Month: October 2019

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‘YU-GI-OH! TCG: IGNITION ASSAULT’

Konami Entertainment revealed that the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game: Ignition Assault will hit retail stores in 2020.
Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG: Ignition Booster brings in Ai’s “@Ignister” cards from the Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS animated series. The set will introduce all-new pirates and their ships along with new cards to strengthen existing deck themes. This set will also include multiple general-use cards that can be used in any deck. Ignition Assault features 100 cards, including 8 Secret Rares; 10 Ultra Rares; 14 Super Rares; 20 Rares; and 48 Commons. This booster set will release on January 31.

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game: Ignition Assault Special Edition will release on March 6. Each Ignition Assault Special Edition will contain three Ignition Assault booster packs and two of four possible Super Rare variant cards.
The release of Ignition Assault will follow the Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions: Movie Pack Secret Edition

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‘MY LITTLE PONY’ ‘MAGIC: THE GATHERING’ CARD SET WILL BE SOLD TO RAISE MONEY FOR EXTRA LIFE CHARITY

Wizards of the Coast has revealed the Ponies: Galloping, a card set for Magic: The Gathering, that will be sold to support Extra Life, an organization benefitting Seattle Children’s Hospitals.

This three-card crossover set will be sold between October 22 and November 5 through the Hasbro Pulse web site at a cost of $50.00, with $30.00 of each sale going to Extra Life. There also a $100 donation level, with $80 going to charity, for three Ultra PRO play mats that features the art from the cards.



Even at a raw cost of $50 per three-card set, purchase of this set is a worthwhile endeavor for retailers to explore on a couple of different levels. First and foremost, it benefits a worthy charity. Seattle Children’s Hospitals provides life-saving care for hundreds of children, and also engages in research into childhood disease.

In addition to supporting a charitable cause, the cards included in the set will more than likely become instant Commander staples, retain value on the secondary market, and inspire single sales of long-forgotten rares that synergize with the Ponies. The Princess Twilight Sparkle card is a fantastic choice as a Commander for a Horse-themed deck, and will likely create a single sales uptick in cards that summon pegasi, horses, alicorns, and unicorns. Rarity and Nightmare Moon/Princess Luna are simply an overall good multiplayer cards with great flavor mechanics. Make no mistake, these Ponies will be in demand.


Wizards of the Coast also recently released another limited edition set, Magic: The Gathering Deluxe Collection, that sold out almost instantly (see “Wizards of the Coast Will Sell ‘Magic: The Gathering Throne of Eldraine Deluxe Collection’ Direct-to-Consumer”).

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MAGIC: THE GATHERING ‘BANNED AND RESTRICTED ANNOUNCEMENT’ DATE MOVED UP

Wizards of the Coast announced via Twitter that it has shifted the next Banned and Restricted Announcement for Magic: The Gathering up to October 21 from November 18. This was an awkward move because the last Banned and Restricted Announcement was released only a few days ago on October 7, and no changes were made to any of the formats. The date change is essentially a tip-off that there is a format imbalance that needs to be addressed soon, and a ban is coming that will likely alter the course of single card sales because the metagame will shift in reaction to which card or cards are banned.

There are a few possible targets for the next ban announcement. The most probable targets are Field of Dead and Golos, Tireless Pilgrim which are both part of the “Golos” Standard decks that had claimed seven of the top eight spots at the most recent Star City Games Team Open tournament. WotC generally acts upon data-driven analysis, and with Mythic Championship V decklist submissions rolling in, they could have decided that these two cards are so over-powered and format-warping that banning one or both them in Standard is necessary.

Overall, these potential bans are fairly positive news for retailers selling singles. Field of the Dead and Golos, Tireless Pilgrim are rares from Core Set 2020, a set that has already run its initial sales cycle over the Summer into Fall. A ban won’t affect that set’s product sales all that much, especially because players and collectors have already moved onto Throne of Eldraine. Also, should the “Golos” decks become defunct as a result of a ban, it will open up single sales for some of the more lagging Mythic rares and rares from Throne of Eldraine as the second tier decks will start filling in the power vacuum left by the ban.

Source: https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/44234/magic-the-gathering-banned-and-restricted-announcement-date-moved-up