Final week, rumors began swirling in some Magic: The Gathering circles that the upcoming Spider-Man set can be restricted to only one print run throughout all of its merchandise, together with Play Boosters – however at present, Wizards of the Coast unequivocally advised IGN that isn’t the case.
When requested for touch upon these claims, a WOTC consultant advised IGN “there is no such thing as a fact to any rumors about SPM Play Boosters being a single print run,” with SPM being the set code for the Spider-Man crossover.
Whereas it’s not unusual for merchandise like the costlier Collector Boosters (which embody particular artwork and foil remedies) to be restricted to a single printing, the rumors round Spider-Man set off alarm bells as a result of of the inclusion of Play Boosters particularly (they’re nonetheless out there to preorder at Amazon). Play Boosters are the primary, bread-and-butter booster packs of practically each set, and are usually printed as wanted to satisfy demand for units which can be authorized in Magic’s Normal format, which Spider-Man is.
If these packs have been extra restricted than typical, it may have wreaked havoc on the provide of playing cards that should be broadly accessible and empowered scalpers to jack up costs. As an illustration, WOTC CEO Chris Cox stated they “couldn’t produce sufficient” of the latest Remaining Fantasy set, and costs soared because of this – and that was in spite of the incontrovertible fact that they elevated the set’s pre-release manufacturing 4 instances, Cox defined.
Whereas false, one purpose this rumor might need taken maintain is as a result of it wouldn’t have been the solely atypical half of this launch. WOTC previously announced that the total Spider-Man set will likely be reskinned with in-universe artwork and ideas for its digital launch on each MTG Enviornment and Magic: The Gathering On-line, which is a primary for a Normal set. This isn’t the first time one of Magic’s Universes Past crossovers hasn’t been made out there digitally, however these have typically been Commander merchandise like Physician Who, whereas a Normal set has the potential to impression all kinds of aggressive codecs.
Whereas it’s reassuring to listen to there is no such thing as a limitation to a single print run in place, WOTC didn’t say what the provide of the Spider-Man set will appear like general, nor did it touch upon half of the rumor claiming the limitations have been as a consequence of the licensing settlement with Disney that permits them to make use of Marvel properties in the first place – though, that’s not precisely shocking given it’s broadly refuting these rumors as a complete.
Reveals for the Spider-Man set began rolling out at San Diego Comedian-Con late final month, with one other set constructed round Avatar: The Final Airbender (which will likely be out there digitally) scorching on its heels. The Spider-Man set’s correct debut is scheduled for August 29, with a paper launch the following month on September 26.
Tom Marks is IGN’s Government Critiques Editor. He loves card video games, puzzles, platformers, and puzzle-platformers.