MTG Arena

[Phoenix Ignition]

Didn't see a thread for this yet, at least not the new information.

Hascon had a live stream showing off their new MTGO product, MTG Arena.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=T6lon9-8Fck

They're about to start a closed beta for it. Looks like at first they're going to just have Standard, so most of us won't care, but they said they might eventually have older formats too.

[morgan_coke]

Didn't see a thread for this yet, at least not the new information.

Hascon had a live stream showing off their new MTGO product, MTG Arena.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=T6lon9-8Fck

They're about to start a closed beta for it. Looks like at first they're going to just have Standard, so most of us won't care, but they said they might eventually have older formats too.

Here's the problem with Arena. It's like, LIGHTYEARS better than MTGO. They want to run in F2P like Hearthstone. Meanwhile their players have dumped a TON of $$ into MTGO and have extensive collections there. Arena clearly isn't ready for a "full history of MTG cards" dump, like exists on MTGO. So instead of just rolling out Arena as the new MTGO, they're pushing it out as "standard only".

But the way set rotations happen and new sets come out, that only lasts until the first group of sets rotates out. Then they've got Standard, and "mini-Modern" kind of like how MTGO had "mini-extended" for awhile until rotations caught up with it.

At some point, they're either going to migrate everyone's cards and accounts over to Arena, or kill MTGO and enrage a TON of shops and players (a lot of the bigger botchains on MTGO are run by brick and mortar card shops). It's basically the reserved list problem all over again, except in digital.

[Claymore]

So what's the best way to sell out of a small MTGO collection? Talking maybe $50 if I'm lucky, mono red burn that's modern legal.

Pretty clear that Wizards is going to phase out MTGO in place of MagicStone Online.

[Phoenix Ignition]

Here's the problem with Arena. It's like, LIGHTYEARS better than MTGO. They want to run in F2P like Hearthstone. Meanwhile their players have dumped a TON of $$ into MTGO and have extensive collections there. Arena clearly isn't ready for a "full history of MTG cards" dump, like exists on MTGO. So instead of just rolling out Arena as the new MTGO, they're pushing it out as "standard only".

But the way set rotations happen and new sets come out, that only lasts until the first group of sets rotates out. Then they've got Standard, and "mini-Modern" kind of like how MTGO had "mini-extended" for awhile until rotations caught up with it.

At some point, they're either going to migrate everyone's cards and accounts over to Arena, or kill MTGO and enrage a TON of shops and players (a lot of the bigger botchains on MTGO are run by brick and mortar card shops). It's basically the reserved list problem all over again, except in digital.

I don't think that's what's going to happen. MTGO will probably remain the exclusive place to play online paid tournaments with prize payouts as such. If MTGA copies hearthstone's pay structure, there won't be tradeable cards, or pay-to-play tournaments that have payouts like we know from MTGO. Hearthstone has you pay $1.50 to draft (which can be paid with in game currency) and then depending on the number of wins you get loot boxes that have cards in them, but you don't keep the drafted cards. The ranked play zones only affect your rank and don't have a buy in or payout. You can buy packs for cards, and then destroy the cards you don't want to get crafting currency to make whatever card you do want. They make shitloads of money because people will buy packs until they have enough crafting currency to make whatever decks they want.

Do I think MTGA is much better off if they copy Hearthstone? Of course, it's much less greedy feeling and it actually works to pull in a lot more people. I do think MTGO is going to die a slow and miserable death, but I have been thinking that for a few years now, which is why I unloaded all of my cards then.