It was launch weekend this weekend for the Innistrad set for MTG. This follows on a week after the prerelease weekend. You have to acknowledge the sole purpose for these events - it comes down to marketing to turn over money. I do acknowledge that it also introduces the people to the new sets, but we are not talking about a life saving technique or event here - it is a card game (a fun one at that). It could turn into making money for the individual players themselves (if they decide to turn "pro"), but essentially this is an opportunity for the stores selling the product as well as Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro (the manufacturers of MTG) to make money. It is a symbiotic relationship, where the retailer and the manufacturer work together in an attempt to bring the product to the consumer. While the consumer has the final decision in this, the strength lies with the strategy used by both the manufacturer and the retailer.
As mentioned in the title of this article, I appreciate the package known as a fat pack, and hence purchased one this weekend, along with a copy of all the Intro decks for Innistrad. The contents of the Innistrad fat pack can be found on-line.
Others there were even more keen than me on this game (and this may lead to why I am not consistently good at this game, as I am not willing to put in the investment of time and money as much as other people). To me, this game is still a hobby, not a profession. While the fat pack I purchased cost AUD$50, I saw other people this weekend sitting in front of booster boxes, opening up the 36 booster packs found inside. Each booster pack costs around AUD$5.50 to AUD$6, but when purchased as a box, it costs AUD$150 and they usually throw in a promo card (while stocks last). The promo card for buying a box of Innistrad boosters is Devil's Play. Buying a booster box works out roughly to getting 6 booster packs free when buying in bulk.
From estimations, I have spent somewhere around AUD$400 to $500 (as a rough total) on all my purchases for MTG. I was dwarfed by the amount of people who were spending money buying products. The one guy at a table near me had opened two booster boxes already, and was working his way to his third box. I hope he gets out of the game what he needs - as that one afternoon, he was working his way through AUD$450.
All the prices I have mentioned in this article are from the Games Laboratory. I have not seen a "recommended retail price" anywhere for these items, so you may find prices fluctuate depending on where and who you are buying products from. The guys at Game Laboratory appear there to help, so buy in bulk, and they'll try to help you out.
(I'm hoping that no one who reads this article mistook the title for a broadcast that I am in anyway attracted to BBWs I may have been with.)
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