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- What a crazy week for Magic and Wizards of the Coast
What a crazy week for Magic and Wizards of the Coast
The Autumn season is kicking things off with some big changes
Thomas Traplin
October 09, 2023
Hey there,
It’s been quite the last few weeks for Wizards of the Coast and Magic: the Gathering.
Commander Masters turned out to be a disaster with prices dropping immediately after the release, leaving many stores holding the bag.
Doctor Who prices spike after WotC, apparently going the complete opposite direction and cutting supply hard, is leaving stores with the option of cancelling preorders or honoring them and selling for way less than the market price.
Troll and Toad announced their backing away from Magic altogether after suspending their buylist for a few days following Wizards announcement that certain chase cards would be reprinted in the upcoming Holiday Lord of the Rings set, tanking prices on those singles and crushing confidence in new sets.
It’s been a whirlwind of MTG related news recently, and my guess is that won’t be the end of it. I have some thoughts on what it all means (or doesn’t mean), but what do you think?
Let me know your thoughts by connecting on Facebook and sending me a message, or just hitting the reply button!
Cheers,
Tom
📰 Industry News
Highlights if you've only got 5 minutes
1/
30 years of buying and selling Magic cards comes to an end for Troll and Toad.
2/
As of October 13, Wizards of the Coast will no longer be partnering with Judge Academy.
3/
Wizards of the Coast announced a new focus on revitalizing Standard play in stores with additional support and ways to qualify for professional level events.
4/
Wizards of the Coast is ending its distribution relationship with Penguin Random House Publisher Services for its Dungeons & Dragons products as of December 31, 2023, but has assured its customers that the book channel will continue to receive D&D.
5/
WPN Premium stores can receive incredible promos for submitting their Point of Sale data on time and accurately.
6/
BackerKit will not allow AI-generated content on its platform, which includes many high-profile board game and tabletop role-playing game projects.
7/
Ravensburger has moved up the first reprint of Disney Lorcana due to “increased demand”.
8/
Almost 200,000 people flocked to the world’s largest tabletop event.
9/
Star Wars: Unlimited announced a release date of March 8th, 2024 for the core set of its upcoming trading card game, which turns the ultra popular science fantasy universe of Jedi, Sith and a galaxy far, far away into a competitive cardboard battler.
🎲 Kickstarter Project
Cool games on the horizon
The LARGEST 5e adventure/campaign EVER WRITTEN with over 1000+ pages, 50+ maps, 50+ minis, and so much more!
Looks hefty, has a lot of interest already, I’m intrigued. (link)
🎙️Latest Podcast
The most recent episode of the Manaverse Podcast
The Petrichor team recently worked with Jason Mastowski, the owner of Peach State Games in Woodstock, GA, to create a video telling the story of his shop and the amazing community that has formed around Jason's passion and energy. It's a great example of how a well produced video can convey emotion and tell a story that can't really be replicated any other way.
In our interview, the Petrichor guys and I discuss why video is so effective and creating a connection between businesses and potential customers, how you can start creating video content for your game store today without the need for expensive cameras or equipment, and what makes a piece of video content effective.
Give the episode a listen! (link)
📅 Upcoming Releases Dates
What’s coming up
Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Age of Overlord (Oct 20, 2023)
Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Valiant Smashers (Nov 17, 2023)
Pokémon TCG - Paradox Rift (Nov 3, 2023)
Pokémon TCG - Pokémon TCG Classic (Nov 3, 2023)
One Piece TCG - Gift Collection Box (Oct 27, 2023)
Magic: The Gathering - Universes Beyond - Doctor Who (Oct 13, 2023)
Magic: The Gathering - Lost Caverns of Ixalan (Nov 17, 2023)
Magic: The Gathering - The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth/Holiday Release (Nov 3, 2023)
Magic: The Gathering - Ravnica Remastered (Jan 12, 2024)
Lorcana: Rise of the Floodborn (Dec 1, 2023)
Dungeons and Dragons - Planescape (Oct 17, 2023)
Dungeons and Dragons - The Deck of Many Things (Nov 14, 2023)
⛏️📖 Cool Links
How-to’s and resources, Products, apps, cool stuff
Murf.ai - Need a voiceover for your videos but don’t want to record it yourself? Murf does a surprisingly good job at generating a natural sounding voiceover. (link)
Key Expertise: Advanced Magic Singles Psychology - While not all Local Game Stores need to carry Magic singles, any store with significant commitment to Magic or to trading card games in general, probably should. (link)
Unrelated image, but he just looks so happy :)
Video is one of the most powerful ways you can market your business, and when paired with social media and digital marketing, it's a great tool for getting new customers into your store or shopping your website.
If you're an established game store that offers a great experience to your customers, combining an awesome brand story video and effective digital marketing is an excellent strategy for taking your game store to the next level.
Find out how the Manaverse Marketing Agency can blow up your inbox and in store traffic with a killer video marketing package by booking a free strategy call right here!
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