Kyle Edwards

Added 8-10-09

When was the last time you read the Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering Official Reprint Policy?

Take a look if you haven’t read it recently by clicking here. 

I would like to start off by pointing out some basic economic principals in relation to Magic: The Gathering cards, loopholes in the reprinting policy and follow up with ways WOTC can and should reprint “Power 9” and related cards.

Reasons Less Players Play Vintage

I myself don’t play sanctioned vintage, however I follow the format and I am very interested in it and would play if it had a lower barrier of entry. Many other players feel the same way, however would consider investing in the format if it were supported on a larger scale, which can only be done by printing more power cards. Variety is what makes Magic a great game and by allowing easier access to a fun format, it will only grow the game. Lack of cards and support can be overcome, if only WOTC would allow, they control both.

Over Time and Basic Economic Principles

According to Wizards of the Coast, “Primary to the value of purchasing magic cards is the concept that each card will maintain a reasonable value over time.” I would like to make an emphasis on the statement “over time.” A good question is what makes cards maintain value over time? What makes you want a Black Lotus? Perhaps you desire a Black Lotus for the mere fact that it is worth money. Why does anything have a monetary value? A well known elementary concept in economics is that price in a free market is determined by supply and demand. If you can control either supply or demand, you can virtually set a price. This is a monopoly and is exactly what Wizards of the Coast has on the market of magical cards. How does Wizards of the Coast set the supply? They simply just choose how much to print. No one else can legally print Magic: The Gathering cards. Now obviously if they print 1 special Black Lotus there will be a high demand, why? The low supply and the fact that people like things that are “rare” will create a high demand. Low supply and high demand equal high price. So what if they print 10,000 special Black Lotus cards? The price will obviously be less than if they printed one because when you increase supply, you lower price.

So how can you increase the supply of something and keep the price the same? Simple economics, of you increase the supply and demand of a good by the same amount, the price stays the same. This is no small task. You would have to estimate the number of Black Lotus cards in possession of players and dealers. If you create too much supply, the firms will have a surplus, not be able to make sales and cause a price drop so that they can sell their surplus. Eventually supply and demand will balance, however the price will be much lower and reduce the value of the current Black Lotus cards. Wizards does not want to do this.

However, you must realize that Wizards of the Coast has some control over demand as well. Simply printing cards creates some amount of demand. People who play the game like to purchase cards from new sets, this is not all players though. Many players purchase booster packs for drafting, financial value or another very controllable factor by Wizards of the Coast. This factor is Organized Play Support. The more WOTC supports a format for organized play, the more players take interest in it and thus the cards that are competitive in said format. In conclusion, WOTC can increase supply and demand at the same rate with much calculation. This will never be perfect however and they must weigh the gains from lowering the price of all “Power Cards” some and gaining long term health of the game “over time.” I for one know many TCG players who prefer Yu-Gi-Oh over magic because it’s primary format is “fast paced.” By having better access to a fast paced format such as Vintage, it can only improve the game by gaining players over time.

Why Wizards Reprints Cards

According to WOTC, “the Magic game is first and foremost a supreme game of strategy and skill. We choose to reprint cards because we believe (a) the cards we reprint make for enjoyable game play, and (b) all Magic players deserve an opportunity to play with these cards.”

As a player, I agree with this statement and believe that reprinting cards such as Black Lotus and Ancestral Recall would be healthy for the game over time.

The Loophole

The loophole in the Official Reprint Policy is in the section titled “Special-Purpose Reprints.” A quote from that section: “All policies described in this document apply only to non-premium, tournament-legal Magic cards.”

According to that policy, Wizards of the Coast can reprint oversized cards, cards such as the Collector’s Edition versions, and “premium cards”. What are premium cards? Premium cards simply mean foil cards. According to this document, WOTC has stated that they reserve the right to print foil versions of cards without breaking this “contract” between themselves and collectors. While this may make some collectors upset, it has been clearly stated.

Ways Wizards of the Coast Could Print Reserved Cards

I would in no way suggest that WOTC print Power cards and place them in booster packs for sale at any retailer. However there are many ways in which they could distribute them in a way that would be healthy for the game and secondary market.

Judge Foils – What better way to support the judges that give so much to the game than handing them something that is worth hundreds of dollars. This is limited though as you don’t want to put so many cards in the hand of so few.

Vintage Tournament Promotion – Give tournament organizers who support vintage the ability to purchase Promotional Power Cards to sell to their players. This gives incentive for organizers to start supporting the format at a local level. It also has the downside for a potential of abuse by some organizers and would have to be only offered to the most trusted with tenure and closely monitored.

Prize Support – Give out power cards to players who win high level events such as City Champs, States, Regionals, PTQs, Grand Prix, Nationals, different Worlds and Pro Tours. You could even have side events at professional level tournaments that give out these special promos. The advantage to this is it: A) Gives more incentive to play in those events and their qualification. B) Is more controllable than at the local level. C) Would slowly increase the supply and not cause a sudden shock to the market.

From The Vault – If you can print cards like Berserk and Balance in a from the vault series, then why not Black Lotus or Library of Alexandria. I wouldn’t think that printing a magical From the Vault that contains all the power is a good idea, but over time is a possibility. Splitting up the power over a time period of a few years while at the same time supporting Vintage more could keep a balanced market.

Magic Online has recently been getting older cards through the Masters Edition Series releasing cards such as Bazaar of Baghdad and Juzam Djinn. This is a good move by Wizards of the Coast to support formats and eventually create an environment that is equal online to paper magic. Why not also support paper formats more?

Conclusion

Wizards of the Coast should reprint certain cards from the restricted list as premium, tournament-legal Magic cards. In addition, support a broader array of tournaments including cards that are reprinted. Carefully consider all of their options to move forward the game and to not shock the secondary market. Read their own reprint policy. Keep their promise to do their best to maintain the value of magic cards as a whole. It is obviously impossible to maintain the value of all cards. Wizards needs to realize that they contribute to the drop in many cards prices by, rotating sets for formats and banning cards. It is a foolish idea to think that your magic cards will always maintain value; however it is reasonable to think that the company that makes them has it in their best interest to maintain the value of magic cards as a whole. If Wizards reprints power, it will cause a drop in some cards’ prices; however, will increase the price in others’, overall keeping value to the game.

Kyle Edwards

Email me at: Kyle_Jacob_Edwards@yahoo.com

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