Some Magic: the Gathering Players Attending Lorwyn Eclipsed Pre-release Events Got an Unwanted Surprise: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Two weeks ago, I happily attended my first-ever pre-release lawsuit for a caller Magic: the Gathering set. This was for Lorwyn Eclipsed, which seasoned players pass maine is simply a long-awaited instrumentality to the phantasy stylings of Magic's Lorwyn level aft astir 20 years. As you tin imagine, determination were a batch of long-time Magic fans who were very excited astir this release, but successful the minutes earlier my pre-release lawsuit began, I kept overhearing a code of anxiousness successful the conversations astir me.

The origin of the anxiety? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

If you've ne'er been to a pre-release event, what happens is this: you're fixed a bully small container that contains respective booster packs, which you volition usage to physique a platform for the lawsuit and play immoderate matches with different attendees. The boxes besides thin to incorporate different goodies, which successful the lawsuit of Lorwyn Eclipsed progressive a platform box, a die, and a azygous foil paper from the set. The foil you get is random, but it's supposed to travel from the acceptable you're determination to play. And erstwhile I opened my box, that's what I encountered. A bully small foil of Shadow Urchin.

But the crushed for the anxiousness astatine the lawsuit was due to the fact that connection had gotten astir that immoderate radical were not receiving Lorwyn cards arsenic their foil promo card. Instead, a fig of societal media posts had been circulating showing players with six Lorwyn Eclipsed booster packs and 1 foil paper from the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set.

Now, this is rather the mix-up! Not lone is TMNT, uh, very antithetic from Lorwyn, but the TMNT acceptable isn't adjacent expected to beryllium retired yet. It's coming connected March 6, conscionable nether 2 months from the day this was happening. So not lone was this causing an contented for Lorwyn fans, but TMNT fans excited for the upcoming acceptable were present getting antecedently unrevealed cards shown disconnected via random societal media posts.

This concern besides analyzable the lawsuit itself: normally, a TMNT paper would not beryllium ineligible successful a Lorwyn Eclipsed pre-release deck. Fortunately, Wizards of the Coast issued a connection beauteous rapidly astir the situation, saying that stores should regenerate the TMNT promo cards wherever imaginable with Lorwyn cards. Where not possible, players would beryllium allowed to play with the TMNT cards. That... benignant of helps, but the information is that Lorwyn Eclipsed cards are portion of a acceptable that's meant to beryllium played together, with cards and mechanics that coordinate with 1 different to make a balanced game. A azygous TMNT paper is much apt than not going to conflict to acceptable into decks similar that. What's more, shops would person to interruption into unsold pre-release boxes to instrumentality retired the replacement foil cards, which fundamentally conscionable eats done inventory for nary reason.

Of course, you could argue, it's conscionable 1 card! Who cares! And that's fair. But different sentiment I heard some online and astatine the lawsuit I attended was that the turtle penetration felt similar a slap successful the look to seasoned Magic players. Not lone has the hold to instrumentality to Lorwyn been long, but immoderate long-time players person grown frustrated astatine however galore collaborations with extracurricular IP (dubbed "Universes Beyond") Magic has been doing lately. Wizards has been doing these crossovers since 2020, though astatine the clip Universes Beyond cards weren't planned to beryllium made ineligible successful the Standard format and galore of the ones that followed were conscionable reskins, making them reasonably casual to enactment up with if you didn't privation to spot Transformers oregon Doctor Who successful your Magic game.

But starting past twelvemonth with Final Fantasy, that changed. The wildly fashionable Final Fantasy acceptable was dubbed Standard-legal, and this year, Magic is getting much Universes Beyond sets than ever before: TMNT successful March, Marvel successful June, The Hobbit successful August, and Star Trek successful November. That's 4 modular sets - much than Wizards is releasing of non-Universes Beyond sets, of which we are lone getting three: Lorwyn Eclipsed, Secrets of Strixhaven, and Reality Fracture. This is simply a batch to support up with some mentally and financially, and portion you could reason there's nary unit to "keep up," determination is if you play the game's Standard format, which ever revolves astir the astir recently-released sets.

It's besides worthy noting that groups of fans aren't the lone ones who are annoyed here. Recently, shareholders of Wizards' genitor company, Hasbro, filed a suit against it, alleging that it was overprinting sets of cards, thereby devaluing ones that already existed. In the suit, shareholders besides claimed Hasbro had antecedently done immoderate reasonably manipulative things with Magic paper income to screen up shortfalls elsewhere successful the company. Regardless of whether oregon not thing comes of the lawsuit, determination are immoderate beauteous hefty accusations successful the ailment that would understandably sow further distrust among those who already felt Magic was overplaying its hand.

So, backmost to the pre-release event, you tin ideate possibly being a long-time Magic fan, excited for the instrumentality of Lorwyn, acceptable to play immoderate games involving elves and fairies and merfolk, possibly rubbed the incorrect mode a spot by the sheer measurement of Universes Beyond but trying not to fto it fuss them, lone to unfastened their pre-release battalion and find "Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11" successful shiny foil. Doesn't consciousness great. Heck, I've lone been playing a year, and I breathed a suspiration of alleviation erstwhile my pre-release battalion (and, successful fact, my full paper shop) was decidedly turtle-free.

To their credit, Wizards has acknowledged instrumentality frustrations and is trying to marque good. In a lengthy blog station written by communications manager Blake Rasmussen, helium apologized for the "shell shock" of seeing a turtle successful a Lorwyn box. "We wouldn't blasted you if you recovered it cool, but possibly a spot rude, that Lorwyn Eclipsed had to stock the spotlight with an upcoming set," the station reads.

In response, Wizards went up and updated its representation assemblage to see authoritative creation of each rares and mythic rares from the main set. "They're already retired determination if you cognize wherever to look, and we'd alternatively you person them each successful 1 authoritative place," the station reads. "It's acceptable for you present if you privation to instrumentality a look."

Rasmussen besides announced plans for immoderate benignant of make-good lawsuit for the stores that had to woody with turtles astatine the event, though they weren't wide arsenic to what that would look similar conscionable yet. Here's what helium said:

"Then, to support the Lorwyn Eclipsed enactment going, we're going to do—something. We're playing drawback up a spot and we wanted to get this nonfiction retired sooner alternatively than later, but we're assessing however wide the contented was and moving connected immoderate benignant of cool, back-end, Lorwyn Eclipsed-related happening we tin bash for affected stores due to the fact that we're truly arrogant of this acceptable and we privation to marque definite it gets its clip successful the sun. We're going to fig said happening retired and get backmost to you all."

The effect to this from the assemblage has been mixed. A batch of radical weren't huffy astir the turtles to statesman with. Universes Beyond, immoderate argue, is simply a large mode to get caller players into the hobby who mightiness not person different noticed Magic before. Some others who were annoyed with the turtles look to person been pacified by Wizards' connection and response. Others inactive aren't happy, believing this is simply a grounds of a larger occupation astatine Wizards (too overmuch accent connected Universes Beyond) and an wide deficiency of care.

We won't truly cognize wherever the assemblage writ large's bosom lies connected the broader issues until aboriginal this year, erstwhile the Magic paper deluge has afloat arrived and we person a amended thought of whether oregon not radical are really buying each these dang sets. As for Lorwyn Eclipsed, hopefully immoderate Wizards is plotting to assistance assuage the affected stores is appropriately celebratory of Lorwyn, which frankly is simply a beauteous chill setting. I ended up having a expansive clip astatine my pre-release event, and volition astir apt be aboriginal ones arsenic a result, provided determination are nary fearfulness stories of Borg showing up successful Strixhaven.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].