Throughout recent years, Wizards of the Coast and parent company Hasbro have been pushing MTG in a different direction. Rather than catering to Standard players, the focus has shifted towards a broader audience and casual formats such as Commander. Ushering in a new design philosophy, this recent change has arrived alongside significant changes to MTG’s availability and collectability. Introducing swathes of new product options, WotC is producing something for everybody, a decision that not all MTG players are happy about.
One such player group that Wizards of the Coast has been keen to tap into has been collectors. Enticing these players with unique card treatments, Secret Lair drops, promotions, and Collector Boosters, Magic has been made significantly more collectible in recent years. Following the much-mired sale of 30th Anniversary Edition, this topic reached its boiling point. So much so, in fact, that MTG’s original creator, Richard Garfield, even spoke out against Wizards’ current practices. Despite Richard Garfield’s comments, many MTG players have been unable to resist the allure of Magic’s more collectible products.
Phyrexia: All Will Be One’s Bundle: Compleat Edition, for instance, has been selling like hotcakes thanks to its collectible offerings. This has caused pre-order prices for the box and the cards inside to spike heavily, tripling in price! Thankfully, more stock being allocated has driven these prices back down. However, MTG players are no less interested. Alongside this sought-after product, another ultra-exclusive product is being created to commemorate the upcoming set. Despite a compelling track record of sales success, however, this latest MTG product is facing criticism from fans.
Beadle & Grimm’s Behold New Phyrexia Limited Edition Set
Following a customer survey from the end of 2022, MTG players have been eagerly anticipating Beadle & Grimm’s next Magic product. Last released to commemorate Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Beadle & Grimm’s have a long history of producing incredibly sought-after products. While there have previously been build quality complaints, this has done little to slow down the company’s sales success. Selling their products in limited-run drops, Beadle & Grimm’s has a history of selling out within a matter of minutes. Before announcing their latest product drop, MTG players expected a repeat of this lightning-fast sale. However, after the reveal of the new product, MTG players haven’t been too enthused by Beadle & Grimm’s latest offering.
Named the Behold New Phyrexia Limited Edition Set, as expected and as the name suggests, this product commemorates the launch of Phyrexia: All Will Be One. Available to pre-order on February 18th, 2023, this Limited-Edition Set contains a plethora of items to Compleat your next deck. With a deck box, dice, sleeves, a Phyrexian language journal, and a promo card, there’s plenty for players to enjoy. While each of these items is certainly compelling, players aren’t sure they quite justify the product’s price tag. Currently, on Beadle & Grimm’s website, the Behold New Phyrexia Limited Edition Set costs $135 + shipping.
While this is a lot of money to spend on a deck box and all the trimmings, MTG players likely won’t be able to wait around. As with past sales from Beadle & Grimm’s, this new product is a limited-edition run. According to Beadle & Grimm’s website, there will be “no more than 7,000 sold” of this Phyrexian-themed MTG product. Subsequently, should there be enough interest in this product or greedy enough scalpers, we may be about to witness another product selling out in minutes.
Demand Doubts
Beadle & Grimm’s MTG product may have a history of sales success, however, this time around, players aren’t so enthused. Taking to social media, many MTG players have been quick to dismiss the company’s offerings this time around. Reddit users such as u/Lakaen, for instance, bemoaned the lack of cards within a product for a card game.
“I think this is both the coolest and most absurdly priced item I’ve ever seen. 65 sleeves? As in six, five? What? A deck box? A journal? We’re into playing cards B&G. This isn’t a PS5 exclusive where including a single playable thing works well. Where are my cards?”
u/Lakaen
Alongside complaints about the lack of MTG cards within this MTG product, players also poked fun at Beadle & Grimm’s deck box. “Designed to look like it originated right out of The Fair Basilica,” there’s no denying this deck box is a treat for Phyrexian fans. For MTG players, however, the deck box isn’t entirely perfect. On their website, Beadle & Grimm’s state the deck box can fit a “full Commander Deck or two Standard Decks.” While this isn’t untrue MTG players are nevertheless wishing for more space, as each of the box’s main compartments only holds “up to 65 sleeved cards each.”
“The deck box holding two 65-sleeved cards with 4 sections seems like a poor design choice… Most people buying a blinged-out Elesh Norn-themed box like that will be using it for their EDH deck, so they’d have to split their deck into four compartments. It should’ve been one larger section for 100~120 sleeved cards, then a smaller section for 10~20 tokens.”
u/SWBFThree2020
Responding to this complaint, Beadle & Grimm’s took to Reddit to share the following statement.
“This deck box will fit a full EDH deck with tokens/extra cards, along with room for dice, counters, and pen/pencil. Or two standard decks if you prefer. The fact that the cards go into two separate compartments was a design choice to let us make the box more wide than tall so you can use the top for two life counters with the d10s. The layout is similar to fancy wooden poker sets that hold two decks of cards with room for chips. But for Magic!”
u/BeadleandGrimms
Despite the complaints about the price of this product, several players noted that the reprint of Metal Misstep is actually rather compelling. Banned in Modern and Legacy, Mental Misstep is nevertheless prized for its strength in Vintage and Commander. Despite its power, non-foil versions of the card only sell for around $4 to $5 on TCGplayer. Foil versions of Mental Misstep, however, sell for upwards of $150! Even the foil Secret Lair reprints of Mental Misstep sell for around $50 each. Subsequently, the foil Phyrexian text version of Mental Misstep within the Behold New Phyrexia Limited Edition Set may well be substantially valuable, justifying the cost of the product.
“Those mental missteps will hold all the value, so if you want the accessories, they’ll be basically free a month as the MM rises.”
u/turthell
Personal Preference
While the Phyrexian foil reprint of Mental Misstep may well justify much of the cost, ultimately, this limited-run product isn’t all about the investment. Instead, Beadle & Grimm’s offers some unique accessories to delight excited Phyrexian fans. Subsequently, there’s not really a definite answer to whether or not you should purchase the Behold New Phyrexia limited-edition set. If you’re interested in the unique deck box, sleeves, and dice to bling out your decks, it’ll be an incredible product. If you’re looking to turn over an instant profit, however, there are certainly better products for you to purchase.
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