Should We Be Concerned About Future Core Sets?

General forum

Posted on Sept. 2, 2020, 4:57 p.m. by DemonDragonJ

Next year, WotC shall print a different product in place of a core set, which is perfectly fine, but that has me worried that they may be abandoning core sets for the second time, which obviously would not be a good thing.

WotC realized how important core sets were to the game, so reviving them was a great idea, and Core Set 2021 was one of the best core sets, ever, so I do hope that they are not abandoning core sets, again.

What does everyone else say about this? Should the players be concerned about future core sets?

Gidgetimer says... #2

September 2, 2020 5:09 p.m.

Rzepkanut says... #3

I don't think that the core set is important to maintain even a little bit. The goals that the company said they were trying to accomplish with core sets can all be accomplished with other products. I feel like having a set named core 21 is not very flavorful or interesting for the brand. It's basically a missed opportunity to name a product this.

If they want to have a place to put cool stuff from planes that we're not visiting right now they can do that with Commander decks or some other ancillary product. I agree that core 21 is probably one of the best core sets ever but I don't think that they can't make cards to fix standard and fill holes in their set designs for the year without a dedicated generically named core set.

September 2, 2020 6:39 p.m. Edited.

DemonDragonJ says... #4

DeinoStinkus, Rzepkanut, I am very displeased to hear both of you say that, since staff of WotC have commented on how they realized that core sets were important, and the most recent core set was a very impressive one.

September 2, 2020 10:50 p.m.

Caerwyn says... #5

Core sets are really hard to get excited about, with their simple, hodgepodge of cards and lack of cohesive theme or story. I get that they are helpful to newer players, but there are other, better ways to help new players get into the game, such as the Planeswalker decks and such. Quite frankly, people come into the game during all quarters of the year; it makes little sense to dedicate an entire quarter to new players, when Wizards should focus on all players year-round.

Look at what we are getting next year:

  • Two sets returning to an incredibly popular plane.
  • A brand new, long-awaited plane.
  • A brand new, unexpected plane.
  • A crossover with one of Wizards' other IPs, which has been much anticipated since the incredible success of Guidlmaster's Guide to Ravnica (and more hyped due to the recent Theros D&D book).
  • A sequel to the incredibly popular, powerful, and all-around fun set Modern Horizons.
  • A return to the rather popular Time Spiral set.

There's so much great-looking content next year, there simply is not room for the inevitable mediocrity that would be a Core Set.

September 2, 2020 11:11 p.m.

Rzepkanut: commander decks aren't standard legal though like core sets are.

September 2, 2020 11:26 p.m.

Caerwyn: i think being excited about a set has more to do with whats in the set as opposed to what we call it. booster packs are booster packs regardless of the name they slap on it. they can name it whatever they want when they put in awesome cards like Elder Gargaroth.

September 2, 2020 11:40 p.m.

EleshNornsFs says... #8

I think that it is nice to take breaks from the core sets. The core sets are a great place to reprint staples and design new, useful cards without being restricted by theme or story. When we have a core set every year, it causes what I believe to be the biggest problem: the same mediocre cards being printed every year. How many staples have high prices simply because they have had such a limited printing? I think core sets would be a great place for many cards that instead, get tossed to the master sets. If wizards does not want to print more useful cards in a core set (acknowledgement of the secondary market much?) then the best way to break up the monotony of core sets is to not do it every year, or perhaps do it like Origins and add some flavor to it.

September 3, 2020 7:20 a.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #9

Caerwyn, EleshNornsFs, did you not see any of the cards in Core Set 2021? It contained some amazing cards!

September 3, 2020 7:26 a.m.

EleshNornsFs says... #10

That's kind of my point. One core set had some amazing reprints. I love that core set. They have the potential to be home runs, but so far C21 is the only one people have been mentioning as a good example. It has been the first good core set in years.

September 3, 2020 7:31 a.m.

EleshNornsFs says... #11

Correction: M21 not C21. Sorry.

September 3, 2020 7:31 a.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #12

EleshNornsFs, the fact that WotC revived core sets after having retired them for says much about how important they are to the game, and I hope that WotC does not retire them, again.

September 3, 2020 7:45 a.m.

EleshNornsFs says... #13

I hope that they don't get permanently retired too. We've already seen why that doesn't work. But every other year wouldn't be such a bad thing.

September 3, 2020 7:59 a.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #14

EleshNornsFs, that would make sense, and be an acceptable alternative, as well.

DeinoStinkus, I, also, am displeased with how WotC has reprinted the scrylands so many times; why could they not reprint the shocklands, fitler lands, or check lands in a core set, complete an incomplete cycle, such as the battle lands or the Horizon Canopy cycle, or make a cycle from a single card, such as Nimbus Maze?

September 3, 2020 8:11 a.m.

TriusMalarky says... #15

I think that, instead of straight Core Sets, they're experimenting with psuedo Core Sets. Origins was basically a Core Set but not really. Why not bring a theme to core sets to hype them even more, add awesome themed cards and reprint theme-relevant cards?

I imagine there are a large handful of cards that need a reprint badly that fit very well with the D&D theme. And that WotC can successfully reprint them, slashing their price tag, and still bringing us a set that's as cool as M21.

See, as good as core sets can be, they're defined by their reprints, or in other words, the rare and mythic slots dedicated to make older format staples cheaper. While other sets are designed specifically to bring new staples into the game, Core Sets rarely have Modern, EDH or Legacy consequences. I mean, the new walkers from m21 are good, but there's better in most formats.

September 3, 2020 9:59 a.m.

DemonDragonJ: they'll probably complete the Horizon Canopy cycle in the next modern horizons set. but more a complete Nimbus Maze cycle would be dope.

September 3, 2020 1:51 p.m.

TriusMalarky says... #17

DragonSliver9001 actually, expect enemy fetches.

September 3, 2020 5:18 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #18

DragonSliver9001, a completion of both of those cycles would be amazing.

TriusMalarky, that will be good, but I wish that WotC would put all ten fetchlands in a single set, because that would really make such a set popular.

September 3, 2020 6:47 p.m.

TriusMalarky: i'd be fine with fetches in MH2 over the canopy land cycle. but like DemonDragonJ said, it should be all 10. i absolutely hate when wotc does half a cycle per set. it just gives half the color pairs a distinct advantage over the other half.

September 3, 2020 11:18 p.m.

TriusMalarky says... #20

Yeah, it's annoying. It's worse when they print 6 dual lands and prep the other 4 for a future set(I'm looking t you, ZNR Pathways. WTF?)

September 4, 2020 10:13 a.m.

RNR_Gaming says... #21

Arena seems to be their gateway for new players now. I still cannot believe people actually bought collector boosters for core 2020; maybe because I've played this game for so long I dont find core sets enjoyable outside of the few reprints/new legendaries the rest of the set feels lacking and bland.

September 4, 2020 11:28 a.m.

golgarigirl says... #22

My two cents:

1.) I have never gotten a player into Magic via a Core Set...and I've been playing for 15+ years. Nor (as someone who used to work at an LGS) have I ever specifically encouraged a player to buy a core set because they were new.

2.) I can only think of 2 times since OG Mirrodin I've ever bought more than a handful of packs of a Core Set. The lack of story and new unique cards really kills it for me (and a lot of my playgroup too).

September 8, 2020 8:53 a.m.

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