Mark Rosewater discusses The Reserved List!!!

[LotusHead]

Mark Rosewater's Article this week

    Dochetwas   @maro254 Has there been any real consideration in Wizards for abolishing the reprint list, either partially or in full?

I've talked about this before but it's an important enough point to make again. The reserve list (the list that tells us what cards we can never reprint, for those who don't know) was created long ago by people who no longer work at Wizards. It was done to help ease concerns of our player base at the time. The majority of current R&D feels that the reprint list isn't fulfilling the function it was created for (and at times seems to actually counteract it), but, and this is the important sticking point, we've learned through market research that the majority of our audience feels it's important for Wizards of the Coast, as a company, to keep its word. So we're stuck between a rock and a hard place. We want to do what is best for the game and our players and we want to keep the confidence of our consumers. If anyone has a solution to this Gordian knot, please let me know.

I Mark's latest column of Twitter Questions, this one popped up.

TMD has talked a lot about the implication of  Proxy Metagames vs Sanctioned Metagames as it pertains to Vintage.  

Different sides of the ocean have completely different opinions on it (and different results).  

Having Wizards/DCI allow proxies in a "Sanctioned" environment has been discussed, but the fact that Wizards can't really ever acknowledge proxies dismisses that concept almost by default.

Is Mark trying to find a way around this? Is he asking for our help?  

Discuss!

EDIT: Just finished reading the rest of his article.

Whew! I answered a few more question than I thought I was going to when I started this. I hope today has proved insightful, and as always I am eager to hear what all of you have to say, be it in the thread to this column (which I always read), my email (which I also always read) or on my Twitter feed (yep, I read that too). In short, it is my job to know what all of you want and don't want. You have the ear of Magic's Head Designer. If you want your voice heard, you merely have to use it. Write me (or tweet me) and let me know.

[Tha Gunslinga]

What I find interesting is that he refers to it as a "Gordian Knot."  The solution to the Gordian Knot was to cut it.
A similar solution to the Reserved List would be to abolish it.

[Apollyon]

What I find interesting is that he refers to it as a "Gordian Knot."  The solution to the Gordian Knot was to cut it.
A similar solution to the Reserved List would be to abolish it.

The problem with abolishing it is that Wizards will then be breaking their word. They promised not to reprint certain cards to keep the secondary market alive. Stores were extremely upset with how Chronicles reprinted cards that were previously money in a form that was significantly cheaper (Elder Dragons, City of Brass, etc.)

The easiest answer to "we won't reprint stuff in a new set, but we want to reprint some of it" is release a promo box, similar to From the Vault: Dragons. If they feel that some of the cards would make Standard better, make the box Standard-legal.

I'm not sure how many old cards would really make Standard better, to be honest. Large quantities of cards before Invasion block were either overpowered or garbage. There were very few "fair" cards, compared to now.

Take Legends, for example. How many of the cards are playable? Moat, Tabernacle, Pendlehaven, Mana Drain, The Abyss. Mana Drain is format-distorting. Moat is playable, but I'm not sure if it's really an effect that Wizards likes, due to the fact that it can completely shut down black, red, and green decks (not everyone plays MD Naturalize). The rest of the set is 7 mana vanilla Legendary 4/4s and other marginally useful cards.

[Smmenen]

Mana Drain is not on the reserved list.   

[Apollyon]

And will probably never be reprinted, except as some kind of promo (Judge foil, From the Vault, GP t8).

[Troy_Costisick]

The Reserve List is the most sensless thing I have ever seen from a business perspective.  Limiting the use of your own intelectual property is patently absurd.  Their job is to sell packs.  Anything that stands in the way with that needs to be eliminated.

[Godder]

The Reserve List is the most sensless thing I have ever seen from a business perspective.  Limiting the use of your own intelectual property is patently absurd.  Their job is to sell packs.  Anything that stands in the way with that needs to be eliminated.

At the time they created it, it did help them sell more packs, because it allowed collectors to have some faith that their investment would not be seriously devalued again, so they could safely buy cases to accumulate sets.

That said, my feeling is that the Reserve List shouldn't really apply to "newer" sets (I started playing again when Masques came out), which to me was anything legal in Extended when I came back, so Ice Age onwards. That would open up a lot of space while still leaving the truly old cards to continue to collect dust.

Edit: I note, incidentally, that it's obvious that WotC largely agree with Troy now, and would dearly like to get rid of the Reserve List, hence the plea for help.

[zimagic]

The easiest answer to "we won't reprint stuff in a new set, but we want to reprint some of it" is release a promo box, similar to From the Vault: Dragons. If they feel that some of the cards would make Standard better, make the box Standard-legal.

Abolish the list, start a Promo-only list and let power-level concerns take care of the rest? Seems fair.

[Tha Gunslinga]

That said, my feeling is that the Reserve List shouldn't really apply to "newer" sets (I started playing again when Masques came out), which to me was anything legal in Extended when I came back, so Ice Age onwards. That would open up a lot of space while still leaving the truly old cards to continue to collect dust.

They actually quit adding cards to the list after either Saga or Masques.

[Godder]

Saga Block is the last block on the list, but like I said, old cards, to me, are pre-Ice Age.