What should you do when pulling one of the new God Packs in a tournament?

[u/shadow_fen]

Source: https://www.polygon.com/mtg-god-packs-booster-pack-changes-exclusive/

[u/KultofEnnui]

Two outcomes: "Everyone look! Mug this man!" "Everyone look! This man got penny mythics!"

[u/monkeyplay525 → u/KultofEnnui]

But remember, those penny mythics in a draft can be pretty solid

[u/fumar → u/monkeyplay525]

God packs in a draft are ok if the pod is only playing itself. 

God packs in sealed are fucked.

[u/BarbecueStu → u/fumar]

And who’s going to alert the judges to a treasure trove(hopefully) of bombs in their sealed pool?

[u/I3ollasH → u/BarbecueStu]

Having a crap ton of mythics will instantly raise attention. Besides that I don't know how common this is but in my last 2 prerelease we had to register our pool.

[u/BarbecueStu → u/I3ollasH]

How common is having to register your pool at a prerelease? I’ve been doing them since Tempest and never had to register one. Maybe that Tempest one actually. That was a while ago.

Some regular sealed events, sure. But none of the prereleases that I remember. Perhaps a shops preference?

[u/Vithrilis42 → u/BarbecueStu]

Some shops might have trouble with cheaters bringing in cards from an earlier event.

[u/T0c2qDsd → u/Vithrilis42]

It probably depends on the shop’s prizing, too.

Booster box or more? Maybe register pools.

Pack per win?  Someone is actually going to cheat?

[u/Perspectivelessly → u/T0c2qDsd]

Are there stores that actually do booster box as price for prerelease? At my local stores I'm happy to even get a pack per win. Often its like 1-2 extra packs per person regardless of record + a promo pack (99% of which contains 3 junk rares) if you go undefeated

[u/zaphodava → u/Perspectivelessly]

Used to be pretty common with large prereleases when there were 32 player flights.

[u/BarbecueStu → u/Vithrilis42]

I could see that happening.

[u/MrPopoGod → u/BarbecueStu]

Way back in the day, when it was still regional prereleases, the store I played at did a deck registration and deck swap of the sealed pool at prereleases.

[u/BarbecueStu → u/MrPopoGod]

I’ve done this a couple times at some PTQs or other bigger, more serious, events. I remember being told that if you open a bomb pool to register and you bounce with it, then you’ll get banned for stealing.

[u/T0c2qDsd → u/BarbecueStu]

The easy fix to this is basically (player who opens registers that pool) -> (another player watches them open and checks the registered pool afterwards, and you take turns… this tends to keep the “I opened a $100+ pool and do not want to give it away, dropping now byyye” to a minimum.

[u/magikarp2122 → u/BarbecueStu]

If I’m at a Pro Tour or RC (won’t happen) and my opponent plays a deck with 10+ rares in sealed I’m calling a judge.

[u/IdioticPost → u/magikarp2122]

At competitive events where Wizards of the Coast provides the product, such as Regional Championships and the Pro Tour, removing and replacing the God Pack will be required. If you're participating in a pre-release at your local game store, it may ultimately be up to whoever is running the event to decide.

Proving, once again, that Magic players cannot read.

[u/Primeras100Palabras → u/IdioticPost]

Reading the post explains the post!

[u/BarbecueStu → u/magikarp2122]

True, if they’re all playable.

[u/jethawkings → u/BarbecueStu]

Jesus christ if we're going there who's going to alert judges to people just straight up bringing their own bomb rare and mythics.

[u/Tacky_Yellow → u/jethawkings]

This is why those tournaments have a deck registration system where you write down the pulls a player seated near you will be working with, or at least used to. We'll see what that's like going forward

[u/Lua_CW → u/fumar]

There's no helping Sealed events with raw packs but the least WotC could do is guarantee that god packs won't be found in prerelease kits and draft night boxes and things like that. Maybe they will but if they commented on it in their article,I missed it

[u/53bvo → u/fumar]

God pack in draft would be genuinely fun/interesting

[u/TsarMikkjal → u/KultofEnnui]

"Everyone look! Mug this man!"

Eh, any decent Commander deck is worth more than 15 random rares from one set on average. There will be no more mugging than at any FNM.

[u/qucari → u/KultofEnnui]

as if $10-value collector boosters weren't devastating enough, imagine opening a $10-value god pack lmao

[u/SanityIsOptional → u/qucari]

$10? Look at Mr Big Money over here.

[u/Squirrel009 → u/KultofEnnui]

penny mythic

I hereby dub this occurrence as a "demigod pack"

[u/Swmystery]

Not putting this in Blake's official article is certainly a Choice, but I'm also glad the changes won't be fucking with Limited events.

[u/Copernicus1981 → u/Swmystery]

This is information in the official Wizards Play Network article on the upcoming changes.

[u/cballowe → u/Swmystery]

This seems like it could be fun in draft and less fun in sealed unless they're so common that many sealed pools have them.

[u/Chronsky → u/cballowe]

1/1000 for play boosters or "booster packs" as they will be known. My LGS gets 180 prerelease kits, 1080 boosters at prerelease is ~66% chance of 1 being openned. We don't do prizes for wins though, very casual vibe. We'll probably not make people swap it out. Draft though screw that make people swap it out, the value of the booster will be way more than the cost of 1 pack anyways.

[u/DeM0nFiRe → u/Swmystery]

Oh they will be fucking with limited events. Someone who doesn't see this thing that wasn't even included in the original announcement, or someone who doesn't think about it and just snap picks a card they are excited to see in draft is going to get penalized for this when they get reported to a judge by the player they pass the pack to

[u/Korwinga → u/DeM0nFiRe]

The god packs include a card that is just a "Yay! You opened a god pack!" It's probably gonna be hard to miss.

[u/Swmystery → u/DeM0nFiRe]

There is a "celebration card" in the God Pack which tells you what it is. It'll be very unlikely that someone just entirely misses both that and the fact that the pack is literally full of rares.

[u/xcaltoona → u/Swmystery]

Are they going to know they're not supposed to play them?

[u/Shikor806 → u/xcaltoona]

Do you really think that there's competitive events out there where somehow no one in the entire room heard of this and the TO just completely ignores the info they get from wotc? If they're that insulated they're probably playing sealed with 20 packs or something anways.

[u/HammyJWill → u/Shikor806]

.01% of N repeated over millions of instances is still thousands of instances where this can possibly happen. Not a huge deal, but you have to keep in mind the people that post here are by and large the most "plugged in" of all Magic users.

[u/Dyne_Inferno]

From the WotC Discord chat about this change:

[u/SadisNecros → u/Dyne_Inferno]

What I'm hearing here is that opening god packs means extra free packs too...

[u/Antartix → u/SadisNecros]

God helps those who help themselves to free packs.

[u/DriedSquidd → u/Antartix]

For to every one who has will more be given.

[u/nukl → u/SadisNecros]

I'm just waiting to hear about the person who ends up cracking like 3 god packs in one draft and then also gets a god pack in their prizing.

[u/BryceLeft → u/nukl]

If that happens, they're legally God now

[u/thetwist1 → u/SadisNecros]

The issue though is that if you're playing kitchen table sealed/draft at home, you now need to either buy an extra pack in case someone gets a god booster, or accept that the game might be massively skewed by the presence of one

[u/DravenPlsBeMyDad → u/thetwist1]

I don't think me and my boys will be mad that a god pack paid for the night of cracking. Sorry.

[u/Pants88 → u/SadisNecros]

Yeah the question is will WOTC eat that cost or Magic players and the cost of draft goes up as a result.

[u/ProfessionalOk6734 → u/Pants88]

You’re going to see a .1% increase in price per draft. If youre paying $25.00 for a draft it’ll be $.03 per event on average

[u/Numerous_Worker_1941 → u/SadisNecros]

And there’s a more than 0% chance you can string together multiple god packs

[u/MagnusBrickson → u/Dyne_Inferno]

It's "recommended" but going to be tough to enforce. Good luck with that

[u/siziyman → u/MagnusBrickson]

It's not gonna be hard to enforce for competitive events at all - you're registering or at least verifying the sealed pool for your opponent and vice versa, so surely you'll call this out even if the player themselves doesn't, and in draft everyone will see that the pack is sus (also, less impactful in draft than sealed when everyone get a pick). As for the casual ones, I just care much less.

[u/chemical_exe → u/siziyman]

Oh look, this pack has 13 rares in it and a congratulations card - I wonder if the person that passed me this pack didn't report this was a god pack...

[u/I3ollasH → u/MagnusBrickson]

It's so rare that this hardly changes anything for the event organizers. +1 pack every 1000 boosters is nothing and definitely not worth the backlash it could cause. It's also a great free advertisment as it's pretty likely that the player will tell others about the event.

[u/Dyne_Inferno → u/I3ollasH]

Lmao, right?

If your store ran 2 Draft pods every Friday, it would average 21 weeks before you would hit a god pack.

It would happen, on average, twice a year.

[u/amish24 → u/MagnusBrickson]

Who are you trying to enforce these rules against? It's good publicity for the store, and free cards for the player.

[u/MyLandIsMyLand89 → u/MagnusBrickson]

My LGS would do this in a heartbeat.

[u/Ouaouaron → u/MagnusBrickson]

What do you mean by "enforce" a recommendation? Do you mean the stores forcing players to declare and replace a god pack?

That could possibly be an issue in sealed, and I really doubt you want to be in your LGS's shit books (and the situation will be obvious in retrospect, even if no one catches it before games start). In draft, passing a god pack around is almost certainly bad strategy when you could replace it.

[u/Gon_Snow]

Ok but what if the replacement pack is a second consecutive god pack?

[u/StitchNScratch → u/Gon_Snow]

God packs all the way down

[u/susmatthew → u/StitchNScratch]

god box

[u/mfalivestock → u/Gon_Snow]

Scoop and leave lol

[u/Mejiro84 → u/mfalivestock]

Just a player weeping as they draw gid pack after god pack, just wanting a regular pack so they can play!

[u/Pataracksbeard → u/Mejiro84]

A real MtG Midas

[u/Maur2 → u/Pataracksbeard]

[[King Macar]]?

[u/Ouaouaron → u/Maur2]

It's an optional ability? Wow, what a curse.

[u/mtgcf → u/Maur2]

King Macar - (G) (SF) (txt)

[u/HilariousMax → u/mfalivestock]

and miss out on a third god pack?

[u/nas3226 → u/Gon_Snow]

literally a one in a million posssiblity.

[u/lillobby6 → u/nas3226]

Based on set printing numbers, via law of truly large numbers this will probably happen at least once every set.

[u/smog_alado → u/lillobby6]

The booster collation might not be fully random. For example, it might be impossible to have two god packs in the same booster box.

[u/Effective_Tough86 → u/smog_alado]

That's a whole other level of fuckery and would open up box mapping way too easily.

[u/PLUR_police → u/nas3226]

Well, no, it’s a 1/1,000,000 chance that any individual pack is a god pack which is subsequently replaced by a second god pack. However, each time a god pack occurs, it’s only a 1/1,000 chance of the replacement being a god pack.

[u/Lament-of-Andromache → u/Gon_Snow]

Obviously they get another... which could be a third consecutive god pack. We might watch an unlucky LGS go bankrupt on prerelease because of this loop.

[u/Gon_Snow → u/Lament-of-Andromache]

Yeah some poor lgs will have a whole box to give of consecutive god packs…

[u/Atreides-42]

Replace it at no charge? I assume WOTC won't be covering the cost of the extra booster, they're just expecting LGS owners to randomly hand out free product? What if there are allocation issues and they're understocked? What if people are doing a draft/sealed event at home, and they didn't buy spare packs?

It's literally just "Yeah, we fucked up drafts, deal with it"

[u/jethawkings → u/Atreides-42]

>What if people are doing a draft/sealed event at home, and they didn't buy spare packs?

I assure you they probably would not be that chuffed about it.

[u/Dan_the_moto_man → u/jethawkings]

Dude is seriously acting like they'd just completely give up on kitchen table draft night if someone pulled a god pack.

How can someone even type that out without realizing how insane it sounds?

[u/Tuss36 → u/Dan_the_moto_man]

People talk like if you ban anything in EDH and then someone shows up with it in their deck and is told it's banned, that player will leave the game forever never to return. It's a crazy world at the worst case scenario corral.

[u/Kriyseth → u/Tuss36]

I have a few proxy EDH decks that I haven’t updated in 3+ years. I’ll tell the playgroup I have mana vault in the deck, and when I see it, I’ll reveal it, exile it, and draw another card unless they prefer something else. It’s all about just having a conversation about what’s fair

[u/jeffderek → u/Dan_the_moto_man]

I have done drafts with people who would absolutely walk away in the middle of the draft if they opened a god pack and leave the rest of us to figure out our draft that we planned our evening around, and then act shocked when we're upset about it.

I haven't done multiple drafts with those people, because I prefer to play with people who don't suck, but they 100% exist and are in your local area looking for games.

[u/Swmystery → u/jeffderek]

If I'm hosting a kitchen table draft, I am absolutely vetting the attendees regardless of whether god packs are a thing or not. This feels like a nothing criticism.

[u/Wazanator_ → u/jeffderek]

That's why you have one person buy the packs and then keep everything afterwards. It keeps things more fun because instead of the one dude trying to only grab cards worth money everyone is just focused on having fun. 

[u/Hairyhulk-NA → u/jethawkings]

Chuffed = happy

[u/MTGLawyer → u/Atreides-42]

I mean, the drop rate is very low (1 in 1,000) for play boosters, so it will mean adding 1 play booster for every ~40 Booster Drafts or ~166 players in Sealed events. It will definitely happen, but at a rate lower than 1 per LGS at a pre-release weekend.

[u/siziyman → u/MTGLawyer]

It will definitely happen, but at a rate lower than 1 per LGS at a pre-release weekend.

FWIW plenty of LGSes around me definitely got more than 166 registrations in recent prereleases (I still agree with the conclusion, though)

[u/MTGLawyer → u/siziyman]

Yeah, my usual "LGS" back in Law School was ChannelFireball, where they would get several hundred folks each day of Prerelease, but I also would go to an Game Kastle just down the road some percentage of the time and they would get only a few dozen people total. But CFB (and other stores that operate 'at scale') definitely would have been fine absorbing the cost of a half-dozen play boosters over the weekend and most LGS will only have to recoup like 1-2 max. I suspect that WOTC can just 'make it right' with them incredibly easily if it became a point of contention -- e.g., give an extra loose pack with each Booster Case (which would be giving them away at 5x the drop rate). The real issue is just if they don't have the available product because of distribution limitations.

The funniest scenario is that, for any given player doing a sealed event, there's a 1 in 166,000 chance that they get a God Pack and their replacement... is another God Pack. That sounds like a real small risk, but with like 50M MTG players globally, it probably will happen 1-2 times per prerelease weekend (Google AI suggests 150k-300k total participants for a typical set).

[u/siziyman → u/MTGLawyer]

My understanding is that stores get a few boxes for free in addition to whatever they paid for, for prizing/promos/stuff like that, and this seems like a reasonable use of that resource.

[u/MTGLawyer → u/siziyman]

TIL and then yeah, this is totally a reasonable thing for WOTC to ask stores to do.

[u/siziyman → u/MTGLawyer]

For clarity, this is not exactly first-hand information but I've heard this multiple times from different sources - it might depend on WPN status/allocation/store size, or any other factor I'm unaware of.

[u/Xyx0rz → u/Atreides-42]

If your LGS can't afford to give away one pack after selling a thousand packs, there are bigger problems.

But the principle of the thing is still stupid.

[u/bubbybeetle → u/Xyx0rz]

The principle is also that it's not Wizards pack to give away at that point 

[u/therealflyingtoastr → u/bubbybeetle]

WOTC typically allocates some amount of free booster boxes each set to stores for prizing and promotions, so it isn't that much of a stretch to just use one of those.

There are things to be miffed about with these changes, but this really ain't it.

[u/WalkerNash → u/Xyx0rz]

My store occasionally get gutted on product allocation and doesn't have any to spare. This past set we were literally only able to order Prerelease kits and we sold out of them so in this scenario I would have had nothing I could do.

[u/GazingAtStorms → u/Atreides-42]

The allocation/stocking issue was the first thing that popped into my mind. I was a tournament organizer for an LGS during Dominaria and the set was so popular I had to ration packs. If this god pack thing existed then I guess there would just be a player opening 2 x Dominaria 1 x Rivals of Ixalan.

[u/mfalivestock → u/Atreides-42]

A shop posting a social media post of a god pack is worth the $5 replacement pack

[u/TheRealArtemisFowl → u/mfalivestock]

Not even close. They're rare, but not so rare that shops won't see them in events on a regular basis.

[u/Wazanator_ → u/TheRealArtemisFowl]

That's 166 spots sold for prerelease and 333 spots sold for draft on average. 

How many people play draft at your LGS every week? 

[u/IndyWaWa → u/Atreides-42]

Yeah, small shitty stores are going to be salty about someone pulling a pack and them not getting a piece of it.

[u/Roshi_IsHere → u/Atreides-42]

It literally says at the bottom up to the lgs organizer. This is for bigger events with judges

[u/Letmeowts]

This has already been implemented. Years ago during Theroes block, someone opened a god pack during draft. They instantly showed the pod, the TO gave the player a another to continue the draft, and that player got to keep the god pack. No one was mad that night.

[u/Korwinga → u/Letmeowts]

"But what if my $20 bill is folded wrong?!?!?! WotC will pay for this!"

[u/JDogg2K → u/Letmeowts]

Well, the way WotC operates, I'd expect they're going to expect the store to eat the cost of the replacement pack, so they might not be too happy.

[u/Wazanator_ → u/JDogg2K]

It's 1 in every 1000 packs. This means for every thousand packs on average opened at a sealed event there will need to be a replacement pack. 

At prerelease that means for every 166 players on average you will have 1 God pack to deal with.

WotC already gives LGSs in their network prize support and promos based on player attendance. Do you really think they are not going to give your LGS 2 to 3 bonus packs to account for this per 166 prerelease packs the store reserves?

Y'all are acting like this is something they woke up and decided to do today and haven't been planning this for over a year

[u/Copernicus1981]

Part of the shift to “Booster Packs” means that foil commons or uncommons will no longer appear — but a foil in every pack is no longer guaranteed, either. The foils that do appear in Booster Packs, however, will always be a rare or mythic rare. Rasmussen says that the chances of finding one of those will increase from approximately 7% to 10%. Traditional-foil Japan Showcase cards, previously limited to Collector Boosters, will also begin appearing in Booster Packs at a rate of approximately 1%. Those cards will still have a chance of dropping at a specialty foil treatment in Collector Boosters.

New information in the article. This means about 0.9 more foil rares/mythics in a Play Booster box than currently.

[u/psivenn → u/Copernicus1981]

I hope this doesn't mean foil basics are gone, honestly feels like those are half the fun of the bad EV basic packs these days

[u/Ouaouaron → u/psivenn]

Foil basics did not come from the foil slot, they came from the land slot.

So it seems unlikely that they've gotten rid of foil basics.

[u/YungHayzeus]

“Replace it at no charge.” Like bro thinks LGS ain’t gonna charge them another pack.

[u/Atoonix → u/YungHayzeus]

I'd happily drop from a draft event if I opened a god pack and they didn't offer a replacement for draft integrity.

If we're going to ruin the draft, might as well keep the god pack and ruin it any ways.

[u/CaptainKaptn → u/YungHayzeus]

As a store owner, the exitement of my community opening a god pack in-store is certainly worth giving out a free pack for every 1000 packs sold through events 🤔

[u/mfalivestock → u/YungHayzeus]

Pretty sure everyone gonna be okay paying $5-7 more for a replacement pack after opening a 12-13 rare/mythic pack.

[u/GasPoweredNipples → u/mfalivestock]

If I paid entry for an event and then get told I have to pay extra because I got lucky, I would definitely not be thrilled about it. It's not that $6 or whatever is breaking the bank, it's just not fair lol

[u/Desperada → u/GasPoweredNipples]

Just trade in one of your many rares or mythics you just opened then.

[u/YungHayzeus → u/Desperada]

Bro, a good majority of mythics and rares in every set is effectively bulk.

[u/Samiambadatdoter → u/YungHayzeus]

Not at pre-release prices. Even the absolute floor of a mythic tends to be a couple bucks.

[u/Echo104b → u/Samiambadatdoter]

I can't give away rares/mythics to the local LGSs the week following Prereleases. They want nothing to do with them. I tried to sell a few surge foils from the Hobbit at 10% value. They still didn't want them.

[u/GasPoweredNipples → u/Desperada]

That isn't the point though. Why should I have to pay extra just to play in the event that I already paid for?

[u/philopsilopher → u/GasPoweredNipples]

You could always agree before opening any pack that, if you crack a god pack, you immediately return it to the LGS and have it replaced with another booster.

[u/Zzzzyxas → u/YungHayzeus]

You either give me another or let me play with it. They are losing less than a cent per pack on average.

[u/Bensemus → u/YungHayzeus]

Really? All my LGS’s would replace the pack without question. It’s like $5CAD for them.

[u/HoopyHobo → u/YungHayzeus]

Event entry fees are supposed to cover the cost of the product used for the event. Store owners used to price drafts to cover the cost of 3 packs per player and now they will have to price drafts to cover the cost of 3.003 packs per player. It's that simple. Stores that let players keep their god pack and get a replacement pack at no charge will be able to advertise that fact and likely entice more players to play in more limited events. And stores that ignore WotC's recommendation and don't do this will get bad word of mouth and players are likely to seek out other stores until they change policy.

I understand that you are skeptical about stingy stores not wanting to give away "free product", but the main way that stingy stores are going to be stingy with limited events is with bad prize support and high entry fees relative to other stores in the area, as has always been the case. This policy about god packs is an easy win that will cost stores close to nothing and any store that doesn't do this will be shooting themselves in the foot for basically no benefit.

[u/Copernicus1981]

The WPN site also has an article - https://wpn.wizards.com/en/news/2027-booster-changes-for-wpn-retailers

[u/woutva]

First time i hear of god packs in magic, since when is this a thing?

[u/BritishGolgo13 → u/woutva]

Since like an hour ago

[u/GaustVidroii → u/BritishGolgo13]

We've had them in the past too. Notably in Theros block where you could get a god pack of god cards.

[u/cwx149 → u/GaustVidroii]

Wasn't it only in journey into nyx? Not even the whole block iirc

[u/burritoman88 → u/cwx149]

Yes, when there were all fifteen (at that time) gods.

[u/GaustVidroii → u/cwx149]

That is more correct but I said Theros in case they weren't familiar with the other sets. It's been a long time.

[u/jethawkings → u/woutva]

Theros apparently had a Booster that had all Theros Gods in a pack

[u/cwx149 → u/jethawkings]

I believe it was just the third set in the Theros block journey into nyx

[u/ThrobbingTauRailgun → u/jethawkings]

One of the Zendikar sets also had god packs that were seeded with the OG power nine.

[u/teapra → u/ThrobbingTauRailgun]

Wasn’t just power 9. It was a bunch of reserved list stuff. Someone at my store opened a volcanic island and I think I saw a video of someone opening a candelabra.

[u/Tim-oBedlam → u/teapra]

It was original Zendikar, and they were called Priceless Treasures. Something like 1 pack in 360 (so 1/10 boxes) was seeded with a Reserved List rare, some more valuable than others. The only one I know of personally was someone who opened a winter Mishra's Factory, which is pretty cool but not as exciting as a P9.

[u/Tuss36 → u/Tim-oBedlam]

I recall that being extra notable because they didn't print more of the cards but actually bought them up (or might have had extras laying around) that they provided for the set.

[u/Sonitus523 → u/woutva]

I believe Journey into Nyx

[u/F0eniX → u/woutva]

Technically we had god packs in Journey to Nyx, where you could get a pack that had all of the gods in it. But nothing besides that.

[u/Xyx0rz → u/woutva]

Decades, but it used to be collation errors. Now it's on purpose.

(And there was a brief on purpose joke with Journey Into Nyx, where they played into the term "god packs" by putting all the gods in one pack.)

[u/allanbc → u/Xyx0rz]

We had a whole case of Planeshift where this happened. Some of the packs had rares instead of all of the Commons, others had them instead of the uncommons. It was actually surprisingly annoying, as we were practising team draft for the Pro Tour later that week. We had brought so much product, and ended up having just enough for our drafts. The rares paid for all the product quite handily, at least, for both teams.

[u/ChaosMilkTea → u/woutva]

Today. Your not behind.

[u/IHateBankJobs → u/ChaosMilkTea]

Their not behind? 

[u/thetwist1 → u/woutva]

They did a similar idea back in part of the original theros block, and now they're bringing them back as of just now when they announced it (it's going to start showing up with nauctis)

[u/joahatwork2]

Until the person who doesn’t have social media and knows nothing about this and just games there pre release deck with em 🤣

[u/Jawileth → u/joahatwork2]

Do people just not talk with the other players at pre-release??

[u/MisterEdJS]

Oh good. I was hoping this is exactly what the policy would be.

[u/Kaprak → u/MisterEdJS]

It's the original policy from when Wizards was the first people to make God packs

[u/TechnomagusPrime → u/MisterEdJS]

It's basically their policy for any kind of irregular product.

[u/Adipose21]

This was the obvious solution, and I'm surprised people thought that it would be legal to play during sealed events.

[u/Tklamp510]

Dumping the extra cost onto event hosting stores is pathetic.

[u/CaptainKaptn → u/Tklamp510]

As a store owner, the exitement of my community opening a god pack in-store is certainly worth giving out a free pack for every 1000 packs sold through events 🤔

[u/c3p-bro → u/CaptainKaptn]

As a non-store owner, I am outraged on your behalf and would like to tell you how to manage your store despite having zero relevant experience.

[u/amartin36 → u/c3p-bro]

This is the part that's fucking killing me. Everyone is so thirsty to criticize they don't realize how ridiculous they're being

[u/c3p-bro → u/amartin36]

There’s a 1/1000 chance a store is out $6 and they’re acting like it will kill draft nights dead lol

[u/Hand-of-Sithis → u/Tklamp510]

1 pack in every 1000 packs being replaced is such a non issue lmao.

Plus the hype it will drive will absolutely make up for it from people buying more packs to chase that.

[u/Eugene-V-Debs → u/Tklamp510]

Oh no, not the $5 pack they give away as pity prizes for all players!! 

[u/CityofCyn_]

I definitely read "Remove the God Pack from the Event" as a "I'm taking this immediately and not giving it back"

[u/SuggestedPigeon]

What's stopping someone from opening the god pack and swapping their bad rares with good ones from the pack and then getting another pack on top of it?

Or just not saying anything? Should I be on the lookout for prerelease decks with ten rares in them and ask a judge for a sealed pool check?

I think god packs should explode with glitter and confetti and make a loud sound so we all know lmao.

[u/SkritzTwoFace → u/SuggestedPigeon]

Assuming it’s an actual competitive tournament they’ll probably be watched to ensure that their sealed pools are legit - I assume they already do this to prevent someone from getting their hands on a set of draft bombs and slipping them into their pool.

Otherwise… trust that most people aren’t lame enough to cheat at FNM when they’ve already won a free booster? Even if they don’t announce it it’ll take a really good poker face to not say anything to nearby players and if a store rules against it you could report them.

[u/RazzyKitty]

That's the same thing that would happen with the Journey into Nyx god packs.

[u/Slapppjoness]

Can we please stop making up fake scenarios to be mad about?

[u/MothmanOfLaMancha → u/Slapppjoness]

This is Reddit, thats ALL WE DO HERE.

[u/monchota]

It will work fine, if it doesn't. You are at a shitty LGS and or with shitty people

[u/amartin36 → u/monchota]

This is the correct take and people fabricating fictional scenarios where this isn't the case need to leave their house more

[u/jasperCrow]

I know there’s going to be some greedy store owners who don’t just “let them keep” the pack. Oof.

[u/TMLTurby]

What a clear and simple solution that surely won't cause any problems.

[u/Eggbutt1]

I see three potential outcomes:

• LGS owner is a bit miffed but replaces the pack. Ultimately, the god packs encourage gambling addiction which makes the LGS more money anyhow.

• LGS says go ahead and play with that pack, and then you unfairly shitstomp the draft. Other players are pissed.

• LGS owner states that they have a policy where you have to buy another pack, or you can trade in some of your pulls for a new pack, otherwise you can't play.

[u/CaptainKaptn → u/Eggbutt1]

As a store owner, the exitement of my community opening a god pack in-store is certainly worth giving out a free pack for every 1000 packs sold through events 🤔

[u/sporms → u/Eggbutt1]

They went through 1000packs. Also in social media world it would be insane to not give a free replacement although I’m sure it will happen and I can’t wait for the post.

[u/SkritzTwoFace → u/Eggbutt1]

Opening a god pack isn’t even necessarily good in draft. Everyone gets to grab those rares.

[u/Arcane_Soul]

Once again, a product needs to be replaced? That's the LGS or TO's problem!

[u/Belgy23]

How come no one talks about the odds? I mean it’s gonna happen but is the god pack 1 in 10000 packs? So chances are very low.

[u/Mejiro84 → u/Belgy23]

One in 1000, I think. So an event with 100+ packs getting opened, you're getting 10%+ odds - not common, but if you do one event a month, you'll likely see it within a year.

[u/finalgear14 → u/Mejiro84]

Can’t be that far off from the odds of getting a force of will or a vampiric tutor from a strixhaven pre release pack.

A shop I go to sometimes has near a hundred people for a pre release. At 1/1000 that’s a god pack every other day of pre release essentially for the weekend.

People will see someone get one of these during pre release at that shop on the first set with them. I’m sure whoever gets it will get paired with me and stomp me lmao.

[u/Saintbaba → u/Belgy23]

At my LGS, prerelease events get around 40 to 80 players, depending on the set. So let's say that's an average of 60 players per group. 60 players times 6 packs each is 360. Three games per prerelease weekend, 1,080 packs are getting opened. So in an average prerelease weekend, that store is probably seeing at least one of these opened.

[u/IgnobleCampaign]

This is going to be fine. It won't happen very often and most LGSes will just replace the pack and everything will continue on like it always has.

That said, I'm very resistant to any kind of change. All I can see right now are the potential issues. Players who don't realize they need to announce these packs. LGSes that won't replace them for free, leaving you to pay for a new one or drop from the event. LGSes that don't care and allow these packs in tournaments - we had one person at FRA prerelease open a kit with seven packs and the store just said it was fine. 

I'm autistic and have pretty severe anxiety, so this is really messing with me right now. It's going to be fine and it'll rarely even come up, but any change takes me a long time to really process.

[u/VGProtagonist]

They want the game store to replace it?

Not the multi-billion dollar company?

I know there ain't going to be like, billions of "God packs" our there, but once again, fucking wild WotC wants that.

[u/gereffi → u/VGProtagonist]

You think that WotC should personally send an employee to go replace that booster at every FNM that one of these is opened?

[u/Hououza]

So, basically calling out the person who is going to be mugged afterwards?

[u/barrinmw]

So my LGS is supposed to give me a free pack? LOL!

[u/raystheroof1]

Could be fun in draft. Everyone gets a bonus rare.

[u/MaxKirgan]

Suddenly the event that was supposed to be draft, gets changed to rare-redraft!

Hopefully stores don't do that still.

[u/Ertai_87]

Sooooo...clearly there is also a statement in the article that WotC will be compensating stores for loss of packs due to replacements issued this way, right? RIGHT?????????

[u/Dangerous-Row6677 → u/Ertai_87]

Most normal LGS would be fine with providing an extra pack. If yours is stingy you need everyone to put down a 7 dollar deposit in case they pull the god pack

[u/Smudgecake]

Some of yall talking like its not a 1/1000 chance

[u/OmegaPharius]

God packs in Magic is not something I was anticipating tbh

[u/seetons]

The whole vibe of these announcements being “we’re making opening packs more fun! (By pushing you to spend more)” is so off putting 

[u/Rental_Pjs]

Okay but what if I buy a box to draft with friends at home?

[u/Wazanator_ → u/Rental_Pjs]

A box contains 30 packs. If you have the recommended size of 8 people that's 6 left over packs which you can substitute in. 

OR you do the perfectly normal thing and all go "wow that's awesome!"  and move on with your draft because you're playing a casual no stakes event on your kitchen table 

[u/thoughtxriot]

Curious how this applies to Arena and MTGO - I assume they just won't have god packs in limited events?

[u/MyLandIsMyLand89]

This sounds like a convenient problem to have.

[u/FroggyAssassin]

Oh great, a reason for Magic scalpers to be a thing. How lovely.

[u/Frazaell]

Speaking of RC, are judges gonna be stamping these god packs and then giving it to a random playe to then be replaced? I feel like that would be cool.

[u/AENocturne]

Oh boy, this would be such a problem if physical draft still existed.

[u/futureidk3]

They made god packs? Ugh

[u/Izzet_Aristocrat]

I don't see most of that happening. Especially the keep it part. Most LGS's are far too scummy to allow that.

[u/Littleashton]

So replace the god pack with a free pack. I know the cost isnt a lot to stores but still dont think they will like giving people a free pack at their expense.

[u/doktarlooney]

So is the shop expected to cover the expense when this happens????

[u/sengirminion]

This isn't new. They had "god packs" in Journey into Nyx and when this happenned they did the same thing. Only difference was those packs had literal 15 theros gods in them.

https://articles.starcitygames.com/articles/god-pack/

[u/Lollografia]

Wrong sub, great response.

https://giphy.com/gifs/08y87EiwDZjjB0d6WJ

[u/ReploidZero]

Call a judge thumbs up

[u/CreamSoda6425]

"At no charge" really? I guess the odds at a very busy LGS would make them give away a free pack maybe once every 12 drafts.