The Double Masters Magic: The Gathering set was announced earlier this month by Wizards of the Coast, and its products can now be pre-ordered on Amazon. However, many players have voiced their displeasure at the high price of premium Magic sets like this one, with each Double Masters booster box costing $300 and each booster pack costing $16.30.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Magic: The Gathering, and to commemorate the occasion, Wizards of the Coast is throwing a big party in Las Vegas and releasing a few promotional items. One of them is the 30th Anniversary Edition, which has some Magic fans ecstatic.
First and foremost, there’s the price: $999.00. Even by Magic standards, that’s a lot of money, but the 30th Anniversary Edition includes cards from Magic’s Beta set, which is known for containing some of the game’s most expensive cards.
However, those cards are more expensive because they are tournament legal, which none of the 30th Anniversary Edition cards are. To make matters worse, players do not receive a complete set of non-tournament legal Beta cards. Instead, they’ll receive four packs of 15 cards, each containing a random selection of Beta cards in retro or modern frames.
That’s a lot of money for a random assortment of cards that aren’t even legal to play outside of a “friendly” Power 9 game. Magic fans are right to criticize the 30th Anniversary Edition as nothing more than a massive cash grab. As a result, angry Magic fans have taken over the official announcement page to express their displeasure.
Soon after the announcement, players discovered a broken link that should have led to a regional shipping calculator but instead led to an unclaimed URL. That URL was then purchased, which both fixed the link and directed Magic players to a site protesting the 30th Anniversary Edition.
“Thank you, Wizards, of the Coast, for demonstrating that after 30 years, the only Magic: the Gathering fans who matter are those with money,” the site said. “Promos used to honor fans and players, but now they honor shareholders. As fans, we look forward to a future where games are priced to maximize profit rather than enjoyment.”
Although the link has since been removed, screenshots have been posted to the Magic subreddit. Redditors are hailing the unknown site hijacker as a “hero” and urging Wizards of the Coast to repent of its greed.
The 30th Anniversary Edition of Magic isn’t the only source of contention for Wizards of the Coast. There’s also some debate over who owns the art for a card in the upcoming Secret Lair.
