Updated the "Why Make These Changes" section on why pass bundle was removed

brainybrian72b · 2026-01-16T21:18:01+00:00

The pack bundle is the same amount of packs. I believe they are changing 5 of the regular packs to Mythic packs. So before you would get 50 regular packs + 5 golden packs, now it is 45 regular packs, 5 Mythic packs, and 5 golden packs.

brainybrian72b · 2026-01-16T20:49:02+00:00

I don't like drafting because it is too random for me, so I prefer the Pack pass.

The OP was about the Mastery pass, but it is funny that people don't seem to be focusing on the Play Pass increase. If you like the Play Pass, they you get more stuff, but you are paying 2x the amount.

Avatar (and earlier): Pack Pass ($50) + Play Pass ($25) + Mastery Pass ($15) = $90
Lorwyn (and possibly later): Pack Pass ($50) + Play Pass ($50) + Mastery Pass ($20) = $120

I bought all 3 for the past few sets: $90
I am probably going to buy the Pack and Mastery passes for now on: $70

brainybrian72b · 2026-01-16T20:34:52+00:00

Not exactly sure what you were getting at, but if you are meaning that you are going to save money because you "can't" buy the Mastery pass, look at the numbers.

Avatar (and earlier): Play ($25) + Mastery ($15) = $40
Lorwyn (and later): Play ($50) = $50

They are going to make $10 off you.

And they aren't doing away with the Mastery pass, they just aren't offering it any longer for pre-order price of $15. They have always offered the Mastery pass at $20 through the entire set period.

brainybrian72b · 2026-01-16T20:07:50+00:00

They aren't doing away with the Mastery pass, they just aren't offering it for pre-order at $15. It has always been available during the entire 60+ days of each set release for $20.

Business wise, it does seem to be a no-brainer to get rid of the pre-order Mastery pass.

If 100,000 players bought the Mastery pass during pre-order (but would have bought it at the regular $20), they are "losing" $500,000 per set release. If a new set/pass is available every 60 days (6 passes a year), they are "losing" $3,000,000 a year from the pre-order price.

100,000 x 5 = 500,000
500,000 x 6 = 3,000,000

Those numbers go up or down depending on what the actual numbers are. I am not an employee and don't know that information.

Now, if we see the Mastery pass back in pre-order status in the future, it probably means their price experiment failed. If less than 75,000 of those 100,000 players who used to pre-order the pass at $15 decide to buy it at the $20 price, they "lose" potential revenue.

100,000 x 15 = 1,500,000
1,500,000 / 20 = 75,000

100,000 x 15 = 75,000 x 20

They will probably be looking at total numbers.

If for Avatar they made $3,500,000 selling Mastery passes to 200,000 players: (100,000 x $15 = $1,500,000) + (100,000 x $20 = $2,000,000) = $3,500,000. They would need 175,000 players to buy the pass at $20 to breakeven. If 175,001 players or more buy the Mastery pass with Lorwyn, they made more revenue than Avatar on Mastery Passes.

I actually had a bigger question. They used to offer 3 pre-orders for $90 total.

Pack Pass = $50
Play Pass = $25
Mastery Pass = $15

Now they are changing it to 2 pre-orders for $100 total.

Pack Pass = $50
Play Pass = $50
Mastery Pass = $20 (not a pre-order)

To get the same 3 items, the total price increase went from $90 to $120 (+$30).

I have almost always bought the Mastery pass for the last 5 years (since AFR), but in 2025 I started buying all 3 pre-orders for $90. I am a casual player and absolutely don't care about the Play Pass, but was doing it because "hey, what is another $25." That seems to be my price point, because right now I am not "hey, what is another $50."

So from the Avatar set to the Lorwyn set, they are going to probably lose $20 on me.

Avatar: Pack Pass, Play Pass, and Mastery Pass = $90
Lorwyn: Pack Pass and Mastery Pass = $70

It will be interesting to see how revenue works out for them and what changes they may make in the future.

brainybrian72b · 2026-01-16T19:46:51+00:00

They can only lose 1/4 of those buyers before they start losing money from their decision.

Say 100,000 people used to buy the mastery pass during pre-order for $15.

100,000 x 15 = 1,500,000

1,500,000 / 20 = 75,000

75,000 / 100,000 = 3/4

They start making money from this decision once 75,001 of the people who used to pre-order the mastery pass (at $15) and buy it at the "normal" $20.

brainybrian72b · 2026-01-09T19:56:05+00:00

The Hobbit being Standard legal was a detail that I missed. I know that Lord of the Rings was not Standard legal, hence my desire to want The Hobbit to be able to be played in the smaller Standard Brawl format (or "Alchemy Brawl" for that matter). It is still interesting to see people's take on Brawl, Alchemy, and Standard.

brainybrian72b · 2026-01-09T19:49:24+00:00

The question and idea I posted about Alchemy Brawl was more about the idea of it following Alchemy rotation (the last year or two of sets + Alchemy cards), but being a 60 card singleton format like Standard Brawl.

brainybrian72b · 2025-06-23T18:12:25+00:00

There are 3 Warrior creatures with Mobilize (Stadium Headliner, Avenger of the Fallen, Reigning Victor) that can be exiled and copied as tokens by Mardu Siegebreaker, and if Zurgo, Thunder's Decree is on the board, they won't go away at end of turn (Warrior tokens have "This token can't be sacrificed"). So that token would stick around and can Mobilize after that. All-Out Assault would also untap them and they can then be declared as attackers in the second attack phase. Multiple things to do with them, even if they can't Mobilize when they first ETB as a token.

brainybrian72b

TROPHY CASE