Can we talk "From the Vault" and "Vanguards"

Michael_WC

@Oktagon_Support can we ("we" being the community and the developers) have a discussion regarding the cash cows known as "From the Vault" and Vanguard cards?

I'll address From the Vault first since I think this one is a simpler conversation. I'd simply like to ask what Oktagon's vision is for these sets? I'm fine with them being limited to mana crystals currently. While the event surrounding them is not really my favorite (that is a whole different discussion concerning brackets) I'm not unhappy to have them limited to the vault for now. However, I'd like to know what the long term plan for these sets will be. They are considered Legacy cards, but are not, and seemingly will not be included in Legacy non-dupe boosters. Is limiting a set for a particular format (whatever format you guys consider Seize the Day to be) to premium currency really the only plan at the moment?

This really seems to fly in the face of the F2P model where you can get them over time or pay for an advantage up front. Especially when you consider the fact that drop rates are involved which can keep people from receiving certain cards, theoretically, forever.

Now to the bigger sour tasting elephant in the room.

Vanguards.......vanguards, vanguards, vanguards.

Let me start by saying this, paying 400 mana jewels for a guaranteed non-dupe mythic is perfectly fine by me. I have 0 regrets pulling on these packs when I do. I'm never dissatisfied when I pull on these packs, nor do I ever have buyers remorse after spending premium premium currency on them.

Gambling 120 mana jewels on a particular set of vanguards is also fine. Lesser risk, greater potential reward makes sense for a game utilizing the F2P model.

What is not okay however (in my opinion), is limiting vanguards to this large pool where all you can do is gamble. Not only are you limiting these cards to packs without dupe protection, you don't even offer mana jewels for purchase to the general masses. When you do, the value placed on mana jewels isn't even for the whales (what's bigger than a megalodon mammoth whale, we need a new term for people that spend money on these). WAR vanguards make the least amount of sense and is only exacerbated by the fact that you have a 300 mana jewel option which is only worse in every way than the 120 pulls. Personally I wouldn't care what the price was for non-dupes as long as there was an option for every card available (including rares).

You've stated there are "no plans" to make any changes to how vanguards are currently obtained and I would simply like to ask why? Again, the poor drop rates and the propensity to pull a dupe ensures that some of these cards are virtually unobtainable.

Is an option for discussion on the table?

Rasalghul

I’ve pulled the trigger on rare vanguard booster again: another Chandra rare ! I’ve pulled 4 Basri and 3 Chandra now. See you next week for another try...
I bet for another Chandra to even the count.

TomB

I stopped spending resources on Vanguards quite a while ago. Once you get a few essentials (like Sorin, Bolas, Lilliana) you pretty much can get by fulfilling the event secondary requirements, and beyond that they're mostly overcosted/underpowered wastes of ingame currency, IMHO.

Do yourselves a favor - just say no to Vanguards...

Heartstone

There is a difference between "less price money in events" and "we've made sure that you will never get all the cards".

Paper magic and MTGPQ are 'collectible' games. By making the vanguards so hard to get, they destroyed that side for me. The quantity of crystals you have to spend to hope getting all the "not in a regular set" cards is just ridiculous.

I'm buying a 400p vanguard once in a while but otherwise,  i'm mainly ignoring vanguards in general. Unless we have a "play x vanguards " objective, I'm not even looking at those cards when I build a deck.