancelled.
"DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING, SING THE SONG OF BOOSTER PACKS, IT IS A MUSIC OF THE LGS WHO WANT'S TO RUN EVENTS!" I mean, it is cool that an event has an exclusive set, and the Secret Lair is just....ugh...but as you said, this would be a popular set and could do great things for LGS's looking to run events, especially because it is running in Q4 so it is very giftable, and a good portion of the country has hit "the crap" weather of early winter.
I would like to point out that Mystery booster 1 didnt start in game stores it came through conventions and secret lair only until months later when they finally came to local game stores. Seems like MB2 is following the same release path😊
My dad and I have been playing magic together since I was 5. This set got us so excited to play limited again, but I just got into grad school so I won’t be able to go out and buy this set. Wizards keeps pushing people like my dad and me away.
One reason it isnt being released in stores is the convention team paid for it out of their funds to have a thing exclusive to conventions. So it was either have it exclusive or not have it at all because they dont have the funds for that. Its a shame and i hope they release it in stores sometime in the future but its more understandable from that lens at least for me.
quite evil that it was decided a executive 14th yacht was more important over a. funding the product in house b. the convention executive not getting all the money
When I first saw the title I was angry because I thought this was going to be a print to demand product that cut out LGS's. Then I got to the point where you said it was a Secret Lair and I just got exhausted.
