You fail to understand the mythos around Vintage. The unobtainability of the power 9, and especially the card to rule all cards, Black Lotus, instills aspiration and sparks the dreams, hopes and imagination of younger hearts. It is in part _because_ of this mythos, that standard becomes comparably economically attractive and players commit years of their lives collecting. If you compare Standard to Legend of the Five Rings, or video games and board games, it's still a luxury. Keyforge is no more expensive than €12,- for a prebuilt deck.
Nah, I would have loved to get a Lotus for years but it's way too much money to justify, especially when you factor in how much you can use it. This 'unobtainability' is very real. Sure you may be able to sell it for more down the line, and you 'lose' money by buying and playing standard, but you get to play the game then. That's what people want.
Pioneer is actually going to pull more from Modern than Legacy if designed properly, because it will be a "fair" alternative to Modern and be far more accessible as well.
I think everyone here is thinking that Legacy is some big thing, and in the world of Magic it really isn't. As stated before, SCG kept Legacy in the SCG Tour for far longer than they really should have because they cared about the format and really could have replaced it with something like Pauper a while ago. (Modern will potentially face the same fate if Pioneer proves popular enough.)
I really don't. I play Vintage and have for over twenty years ("Type I").
I think you're failing to understand the whole of this discussion. Again - these are sanctioned, official-constructed formats. They are apart of the Wizards Magic: the Gathering portfolio of organized tournament play. There are practically zero opportunities to play sanctioned Vintage anymore. Legacy is well on its way. The point is that if these formats are part of the portfolio, they should be accessible for newer players.
I'm not saying reprint the Power 9. What I am saying is, at a minimum, reprint dual lands so people can play Legacy. Or ban everything on the RL. Vintage is a whole other discussion because of the step-up on pricing. Legacy to that degree is in a "safer" place because the most expensive card legal in the format is still thousands of dollars cheaper than the most expensive Vintage-legal card.
EDIT: Just for objectivity's sake - I have a set of Beta duals and Power, so I'm not being biased. I actually wouldn't give two shits if my power or duals tanked. Do you have any idea how giddy I'd be if my LGS nailed 20-30 for Vintage (sanctioned) every week? I would absolutely take that loss over the inability to use my cards any day of the week.
Exactly this. My hope for legacy is that it will be survive thanks to an influx of disappointed modern players. Sure, most of them will probably turn to pioneer in the end, but you don't need that many people to keep legacy running.
Of course this is on the assumption that people will like legacy better than modern (which I think is true ) and that prices won't go through the roof like in vintage.
You're spot on, and that's the problem: Legacy is not some big thing - but it's not Legacy's fault. If you fix what's broken with the format (and with Vintage), it will be a big thing. This argument goes in circles because people are resigning themselves to the format's insignificance compared to other formats, when clearly a lot of people argue that Legacy is the best format and most fun, it's just too expensive to get into.
Again - that's not the format's fault, it's the fault of the R.L. and Wizards just shelving these older formats because they don't care. And therein lies the problem and why something needs to be done.
I just want to play, man. A lot of people do. I'm just so tired of Legacy getting kicked to the curb and the stigma it gets as a "dying" format. All of it is bullshit. The format isn't really dying in the sense it isn't popular, because if it were, it'd be long gone. It's being hurt though in the sense that it's pricing people out because of the god damn Reserve List.
Legacy is being hurt by the RL but there's also a subtle issue that i've encountered many times before when offering to build decks for people.
here's me talking to mtg players at the LGS: "Hi. Would you play legacy if I build a deck for you?"
their response: "Sorry, I can't afford to play legacy."
translation: i don't want to get my butt kicked playing legacy, i'd rather just play the format i'm good at
The issue is focus. Wizards is going to continue to focus on newer stuff rather than older stuff. And that's just a really sad reality. The problem I have is that the formats *exist* and are being left to die. That's the biggest thing for me. It's black and white: get rid of it, or support it. They cannot keep going like this thinking it will be fine, because it won't.
They have to do something about this.
I sent a certified snail mail letter to Brian Goldner. The guy probably won't read it, but I sent it regardless. Went right over Wizards' head.
Should all formats be designed to appeal to new players?
I think you are stubbornly wanting them to support paper Legacy, and that won't happen as long as the current model is profitable.
There is also the issue of Commander being the biggest eternal format (and possibly biggest format overall) so the eternal support is going there, so even in the hypothetical situation the Reserved List suddenly vanishes, Wizards would cater to Commander players first because that is where the money is.
That leads to taking advantage of Magic Online, because it has no concept of a Reserved List and the format is far more affordable and accessible there than it will ever be in paper.
I don’t think there’s anything “stubborn” about wanting an exponentially larger player base for a very popular format whose only strike is that the primary staples of the format won’t ever be reprinted and price people out. How fair do you think that is?
They made the format. They created it. In what parallel universe does it make sense to create something - only to purposely watch it “die” because they absolutely know people can’t afford it and they won’t do anything about it? That’s egregious, and to force those people into playing online and away from paper Magic where the real interactive Magic core lies is even worse.
I believe Legacy is salvageable for entry if they can solve that problem for new players. But Vintage is much harder because the staples of that format are thousands more. But that’s the point altogether: Why make a format...and keep it, if you know people can’t afford it and you won’t spotlight it at all?
It’s like I said: kill it or do something about it. Stop letting these wonderful formats just fade away.
I think the idea behind Legacy is more popular than the format itself. There is a reason that Modern and Pioneer were created, after all.
You are missing the whole point - Legacy is not designed to appeal to new players, and honestly that would not be something you want because it would take a ridiculous amount of bans to sculpt Legacy to mimic the feel of Standard so it could appeal to them. (Wizards has the advantage of market research, so they know what their customers actually want. Whether or not they can consistently deliver is another matter, because Standard has been pretty bad for a while.) Better to let Standard appeal to new players, and then some of them will have interest in other formats eventually.They made the format. They created it. In what parallel universe does it make sense to create something - only to purposely watch it “die” because they absolutely know people can’t afford it and they won’t do anything about it? That’s egregious, and to force those people into playing online and away from paper Magic where the real interactive Magic core lies is even worse.
I believe Legacy is salvageable for entry if they can solve that problem for new players. But Vintage is much harder because the staples of that format are thousands more. But that’s the point altogether: Why make a format...and keep it, if you know people can’t afford it and you won’t spotlight it at all?
It’s like I said: kill it or do something about it. Stop letting these wonderful formats just fade away.
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