MTG Online: Treasure Chests

Just when I start to think they can't make it any worse

magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-digital/announcing-treasure-chests-2016-09-29

youtube.com/watch?v=XAVwgm7H7P0

So is it like an extra prize or does it replace what you would normally win? I've been considering MTGO because I play legacy and it's died at the local scene, is it a good idea or just stick to cockatrice?

STOP GIVING ME FREEBIEESSSS RRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
MAGIC IS DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

They're not freebies.
They're replacing actual prize payouts

Wow. This was a really compelling and interesting argument. I can tell your side is the correct one.

I figure as Constructed players do not necessarily play Limited these chests are a better prize than receiving boosters for Constructed events.

That being said, I don't know why they just don't give everyone play points as prizes and only charge tickets or play points for entry into events. I would seriously just nix booster packs as a product online but I don't know what sort of idiot opens boosters online so maybe there's still a market for that.

Anyways, looking at the curated chest contents list I'm treating this as a definitive signal that Legacy and Vintage in paper is unofficially dead with zero support forthcoming in the future.

>6 months

why not just discontinue redemption altogether? 6 months is absolutely useless

I assume it's because they want to discontinue it, but they're afraid of the lashback

So in a couple years the can cite low demand and cancel it altogether. They're peeling the bandaid off slowly.

Aside from the vendors that go to GPs and PTs to sell cards, I can't imagine many people utilize the redemption system. Vendors redeem tonnes of sets to stock their booths.

I've met hundreds of MTGO (primarily Limited) players and none of them have ever redeemed a set. It's just easier to convert all your winnings into tickets so you can draft more.

I bet the need to produce, package, and store redemption sets around and pay the warehouse to keep track and ship that stuff out is a pain in the ass too. The way sheets are printed they would have to design a special sheet with one of each card and that would take a completely separate production line because the cards wouldn't go into boosters.

I would fucking want to kill redemption if I were Wizards. I wouldn't be surprised if it cost them a million dollars a year to maintain the system.

I wouldn't mind them ending redemption if they would then either make the online game cheaper or add codes to the paper products.

I don't see anything that would suggest that.

problem is that the MTGO players who don't personally redeem a set still trade with bots. the reason bots buy your mediocre rares is so they can redeem for sets.

As redemption gets worse, the value of the packs get worse, since everything short of the constructed playables become literally worthless.

I'm really suprised there isn't a system like paper online redemption yet.

If you scroll down a little to the constructed events payouts section, you can see how the treasure chest have replaced a number of play points and boosters.

WotC omitted the previous payouts here, but you can look them up yourself and compare.

Did you not look at the new prize structures in the article?

That is a very good point.

I guess that brings up two points. One, should Wizards be subsidizing bots, who in turn use the redemption system to sell cards at your events? And two, if they say "fuck the bots" is it okay that players should no longer expect to be able to convert their chaff cards into some sort of value (tickets or whatever) because Wizards has killed some portion of the bot economy?

I mean six months isn't a long time. These bots/paper vendors need redemption to have a strong stock of product to sell. It should be 12 or 16 months at least to allow for rotation.

Whatever. They're obviously smarter than me.

>Whatever. They're obviously smarter than me.
that's some pretty low self-esteem

>Whatever. They're obviously smarter than me.

That's a winning attitude if I've ever seen one.

The reason redemption system was installed in the first place, of course, was an attempt to justify the obvious lunatic practice of selling virtual cards at the same price as real ones, instead of at a 90% discount or something more reasonable like that. Buying worthless bits was not yet as mainstream back then as it is now.

If it was possible to redeem for online cards, a lot more people would be playing online instead of at brick and mortar stores, which is not what WotC wants.

Currently, the only people who play online are people either dedicated to the game or with no alternative besides playing online.

>Richard Garfield releases a lengthy post about game devs basically making their games to take advantage of gambling addiction
>WotC responds by making new scratch off tickets as the queue prizes

Genius.