The Professor proposes a new pre-con product....

[WWolfe]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxZMgoGBFr0

thoughts?

[ApothecaryGeist]

I will start off by saying that I do not currently play Pauper, so I am not intricately familiar with the nuances of the format.  And I do think that WotC should provide some more support for fan favorite formats. 

The $24.99 price point does seem a bit high to me for a 60-card all common deck.  That price might be about right if you didn't already own any of the cards.  A decks value might be $30, but if you already own half the cards in it, then it would only cost $10-15 for you to build it from singles. 

It also seems to me that there would be diminishing returns on precon pauper decks.  For similar reasons.  Once you have purchased a few decks and have playsets of the format staples, you no longer need to keep investing money in a "budget" format.

[TheWakaEmu117]

I haven't watched yet but paper pauper fell off because peregrine drake being printed as a common it does a bunch of broken but I dont really know much about it. wotc should ban it probably if they want pauper to be a thing.

[WWolfe]

Some pauper decks and individual cards that are format staples are more expensive than you may think.

Lightning Bolt is around $2.60 so a playset is a little over $10.

Priest of Titania is around $3 each, so $12 for a playset.

Manamorphose is around $8 each, so $32 for a playset.

Still cheaper than staples in other formats, but not always as cheap as the name would make you think.

[Mostlynotgay]

Some pauper decks and individual cards that are format staples are more expensive than you may think.

Lightning Bolt is around $2.60 so a playset is a little over $10.

Priest of Titania is around $3 each, so $12 for a playset.

Manamorphose is around $8 each, so $32 for a playset.

Still cheaper than staples in other formats, but not always as cheap as the name would make you think.

But I guarantee you they won't print manamorphose or other cards like that.  They will probably want to avoid people buying the pauper decks just to get their hands on staples in other formats.  If they sold a pauper deck for $25 and it had 4 manamorphose (it wouldn't, but for arguments sake) then eeeeeeeeeverybody would just scoop it up, junk the rest of the cards, and try to resale.  Or just use them.  If they make the product, it will be bulk commons tossed into a somewhat-cohesive pack and called a 'deck'.

[WWolfe]

Oh I agree about Manamorphose not being the type of card that would be reprinted. My point was simply that just because the format is called Pauper doesn't mean it's as cheap as the name implies.

[G. Moto]

But of course, after all if magic the gathering was dirt cheap for everyone then wizards of the coast wouldn't make any money. IT's still a business after all.

[ApothecaryGeist]

I agree that it isn't necessarily a cheap format if you don't already own any of the staples.  (None of the formats are.  Magic can be a very expensive hobby    )
I also think that if you're a player who already has 4 copies of Manamorphose, 4 copies of Priest of Titania, 4 copies of Lightning Bolt, then you are not likely to spend money on a precon.  You would probably rather buy a few singles to round out your deck.

[Soren841]

Id rather buy an EDH precon and sell all the expensive cards as singles

[TheCrazyPlayer]

I like the idea. The EDH precons are excellent; if they can do something like that for Pauper, it'd be great for getting new people into the format, either as a deck in itself, or as a starting point to construct your own deck.

[WWolfe]

I'm for anything that can add players to or keep players in the game without causing other players to leave the game. I know a few that have quit because it was simply too expensive a hobby for them. Pauper may be a format that could have kept them if it was more widely accepted. If WOTC can find a way to make the decks on the level of the commander pre-cons than it could be an interesting thing, but I'm not sure they'd be able to do that and keep it at a price range that would work.

[G. Moto]

What do you think is a fair price range for decks? I think that $10-$15 for a basic deck is good and $25-$30 for a commander deck would be adequate. What are your opinions?

[Soren841]

Commander decks should not be limited to $30, thats extreme budgeting and its really not possible. $150 is a good budget. Thats $1.50 per card

[ApothecaryGeist]

I believe that we are talking about pre-cons here.  It costs WotC the same money to print a deck full of good cards as it does a deck full of bad cards.  They do have to be a little careful about including cards in a deck for one format that are highly sought after in a different format (True-Name Nemesis).  They have to be priced at a point low enough where players of the format who already have the format staple still want to buy the deck.  The Commander precons have an MSRP of $34.99.  I think that is on the high end, but about right.

For a precon for Pauper, I do think that the Professor's suggested price point of $24.99 is a bit high.  I think it should be under $20.  I think $9.99 would be about right.  because we know that they are not going to load precon Pauper decks with all the high end commons.

Here is the price scale I would like to see for the (hypothetical) precons we're discussing:
Pauper: $9.99 (or less)
Planeswalker Deck or similar precon that needs significant upgrading: $19.99 or less
Modern/Standard precon deck that needs little to no upgrading: $24.99-29.99
Commander precon - $34.99 or less

[CardAgain Sweater]

I believe that we are talking about pre-cons here.  It costs WotC the same money to print a deck full of good cards as it does a deck full of bad cards.  They do have to be a little careful about including cards in a deck for one format that are highly sought after in a different format (True-Name Nemesis).

This is key; there are several articles from WotC describing this philosophy. If they make a pre-con (commander deck, for example) loaded with high $ reprints, they cannot increase the MSRP (manufacturers suggested retail price) on a product to a point where entry level players will be discouraged to buy. Concurrently, WotC cannot make a pre-con deck loaded with high $ reprints and keep a low ($35) MSRP as the long-time players and secondary market sellers will simply buyout the supply and chop up the decks to sell the high $ singles; this also prevents new players from trying a different format or starting MTG in the first place since all the decks will be gone, no matter how many are printed.

Pre-con decks are offered by WotC to attract new customers; they have no incentive to change this to satisfy established players as this product is not aimed at them. It is true for planeswalker and EDH decks; it will be true for any potential pauper product and the new standard constructed precons.