News: More on the Event Decks
For those looking for more information on the forthcoming Event Decks early next year, additional information has been released on the mothership. It seems there will be two of them: one mono-Red, the other Blue/Black. Could this be the start of a return to the powerful precon?
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Ertai's Lament 
Why is it called an event deck? Because it can be played at FNM or something similar? How would that make it any different than any other pre-con? The biggest difference I’ve noticed are the seven rares. I wonder how much they’ll cost. Any ideas anyone?
Hi Steve! There are going to be a number of changes in the Event Decks that will set them apart from normal precons. First, you’ve mentioned the higher quantity of Rares. Additionally, the decks will be built with more of an eye towards consistency- there will be a lot of 4-ofs at the Common and Uncommon level, and less “improve-upon-me” cards. Check out our review of Tempest’s ‘Deep Freeze’ deck for an example of the mindset they’ll be using for these. Although Tempest was back in ’97, it has a lot more in common with the Event Decks than today’s precon.
As for MSRP, it’s hard to say. WotC recently released two MODO precons for Legacy that clocked in at $30 each, but of course there were a number of money cards in there. My guess for the paper products would be around $20.
Just wondering what you wanted to say by mentioning “powerful precon” ..? As opposed to what kind of “powerless” precon?
Thanks for the clarification …
I don’t want to say too much here for fear of cannibalising an upcoming article (/dramatic foreshadowing), but precons have evolved over the years to take into account objectives they did not initially start with. There’s a huge difference between Tempest and Rise of the Eldrazi with regards to composition of precons, and I don’t mean the 41-vs-60 card structure. You don’t often see 4-ofs in a precon these days, for one. Scars has actually marked a return to that direction, but it’s more just skewing the balance between the various objectives rather than breaking in a new direction. I’m quite confident the form and objectives they have now will remain throughout the life of the game and product line.
Precons aren’t “powerless,” and rating them strictly for power ignores their other objectives, like rating a car strictly on how fast it can go while ignoring fuel economy. But no, they’re not powerful when up against today’s Standard environment. These ‘Event Decks’ are more than just a shift in priority for a precon (here, the focus is entirely on being competitive), they’re actually a return to earlier ‘values’ as well.
TLDR: “Powerful/powerless” notations indicate relative strength in Constructed/Standard environment 😀
Those boxes are pretty tall.