Please join the letter campaign to improve the Core Game

N

Notepad

Guest
My next Play or Draw article will focus on improving the Core Game. Orgg has written twice on the subject, and my article will encourage other players to join in this opinion and speak to WotC about it.

If you'd like to see the Core Game improved for beginners, please write to WotC. Feel free to use my letter below as a template:


Dear Wizards of the Coast,

It is understood that the purpose of the Core Game is to introduce Magic: The Gathering to new players, and not to be another group of cards for veteran players to collect. However, as a veteran Magic player, I would like to see the quality of cards in the Core Game improved for the benefit of new players.

I applaud the reasoning behind your card choices, which are no doubt the result of solid research. Despite being a good introductory pool of cards, the selection in the Core Game is inadequate to start playing with against other people. How can a beginner possibly hope to stand up to casual players with cards like Eager Cadet and Sea Eagle?

When other preconstructed decks come with rares like Broodstar, Pulse of the Tangle, Joiner Adept, Goblin King or Fleeting Image, what kind of message does that send to a new player who just paid a higher price to get the Core Game and its rares of Vizzerdrix and Trained Orgg? Though it is an uncertainty that a first time player who purchases the Core Game will move on to play Magic, insulting them with poor cards they can't even play with seems like it will quell their desire to participate in games with other players.

The offending cards in the Core Game are as follows: Eager Cadet, Fugitive Wizard, Honor Guard, Index, Patagia Golem, Rod of Ruin, Sacred Nectar, Sanctimony, Sea Eagle and Vizzerdrix. There are much better cards, which are suitable for beginners, that can go into the Core Game. Eager Cadet can easily be replaced by the highly usable Suntail Hawk, for example. Making similar adjustments to the rest of the offending card slots will surely help beginners to feel better about their collections and likely purchase more Magic: The Gathering products.

You made the wise decision to split the less suitable of the Core Game out from the Core set with Eighth Edition. The basis being that the cards were not suitable for veteran players to see in packs. The fact is, many of the cards are not suitable for anyone to see in their collections at all.

The more beginners you encourage to play further, the more players I can interact with. It is a winning situation for not only the company, but the playing community, if you improve the card pool in the Core Game.

Thank you,
-Sean "Sefro" Roney
kwbishop@hotmail.com
 
I

Istanbul

Guest
There's just one problem with that letter.

Honor Guard, Index, Patagia Golem, Rod of Ruin, and Sanctimony.
Those are NOT 'stupid newbie cards', and I have played each of them on more than one occasion in Limited. They serve a valid purpose in teaching players about abilities, artifacts, and color-hosers.
 
R

Reverend Love

Guest
I would also make point that by their very nature of being vanilla creatures, their worth as a Magic the Gathering teaching aids is limited. The learning apex for a 2/2 vanilla creature is significantly lower then that of say a simple common such as Festering Goblin. Which can teach players nuances of the stack, targeting, and triggered abilities. Also it is just hands down a better card.

And drive home the point of not wanting to give the beginning player better money cards, just better cards.

Also that we care for Magic, and want their product to succeed. And in by taking care of the new players we’re taking care of Magic in the long run….A.K.A their cash cow.
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
I don't use the Core Game, but what has been said so far sounds reasonable (including Isty's points).
 
N

Notepad

Guest
Originally posted by Istanbul
There's just one problem with that letter.

Honor Guard, Index, Patagia Golem, Rod of Ruin, and Sanctimony.
Those are NOT 'stupid newbie cards', and I have played each of them on more than one occasion in Limited. They serve a valid purpose in teaching players about abilities, artifacts, and color-hosers.
My article will cover what would be better choices for teaching new players, and trust me, there are much better cards that remain simple to learn.

However, though these may be somewhat helpful in a limited game, take in mind what they mean to a beginner trying to make a deck. Though Grizzly Bears and Hill Giant are weak cards compared to things like Wild Mongrel and Flametongue Kavu, they remain useful enough to put into beginner decks. The same cannot be said about Index, Honor Guard and Sanctimony. Patagia Golem and Rod of Ruin are not flat-out useless, but the card slots would much better be served by, say, Jayemdae Tome and Phyrexian Hulk/Obsianus Golem.

Imagine these are in your starting pool of cards to build your very first deck, with perhaps some spare lands and a few booster packs worth of cards. Are these likely to find a place in your deck?

Except for really rare circumstances, I'd imagine most people's answers would be a loud "no!"

Besides, the Core Game has a split set of cards than the Core Set. Index can stay in 9E for you to draft if you want to, but it shouldn't clog up a beginner's mini collection.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Okay, I'm confused. What's Core Game? I always remember the core sets being 1st-8th edition. But it sounds like we're talking about something else...
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
heh, I had that same problem some time ago. I think the Core Game is the "new" name for when you get two "precons" of 40 cards in one box so two people have an easier time learning how to play. I think there's a CD that comes with it too, either a tutorial or for Magic Online.
 

Killer Joe

New member
I love TCG's that come in a Two-Player starter set. I have Harry Potter, MLB, Duel Masters, Portal I & II, Starter, 6E, 7E and 8E, C-23, Wiz Co's X-Men and some others. But with the non-magic ones, that's all I ever want. I don't plan on making all of those games my habit. I think maybe others think way about the Magic 2-player kits. So maybe Wiz Co. SHOULD beef it up or maybe this is as far as they want to invest.

I know that I didn't start Magic that way (2-player starter kit), did you?

Amway's biggest advertisment (and cheapest) is word of mouth. maybe Wiz Co. is thinking the same thing.
 
T

train

Guest
Screw the core game...

Where's my type 1 banned/restricted list reprints!!!...:D
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Yes, give us the reprints (not just of the Type I banned/restricted lists either. I want my Mishra's Workshops!) and forget the core game...

Okay, so the core game is the new Portal? Does it have its own expansion symbol and all that?
 
N

Notepad

Guest
One fight at a time, gentlemen. Besides, getting reprints will be a next-to-impossible task. My issue crusade right now is improving the Core Game.

The Core Set is a new term, started with 8E. However, the Core Game is indeed the starter set of 80 cards (two 40-card decks and two foils) meant to introduce players to the game.

The thing is highly simple, and for good reason. However, the card choices are so incredibly weak, a beginner will likely throw away a good portion of their cards from that box. This box costs at least $12 I have seen it in stores. The rares are two copies of Vizzerdrix (my letter...and sadly article...made the mistake of thinking Trained Orgg was in the box) and one foil Elvish Champion. They also get a foil basic land.

The only notable commons in the box are Blanchwood Armor and Naturalize, with Goblin Raider, Glory Seeker and Volcanic Hammer being useful but not super cards for a new player to use later on. The entire rest of the 82-card box is total chaff, save for the basic lands and perhaps the Elvish Champion.

Would you pay $12 for these handful of cards and a stack of garbage?

Compare to a precon, which normally sell for $10 and come with two useful rares (sometimes even one awesome rare) and a slew of awesome and useful cards. Maybe half the nonlands will be chaff, but you paid a lower price and got many more useable cards.

It is this unfairness that prompted me to write the article and begin trying to get people to write in. The Core Game can never be on a competetive power level with a normal precon, but at least it can be made so it doesn't just totally roll over and die.

Little changes like replacing Eager Cadet with Suntail Falcon would go a long way in helping beginners feel better about investing more into the game.

Please join the cause and write to WotC. It benefits us all to have this influx of new players, ones who can actually play against us.
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Did you read orgg's front page article about this? I'm not sure when it was but do a search on his name (that "Find Other Article By") He may have some ideas or covered some ground for you.
 
N

Notepad

Guest
Yes, I did read Orgg's articles. I linked to both, actually, and put in a quote from him. His quote closes the first section of the article. I'd link to it, but PlayorDraw has some sort of glitch right now. So, I'll post the first section as submitted to them before editing (and with my handwritten html tagging).

The Casual Chronicler: Rebuilding the Core Game for the Good of Everyone
By Sean Roney
kwbishop@hotmail.com

The best way to keep Magic going is to have new players constantly coming in. They can replace people who are leaving, or just expand the player base, but they need to be coming in. Imagine being a new player and opening the Core Game. Now, imagine using those very cards to try to play against casual players in your circle. Your Eager Cadet against their Auriok Glaivemaster? Vizzerdrix versus Broodstar? Yeah, you lose!

While no selection of vanilla and simple cards to teach new players with can ever hope to compete against an affinity or goblin deck, there is a huge difference between being stomped into the ground like a powerless insect, and getting to have fun with your cards despite losing. It is possible to give players a mix of cards that inspire them to keep playing.

About two years ago, I wrote about the <a href="http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/expandsub.php?Article=3252">problem of totally weak cards in the Core Game.</a> Apparently, many players had the same opinion as me: <b>Many of the cards in the Core Game are so totally useless that veteran players shouldn't have to open them in packs.</b> WotC listened, and split some cards from the Core Set so that you would never have to worry about opening Trained Orgg in a booster draft. They even took it a step further and split cards that were just out of flavor, such as Vengeance and Giant Octopus.

<i>"There is nothing wrong with teaching people to play with an Eager Cadet." -Me, two years ago</i>

However, with some thought, yes, there is something wrong with teaching people to play with Eager Cadet. You can't bring Benalish Hero (complicated), Nomad Wayfarer (complicated) or Savannah Lions (bomb/valuable) into the Core Game to replace Eager Cadet, but you can bring in Suntail Hawk, which a new player can understand just fine. There is a lot of garbage in the Core Game that really needs to go.

To revise the opinion of two years ago: <b>Many of the cards in the Core Game are so totally useless that no players, veteran or new, should ever have to own them in thier collections.</b> Hopefully, if enough community outcry happens this time around, WotC will listen and do something to help beginners with their starting collections.

<i>"Wizards of the Coast is being totally unfair to its most crucial audience, it's beginners." -Jensen Bohren, who wrote about the subject <a href="http://www.casualplayers.org/article/get.php?action=getarticle&articleid=820">here</a> and <a href="http://www.casualplayers.org/article/get.php?action=getarticle&articleid=822">here</a>.</i>

The opinion has been voiced, and I urge everyone to join the call for change.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
I don't get why not Savannah Lions though. It's being good should not be an incentive not to include it unless it's TOO good, which I don't think it is. It was reprinted in 8th...
 
T

train

Guest
crying about price drops is one of the things that stops our reprints...:rolleyes:
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
I know they did make that reserved list and all...

But they would make money if they reprinted those cards...

And they're not making any money off Moxes now, since they're not really allowed to recognize the value of their cards on the secondary market or anything...
 
T

train

Guest
they recognize it alright... they recognize it and laugh because they have a reserved list...:rolleyes: :mad:
 
N

Notepad

Guest
The only reprint that I suggest is Flying Men, and they have relatively small value, so there would be very little crying over them. In fact, I think there'd be a ton of rejoicing over their reprint. And really, they should be in the Core Game.
 
T

train

Guest
I don't think any blue cards should be reprinted... but that's just me...

I guess if they had to reprint a blue card - flying men would be okay to reprint...:rolleyes:
 
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