Is WotC Flooding the Market with Too Many Products?
General forum
Posted on June 7, 2022, 8:33 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
In the early days of this game, WotC released Magic: the Gathering products only on rare occasions, which was perfectly fine, since it allowed the players to enjoy the products that they did release and also for them to savor any releases that were made.
Now, however, WotC is releasing MtG products much more frequently, almost constantly, which I know we should appreciate, but I feel is flooding the market and not allowing players to have time to rest between releases, which is to the detriment of the game. As much as I enjoy frequently receiving new products, it would be better to be able to have time to enjoy each product before the next one is released.
What does everyone else say about this? Is WotC flooding the market with too many products?
wallisface says... #3
I can see how it could be considered “too much” if you insist on being involved with all of them.
I personally just get involved with the products that interest me most (which for this year, is NEO & Brothers War), largely ignoring the other sets that interest me less.
If you’re getting overwhelmed, i’d suggest just becoming pickier with the your selection of the sets you buy-into.
If the cake-shop bakes a new flavour of cake everyday, it’s not their fault if you get diabetes
June 7, 2022 11:25 p.m. Edited.
I think a big part of the massive increase in product is the shift from one commander set yearly to a commander set every set. I remember getting super hyped for the likes of C14, C15, and C16. I have not been excited for a commander product since C17. They took all the magic of commander releases out of it for me. I think if they go back to a yearly set, or even twice a year, then we won't feel such a massive amount of products. But, EDH is their most profitable format and they know people will buy one of every deck they make, so of course they're gonna keep printing more of it.
June 7, 2022 11:26 p.m.
wallisface says... #5
Its also worth noting, that if the community is experiencing product-fatigue, they’re not doing a great job of conveying it - just from reading through Blogatog, it feels like for every 1 new thing Wotc release, the community clamours for a dozen more.
While a bunch of the community may be feeling the drain of set releases, i think most of the community more-closely resembles card-crack-addicts.
June 7, 2022 11:34 p.m.
I used to keep up with every set release. I would buy a box, get at least one of the supplemental Commander decks when those started, and buy a third product as well (it has been a while, I don't remember what it was).
Now? I do one draft a week, and one Modern event a week.
I remember chatting with a friend when NEO just came out, and we were both overwhelmed. NEO had just released, New Capenna was coming out soon, there spoilers for three or four different products, Secret Lair announcements, Unfinity was supposed to have already been released, and there are collector pack exclusive cards!
This insanely aggressive release cycle has just been getting worse and worse.
June 8, 2022 10:11 a.m.
Nope. They'll sell and wotc will make money and be happy. Now from a consumer point of view I'd say yeah. 4 sets in as many months is a bit much
June 8, 2022 11:27 a.m.
If anything there isn't enough product. I don't mean variety and options, that's a bit excessive, I mean actual quantity of boxes sold. I think single and sealed prices are going to continue slowly climbing for the time being.
June 8, 2022 5:28 p.m.
I think Wizards is chasing multiple types of Magic consumers trying to maximize their profits by creating a large number of products to try to meet a variety of different desires. Personally I think they are ignoring the risks that strategy creates.
One of the big changes from the days of yore is that most sets now includes:
- Draft boosters.
- Set boosters.
- Collector boosters.
- Commander decks.
Add in that the set boosters and collector boosters will contain cards that aren't in the draft boosters or commander decks. You've also go the List.
You can't separate the sheer number of card variants from this equation either. You've got normal, foil, foil-etched, showcase, showcase foil, alternate art, alternate art foil... Its way more variants than before.
I think all that adds up to more complicated sets to evaluate. And Wizards has been increasing the number of products they produce. Look at the last few years:
- 2021: 7 sets, 15 commander decks, 46 secret lair drops.
- 2020: 7 sets, 9 commander decks, 26 secret lair drops.
- 2019: 5 sets (not counting the 2019 Mystery Booster), 4 commander decks, 7 secret lair drops.
- 2018: 6 sets, 4 commander decks, no secret lair drops.
- 2017: 6 sets (not counting Unstable), 4 commander decks, no secret lair drops.
It was six weeks ago that New Capenna along with 5 commander decks was released. In a couple days Battle for Baldur's Gate will be released with another 4 commander decks. And one month after that Double Masters 2022 will get released. There isn't enough time to let the products breath and let people explore them.
I think the fact that both New Capenna and Battle for Baldur's Gate are heavily commander focused just makes it worse. Between the set and commander decks there were 37 new commanders printed in New Capenna. Some of them look awesome, but then Baldur's Gate is bringing 66 cards that can be your commander (I'm not even counting the backgrounds) just month and a half later. If Baldur's Gate doesn't sell well I think it'll be an own-goal from Wizards. Just swapping out the release dates of Baldur's Gate and Double Masters 2022 would have made it a lot better.
In the long run I think Wizards is at risk of diluting their product and potentially self-sabotaging the things that make people want to play Magic.
June 8, 2022 7:22 p.m.
Doesn't really bother me, I kind of like it. Then again all my decks are at a happy place & I only feel the want to buy a few low cost singles, little hidden gems, instead of the whale stuff or chase stuff. Though it probably helps that I don't care for WUBRG or the cards for the most part & I don't need any more manabase than I already have. Those self-imposed restrictions or preferences greatly simplify my field of interest for the releases... I've actually hit that point where I've been able to focus on selling cards that are crapola for me, feels good to undercut the market on overcosted old stuff while pecking away at new budgety stuff :)
June 9, 2022 9:16 a.m.
I'm definitely feeling product fatigue. I feel like I can barely jive with a new set and then BAM another one is out.
berryjon says... #2
I wouldn't call it flooding per se. I recall a few years ago where Wizards's Spoiler season was Three Straight Months, nonstop, with new products coming out so fast after each other that there was no breathing room. Then they dialed it back a bit, and now they're accelerating again.
Remember that Unfinity got delayed this year to the fall, otherwise, we'd be dealing with that too.
What Wizards, or rather, I suspect, Hasbro, is doing is trying to find a good release schedule that their players will buy into. Too much, and they start skipping products, especially the Whale products, like Secret Lairs. To little and they see players lose interest.
There's also development times to consider. A lot of this stuff gets locked in months, if not years in advance, and shuffling things around can cause a lot of disruptions.
So major products, full sets, we'll see 5, maybe 6 of them in a year. Which started to be a thing with either Modern Horizons or Conspiracy, I can't tell right now. It's the smaller stuff, the alternate artwork specialty products that makes you think that the market is being flooded.
June 7, 2022 9:10 p.m.