One of the most unpopular things that has come out of Magic: The Gathering in recent years is the Aftermath Booster. Debuting in March of the Machine: The Aftermath, this product failed so spectacularly that it practically killed micro sets. It turns out that a 5-card booster that retails for the price of a normal one wasn’t a good deal in many players’ eyes.
As if the price wasn’t bad enough, Aftermath Boosters also weren’t Draftable, so you couldn’t even play with them. As a result, March of the Machine: The Aftermath was widely regarded as one of the biggest failures in MTG ever. Despite this, Wizards didn’t entirely give up on the micro-set concept. Learning from their mistakes, Wizards tried again this year with Assassis’s Creed and the Beyond Booster.
Offering an unusual crossover, weak cards, no Commander decks, and seven-card packs, the writing appeared to be on the wall. Despite this, MTG’s Head Designer has now revealed Assassin’s Creed wasn’t all bad as it met expectations… whatever that means.
Assassin’s Creed “Meeting Expectations”
In a recent Blogatog exchange between MTG designer Mark Rosewater and Tumblr user Elderaktis, it was revealed that the MTG Assassin’s Creed crossover set met the expectations of Wizards of the Coast in terms of performance. This is a rather curious statistic, to say the least, and could mean a variety of different things.
Did Assassin’s Creed perform better than players expected? That could certainly be the reality. Despite many players thinking that this set would bomb, there does appear to be some demand for the cards within. Just look at secondary market prices for singles for evidence of that.
That said, we have no idea what Wizards of the Coast’s expectations were for the Assassin’s Creed set. It’s entirely possible, albeit unlikely, that they expected the set to be a spectacular failure. While Wizards definitely wouldn’t have wanted this outcome, it was poorly positioned in the 2024 MTG release calendar.
Surrounded by Modern Horizons 3 and Bloomburrow, Assassin’s Creed had very tough competition. It had basically no chance of impacting Modern following Modern Horizons 3 and the flavor of Assassin’s could hardly compete with Bloomburrow’s whimsy. Factor in the lack of a limited environment as well, and it’s no surprise Assassin’s Creed had little staying power.
Whatever the cause was, Assassin’s Creed certainly seemed like an afterthought. What this means for the set’s overall performance, however, is unclear. Without a clearer explanation from Wizards, there’s no telling if the set meeting expectations is good or not. Despite this uncertainty, MTG players haven’t been shy about chipping in with their own thoughts and comments.
Low Expectations Expected
The resounding belief from the MTG community following Rosewater’s statement is that “meeting expectations” is basically code for “we did not expect this to do well, and it didn’t.”
“Well, we know that after the failure of Aftermath, their expectations were quite low.”
Nikos-Kazantzakis
“Considering they dropped it between MH3 and BLM I have to imagine their expectations were low.”
Magwikk
At the end of the day, while meeting expectations isn’t inherently bad, it’s hardly the most glowing endorsement. If the set did do well, there’s a good chance it would have received higher praise from Rosewater in their answer.
A bigger question to ask from this statement may be what it suggests for the future. In theory, Assassin’s Creed and Beyond Boosters could have created a framework for countless Universes Beyond crossovers going forward. By only meeting expectations, Wizards may feel the need to reinvent micro sets once again, or even scrap them entirely.
Sadly, without clarification on whether or not meeting expectations is good or bad, it’s impossible to know what the future holds. On one hand, expectations could have been sky-high for this Universes Beyond release, or they equally could have been in the gutter. Until Wizards of the Coast tells us more, we’re simply in the dark for now.
Personally, since Drafting a set is one of the best ways to experience it, I hope micro-sets don’t become the norm. It is important to remember that Modern and Draft players may not be the target audience for a set like this. Regardless, only time will tell if something like the Assassin’s Creed set comes back to Magic: the Gathering.
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