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SWU isn't made for investment, it's absurd. The speculators, I mean investors, drove SoR to crazy levels in the first place. Everyone knew that FFG was expanding the allocations and doubled their printing, they were totally transparent about it. The only reason we are seeing prices fall isn't because FFG printed too much, it is because stores over ordered. FFG would be fine with quite a few more in the warehouse, they want the print run to last. Stores are trying to figure out the balance in the wake of SoR and Shadows allocations being low. Now they have to get capital back immediately because they have too much. The set is fun and people are buying it. Things will balance out for future sets. It's not the end, unless you're a speculator. No one needs to feel bad for Alpha Investments.
I understand critqueing the game but people who barely touched the game and are spouting that its a dead game kinda irk me set 3 is super awesome and has only made the game better
Exactly!!!! The biggest voices complaining are the ones who never played SWU They just see a set not 2x ing in price like set 1 and even set 2 on release and like “game dead!!!!” Kick rocks!!!
I haven’t barely played the game, I’ve played it quite a bit I just know historically fantasy flight destroys their own product. I’m glad to be wrong in five years. oh and no locals in my Connecticut area.
3 reason why the hate 1. Flippers who can’t 2x their $ reselling on release like the first 2 sets 2. Influencers who didn’t speculate the game would be a success can now stamp this time that they can claim “right” 3. People who always wanna see FFG fail than succeed. I get it they burned you before but at some point move on. 3 reasons why SWU is just fine and will continue to grow 1. Gameplay rules all 2. Secondary market is still strong. Showcases are not below $100 and some legendaries even in twilight are holding $40-50 which is good 3. FFG is listening to their players. Bannings and adjustments on prize support for store showdowns shows growth and open ears to the players who want the game to succeed
Honestly love the cheaper boxes because of how good draft is in this game, and I grew up with the OT on VHS, and the prequels in theaters. Also Boba ban was a HUGE increase in excitement in my area. Set 3 wasn't getting people hyped until Boba ban was announced.
I think my biggest problem with the game as a product is that the only exciting part about buying a box/packs is pulling a showcase which is very rare, and even rarer to get a leader that you'd actually want. Aside from that, there's the legendaries, and in terms of set 3, only about a third of those are actually exciting to pull. Aside from hyper foils and Now There are Two of them I can just buy them on TCG for cheap. Also there's no alternate art in the boxes for any card besides leaders, and the art we do have can be pretty mid. For me, there's not much incentive to buy a box. Odds are I'm getting a bunch of bulk I already have with maybe 2 or 3 cards that I would want, but I can just buy them for a mere fraction of what a box costs. I say all of this with much love for the game. I play almost daily and usually have a blast. Ive spent probably close to $2000 on boxes, singles, events, ect.
This is a good point. I am thinking of making Once Piece my 2nd game. One Piece is just one example of a game that gives you apart from super rares, alternative art cards, their version of showcases, "god" packs and lots of other special cards...
@@haetronwell then couldn’t ffg just do that? I know from experience that a lot of people have turned away from SWU because the community seems like it’s behind closed doors. I, for one, was hesitant to play my first store showdown because I had never participated in any sort of tcg organized play. There are so many Star Wars fans that would love this game but either don’t know about it (because of ffg’s ridiculously low advertising budget) or just don’t want to have to go to card shops to get it. And on top of this, younger demographics NEED to be able to buy the game in retail stores. This game is locked to a much older demographic than it should be.
@@liamwall2583 it's unfortunately not FFGs decision to make. The retailer decides what goes on its shelves, and most of the big box retailers (Walmart for example) don't deal in this product.
People have been burned by FFGs failures in the past. After Destiny, I wasn’t going to support SWU, but here I am. The hate is justified against FFG and their track record-if the game is going to stand the test of time, they have to get more right than they get wrong.
@ not with product shortages … zero ability to draft the first two sets. Hopefully going forward they will, but there are legit reasons to be skeptical
@tmwarz can't really blame them, apparently the sales exceeded anything they thought possible, hell they even stock piled 6 months worth of print just in the event it sold out, they weren't expecting to sell out in the first week alone
Totally fair to be wary about FFG, I just don't find the whole "well this failed in the past and it was made by the same people" argument to be very convincing. Now if you told me that the reason destiny failed was because of reason xyz and reason x y and z are seeming to be the trend I think that is more interesting.
@@VeiledShotSWU destiny suffered from product shortages, but I was never sure if it was management issue or really the difficulty in manufacturing the dice. So far, swu appears to have fixed a lot that was wrong with destiny->no reason to open packs after you got a play set, imbalance between ground and space units, communication about product and releases. All of this is reason for hope, but I totally get why people are wary based on the past, particularly with the early product shortages for swu.
I’m lucky to live in Los Angeles and I have weekly’s to choose from 7 days a week. I frequent 3 stores mainly about 3-5 times per week and there are always people to play with and players passionate about that game. I’m a Star Wars fan at heart and this is my first TCG and I love it. I hope it lasts because beyond the stocking, pricing, and gameplay, I just enjoy playing it because it’s a fun game and it’s Star Wars. I love the card art, I love battling with my favorite characters. Set 3 made the game a lot better in my opinion. I was a Boba player, but the ban was also a good thing in my opinion and leveled the playing field a bit. I am very hopeful for the game and will continue to play it multiple times a week. I look forward to new sets, and I hope more players continue to give it a shot. It’s helped me with my depression and gets me out of the house for some healthy social interaction. Not to mention, getting to escape to a Galaxy Far Far Away in any aspect is a joy for me. Love the movies, love the shows, love Star Wars Unlimited. Long live SWU!
Set 3 is awesome, Pulled 3 Rare Foil, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Cad Bane, The Zillo Beast, Gor, Kit Fisto (Foil), Droideka Security Hyperspace Foil, Mace Windu, Assaj Ventress Hyper Space , Nala Se (Leaders) for a fantastic deal. Cant wait get some displays for customers here!
No it’s not, they’re gonna have nascar stuff Also. Anything pop culture will basically be on mtg cards. You’re gonna have he man attacking, being blocked by sponge Bob, using the bounty paper towels equipment, by tapping mana with crust crab lands, and then responding with a rainbow bright spell targeting megatron.
I work at a store and I’m baffled how stores could ever match TCGPlayer. The margins on sealed product (especially Magic) are some of the worst margins in our store. If we sold boxes online for the prices we are seeing, I guarantee we would be losing money after shipping.
Facts bro. Same thing. I help two different stores on the side and i Handle all the ordering of product. If we were to sell at these prices, we would be losing money all over the place. $73 for a booster box is basically what we get our boxes for at wholesale from our distributors. We arent throwing down hundreds to thousands of dollars, sometimes on credit, to make a grand profit $100. Thats just insanely stupid.
its just the whales and people who ordered too much complaining. Imo the game is in an extremely healthy place where anyone can jump in 🤷♂️ Once carbonite collector editions get dropped with set 4 these people will shutup and be eating those packs up.
Hey Veiled, I have an online store and I went all in on SWU. Loved the idea of the game and cards when it was first announced. I still believe wholly in this game. As you mentioned, stores were understanding the supply and what was coming. I do feel the support for organized play needs to be re-assessed slightly. I love the gameplay and mechanics, the game is still really smooth and fun to me. However I do wish we had better prizing for the players that are passionate about this game. The weekly packs are great, but the showdown selections or PQ selections have been a bit off imo. Either way, I will continue to support SWU with stocking in store and running the online tourneys/weeklys
Thanks for your input! I had a feeling most stores were able to understand the expectations and plan at least someone accordingly and this whole "I bought 2000000 boxes what do I do" mentality was overblown.
We will Support Star Wars Unlimited. the gameplay is awesome and the fun being able play your favorite Clone Wars or Original characters is the best. I look forward to future sets
Great content and I believe you are spot on with your point of view. I’m in MT as well and have seen my local numbers drop. Only 3-4 players weekly that show. Our LGS is selling set 3 for $120 and us regulars refuse to pay that price. Haven’t been to Missoula, Bozeman, Billings or Great Falls to see how their scene is yet.
I grew up with the original movies, episodes 4-6. I've played all the Star Wars card games that have ever been released, including the FFG lcg and Destiny. This game is the best one yet, yes even better than Decipher. I live in the Portland, OR metro area. We have game stores on every corner practically. They are like coffee shops around here - everywhere. And every single one of them gets 8 to 10 players for weekly play, more popular stores getting 16 to 20 every week. Prerelease events for set 3 sold out everywhere, except for a few stores. The store showdowns sell out. The PQ event sold out all 128 slots - even pulled in players from Eugene to the south and Seattle to the north. Local stores even vary weekly play with Twin Suns, draft and constructed in the mix. The game is very healthy here. Players will buy cards in a mix from local stores and online places like tcgplayer. Some local stores are even carrying singles in stock SWU.
I definitely got into this game because it had Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader on the box. Magic is too complicated, too huge, and too strange as a new player. But I snagged that starter, tried it out with a friend, and then ran all over town looking for packs to upgrade that starter deck. Then I built Bo Katan. Not because she's amazingly meta viable or has a crazy high skill ceiling or she's balanced, but because I love the character and I love the playstyle. That is what I think this game has going for it. I would never be here, several hundred dollars worth of cards later, if it hadn't had Luke and Vader on the box.
The skill ceiling in SWU is so much higher than what's available from the average MtG player base that our competitive players from modern/pioneer/standard are now the main player base for SWU.
@@Magidex I said "average player" meaning that the competitive environment is not really the norm anymore. Commander and arena have decimated the skill level and play opportunities for competitive magic to the extent that some of us borrow decks at events and top without playing the game in months, sometimes years.
@@TheGatorDude The average player in Commander is trying to execute a power combo, token swarm, or resource game to win the game against three other people. I know it gets a rep as the hugbox Timmy landfill but the actual gameplay is more complicated than most games' main formats. This is why I think it's actually the wrong format for new players to get into.
@@geek593 Couldn't agree more, I just think the fact that it self balances and in general is less competitive tricks people into playing it as their first MtG format, making the current MtG landscape a hell hole of enjoyment.
Happy to support my flgs and still see boxes affordable online for newcomers. There are definitely some stores in the area way over ordered and got stuck with a fair bit of product. There were too many stores who failed to order appropriately. So there is definitely a level of overprinting, but we cant really blame FFG for that. FFG had multiple streams and sent out multiple notices about increasing printing capabilities. They told the stores they would get whatever they order multiple times.
Just started playing SWU, it easily has the most fun gameplay of the TCGs I've tried. The Star Wars theme is just gravy for me, I do wonder if some people don't give it a try because they aren't into Star Wars, when experience the gameplay may hook them in.
You should also account for recent developments that causes blowback. When boba fett was temporarily banned people get jaded because they had built their entire portfolio around boba. We are seeing that in the Jango uptick. Add to that the people who are jaded because they may have performed poorly at their planetary qualifiers and just want to hate because of their own inadequacies. These are people that aspire to professional status and look for any reason to blame others without pointing at themselves. Each instance on its own would start a potential critique but it is exacerbated by them happening at the same time. The barrier to entry is lower on Unlimited and I enjoy the game way more than Magic. Magic is super established but people are getting annoyed with all the IP releases. If anything I believe magic is dying due to over stimulation of IP. Magic has deviated so far from its base, it fell off in popularity before commander became a thing for the casual player. That is why commander grew and the casual base saved it. I think if people try twin suns you will see a similar casual inclusion for unlimited. Hate is going to happen. I hope that the alienation of magic players with too much ip may drive players to unlimited.
You didn't factor in the resource system and passing/claiming initiative. The Magic players I talk to always mention how each decision matters more in SWU
People love to complain! Happy to have product readily available and a great community growing here in Toronto… although they did Jar Jar real dirty with that artwork 😂
I believe one of the reasons some LGS see less trafic for SWU is the actual Premier format : swiss with minimum 3 rounds is minimum 3h of play for 8 people, if you are 16 at your LGS, that is 5 rounds for 5h of play ... So if a store puts their SWU night on a Wednesday at 18h, then you will finish at 23h minimum which is a real downer for people with family or with a job and so LGS lose their community even if the game is great, I understand weekend are usually for the big 4 (MTG, Pok, YGH and One piece) but SWU really does need a slot in the weekend to be successful, I have also seen some LGS going more aggressive on prizing to attract players and that is possible because of the set 2 reprint and set 3 massive print so kinda great
Just to be annoying, 16 players means 4 rounds of swiss , not 5. Aside from that, "premier" doesn't have to be at least 3 rounds of Bo3, that's up to the organizer. "Premier" just determines the kind of constructed deck you can use in that event (1 leader, 1 base. an a deck of at least 50 cards, with no more than 3 copies of each card). If your stores runs 3 rounds of Bo3, that's their choice. I've heard of stores running weekly, casual events in Bo1 format, or, for example, my LGS runs a "league". For every week in a 2 month time span, you play at most 3 rounds of Bo3, even if 20 people show up. Each weekly event rewards participating players with points based on their position, and at the end of the league, the first 8 players in the standings face off in a single-elimination tournament. To sum it up, if your LGS only does Bo3 premier events in the middle of the week, it's their call, and not an issue of the game itself. You can try and talk with your other local players, and if you are not the only one with the same concerns about mid-week long events, maybe you can ask the store to add a second, more casual weekend event, or riconsider the format of their weekly play.
I can relate to what you say about skill ceiling. I have been into gaming my whole life, WH, RPG, boardgames and so on. Never got into TCGs though, cuz the step is too large and pretty daunting tbh. With SWU it is different, it has been super nice to get eased into it and I am REALLY enjoying it. I think it is a game that can grow because a lot of people would get some decks because they love Star Wars. It is a hard focus on the money part and competitive part and I get that, but, as you say, the majority of people will play it casually and I think there is a good chance for it to grow there. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I think this is overall a good thing because set 3 is really good. It gives an affordable entry point to new player without disadvantaging them too much from missing set 1. Sure the cards will be cheap for a long time... Now if they overprint everything it will become an issue in the long run but having 1 reliable introductory set is a good thing. Plus it's fun to buy a box on the cheap and not feeling cheated financially when you open it. Not like let's say magic where you buy a 400$ can box to end up with less than 100$ worth of card unless you get one of the big lotery tickets. It's just harmless fun as long as the entry point is low enough. I get the fear for the shops but not having product enough to have events is not great either. That was an issue for a while in my local shop, they didn't do event because they had no prises to give so they were waiting for set 3.
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How can you say the that set 3 is really good? It's even weaker than set 2, there are basically no legendaries that are good. Boba Ban probably made the meta changed more than adding an entire set of 300 cards! Just 1 example, Ahsoka is a 3/4 with conditional ambush for 3. The han1 yellow that just top 8 did he play Ahsoka? No he played a vanilla 3/5 for 3 with any text. They should have made either 3/4 with always ambush or even better, 3/5 for 3 with conditional ambush. All the cards in the set are like that, on the verge of good but probably not playable. The entire mecanic of exploit and droids is basically garbage also.
As a long time TCG player. Alot of "Big" cards in current sets dont have playability until 2-3 sets down the road. It gives the current decks time to shine while slowly trickling new strats and mechanics until the big support for said new cards. It's a up and down market for every tcg imo.
The fate of this game is most likely going to be decided by the set 1 reprint. Many people who wanted to play the game, could not because there were no cards available. This could bring all those people back for another look. If that does not happen, then the game is dead in my area. We are down to 4 regular players and Showdowns might bring in another 4 players from other cities. Lorcana had a similar problem here but it recovered (20 people casual weekly events in one store only) so I hope SWU can too.
I don’t think mtg has a higher skill ceiling than swu. Mtg is more complex but in swu each individual choice tends to matter more imo. Like, in swu the repercussions of a single choice can be huge. It is similar in mtg but mtg feels a bit more forgiving in that regard.
My LGS has grown a lot for SWU. Our last constructed event on Sunday had 15, we used to get 4. My worry is the content for future sets. I can't imagine there is enough canon content to make multiple sets in good faith. I suppose they can just make eight million versions of every character, but that doesn't seem like a great idea imo. If we could my "what if sets" or introduce Legends material it could last a long time, we'll see I absolutely love this game and I hope it lasts for as long as MtG.
Lt Childsen, a guy with two lines, is an important card in this game. From the first movie alone, we yet to have Owen, Beru, Biggs, Tuskan Raiders, Sandtroopers, Tantive IV, Dianoga, Bantha, Death Star, sandcrawler, landspeeders, skyhopper, and countless cantina patrons, rebels, and imperials. Not to mention the many other unique ships and vehicles, upgrades, and events attributed to the film. I seriously doubt the well will go dry for a long, long time. If ever.
Game is in a fantastic state! Whoever listens to those hoarders acting out as teenagers, blaming others for their mistakes (namely getting all the product they ordered, not being able to sell them at fraudulent 100%+ margins), should spend their time more wisely 😂
Thank you for making this video, I have been having this discussion with friends. I believe the game is at a crossroad and people rightfully question the game's future. Only thing I would like to see is a better pull rate on packs, but the price reduction on boxes has helped.
As for the Rudy(Alpha Investments) he only ever speaks about the investment side of the game. He's 100% correct about the financial side of the game. There is definitely some truth to games that severely overprint having problems. Not all, but many players want the things that they buy to retain some value, when you pre-order the product, you're often paying MSRP, you won't pre-order if you know the cost will go down 20% within a few weeks. FFG is not doing itself any favors and is screwing stores by selling TWI Booster Boxes on Amazon for $85 while Asmodee is telling stores they should NOT sell below MSRP. There are definitely problems to consider here.
The vast majority of players of any given game are casual collectors/enjoyers that hardly look at the financial side of the game. All they see is boxes are cheaper.
@@VeiledShotSWU I'm actually thinking about jumping in BECAUSE boxes are cheaper. On the player side, it means people can get it really cheap, and form that attachment. Plus it's super fun ripping packs, and cheap boxes means lots of that. You can rip 2 boxes for SWU for what it would cost for 1 box in another game, lol
@@VeiledShotSWU cheaper boxes means usually that its overprinted and that it will get even cheapier and LGS will loose money on them. That means the game will snowballing bad reputation and the value of the Trading aspect will drop down to point where it will not be profitable for the Asmodee (A financial group at its core)anymore. We seen that before with FFG, history repeated several times. Trading aspect is the main aspect of any TCG lifecycle, when the LGS will have too much leftover boxes on shelves, they will cut down the future orders.
Having entered TCGs really young back at the start of MtG, the recent phenomenon of brand-new game sets being bought out before release and staying out of print for months before distribution catches up is a really new problem. Now the market is so heavily driven by d-bag investors looking to corner the new thing and be able to pump and dump whole expansions before the hype ends that it is distorting the game life cycle. Basically, every new IP is now a Veblen good, just in case it might be the next big hit. That has strangled several promising games before they could establish player bases so that by the time the hype dies there is no sustained market and the investors cash out and the IP ends because being named a dead game is self-fulfilling most of the time. FFG may have actually managed to break that cycle. They ramped up within year one to the point that affordable product to establish a player base may still be a reasonable possibility. Sure, some shops will take a small hit, quick-flip investors will lose their short-term positions (screw them anyway), but the game may survive to establish the sustainable base that keeps products going long term and eventually brings the collecting cycle back around when old cards become rare just because they are out of print. In that market scenario the game lives as long as the balance and general playability with moderate investment remain achievable. We haven't really seen that since Yu-Gi-Oh, unless FaB survives its ongoing market inversion of its own as they are also reaching that critical mass of investor loss.
Dude it’s fantasy flight. See me in five years. Their company creates their own issues, not people expressing their opinion. I understand you rely on this game to make content. I think this is the best tcg being made right now, by a game play standpoint, but the boba design issue really put this game back and so did their availability issues. I have three stores near me and they all laughed when I asked how their locals are going for this game. One owner told me 3-5 guys show up for locals and they’re all friends so they just text each other and show up to play, no one really walks in to play Star Wars locals. Imo Star Wars ccg is still the best Star Wars game ever made, imo (decipher) it was released when I was 15, in 1995 and still has a non profit making new sets.
I firmly believe the way Season 0 PQs were handled played a huge part in the slow decline of the game sadly :( There was no official announcement from FFG prior to the selected stores selling the slots along with a very limited number of events. Players that weren't glued to their devices had no shot at securing a PQ slot at their nearest one because they were gone in like an hour with a low attendance cap which was very very discouraging. Personally, I took a break from weekly play because I felt like I had nothing big to play for at that point. Since worlds was announced, I do have some more motivation to keep grinding the game, but there has been very little communication when it comes to the actual large scale FFG events and these PQs. Like...I WANT to be able to plan and playtest and make the several hour drives to these events...but so far, there is nothing to put on the calendar. We need to have solid dates and more PQs. The game itself is sooo good, but something needs to be done about how OP and PQs are being handled for the game to survive long'ish term. The upcoming FFG livestreams for the rest of the month make no mention of addressing Premier play which, IMO, is unacceptable. My fear is these dates and locations for Season 1 PQs will be "officially" announced with next to no notice or time to plan, and that the stores will again sell their slots prior to official announcement. What about these Regional Qualifiers?? What about these Sector Qualifiers?? Not all players can just pause their plans and lives to attend.
I personally think that the stale Set 2 meta - Boba uber alles - was more to blame than the mishandling of the PQs. I won't defend how the PQs were handled; it was abysmal and broken. But not everyone wants to travel, and healthy local metas are more important to longevity than a competitive scene, IMHO. Boba wasn't healthy for the game and I'm cautiously optimistic things will start to come back now that he's off the table.
I don’t give a flying F what the haters say. I have made a lot of great friends playing this game. I went to the Las Vegas, and San Francisco PQs and met even more amazing people! To me this game is amazing not just for its gameplay , but the community is awesome! Haters gunna hate, and we are going to keep playing.
Print run is great, boxes can be cheap, it is a great thing the $50 cards are dropping. This is not an investment it is a game. I play this in paper all the time and my LGS is doing great. Over ordering is the companies faults.
I am not a store owner myself but I can say that the lgs I go to has told me SWU is their bestselling game and is currently outperforming mtg. My local scene has been thriving and we all are excited for the future of the game. In terms of skill I’d also say planning out a turn and ordering actions to get the most important/least guaranteed things done first and how that differs per matchup is a skill intensive thing I value a lot in this game.
"magic is dying" is way too strong of a take. Magic is king and has been around for 30 years. Its not going to go away quickly, or anytime soon. It certainly has some challenges and gripes, though.
Magic is in a really weird position at the moment but dying is a stretch. Foundations is one of the best products WotC has ever produced and it blindsided everyone. The only bad press the game really has at the moment is Marvel and Spongebob being the UB reps people are worried about. Final Fantasy has people hyped. The bad news is bad but the good vibes are very good.
Dead game varies by location/store. My LGS (I'm right outside Philadelphia) two weeks ago only two of us were there to play. Last week it was only me. The dead game people aren't necessarily wrong, It is a valid criticism/concern. Star Wars to a degree has lost popularity due to Disney distorting what it is about (personal opinion). Some shows like Andor have been bangers and others like The Acolyte were complete duds. How much does that affect the card game? That is the question. FFG's recent lack of success with Star Wars games in general (RIP Destiny, X-Wing and Armada) has given gamers pause with good reason. Gameplay is great in my opinion. Rules are fairly simple. For what it is worth, despite ample/legitimate concerns, I personally want and hope to see this game continue to be successful.
They did a good job with design. Clearly leader play testing needs assistance, that was the only big miss so far. It's hard to say if some mechanics were designed for limited only. Mechanics like Capture never hit the table in premier, but that's ok maybe depending on intention. Basing print scarcity on card complexity is an interesting decision, but maybe that will change. That's something that might be holding back box value as well.
@@zacharyhodge1761 yeah that mechanic flopped a little bit I still feel like capture can definitely hold some more value in the future they already have one really good capture card for bounty hunters that I've seen side boarded in old boba yellow lists I think it was called relentless pursuit. Other than that tho its was mostly a draft mechanic for the time being
Star Wars Unlimited is excellent! Brought me back into TCGs. Give the multiplayer format Twin Suns a try, it's a blast! Haters gonna hate. I hope FFG can support this excellent game for many years.
In my opinion SWU is suffering from two big issues. Set 1 was powerful more powerful than Set 2 and Set 1 was not produced in a high volume because the high demand was not anticipated. Both of these, coupled with a long time period between sets probably lead to a number of players struggling to adopt the game and moving on to other viable option in the market. There are a ton of games out there which are all good leading to a shortage a shortage of players with the financial resources to play more than one. I think Set 3 and Set 4 will be largely telling on if the game will have long term success. If the game sells, stores will stock it and the game will succeed. Hopefully organized play helps keep competitive players involved, because the game does lack some of the competitive challenges that a Flesh and Blood or Magic the Gathering have. I hope SWU is successful for all those people out there that enjoy it. I feel bad for any community that loses their game.
Guarantee stores will order much less set four and there will be loads of product still printed and sitting at distro. This print run narrative has happened so many times. It needs to be figured out for this game to be a success LONG TERM.
If I'm being honest, I enjoy the game from what I've read, but I won't buy paper products anymore. They're too pricey and take up space for something I wouldn't play that much locally. Now I would 100% be on-board with a digital version of the game and put real money into it for sure. Probably won't happen though, which is why Kara and TTS will exist.
I’m a giant, giant fan of this game. But the print run issues are highly concerning. Don’t put your head in the sand! Be grateful for the game we have and hopeful for the future. But also recognize that FFG needs to thread the print run needle in the future or this game won’t make it. There are dozens of fantastic games in the dead TCG dustbin that ended up there due to corporate mismanagement. I have a lot of hope here, but if this keeps happening we can probably count on a short lived game.
You have to admit our skepticism is well founded. It’s an IP that has an expensive license to maintain and FFG has canceled more than one Star Wars products in the past. They actually need to prove to us it can last long term. SWU failing is the default at this point.
I really love set two. I’m a huge fan of the Underworld trait and set two delivered. Plus a lot of good events in the set. I think later on down the line many of the cards in set two will age well.
I didn't know about the game at all until a couple weeks ago. I have been buying up a lot of the local stuff. I am a long time tcg player of all kinds. I think it is great. I really wish there was an official online version like Arena or pokemon.
My 'hate' is simply all FFG LCGs i loved were killed off. Also Tyler was gonna kill L5R with "rally" even if the company didnt cut the competitive lcgs from their line.
I think they'd be well served to plan 9 sets for this game - and then change the IP and start over with Marvel Unlimited - with an announced plan to do 9 sets. Then, after 3 years, they could go and do another 9 sets of Star Wars, or do another IP that makes sense (Harry Potter Unlimited, Star Trek Unlimited, Lord of the Rings Unlimited, etc...). This IP is beloved - but limited. There will be a declining interest when we get more and more of the same characters or we go deeper into the lore. Refocus to make the game "Unlimited" and the underlying IP evolving.
As a new comer to TCG, I love Star Wars Unlimited. I play online on force table. Unfortunately my TCG's don't have anyone that plays it. Only magic is played there
I think it’s too soon to tell. FFG has more sets planned in the pipeline. When they give up, then it’s dead. The gameplay is definitely one of the more interesting and fun to play that I’ve had my hands on and I’ve been a huge fan of the IP for a very long time. It would certainly be disappointing if the game never took off but I will point out that the TCGplayer added the game to their main navigation bar and I think that is a big achievement really.
As someone who is very cheap to play in this game and is basically only playing heroism I still go to my locals and try playing at my locals 4 times a month for each local I care about and I think that there is not a skill ceiling.
All I know is that FFG said that they had 9 seasons in the pipe. As far as I'm concerned, I'm getting nine seasons worth of cards. When we get to 9, I'll decide to go on or not.
SWU isnt magic, so its always going to be a second tier game, but there's a lot of space in that arena and along with the IP the casual interest will wax and wane. If some decent movies come out (and Disney is certainly incentivized to keep making more product) I think we'll definitely see an influx of interest. The game interestingly has come out in a lull for overall interest in the star wars IP
Brooooo why is there so much hate lol. Alpha investments is so wrong about so many things. I also was going to make a video on this topic. Great minds ❤think alike
Stores are taking a hit because quite a few people cancelled pre-orders to buy cheaper online. If stores are sitting on a crap load of product thats not selling enough they'll kill support for the game. Questionable If that will happen for SWU but ive seen a couple stores stop carrying and supporting Lorcana in a similar situation
I think one of the big reasons Rudy is down on SWU is that he's not investing in it. The game is fun, the cards look great, showcases are great. I think some people let their hate for Disney Star Wars get in the way.
Really enjoyed ur videos my girls a big wig in the business world and most the dooms day videos she's watched with me on syarwars she's like they are only talking about there feelings on it and not really backing it up with anything I think she will have a more business take on your opinions on this talking about the age demographic ect. Verry well done and I agree if your in to star wars EU or Canon this game really scratches the itch
So many commenters (both pro and anti viewpoint) have such a skewed worldview. Talking about the value of singles, the premiere events and world championships… How about - the game is fun? The new set is very cool and opens up new avenues for existing cards and leaders. Go play games. Nothing lasts forever. Stop fretting over when and whether it will die and just go play it and have fun.
I don’t think it is intentional, but skipping over all of the missteps through the first three sets by FFG and the impact they have had feels like missing a big piece of the puzzle.
I feel like set 2 was really 1.5, just helped Boba and people weren't very interested in it towards the end. I think people are excited about the new set cause the set is actually different. May be because Boba ban but either way seeing new leaders is making the game fun again. I think at the end of the day FFG knows that if the players are happy people will continue to buy and play the game. If everyone is selling boxes at outrageous prices, players might not be able to purchase cards making the game flop.
Set three is a good set. I happen to like it. The problem they are going to have with the game is what era do they go to next? Unless they go to the Old Republic timeframe. I doubt anything else will sell. So the only option is to go into really obscure characters from eras that people enjoyed or to keep making cards of characters people like that are just a little different from each other. This is what will kill the game. I don't see it lasting more than another year. Hopefully Im wrong. Time will tell.
It probably will fail. Players are not make profit, investors do. How many booster boxes a causal player will buy? One, two? Or none because they have cheap singles? How many booster boxes or rather.. cases, will investors buy chasing a chase cards? The TCG is only as healthy as healthy is its secondary market. I checked prices of full art singles from core set and they mostly dropped at half. Btw i love the game and i hope i am wrong.
TELL THEM BRO! what is wrong with all the crybabies caring only about profit! Game is in set 3 and we have seen changes and mechanics and compeitive additions that other card games saw after years. Relax you all know-the-future wise wizards. Geez.
@@markusbiewer2756 Considering how much I loved playing MtG Commander, I would like it too. I still have to convince the other players in my local group to try it out...
@markusbiewer2756 considering their collections are much bigger than my tiny one, I think it's mostly a challenge of finding time to get together and play that format for a change.
@@dave8413 that would be totally awesome hoping for that set too and yeah game has been pricy think I'm done buying boxes and sticking to singles kinda found the colors I like playing the most.
Scalpers are mad they got caught holding the bag 😂 I mean I wouldn't pay 200 a box and low and behold I picked them up at my shop in 1 set or another for 89 99 bucks and im happy but I'm also not trying to get rich quick fromit sooo🎉 with that said i think this game needs to follow in pokemons tracks and make an online game were buying boosters gives online boosters this will supplement any drops at local plays while population grows and people become more avid players
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SWU isn't made for investment, it's absurd. The speculators, I mean investors, drove SoR to crazy levels in the first place. Everyone knew that FFG was expanding the allocations and doubled their printing, they were totally transparent about it. The only reason we are seeing prices fall isn't because FFG printed too much, it is because stores over ordered. FFG would be fine with quite a few more in the warehouse, they want the print run to last. Stores are trying to figure out the balance in the wake of SoR and Shadows allocations being low. Now they have to get capital back immediately because they have too much. The set is fun and people are buying it. Things will balance out for future sets. It's not the end, unless you're a speculator. No one needs to feel bad for Alpha Investments.
I understand critqueing the game but people who barely touched the game and are spouting that its a dead game kinda irk me set 3 is super awesome and has only made the game better
In my LGS most SWU events do better than most Non Commander MTG events so ppl saying this game is dead are wild.😂
Exactly!!!! The biggest voices complaining are the ones who never played SWU
They just see a set not 2x ing in price like set 1 and even set 2 on release and like “game dead!!!!”
Kick rocks!!!
I tend to agree, it is a little unfortunate.
I haven’t barely played the game, I’ve played it quite a bit
I just know historically fantasy flight destroys their own product. I’m glad to be wrong in five years.
oh and no locals in my Connecticut area.
3 reason why the hate
1. Flippers who can’t 2x their $ reselling on release like the first 2 sets
2. Influencers who didn’t speculate the game would be a success can now stamp this time that they can claim “right”
3. People who always wanna see FFG fail than succeed. I get it they burned you before but at some point move on.
3 reasons why SWU is just fine and will continue to grow
1. Gameplay rules all
2. Secondary market is still strong. Showcases are not below $100 and some legendaries even in twilight are holding $40-50 which is good
3. FFG is listening to their players. Bannings and adjustments on prize support for store showdowns shows growth and open ears to the players who want the game to succeed
Honestly love the cheaper boxes because of how good draft is in this game, and I grew up with the OT on VHS, and the prequels in theaters. Also Boba ban was a HUGE increase in excitement in my area. Set 3 wasn't getting people hyped until Boba ban was announced.
I think my biggest problem with the game as a product is that the only exciting part about buying a box/packs is pulling a showcase which is very rare, and even rarer to get a leader that you'd actually want. Aside from that, there's the legendaries, and in terms of set 3, only about a third of those are actually exciting to pull. Aside from hyper foils and Now There are Two of them I can just buy them on TCG for cheap. Also there's no alternate art in the boxes for any card besides leaders, and the art we do have can be pretty mid. For me, there's not much incentive to buy a box. Odds are I'm getting a bunch of bulk I already have with maybe 2 or 3 cards that I would want, but I can just buy them for a mere fraction of what a box costs.
I say all of this with much love for the game. I play almost daily and usually have a blast. Ive spent probably close to $2000 on boxes, singles, events, ect.
I do think more alternate treatments are coming, especially since we are getting collector boosters for Set 4.
This is a good point. I am thinking of making Once Piece my 2nd game. One Piece is just one example of a game that gives you apart from super rares, alternative art cards, their version of showcases, "god" packs and lots of other special cards...
SWU is fun and all of my local LGS have very healthy communities. Set 3 is definitely better than set 2 imo.
Why don’t they put the game in retail stores and up their spending on advertisements? I really think the game would explode if they did that.
Retail stores can't turn a profit on comics/TCGs. Even when you see them on the shelves, they're usually stocked by an external vendor
@@haetronwell then couldn’t ffg just do that? I know from experience that a lot of people have turned away from SWU because the community seems like it’s behind closed doors. I, for one, was hesitant to play my first store showdown because I had never participated in any sort of tcg organized play. There are so many Star Wars fans that would love this game but either don’t know about it (because of ffg’s ridiculously low advertising budget) or just don’t want to have to go to card shops to get it.
And on top of this, younger demographics NEED to be able to buy the game in retail stores. This game is locked to a much older demographic than it should be.
@@liamwall2583 it's unfortunately not FFGs decision to make. The retailer decides what goes on its shelves, and most of the big box retailers (Walmart for example) don't deal in this product.
People have been burned by FFGs failures in the past. After Destiny, I wasn’t going to support SWU, but here I am. The hate is justified against FFG and their track record-if the game is going to stand the test of time, they have to get more right than they get wrong.
And they have so far..
@ not with product shortages … zero ability to draft the first two sets. Hopefully going forward they will, but there are legit reasons to be skeptical
@tmwarz can't really blame them, apparently the sales exceeded anything they thought possible, hell they even stock piled 6 months worth of print just in the event it sold out, they weren't expecting to sell out in the first week alone
Totally fair to be wary about FFG, I just don't find the whole "well this failed in the past and it was made by the same people" argument to be very convincing. Now if you told me that the reason destiny failed was because of reason xyz and reason x y and z are seeming to be the trend I think that is more interesting.
@@VeiledShotSWU destiny suffered from product shortages, but I was never sure if it was management issue or really the difficulty in manufacturing the dice. So far, swu appears to have fixed a lot that was wrong with destiny->no reason to open packs after you got a play set, imbalance between ground and space units, communication about product and releases. All of this is reason for hope, but I totally get why people are wary based on the past, particularly with the early product shortages for swu.
I’m lucky to live in Los Angeles and I have weekly’s to choose from 7 days a week. I frequent 3 stores mainly about 3-5 times per week and there are always people to play with and players passionate about that game. I’m a Star Wars fan at heart and this is my first TCG and I love it. I hope it lasts because beyond the stocking, pricing, and gameplay, I just enjoy playing it because it’s a fun game and it’s Star Wars. I love the card art, I love battling with my favorite characters. Set 3 made the game a lot better in my opinion. I was a Boba player, but the ban was also a good thing in my opinion and leveled the playing field a bit. I am very hopeful for the game and will continue to play it multiple times a week. I look forward to new sets, and I hope more players continue to give it a shot. It’s helped me with my depression and gets me out of the house for some healthy social interaction. Not to mention, getting to escape to a Galaxy Far Far Away in any aspect is a joy for me. Love the movies, love the shows, love Star Wars Unlimited. Long live SWU!
Set 3 is awesome, Pulled 3 Rare Foil, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Cad Bane, The Zillo Beast, Gor, Kit Fisto (Foil), Droideka Security Hyperspace Foil, Mace Windu, Assaj Ventress Hyper Space ,
Nala Se (Leaders) for a fantastic deal.
Cant wait get some displays for customers here!
I thought it was a joke about SpongeBob being in magic
It was, until it wasnt. WoTC altered the deal, and pray they alter it no further 😆
That's what makes it so funny to me haha
No it’s not, they’re gonna have nascar stuff Also.
Anything pop culture will basically be on mtg cards.
You’re gonna have he man attacking, being blocked by sponge Bob, using the bounty paper towels equipment, by tapping mana with crust crab lands, and then responding with a rainbow bright spell targeting megatron.
I work at a store and I’m baffled how stores could ever match TCGPlayer. The margins on sealed product (especially Magic) are some of the worst margins in our store. If we sold boxes online for the prices we are seeing, I guarantee we would be losing money after shipping.
We only do Magic Foundations.
Facts bro. Same thing. I help two different stores on the side and i Handle all the ordering of product. If we were to sell at these prices, we would be losing money all over the place. $73 for a booster box is basically what we get our boxes for at wholesale from our distributors. We arent throwing down hundreds to thousands of dollars, sometimes on credit, to make a grand profit $100. Thats just insanely stupid.
Haters are going to hate and negative hot takes get more clicks. I'm going to continue having fun playing, collecting and keeping on keeping on.
its just the whales and people who ordered too much complaining. Imo the game is in an extremely healthy place where anyone can jump in 🤷♂️
Once carbonite collector editions get dropped with set 4 these people will shutup and be eating those packs up.
Hey Veiled, I have an online store and I went all in on SWU. Loved the idea of the game and cards when it was first announced. I still believe wholly in this game.
As you mentioned, stores were understanding the supply and what was coming. I do feel the support for organized play needs to be re-assessed slightly. I love the gameplay and mechanics, the game is still really smooth and fun to me. However I do wish we had better prizing for the players that are passionate about this game. The weekly packs are great, but the showdown selections or PQ selections have been a bit off imo.
Either way, I will continue to support SWU with stocking in store and running the online tourneys/weeklys
Thanks for your input! I had a feeling most stores were able to understand the expectations and plan at least someone accordingly and this whole "I bought 2000000 boxes what do I do" mentality was overblown.
We will Support Star Wars Unlimited. the gameplay is awesome and the fun being able play your favorite Clone Wars or Original characters is the best.
I look forward to future sets
Great content and I believe you are spot on with your point of view. I’m in MT as well and have seen my local numbers drop. Only 3-4 players weekly that show. Our LGS is selling set 3 for $120 and us regulars refuse to pay that price. Haven’t been to Missoula, Bozeman, Billings or Great Falls to see how their scene is yet.
I grew up with the original movies, episodes 4-6. I've played all the Star Wars card games that have ever been released, including the FFG lcg and Destiny. This game is the best one yet, yes even better than Decipher.
I live in the Portland, OR metro area. We have game stores on every corner practically. They are like coffee shops around here - everywhere. And every single one of them gets 8 to 10 players for weekly play, more popular stores getting 16 to 20 every week. Prerelease events for set 3 sold out everywhere, except for a few stores. The store showdowns sell out. The PQ event sold out all 128 slots - even pulled in players from Eugene to the south and Seattle to the north. Local stores even vary weekly play with Twin Suns, draft and constructed in the mix.
The game is very healthy here. Players will buy cards in a mix from local stores and online places like tcgplayer. Some local stores are even carrying singles in stock SWU.
As a player and not a cards seller. Pretty happy for the product to be more available
I definitely got into this game because it had Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader on the box. Magic is too complicated, too huge, and too strange as a new player. But I snagged that starter, tried it out with a friend, and then ran all over town looking for packs to upgrade that starter deck. Then I built Bo Katan. Not because she's amazingly meta viable or has a crazy high skill ceiling or she's balanced, but because I love the character and I love the playstyle. That is what I think this game has going for it. I would never be here, several hundred dollars worth of cards later, if it hadn't had Luke and Vader on the box.
We need SWU in Asia and Australia! We will double the demand if they start distributing here!
The skill ceiling in SWU is so much higher than what's available from the average MtG player base that our competitive players from modern/pioneer/standard are now the main player base for SWU.
Hahahaha, what a take.
No, it's not.
@@Magidex I said "average player" meaning that the competitive environment is not really the norm anymore. Commander and arena have decimated the skill level and play opportunities for competitive magic to the extent that some of us borrow decks at events and top without playing the game in months, sometimes years.
@@TheGatorDude The average player in Commander is trying to execute a power combo, token swarm, or resource game to win the game against three other people. I know it gets a rep as the hugbox Timmy landfill but the actual gameplay is more complicated than most games' main formats. This is why I think it's actually the wrong format for new players to get into.
@@geek593 Couldn't agree more, I just think the fact that it self balances and in general is less competitive tricks people into playing it as their first MtG format, making the current MtG landscape a hell hole of enjoyment.
Happy to support my flgs and still see boxes affordable online for newcomers. There are definitely some stores in the area way over ordered and got stuck with a fair bit of product. There were too many stores who failed to order appropriately. So there is definitely a level of overprinting, but we cant really blame FFG for that. FFG had multiple streams and sent out multiple notices about increasing printing capabilities. They told the stores they would get whatever they order multiple times.
Just started playing SWU, it easily has the most fun gameplay of the TCGs I've tried. The Star Wars theme is just gravy for me, I do wonder if some people don't give it a try because they aren't into Star Wars, when experience the gameplay may hook them in.
You should also account for recent developments that causes blowback. When boba fett was temporarily banned people get jaded because they had built their entire portfolio around boba. We are seeing that in the Jango uptick. Add to that the people who are jaded because they may have performed poorly at their planetary qualifiers and just want to hate because of their own inadequacies. These are people that aspire to professional status and look for any reason to blame others without pointing at themselves. Each instance on its own would start a potential critique but it is exacerbated by them happening at the same time.
The barrier to entry is lower on Unlimited and I enjoy the game way more than Magic. Magic is super established but people are getting annoyed with all the IP releases. If anything I believe magic is dying due to over stimulation of IP. Magic has deviated so far from its base, it fell off in popularity before commander became a thing for the casual player. That is why commander grew and the casual base saved it.
I think if people try twin suns you will see a similar casual inclusion for unlimited. Hate is going to happen. I hope that the alienation of magic players with too much ip may drive players to unlimited.
You didn't factor in the resource system and passing/claiming initiative. The Magic players I talk to always mention how each decision matters more in SWU
People love to complain! Happy to have product readily available and a great community growing here in Toronto… although they did Jar Jar real dirty with that artwork 😂
I believe one of the reasons some LGS see less trafic for SWU is the actual Premier format : swiss with minimum 3 rounds is minimum 3h of play for 8 people, if you are 16 at your LGS, that is 5 rounds for 5h of play ... So if a store puts their SWU night on a Wednesday at 18h, then you will finish at 23h minimum which is a real downer for people with family or with a job and so LGS lose their community even if the game is great, I understand weekend are usually for the big 4 (MTG, Pok, YGH and One piece) but SWU really does need a slot in the weekend to be successful, I have also seen some LGS going more aggressive on prizing to attract players and that is possible because of the set 2 reprint and set 3 massive print so kinda great
Just to be annoying, 16 players means 4 rounds of swiss , not 5. Aside from that, "premier" doesn't have to be at least 3 rounds of Bo3, that's up to the organizer. "Premier" just determines the kind of constructed deck you can use in that event (1 leader, 1 base. an a deck of at least 50 cards, with no more than 3 copies of each card). If your stores runs 3 rounds of Bo3, that's their choice. I've heard of stores running weekly, casual events in Bo1 format, or, for example, my LGS runs a "league". For every week in a 2 month time span, you play at most 3 rounds of Bo3, even if 20 people show up. Each weekly event rewards participating players with points based on their position, and at the end of the league, the first 8 players in the standings face off in a single-elimination tournament.
To sum it up, if your LGS only does Bo3 premier events in the middle of the week, it's their call, and not an issue of the game itself. You can try and talk with your other local players, and if you are not the only one with the same concerns about mid-week long events, maybe you can ask the store to add a second, more casual weekend event, or riconsider the format of their weekly play.
I can relate to what you say about skill ceiling. I have been into gaming my whole life, WH, RPG, boardgames and so on. Never got into TCGs though, cuz the step is too large and pretty daunting tbh. With SWU it is different, it has been super nice to get eased into it and I am REALLY enjoying it. I think it is a game that can grow because a lot of people would get some decks because they love Star Wars. It is a hard focus on the money part and competitive part and I get that, but, as you say, the majority of people will play it casually and I think there is a good chance for it to grow there.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I think this is overall a good thing because set 3 is really good. It gives an affordable entry point to new player without disadvantaging them too much from missing set 1. Sure the cards will be cheap for a long time... Now if they overprint everything it will become an issue in the long run but having 1 reliable introductory set is a good thing. Plus it's fun to buy a box on the cheap and not feeling cheated financially when you open it. Not like let's say magic where you buy a 400$ can box to end up with less than 100$ worth of card unless you get one of the big lotery tickets. It's just harmless fun as long as the entry point is low enough.
I get the fear for the shops but not having product enough to have events is not great either. That was an issue for a while in my local shop, they didn't do event because they had no prises to give so they were waiting for set 3.
How can you say the that set 3 is really good? It's even weaker than set 2, there are basically no legendaries that are good. Boba Ban probably made the meta changed more than adding an entire set of 300 cards! Just 1 example, Ahsoka is a 3/4 with conditional ambush for 3. The han1 yellow that just top 8 did he play Ahsoka? No he played a vanilla 3/5 for 3 with any text. They should have made either 3/4 with always ambush or even better, 3/5 for 3 with conditional ambush. All the cards in the set are like that, on the verge of good but probably not playable. The entire mecanic of exploit and droids is basically garbage also.
As a long time TCG player. Alot of "Big" cards in current sets dont have playability until 2-3 sets down the road. It gives the current decks time to shine while slowly trickling new strats and mechanics until the big support for said new cards. It's a up and down market for every tcg imo.
as players this is great as a collector i see why theirs worry but you cant get both sides of the coin.
The fate of this game is most likely going to be decided by the set 1 reprint. Many people who wanted to play the game, could not because there were no cards available. This could bring all those people back for another look. If that does not happen, then the game is dead in my area. We are down to 4 regular players and Showdowns might bring in another 4 players from other cities. Lorcana had a similar problem here but it recovered (20 people casual weekly events in one store only) so I hope SWU can too.
its been reprinted already...
I don’t think mtg has a higher skill ceiling than swu. Mtg is more complex but in swu each individual choice tends to matter more imo. Like, in swu the repercussions of a single choice can be huge. It is similar in mtg but mtg feels a bit more forgiving in that regard.
SWU has a higher skill requirement that MTG for a fact.
100% agree!
Dang young one. You were born in 2000 😮
My LGS has grown a lot for SWU. Our last constructed event on Sunday had 15, we used to get 4. My worry is the content for future sets. I can't imagine there is enough canon content to make multiple sets in good faith. I suppose they can just make eight million versions of every character, but that doesn't seem like a great idea imo. If we could my "what if sets" or introduce Legends material it could last a long time, we'll see I absolutely love this game and I hope it lasts for as long as MtG.
Lt Childsen, a guy with two lines, is an important card in this game. From the first movie alone, we yet to have Owen, Beru, Biggs, Tuskan Raiders, Sandtroopers, Tantive IV, Dianoga, Bantha, Death Star, sandcrawler, landspeeders, skyhopper, and countless cantina patrons, rebels, and imperials. Not to mention the many other unique ships and vehicles, upgrades, and events attributed to the film. I seriously doubt the well will go dry for a long, long time. If ever.
Game is in a fantastic state! Whoever listens to those hoarders acting out as teenagers, blaming others for their mistakes (namely getting all the product they ordered, not being able to sell them at fraudulent 100%+ margins), should spend their time more wisely 😂
Thank you for making this video, I have been having this discussion with friends. I believe the game is at a crossroad and people rightfully question the game's future. Only thing I would like to see is a better pull rate on packs, but the price reduction on boxes has helped.
As for the Rudy(Alpha Investments) he only ever speaks about the investment side of the game. He's 100% correct about the financial side of the game.
There is definitely some truth to games that severely overprint having problems. Not all, but many players want the things that they buy to retain some value, when you pre-order the product, you're often paying MSRP, you won't pre-order if you know the cost will go down 20% within a few weeks.
FFG is not doing itself any favors and is screwing stores by selling TWI Booster Boxes on Amazon for $85 while Asmodee is telling stores they should NOT sell below MSRP.
There are definitely problems to consider here.
The vast majority of players of any given game are casual collectors/enjoyers that hardly look at the financial side of the game. All they see is boxes are cheaper.
@@VeiledShotSWU I'm actually thinking about jumping in BECAUSE boxes are cheaper. On the player side, it means people can get it really cheap, and form that attachment. Plus it's super fun ripping packs, and cheap boxes means lots of that. You can rip 2 boxes for SWU for what it would cost for 1 box in another game, lol
@@VeiledShotSWU The players might be happy to have cheap boxes but what about the stores? There needs to be a flow of money to keep everyone happy.
@@VeiledShotSWU cheaper boxes means usually that its overprinted and that it will get even cheapier and LGS will loose money on them. That means the game will snowballing bad reputation and the value of the Trading aspect will drop down to point where it will not be profitable for the Asmodee (A financial group at its core)anymore. We seen that before with FFG, history repeated several times. Trading aspect is the main aspect of any TCG lifecycle, when the LGS will have too much leftover boxes on shelves, they will cut down the future orders.
Having entered TCGs really young back at the start of MtG, the recent phenomenon of brand-new game sets being bought out before release and staying out of print for months before distribution catches up is a really new problem. Now the market is so heavily driven by d-bag investors looking to corner the new thing and be able to pump and dump whole expansions before the hype ends that it is distorting the game life cycle. Basically, every new IP is now a Veblen good, just in case it might be the next big hit. That has strangled several promising games before they could establish player bases so that by the time the hype dies there is no sustained market and the investors cash out and the IP ends because being named a dead game is self-fulfilling most of the time.
FFG may have actually managed to break that cycle. They ramped up within year one to the point that affordable product to establish a player base may still be a reasonable possibility. Sure, some shops will take a small hit, quick-flip investors will lose their short-term positions (screw them anyway), but the game may survive to establish the sustainable base that keeps products going long term and eventually brings the collecting cycle back around when old cards become rare just because they are out of print. In that market scenario the game lives as long as the balance and general playability with moderate investment remain achievable. We haven't really seen that since Yu-Gi-Oh, unless FaB survives its ongoing market inversion of its own as they are also reaching that critical mass of investor loss.
Dude it’s fantasy flight.
See me in five years.
Their company creates their own issues, not people expressing their opinion.
I understand you rely on this game to make content. I think this is the best tcg being made right now, by a game play standpoint, but the boba design issue really put this game back and so did their availability issues. I have three stores near me and they all laughed when I asked how their locals are going for this game. One owner told me 3-5 guys show up for locals and they’re all friends so they just text each other and show up to play, no one really walks in to play Star Wars locals.
Imo Star Wars ccg is still the best Star Wars game ever made, imo (decipher) it was released when I was 15, in 1995 and still has a non profit making new sets.
I firmly believe the way Season 0 PQs were handled played a huge part in the slow decline of the game sadly :( There was no official announcement from FFG prior to the selected stores selling the slots along with a very limited number of events. Players that weren't glued to their devices had no shot at securing a PQ slot at their nearest one because they were gone in like an hour with a low attendance cap which was very very discouraging. Personally, I took a break from weekly play because I felt like I had nothing big to play for at that point. Since worlds was announced, I do have some more motivation to keep grinding the game, but there has been very little communication when it comes to the actual large scale FFG events and these PQs. Like...I WANT to be able to plan and playtest and make the several hour drives to these events...but so far, there is nothing to put on the calendar. We need to have solid dates and more PQs. The game itself is sooo good, but something needs to be done about how OP and PQs are being handled for the game to survive long'ish term. The upcoming FFG livestreams for the rest of the month make no mention of addressing Premier play which, IMO, is unacceptable. My fear is these dates and locations for Season 1 PQs will be "officially" announced with next to no notice or time to plan, and that the stores will again sell their slots prior to official announcement. What about these Regional Qualifiers?? What about these Sector Qualifiers?? Not all players can just pause their plans and lives to attend.
I personally think that the stale Set 2 meta - Boba uber alles - was more to blame than the mishandling of the PQs. I won't defend how the PQs were handled; it was abysmal and broken. But not everyone wants to travel, and healthy local metas are more important to longevity than a competitive scene, IMHO. Boba wasn't healthy for the game and I'm cautiously optimistic things will start to come back now that he's off the table.
Jesus, the spongebob mtg thing, I had to look it up; I dont follow MTG very closely but I laughed my ass of when I seen this.
Not even a joke LOL
I don’t give a flying F what the haters say. I have made a lot of great friends playing this game. I went to the Las Vegas, and San Francisco PQs and met even more amazing people! To me this game is amazing not just for its gameplay , but the community is awesome!
Haters gunna hate, and we are going to keep playing.
This!
Print run is great, boxes can be cheap, it is a great thing the $50 cards are dropping. This is not an investment it is a game. I play this in paper all the time and my LGS is doing great. Over ordering is the companies faults.
I am not a store owner myself but I can say that the lgs I go to has told me SWU is their bestselling game and is currently outperforming mtg. My local scene has been thriving and we all are excited for the future of the game. In terms of skill I’d also say planning out a turn and ordering actions to get the most important/least guaranteed things done first and how that differs per matchup is a skill intensive thing I value a lot in this game.
Excellent points all around!
Holy shit you live in Montana?!?! Me too! Thats sooo sick dude I hope we can play sometime!
That's awesome!
game is popping tbh, magic is dying lol. other games like OP, lorcana are still going. swu is fresh and fun for sure!
"magic is dying" is way too strong of a take. Magic is king and has been around for 30 years. Its not going to go away quickly, or anytime soon. It certainly has some challenges and gripes, though.
Magic literally just released the best set they have released in years. Far from dying.
Magic is in a really weird position at the moment but dying is a stretch. Foundations is one of the best products WotC has ever produced and it blindsided everyone. The only bad press the game really has at the moment is Marvel and Spongebob being the UB reps people are worried about. Final Fantasy has people hyped. The bad news is bad but the good vibes are very good.
Dead game varies by location/store. My LGS (I'm right outside Philadelphia) two weeks ago only two of us were there to play. Last week it was only me. The dead game people aren't necessarily wrong, It is a valid criticism/concern. Star Wars to a degree has lost popularity due to Disney distorting what it is about (personal opinion). Some shows like Andor have been bangers and others like The Acolyte were complete duds. How much does that affect the card game? That is the question. FFG's recent lack of success with Star Wars games in general (RIP Destiny, X-Wing and Armada) has given gamers pause with good reason. Gameplay is great in my opinion. Rules are fairly simple. For what it is worth, despite ample/legitimate concerns, I personally want and hope to see this game continue to be successful.
I will always pay more to support the local game store
They did a good job with design. Clearly leader play testing needs assistance, that was the only big miss so far. It's hard to say if some mechanics were designed for limited only. Mechanics like Capture never hit the table in premier, but that's ok maybe depending on intention. Basing print scarcity on card complexity is an interesting decision, but maybe that will change. That's something that might be holding back box value as well.
@@zacharyhodge1761 yeah that mechanic flopped a little bit I still feel like capture can definitely hold some more value in the future they already have one really good capture card for bounty hunters that I've seen side boarded in old boba yellow lists I think it was called relentless pursuit. Other than that tho its was mostly a draft mechanic for the time being
Star Wars Unlimited is excellent! Brought me back into TCGs. Give the multiplayer format Twin Suns a try, it's a blast!
Haters gonna hate. I hope FFG can support this excellent game for many years.
In a time where cash is tight for a lot of people, it’s nice to have a game that’s accessible on many levels. Plus, it’s Star Wars.
Wow, clicked on the video and instantly recognized that book shelf lol. Now I have to find out what Rudy said about SWU.
In my opinion SWU is suffering from two big issues. Set 1 was powerful more powerful than Set 2 and Set 1 was not produced in a high volume because the high demand was not anticipated. Both of these, coupled with a long time period between sets probably lead to a number of players struggling to adopt the game and moving on to other viable option in the market. There are a ton of games out there which are all good leading to a shortage a shortage of players with the financial resources to play more than one.
I think Set 3 and Set 4 will be largely telling on if the game will have long term success. If the game sells, stores will stock it and the game will succeed. Hopefully organized play helps keep competitive players involved, because the game does lack some of the competitive challenges that a Flesh and Blood or Magic the Gathering have.
I hope SWU is successful for all those people out there that enjoy it. I feel bad for any community that loses their game.
Guarantee stores will order much less set four and there will be loads of product still printed and sitting at distro. This print run narrative has happened so many times. It needs to be figured out for this game to be a success LONG TERM.
Ayo 1:49 I would watch that market watch Wednesday suggested video! 😉
If I'm being honest, I enjoy the game from what I've read, but I won't buy paper products anymore. They're too pricey and take up space for something I wouldn't play that much locally. Now I would 100% be on-board with a digital version of the game and put real money into it for sure. Probably won't happen though, which is why Kara and TTS will exist.
I’m a giant, giant fan of this game. But the print run issues are highly concerning. Don’t put your head in the sand! Be grateful for the game we have and hopeful for the future.
But also recognize that FFG needs to thread the print run needle in the future or this game won’t make it. There are dozens of fantastic games in the dead TCG dustbin that ended up there due to corporate mismanagement. I have a lot of hope here, but if this keeps happening we can probably count on a short lived game.
You have to admit our skepticism is well founded. It’s an IP that has an expensive license to maintain and FFG has canceled more than one Star Wars products in the past. They actually need to prove to us it can last long term. SWU failing is the default at this point.
I really love set two. I’m a huge fan of the Underworld trait and set two delivered. Plus a lot of good events in the set. I think later on down the line many of the cards in set two will age well.
I didn't know about the game at all until a couple weeks ago. I have been buying up a lot of the local stuff. I am a long time tcg player of all kinds. I think it is great. I really wish there was an official online version like Arena or pokemon.
My 'hate' is simply all FFG LCGs i loved were killed off. Also Tyler was gonna kill L5R with "rally" even if the company didnt cut the competitive lcgs from their line.
I think they'd be well served to plan 9 sets for this game - and then change the IP and start over with Marvel Unlimited - with an announced plan to do 9 sets. Then, after 3 years, they could go and do another 9 sets of Star Wars, or do another IP that makes sense (Harry Potter Unlimited, Star Trek Unlimited, Lord of the Rings Unlimited, etc...).
This IP is beloved - but limited. There will be a declining interest when we get more and more of the same characters or we go deeper into the lore. Refocus to make the game "Unlimited" and the underlying IP evolving.
It’s not dying off in my group so long as more boxes come, I’m happy lol. Its Star Wars, it ain’t going anywhere
As a new comer to TCG, I love Star Wars Unlimited. I play online on force table. Unfortunately my TCG's don't have anyone that plays it. Only magic is played there
Taking out the value aspect of the card game the question becomes “do I like the gameplay” ? I like the gameplay imo
I think it’s too soon to tell. FFG has more sets planned in the pipeline. When they give up, then it’s dead. The gameplay is definitely one of the more interesting and fun to play that I’ve had my hands on and I’ve been a huge fan of the IP for a very long time. It would certainly be disappointing if the game never took off but I will point out that the TCGplayer added the game to their main navigation bar and I think that is a big achievement really.
As someone who is very cheap to play in this game and is basically only playing heroism I still go to my locals and try playing at my locals 4 times a month for each local I care about and I think that there is not a skill ceiling.
Preach it brother!
I don’t even play SWU, but it’s doing way better than flesh and blood at my LGS. I’m talking like 20 people vs 6 people.
Nailed it
Very well said
All I know is that FFG said that they had 9 seasons in the pipe. As far as I'm concerned, I'm getting nine seasons worth of cards. When we get to 9, I'll decide to go on or not.
SWU isnt magic, so its always going to be a second tier game, but there's a lot of space in that arena and along with the IP the casual interest will wax and wane. If some decent movies come out (and Disney is certainly incentivized to keep making more product) I think we'll definitely see an influx of interest. The game interestingly has come out in a lull for overall interest in the star wars IP
Brooooo why is there so much hate lol. Alpha investments is so wrong about so many things. I also was going to make a video on this topic. Great minds ❤think alike
@veiledShotSWU where in Montana do you live? My wife & I are planning to move out there & we are avid players. Love to have a group around to play.
Stores are taking a hit because quite a few people cancelled pre-orders to buy cheaper online. If stores are sitting on a crap load of product thats not selling enough they'll kill support for the game. Questionable If that will happen for SWU but ive seen a couple stores stop carrying and supporting Lorcana in a similar situation
Set 3 of Lorcana went through the same thing for their third set, prices dropped to around $90 and are back around $110
I think one of the big reasons Rudy is down on SWU is that he's not investing in it. The game is fun, the cards look great, showcases are great. I think some people let their hate for Disney Star Wars get in the way.
Really enjoyed ur videos my girls a big wig in the business world and most the dooms day videos she's watched with me on syarwars she's like they are only talking about there feelings on it and not really backing it up with anything I think she will have a more business take on your opinions on this talking about the age demographic ect. Verry well done and I agree if your in to star wars EU or Canon this game really scratches the itch
I hate playing TCGs. I love star wars unlimited.
So many commenters (both pro and anti viewpoint) have such a skewed worldview. Talking about the value of singles, the premiere events and world championships…
How about - the game is fun? The new set is very cool and opens up new avenues for existing cards and leaders. Go play games. Nothing lasts forever. Stop fretting over when and whether it will die and just go play it and have fun.
I don’t think it is intentional, but skipping over all of the missteps through the first three sets by FFG and the impact they have had feels like missing a big piece of the puzzle.
I feel like set 2 was really 1.5, just helped Boba and people weren't very interested in it towards the end. I think people are excited about the new set cause the set is actually different. May be because Boba ban but either way seeing new leaders is making the game fun again. I think at the end of the day FFG knows that if the players are happy people will continue to buy and play the game. If everyone is selling boxes at outrageous prices, players might not be able to purchase cards making the game flop.
Do you think this game would have done better if it was a different IP. Like marvel?
I hope this game lasts! But.. Rudy is correct in the fact that they need to control the print run or it will be really bad.
Wouldn’t Twin Suns be considered a “casual” format?
It certainly is, but has very little to no direct support.
I would like to have seen Montana...
I wouldn't say Set 3 is where it will end just yet. Set 5-6 maybe.
Set three is a good set. I happen to like it. The problem they are going to have with the game is what era do they go to next? Unless they go to the Old Republic timeframe. I doubt anything else will sell. So the only option is to go into really obscure characters from eras that people enjoyed or to keep making cards of characters people like that are just a little different from each other. This is what will kill the game. I don't see it lasting more than another year. Hopefully Im wrong. Time will tell.
It probably will fail. Players are not make profit, investors do. How many booster boxes a causal player will buy? One, two? Or none because they have cheap singles? How many booster boxes or rather.. cases, will investors buy chasing a chase cards? The TCG is only as healthy as healthy is its secondary market. I checked prices of full art singles from core set and they mostly dropped at half. Btw i love the game and i hope i am wrong.
I came from the pokemon side of the tcg. We’re in a much better spot than them in my experience
Rudy is quite the guy.
Where in MT? Heading to great falls
TELL THEM BRO! what is wrong with all the crybabies caring only about profit! Game is in set 3 and we have seen changes and mechanics and compeitive additions that other card games saw after years. Relax you all know-the-future wise wizards. Geez.
You said there is no casual format for SWU yet. What about "Twin Suns"?
Twin Suns is so much fun, I love it!
@@markusbiewer2756 Considering how much I loved playing MtG Commander, I would like it too. I still have to convince the other players in my local group to try it out...
@@cammuz53 Good luck! Maybe you can build some decks and give those to your friends?
@markusbiewer2756 considering their collections are much bigger than my tiny one, I think it's mostly a challenge of finding time to get together and play that format for a change.
In my opinion 80€ is the max a box should cost
Yeah boxes should never go for more than 80+ tax as MSRP
Pls give us The Old Republic lore set. Thats what I want. Love the game tho, but it is starting to be kinda expensive, haha.
@@dave8413 that would be totally awesome hoping for that set too and yeah game has been pricy think I'm done buying boxes and sticking to singles kinda found the colors I like playing the most.
Set 5 might be Legends
Scalpers are mad they got caught holding the bag 😂 I mean I wouldn't pay 200 a box and low and behold I picked them up at my shop in 1 set or another for 89 99 bucks and im happy but I'm also not trying to get rich quick fromit sooo🎉 with that said i think this game needs to follow in pokemons tracks and make an online game were buying boosters gives online boosters this will supplement any drops at local plays while population grows and people become more avid players
the game wont last beyond the 2 year wall? lol... cant wait for him to be proven dead wrong