Will WotC Ever Bring Back Alternate Artwork Prerelease Promos?
General forum
Posted on Sept. 12, 2015, 6:47 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
I am very glad that WotC has announced that they shall be eliminating seeded packs at prerelease events, starting with Battle for Zendikar, because I did not like those, at all, but I still am very displeased that they are remaining with the practice of having the prerelease promo be any rare from the set, with no difference from a normal card, except that it has the date of the event stamped on it.
Why did they stop printing alternate artwork prerelease promos? Those were one of my favorite aspects of the prereleases, so I really wish that they would return; also, if the promo card has the same artwork as a normal version of the card, how is it even a promo? And if the promo cards for the other events have alternate artwork, why cannot the prerelease cards, as well? What does everyone else here have to say about this?
FinchFalcon says... #3
It's somewhat difficult to navigate getting alternate arts for twenty-five cards (five of each color) to create the promos. Doesn't seem worth it. I agree though, I wish they would.
September 12, 2015 7:31 p.m.
thegigibeast says... #4
But at least they still give us some nice game day promos and the likes (for example Thunderbreak Regent
) that are kinda full art foil.
September 12, 2015 8:26 p.m.
Maybe someday they'll bring them back but like JWiley129 said it came with the restructuring of the prerelease system. Additionally the intro deck rares being alternate art makes up for it more or less. (E.g. Avalanche Tusker vs Avalanche Tusker)
Maybe someday they could do alternate art for like the 5 most "relevant" cards (story-wise)
September 12, 2015 9:23 p.m. Edited.
elvennoble says... #6
It is pretty much exactly as the others said. I really didn't mind the seeded packs though. Sure, everyone got the best one, but at least you knew everyone had it, and you could expect it. There was also no power spike from the differing promos in the same colour (because there wasnt any difference). The seeded pack also almost guaranteed that you were playing in the colour you liked best, but with this it seems like it will be all scattered. With this new thing, someone will get prism network, and someone will get newlamog. I started playing in gatecrash, so i dont know what it was like, but the single promo seemed like the best, but even seeded with a definite promo worked well enough. With a confirmed promo in a seeded pack, you could avoid the ones you didn't like. Sorry for the rant, but this has been something that has really bothered me for the longest time.
September 12, 2015 10:10 p.m.
@elvennoble the single promo for each color was easily the worst option. Like in JWiley129's example for Journey into Nyx, it's not necessarily that white was picked abnormally high. It's the reason why it was picked so much. It was clearly the best of the promos, that meant that essentially those who were able to pick white started the pre-release with an advantage over those who didn't get white. That's why they had to make a change, people were basically being punished because there was a limited amount of each color. You have to remember, the idea behind a sealed event is that everyone starts out on an even playing field and your deck is influenced by what cards you open. Not knowing what cards your going to get in your sealed pool is part of what helps make it a level playing field.
September 12, 2015 10:49 p.m.
elvennoble says... #8
abenz419, however, that level playing field disappears as soon as you find out what promo you get. Not only is the advantage on one side magnified, but the value also changes greatly. I understand that that makes it more like a booster pack, but if I wanted a random rare, i would just buy booster packs. If people are so hard-set against seeded packs, alright. But I really hate the unknown variety. Go back to the single promo for everyone if that's what it takes. Or, if we do X possible ones, tell us what they are. This way they have now has to much variety, fluctuation of power, and of value. I find it nice to know what I'm getting.
But back to the main point of this thread, I really hope they find some way to bring back promo art, since I doubt I will ever buy the starter packs for myself. My promo Rubblehulk felt more like a promo then my promo Gaea's Revenge ever did.
September 13, 2015 8:44 a.m.
elvennoble says... #9
Perhaps a good idea would be 5 different ones. Not in seeded packs. You get one of the five at random. That way, with very few, there can be promo art, People wouldn't choose the best one, and there isn't any complete falldowns like Brood Butcher as the promo (most likely).
September 13, 2015 8:51 a.m.
Your missing the point. In a sealed event the cards you open are supposed to be random, so if your problem is that you don't know what rare's your getting, then your playing the wrong format. Things don't suddenly become unfair simply because you open up your promo. Everyone still has equal opportunity to open up any rare from each of their 6 packs. Because the cards are distributed randomly throughout the packs, some people will naturally open up better cards than others. However, this doesn't change the fact that everyone had equal opportunity to open those cards. When you set 1 specific promo for each color (and add in seeded packs) then some of that randomness is taken away, and that's degenerative to the format.
Again, the idea behind a sealed event is that your deck is affected by what "RANDOM" cards you open. Complaining that you don't know what your promo is, is like complaining that you want to buy a booster pack but you don't know what rare you'll get. That'd kind of the point. In the sealed deck format, your not supposed to know what your pool of cards contains until you open up all 6 of your packs. This way the only advantage one person has over another is knowing how to build a better deck.
If you want control over what cards you get and what cards go into your deck, then play constructed events. Because that's now the sealed deck format was designed.
September 13, 2015 11:41 a.m.
TheNextRedDude says... #11
Also, the sealed deck format is decided by luck AND skill. Opening good cards is not a replacement for building a good deck.
September 13, 2015 noon
elvennoble says... #12
I understand that, but the promo should be different. I'd much rather have another booster pack then the promo card, because it just doesn't feel like a promo. It has the date on it, and is "foil" (in my mind it doesn't count as foil, since it has the date stamped), but without the alternate art I'd rather trade the date stamp for extra commons and uncommons. The promo is not a booster pack. No matter what you do, someone will have an advantage from cards, even with a skill difference someone will get more value as well. Also, if anything, the promo is better to make it skill based. If everyone has the same demon, then the ones who can use it better will make use of that.
You don't have to agree with me, I understand the points you are making. But I don't like it. I really want the prerelease promo art back, and to do that there can not be variety. Sure there is game day promos, but I don't go to those. The date stamp is irrelevant to me. I'd like art, or an additional booster pack in it's place.
September 13, 2015 2:31 p.m.
elvennoble says... #13
Also, I don't want to be the poor sap with a foil Barrage tyrant when someone else gets a foil planeswalker as the "Memory" of that prerelease
September 13, 2015 2:34 p.m.
TheNextRedDude says... #14
No one does, but then you buy a pack of MM15 and get a foil Comet Storm. And the kid who sat next to you at the last draft bought one too, and got a Tarmogoyf. Then you and your friends all go to another prerelease the next day, you get another tyrant and they get tango lands, Greenwardens, and Desolation Twins. Next week you get the fatback you preordered. You open a pack, and see a shiny foil at the back. You take it out, and what is it? A foil fullart Misty Rainforest. You proceed to open a bunch of cards you need for that deck you're building. Opening packs is random. Sometimes you strike out, but sometimes you hit a home run. Prerelease are the same.
September 13, 2015 2:45 p.m.
Actually having 1 single promo for each color doesn't make it more skill based. When they do individual colors like they have been recently, then they can only give each store a limited number of each one. So instead of everyone starting out even because they got the same promo, what actually happens is that everyone who got the best promo starts even. Then everyone with the next best promo is behind them, then the next, and so on. That means everyone who ends up with worst promo starts out at a disadvantage compared to everyone else at the same pre-release event. Like I mentioned to you before, because there is a limited number of each color... anyone who doesn't choose "the best promo" is essentially being punished for not choosing that color (something they often had no choice in because the best color was already gone). The whole entire point of the format is to use your skill as a deck builder to put together the best possible deck you can with a random pool of cards. Also, promos don't have the same kind of value when you print 1 for each color. The best promo is always going to be completely chosen, and with the high number of events across the world, will always end up with a high number of them in circulation. Greatly reducing any potential value you'd get from it being a promo.
Honestly, it feels like your just making up reasons to complain. You don't want the cards you get to be random, yet that's a defining factor of the format and helps set it apart from constructed formats. If you want to get specific cards then go and purchase them, a pre-release is the worst thing to attend if your trying to get a specific card since your card pool is entirely random. Also, the whole "it doesn't count as a foil because it has the date on it" is just childish rubble. What makes a card a foil is the fact it goes through some type of foiling process to make it shiny. Having the date on it or not is irrelevant, not to mention they use different foiling processes for some sets so it's not even like all foils are the same even when they don't have the promo date on them. But I bet you never once though of considering those "not really foil" even though they're different as well.
Instead of repeatedly suggesting that they go back to a system that was bad for the format, wouldn't it make more sense to suggest doing alternate arts for every rare/mythic in the set? The promo is a card inserted into your pre-release box, not inserted into one of your 6 boosters. So they could literally be printed as their own specific sheet (to prevent any from getting mixed into booster packs) and then randomly inserted into the pre-release packs like normal. This would make 100 times more sense than hurting the format just so people can choose what promo they want (Assuming they sign up before it's already all picked). However, that's probably not feasible as a company to do and would probably cost them money because of the amount of work that would take to commission additional artwork and because they would see no additional return from doing so.
September 13, 2015 3:33 p.m.
TheNextRedDude says... #16
abenz419 I agree with almost everything you just said. The format is about building the best deck you can with the cards you opened, not choosing the best promo, then winning because you have that promo, and a deck that isn't terrible. You should win because you have a great deck, and lose because your opponent built theirs better, or because they were a bad matchup for you. So some guy got a newlamog, you can win without a ridiculous bomb. Every pool has a decent deck in it, getting good rares is just gravy, its nice, but it isn't a replacement for the mashed potatoes of skill.
September 13, 2015 3:46 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #17
TheNextRedDude: during the prerelease events for the Return to Ravnica and Theros blocks, I chose my seeded pack specifically based on which promo card that I liked the most, so I was immensely displeased when that was not possible during the Tarkir block. However, now that there shall no longer be seeded packs that require players to choose a color/faction, that shall no longer be a problem. I agree with abenz419 that the best solution to this situation is to have a randomly-chosen alternate artwork prerelease promo inserted into the pack/box that is given to each player at the event, which would satisfy all parties involved, I hope.
Also, I still wish to ask: why is it that the promos at the other events can still be alternate artwork? Why did WotC not change the policy for those cards, as well?
September 13, 2015 4:03 p.m.
TheNextRedDude says... #18
Well, other events (like Game Day) have 1 or 2 promos, so that's reasonable, but now prereleases consist of every rare and mythic in the set, too many to realistically create new artwork for every one of them, given the time and money it would require.
September 13, 2015 4:10 p.m.
thegigibeast says... #19
Or they could just bring back the promos like before, in a seeded pack with the alternate artwork, the date stamp and all the stuff, but just create a rule to say that you can't play it in your deck. BAM! Everyone's happy: players get a cool promo they can use in their constructed decks, and their deck is not more powerful than everyone else's!
September 13, 2015 4:13 p.m.
TheNextRedDude says... #20
thegigibeast, cool idea, but it would be needlessly complicated, new players aren't happy because they get told they can't play with the cool card they opened, being able to play with the promo was one of the best parts of it since they weren't all that constructed playable, and there would still be the problem of different colors being chosen more than others so people could get the best promo.
September 13, 2015 4:19 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #21
Why, exactly, are players not allowed use their promo card in their decks at prereleases? I have never understood that rule, since it seems to be very illogical, to me.
September 13, 2015 4:20 p.m.
TheNextRedDude says... #22
DemonDragonJ They were, at least at the prereleases I went to.
September 13, 2015 4:23 p.m.
thegigibeast says... #23
TheNextRedDude in that case just choose one promo card in the entire set and put it in each box! For example, it could be a colorless card, like an artifact or in the case of BFZ, a cool eldrazi, but not obligated to be Newlamog.
Or it could also be a cool promo land. I don't know, an alternate art full art foil land or the like. Everyone would be happy to receive this. You would be able to choose your color to get the appropriate land. And tha land would be playable in your deck!
September 13, 2015 4:24 p.m.
thegigibeast says... #24
And for my previous post, just to clarify, promos were all legal to play in your decks before!
September 13, 2015 4:25 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #25
At one point, promos were not allowed in the decks at prereleases, so I am wondering what the reason was for enacting that policy.
September 13, 2015 4:29 p.m.
TheNextRedDude says... #26
There are obvious problems with having a rare land as a foil promo in every prerelease box. To name a few: price, Price, PRICE and PRIIIICEEEEE. Seriously though, any amount of fixed cards in the box detracts from the random feel of limited formats.
September 13, 2015 4:29 p.m.
elvennoble says... #27
DemonDragonJ I don't know why they stopped that. It seemed much better though. They could give out strong cards like Wurmcoil Engine and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn because they weren't playable in the prerelease. That's similar to game day, which is why game day still has alt art. Considering that the date stamp is printed on the serve as a "memory" of sorts. The cards chosen sort of summarize the "feel" of the plane (or the factions, in rtr). The solo promo seems like a great way to do that.
September 13, 2015 5:27 p.m.
TheNextRedDude says... #28
The problem with giving everyone strong cards is that some more experienced players will convince newer players to trade them the good cards for bad cards.
September 13, 2015 5:45 p.m.
elvennoble says... #29
That'll happen anyways though. From simply opening a booster pack in-store, it will happen. You can't stop that. People just do that
September 14, 2015 9:35 p.m.
TheNextRedDude says... #30
Yes, but is saying "It'll happen anyways" is not an excuse for something that will make the problem much worse.
JWiley129 says... #2
Presumably not. They stopped the "one of five" promos since people would just metagame and get the best promo. For example, go look at the 5 intro rares from Journey into Nyx. Dawnbringer Charioteers was far and away the best one. This caused White to get picked abnormally high as a prerelease color.
September 12, 2015 7:24 p.m.