I would agree with most of your argument. Is the culture in China such that these cards are actually expected to be playable alongside Dominaria cards and the like? Why sell such an obviously weakened set into a pool of cards whose power levels are obviously higher? Unless there's a Lightning Bolt or something to offset the power level here, it just seems like a really weird marketing choice. Portal worked the way it did because most enfranchised players didn't buy into them. Not the fact it's not Standard legal in the U.S. IIRC, none of the Portal sets were ever Type II or Standard legal. Honestly, I imagine your argument would hold merit except for the minor detail these cards are Standard legal in their region.
MTG CARD IMAGE GALLERY DRAGONS FULL
There's fair and reasonable criticism of WOTC (i.e, why have the last few Masters sets been so underwhelming, lacking in quality reprints, and still saddled with a high MSRP), and then there is ignorant, thoughtless, near-pointless criticism ("Why isn't this product which was IMPLICITLY stated by the manufacturer as designed to be for someone that's never played the game full of expensive cards that are also complicated and thus result in two seperate worldwide meta's?"). Seriously, how are people not grasping such a simple conceit as "THIS IS DESIGNED FOR PEOPLE THAT HAVE NEVER PLAYED A SINGLE GAME OF MAGIC". If the decks teach basic Magic mechanics and encourage them to explore products beyond the decks, it has served its purpose. I'm just smart enough to know that when a product is designed for an absolute new beginner, complexity is scaled back, and cards "worth" something is not the intent of the product. I understand that this product isn't designed for established players. Now that they've announced it as such, there's little reason to be disappointed, and even less reason to be critical of the power level of the cards. WHY was I disappointed? Because at the time of the product announcement, Wizards didn't say this was an introductory product.
MTG CARD IMAGE GALLERY DRAGONS CRACK
As an EDH-exclusive player since 2009, I was disappointed none of the cards will crack any of my 25 decks. Not a fanboy, this product holds no appeal to me, and I won't be buying it, just like I don't buy Duel Decks, Challenger decks, or many other supplemental products that don't appeal to me. I'm sure that they will feel happy and satisfied when they will realize that their deck is pure thrash and will throw it in the garbage. I don't understand this mentality to give newbie cards that are worth nothing. Sad to see that they choose the lazy route instead of coming up with fun cards. prothean hydra comes to mind.ĩ0% of these cards are just boring and terrible. Plenty of cards that aren't competitive in standard but are casual playable and/or fun. IT WAS NEVER INTENDED TO, in fact it was specifically designed NOT to. "This crap is so dang bad that it will never show up in a competitive deck". Of course something designed to teach the BASIC FUNDAMENTALS of the game won't appeal to enfranchised players. They're designed to introduce the game in a market Wizards believes has a lot of growth potential. Quote from Chickmagnet handle Wampa1 »You get an F for comprehension of what these decks are about. In the end, a Magic card is more than a piece of cardboard with numbers on it it's a story, it's an experience, it's a memory. Maybe some players will have a similar experience here, getting to start Magic with cards based on a mythology they know well, and even if they grow up past those cards, they may still remember them fondly. I was mesmerized by Mirrodin's aesthetic, even before I realized that artifacts were the theme of the set. But I still have fond memories of learning the game through those cards, learning what Trample means, getting acquainted with the various card types, and just staring at those basic Islands and Mountains in wonder. Did I ever play them competitively? Heck no. Among the very first cards I ever remember holding were Blisterstick Shaman, Ogre Resister, Razorfield Rhino, Serum Raker, and Gnathosaur (the latter two were from the very first booster pack I ever opened). Know what are some of the first Magic cards I ever remember? Back in 2012, I bought the Mirromancy deck, with Galvanoth as the face card.
And believe it or not, some players are willing to look past competitive efficiency and put sentimental value in cards, even if they don't play them much. Well, the idea of a beginner product is that it helps new players learn the game (ideally with the help of an experienced player) but logically they aren't going to put all the cards you could ever need in a precon, they want to encourage booster pack sales.