The Commander Rules Committee (RC) updated their banned list for Magic: The Gathering’s Commander/EDH format on September 13.
In the update, the Commander RC banned Golos, Tireless Pilgrim from the Commander/EDH format. Golos was released in Core Set 2020 in 2019, and had actually previously been a problem card for the Standard format alongside Field of the Dead (see “Announcement’ Date Moved Up“). The RC gave the following reason for finally banning Golos in EDH:
“Its presence crushes the kind of diversity in commander choice which we want to promote. You can drop in Golos and a few 5-color lands into a random deck and get all the ramp and card advantage you would ever want from a commander, with no worries about your mana base. Golos’ ability effectively reduces the commander tax to one and once you hit seven mana…“
The Commander RC also made a decision to unban Worldfire, a mythic rare from Magic Core Set 2013. This card was previously banned because of problems it created an unfair advantage for the caster who could float mana and cast their commander after Worldfire resolved. It was unbanned because the 2021 Commander environment features cheaper ways, mana-wise, of producing a similar effects.
Given the rapidly changing pandemic situation nationally and in Indianapolis, we reached out to Gen Con with questions about how Covid safety is being handled at Gen Con Indy, which opens Thursday. For context, Marion County, where Gen Indy is being held, has high rates of Covid transmission (522 new weekly cases per 100,000 population) and a high positivity rate (11.67%), according to the state of Indiana’s website. Around 47% of county residents are vaccinated, below the national average of 55%.
Why didn’t Gen Con institute a vaccination requirement, or a vaccination or negative test requirement, for attendees? Throughout the pandemic we have been working closely with public-health officials in Indianapolis and following their guidance. Due to the nature of our production schedule and sales cycle we had to make a decision on a proof of vaccination or negative test requirement very early in the summer. At the time, there were very few precedents for proof of vaccination at large public events. We are very supportive of vaccination and our internal polling indicates that over 90% of our attendees are vaccinated.
Who is responsible for enforcing Gen Con’s mask rule and other special precautions at the show, and how many of those people will there be? Gen Con convention staff will enforce our mask rules, as they enforce all other rules of the convention.
How will those responsible handle people who refuse to properly mask? We will take all necessary action to assure compliance with our rules, including removing non-compliant individuals from the convention center.
What safety measures will be taken to ensure social distancing while waiting in line at ticket windows, to get into the exhibit hall (especially at opening on the first day), and at booths at the show? We are taking steps to mitigate crowding where possible, including moving opening ceremonies away from the exhibit hall opening, extra spacing at gaming tables in event areas, and other steps. We have signs throughout the convention center encouraging social distancing.
At one point, Gen Con was going to offer wristbands to attendees with proof of vaccination. Is that still the case (even though there’s no impact on masking, it could help attendees identify those with whom they want to game)? We have chosen universal masking as the most effective safety measure we can implement at this time.
Will masks be required on the bridges to the convention center? No. We recommend attendees use street entrances to the convention center.
Has Gen Con negotiated with their hotel partners to require masks in common areas such as lobbies and elevators? We are working closely with Visit Indy and our hotel partners to encourage mask wearing in all hotel common areas; however, each hotel will implement their own policies. Gen Con rules will be enforced in all Gen Con-controlled hotel spaces.
What support has the City of Indianapolis offered Gen Con to help with COVID-19 safety protocols? The city has been very proactive in connecting us with Marion County Public Health and other resources to ensure that Gen Con is operated as safely as possible under the circumstances, and to encourage safety policies in those areas of the city outside of our direct control.
Winner’s Art will be Featured on an Upcoming ‘Pokemon TCG’ Promo Card
The Pokemon Company International and Creatures Inc. announced the Pokemon Trading Card Game Illustration Contest 2022. This is the first time this contest has been offered in the U.S.
The Pokemon Trading Card Game Illustration Contest 2022 is a fan artwork contest that gives Trainers from the U.S. and Japan a chance to have their talents featured in an upcoming promo card for Pokemon TCG. Trainers’ submissions will feature a “the daily life of Pokemon” theme and include a rendition of one of the following Pokemon as focal point: Bulbasaur, Charizard, Pikachu, Arcanine, Galarian Rapidash, Scizor, Greninja, or Cramorant. The Grand Prize winner gets $5000 in addition to their illustration showcased on a promo card.
Entries will be accepted starting October 13, 2021 and end January 31, 2022. Winners will be announced over the summer. For full details, see the Pokemon TCG or Creatures Inc. websites.
With the upcoming release of the full line of the My Hero Academia Collectible Card Game inching closer, let’s take a look at the first introductory product, the 2-Player Rival Decks, featuring Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo!
Izuku Midoriya is the chosen successor of his idol All Might, the world’s Number 1 Hero, who passed his Quirk “One for All” to the quirkless Midoriya by letting him eat a strand of hair. After training hard with All Might to condition his body to handle his inherited ability, Midoriya joined U.A. High where he began to grow and take his first steps as a Hero. Midoriya’s gifted Quirk, when used at full power, allows him to unleash an incredibly devastating burst of strength. As the intensity of One for All is damaging to his own body, Midoriya prepares for this by using his advanced analytical skills prior to confronting his opponents. Clever players will be able to utilize One for All at just the right time to ensure Midoriya is victorious!
Katsuki Bakugo is determined and driven to be the Number 1 Hero! Bakugo’s Quirk, Explosion, allows him to ignite his explosive sweat on command, granting him incredible offensive might. Bakugo is always on the attack, as the more he exerts himself, the more he sweats, granting him even more powerful explosive abilities. While playing as Bakugo, players will unleash a continuous barrage of strikes, overwhelming their opponents with explosive power!
This Rival box contains two 51-card Rival decks and 2 random Ultra Rare cards from the My Hero Academia Collectible Card Game (104 cards total!) Use these decks as a building block in your training and take another step towards becoming the ultimate UniVersus Fighter!
Right out of the box, you and a rival can battle it out to see who will gain the upper hand and claim victory! Don’t miss out on this great item to start your epic journey into the My Hero Academia Collectible Card Game, releasing summer 2021!
Despite the many challenges of doing business during a global pandemic, hobby game sales in the U.S. and Canada grew 21% to $2.035 billion in 2020, up from $1.675 billion in 2019. Every category of games was up, fueled by stay-at-home orders that limited entertainment options. Collectible games contributed the biggest portion of the dollar growth, and RPGs the highest percentage growth.
Results by channel were mixed, with the hobby channel (especially its online portions), Kickstarter, mass merchants, and large online retailers all up, and specialty retail chains down.
Collectible games went into 2020 with good momentum; the category grew 19% in 2019. But 2020’s 24% growth eclipsed that rate, and it could have been higher if printing plants had been able to keep up with demand.
Games Workshop shut down completely for a period early in Covid and never caught up with demand, suppressing the non-collectible miniatures growth rate below what it could have been, but the category still grew 17% to $415 million.
Hobby board games had shown signs of maturing in 2019, but that was quickly reversed as board games emerged as one of the few activities that could be done by small household groups during a pandemic. The category grew 19% to $435 million.
The hobby card and dice game category was on a negative trend in 2019, but driven by the same Covid factors that affected board game sales, turned around in 2020, growing 19% to $155 million.
RPG sales grew rapidly in 2019, up 23%, but even faster in 2020, up 31% and breaking $100 million for the first time, at an estimated $105 million.
We define “hobby games” as those games produced for a “gamer” market, generally (although not always) sold primarily in the hobby channel of game and card specialty stores. We define the “hobby games market” as the market for those games regardless of whether they’re sold in the hobby channel or other channels. Our estimates include sales in the U.S. and Canada.
The total hobby games market estimate is derived from estimates for five individual categories: collectible games (which include Trading/Collectible Card Games, Collectible Miniatures Games, and Collectible Dice Games), miniatures (non-collectible), board games, card and dice games, and roleplaying games.
Our primary means of collecting data about hobby games sales is interviews with key industry figures with good visibility to sales in various categories and channels. We also review data released by publicly traded companies, publicly available NPD data, and Kickstarter data and analysis, especially that released by ICO Partners. There were no major changes in methodology for 2020.
Z-Man Games and Blizzard Entertainment offered up more details on World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King – A Pandemic System Board Game, which is set to release in November.
This game was originally teased back in early July (see “‘World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King’“). In Wrath of the Lich King, players venture into the frozen tundra of Northrend to battle the armies of the Lich King. It runs on the Pandemic System, which offers familiar gameplay to players who are acquainted with the Pandemic games, while adding the flavor of the Wrath of the Lich King world.
Players take on the roles of legendary heroes such as Thrall, Warchief of the Horde; Varian Wrynn, King of Stormwind; Sylvanas Windrunner, Banshee Queen of the Forsaken; and others to fight against the ever-growing undead scourge that progressively populates the game board. The goal of the game is to complete three quests while holding off the undead horde. The three quests, once complete, lead to a final quest which is an assault on the Icecrown Citadel. Once inside, they will have a final showdown with the Lich King himself to win the game.
The game box comes with 7 hero miniatures, a Lich King miniature, 3 abominations, 36 ghouls, an Icecrown Citadel, 3 strongholds, 100+ cards, and more. This game is for one to five players, ages 14 and up, and plays in 45 to 60 minutes. It will retail for $59.99.
Sales in Hasbro’s newly created Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment more than doubled in Q2 2021, behind record sales on two Magic: The Gathering products. Sales in the segment were $406.3 million in Q2 2021, up 118% over $186.7 million in Q2 2020. The increase was attributed to two record products, Strixhaven and Modern Horizons 2, released in the quarter, along with growth in digital games including a better-than-expected launch of Magic Arena on mobile. Dungeons & Dragons also grew, although Dark Alliance, the latest video game release, did not meet expectations, the company said.
Profits in the segment were also robust, up 160% from $74.1 million in Q2 2020 to $192.9 million in Q2 2021.
Hasbro’s total gaming sales, which includes franchise brands Magic: The Gathering and Monopoly along with all of its other game products, were up 63% in the quarter, meaning that the Wizards of the Coast growth rate was faster than the rest of the company’s games. Monopoly sales were down in comparison to a Covid-fueled Q2 last year.
Overall Hasbro sales were up 54% to $1,322.2 million vs. $860.3 million in Q2 2020 and up 9% vs. pro-forma 2019. That puts sales of the Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment at 31% of Hasbro’s total in Q2, up from 22% of sales in Q1 (see “WotC Segment 75% of Hasbro Profits in Q1“).
All of the company’s segments showed operating profits except Entertainment, which took a $109.1 million hit on the sale of eOne’s music division, primarily in a writedown of the value of the asset. Hasbro showed an overall loss of $22.9 million for the quarter, an improvement over the $33.9 million loss in Q2 2020.
Looking ahead to the second half of the year, the company emphasized that Q2 was expected to be the biggest quarter for the Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment in 2021, with two Magic: The Gathering releases in Q3 and one in Q4, less than the 2020 pace. Players returning to game stores is helping to boost backlist sales of Magic, but supply constraints due to manufacturing limitations are a limiting factor.
Input costs and freight costs are up substantially, with ocean freight up by a factor of four vs. a year ago, the company said, but price increases are expected to allow it to maintain margins.
Hasbro confirmed its guidance for overall double-digit revenue growth for the full year.
Hitting shelves this Fall on October 1, 2021, Battles of Legend 2021 (MSRP: $3.99 per pack) is an all-foil booster set that introduces never-before-released cards from the first 6 Yu-Gi-Oh! animated series into the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME! With nearly 60 new cards in all as well as more than 30 returning cards, each 5-card pack of Battles of Legend 2021 contains 4 Ultra Rares and 1 Secret Rare.
Arriving November 19, 2021, Hidden Arsenal: Chapter 1 (MSRP: $14.99 per set) allows Duelists to obtain historic cards from the first four Hidden Arsenal sets like they’ve never been seen before and learn the stories behind them in this epic collection! Each Hidden Arsenal: Chapter 1 box contains a total of: 1 Secret Rare 6 Ultra Rares (2 standard Ultra Rares, 4 colorful Ultra Rares) 30 Commons 1 Hidden Arsenal Storyline Insert with Game Mat 1 Special Collectible Dice
Brothers of Legend enters the fray this Fall! Multiply your fun with this all-foil booster set that introduces never-before-released cards from the first 6 Yu-Gi-Oh! animated series into the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME.
Brothers of Legend features cards from Yugi, Zane Truesdale, Syrus Truesdale, Sherry Leblanc, Yuma, and more! Here is a quick look at what Duelists can expect:
· Yugi’s Kuriboh Brothers are finally here! Kuribabylon and Five Star Twilight allow you to fill your field with “Kuriboh” monsters. Need an easy-to-Summon Level 5 monster to Tribute for Five Star Twilight? Joker’s Knight from King’s Court is a great fit!
· Duelists who built or updated their Utopia Deck with the cards from Lightning Overdrive and King’s Court will be thrilled to find even more cards to power up their Deck, including a new form of Utopia Ray and new cards to equip it with!
· More of Sherry LeBlanc’s cards from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s make the jump from the screen to your Deck! Combine them with the “Fleur” cards from Legendary Duelists: Synchro Storm to maximize their potential.
· Empower your @Ignister Deck with brand-new cards that Special Summon monsters and help you dominate the field. If you haven’t tried this strategy yet, many of its basic cards will be available in the 2021 Tin of Ancient Battles Mega-Packs!
Brothers of Legend has nearly 60 new cards in all as well as more than 30 returning cards, including another chance to obtain the tournament mainstay, Forbidden Droplet!
Each 5-card pack contains 4 Ultra Rares and 1 Secret Rare.
Arriving December 3, 2021, The Grand Creators (MSRP: $3.99 per pack) is bringing forth 3 new strategies into existence and featuring a brand-new, World Premiere Spell Card for Inzektors, the winner of the 2020 Create-A-Card Project which was selected by the Yu-Gi-Oh! community! In addition, 15 more cards, a mix of old and new cards, will become Collector’s Rares in this 60-card booster set.
The Grand Creators booster set contains a total of:
10 Ultra Rares 15 Super Rares 35 Rares *15 cards in the set are also available as Collector’s Rares
Plus, each Grand Creators booster pack contains 7 cards, including:
1 Foil card per pack 6 Rare cards per pack
The Grand Creators wills 3 new strategies into existence and features a brand-new, World Premiere Spell Card for Inzektors, the winner of the 2020 Create-A-Card Project, selected by the Yu-Gi-Oh! community! In addition, 15 more cards, a mix of old and new cards, will become Collector’s Rares in this 60-card booster set.
Here’s a hint of what you can expect from each theme!
• Art that comes alive! These monsters pour their blood and sweat into their craft to create their masterpieces. Use as many Level 3 Psychic monsters in your Deck as you can to maximize the destructive potential of their Level 11 Synchro Monster. • A Dutiful Xyz Monster who saves souls! A theme with an Xyz Monster that repels evil. • An exciting adventure awaits you! Gather your fellowship and become the hero of your own Duel!
The Grand Creators will also contain the card created as a result of the 2020 Create-A-Card Project, a powerful Spell Card that will enhance “Inzektor” Decks and strategies to a whole new level! Make sure your Inzektor Deck is sleeved up and ready to go!
Inzektors were chosen by the fans through a series of single-elimination polls, emerging victorious out of the 16 themes that were part of the project. Fans were tasked with choosing which theme should receive a World Premiere card in a 2021 product, as well as what card type it should be, and what kind of product it should be released in. They chose an Inzektor Spell Card to be released in one of 2021’s 60-card booster sets, and fittingly, The Grand Creators is the stage this new card will debut on.
The Grand Creators booster set contains 60-cards: 10 Ultra Rares 15 Super Rares 35 Rares *15 cards in the set are also available as Collector’s Rares
Each booster pack contains 7 cards: 1 Foil card per pack 6 Rare cards per pack *Set content subject to change
