WHAT IS UP WITH ALL THESE NEW OFFERINGS?

Wizards of the Coast has been trying a lot of stuff lately. Standard Showdown, Bonus Holiday Packs, and the return to the old Standard rotation schedule are some of the things they have introduced recently. It begs the question: Are they running out of money?

It seems to me that Battle for Zendikar and Shadows Over Innistrad did not really deliver on the nostalgia or bring something really fun to the table. Thus, these two sets might not have produced the profits Wizards expected so the company is constantly devising ways to make us buy packs and to play with these two sets despite their flaws. What flaws? The fact that landfall is not a key mechanic. Or that the current double-faced cards are not as powerful as their predecessors. Those glaring flaws.

I hope that I am wrong. I pray that the game is healthy and thriving, which is why we are seeing these newfangled gimmicks. Or at worse, we are seeing a normal downturn, a business cycle when Magic is not doing so well for reasons other than poor card design and development.

In which case, Wizards is not running out of money but it is no longer the cash cow it once was.

The State of Pinoy MTG

I have always wanted to write about the state of Magic: The Gathering (MTG) in the Philippines. While there are good things happening, much still needs to happen for the game and the community of players for me to say that things are truly healthy and growing. This is my opinion about the current condition of MTG here in my home country based on my experiences as an MTG player, blogger, and tournament organizer.

So first, as an MTG player, I think that local players are pretty good but lack international exposure. Sure, Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) has installed the Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifiers (PPTQ) and Regional Pro Tour Qualifiers )RPTQ) for players in smaller markets like ours to gain recognition, maybe some money, and a chance to turn professional. However, it is too hard a path to take when players who do well at these things often lack the funds to go the countries where an RPTQ is taking place, much less the actual Pro Tour. What I see and hear at these events are people negotiating as to who is able to go because he or she is willing to pay for the opportunity. It is no longer about who plays well but who pays well.

Now unlike other people who complain but do not do anything about it, I would like to propose that there should be zonal championships. There should be an Asian or European Championship for example. Technically, the RPTQ seems to be this but in reality it isn't. It just does not motivate enough people around here. An Asian Championship on the other hand seems more glamorous and attainable. I am certain Filipinos would welcome the chance to go up against Japan every year to see if they are indeed getting better or not. At this point with a Grand Prix happening in Manila on every two years, we are not competing against the very best frequently enough to improve our skills and prove that we belong on the Pro Tour as well.

As a blogger, local Magic content is woefully inadequate. We do not have stores paying people to write about strategy, deckbuilding, theory, etc. How then can we advance Pinoy Magic if we don't read, discuss, and learn from our own experiences? We cannot always be reading about the American metagame. The culture and experience of Magic is so different here. We need writers, actually, thinkers about the game who will share their ideas and help advance our game to the next level.

My suggestion is that a store or group of stores undertake this monumental task and support writers, buy decklists if necessary from tournament organizers, and get local players to innovate and grow more quickly. The undertakers of this project will earn money from advertisements, card sales, etc. This is something doable and profitable. We just need someone brave enough to initiate it.

Lastly, as a tournament organizer, I am dissatisfied with the way the distributor prices booster packs. At 160 pesos each, it makes holding tournaments very expensive. Add the fact that renting space in malls or anywhere else is prohibitive and you see why tournaments are far and few in between. With lower costs, stores can go crazy rewarding players with booster packs like in other Asian countries. 

Maybe a second distributor is necessary to bring down prices. Maybe the current distributor and the stores can work together at reducing the former's risk by buying in bulk. There are so many solutions but they are not being implemented which seems like a waste.

Filipino MTG players are skilled, motivated, and persevering. I hope circumstances change for the better in the areas I have mentioned. 

If you know of anything else that can help or there are issues that you want discussed, feel free to comment about it and I will do my best to write about it. Thanks for reading. I appreciate it.