While it is available digitally, first and foremost, Magic: the Gathering is a physical trading card game. Allowing cards to be tremendously collectible, expensive, and, of course, tactile, this fact is hardly a bad thing. That being said, however, the physical nature of MTG does expose the game to some problems. Namely production errors, which unfortunately aren’t an uncommon sight in the world of MTG.
Whenever a new set is released, it’s not uncommon to see players complaining about MTG’s physical quality. Between misprints, translation errors, and product changes, there is typically no end of complaints for MTG players to make. Unfortunately, despite being MTG’s first micro-set, March of the Machine: The Aftermath has been no different. This set, however, is hardly the only product causing confusing production errors as of late, much to the chagrin of MTG players.
Dice Degradation
Having been released as part of Phyrexia: All Will Be One, the collectible Phyrexianised white spindown die is hardly new. Subsequently, it may seem a little late to be talking about potential production errors and the quality of this MTG product. In reality, however, it seems this once prized die may be dying itself.
Over the weekend, Reddit user u/crochetcreations612 posted a somewhat troubling discovery: the chase Phyrexian die appears to be cracking. According to Crochetcreations612, the cracking started off small, however, it has only been getting worse over time. Now, as you can see above, the cracks that adorn the die’s surface are hardly little.
While the cracks do somewhat fit the white-speckled aesthetics of the die, they’re nevertheless rather concerning. All the more so since this issue doesn’t appear to be an isolated problem. Commenting on Crochetcreations612’s post were several players such as u/DrkSaphir who stated their die has the same fault.
“Didn’t notice till I saw this post but after checking mine it is also cracking quite a bit..”
u/DrkSaphir
Considering the fuss caused by this commemorative spindown die, it’s safe to say that cracks are not a good sign. To make matters worse, no one knows exactly why they’re appearing. Due to the prevalence of other production issues in MTG, however, poor production standards seemed like the obvious explanation. Subsequently, several players, such as u/TheKinkyBeardo, elected to direct their outrage at WotC.
Alongside this condemnation, other players, such as u/ShadowValent, suggested a more scientific behind the cracks. Warning players not to use alcohol to clean acrylic plastic, ShadowValent noted that hand sanitizer could lead to this cracking.
Regardless of the reason behind the cracking, unfortunately, it seems this sight may become a common one. As, according to players, cracks are appearing on even the brand-new March of the Machine dice. Currently, it’s unknown if the $50 fully Phyrexianised spindown has similar cracks.
Suspect Sleeves
Alongside this dice debacle doing the rounds on Reddit, over the weekend, sleeves were also being scrutinized. This was thanks to u/realbadpainting, who posted a picture of their worryingly wavy Dragon Shield sleeves. Considering sleeves are meant to keep cards safe, this distortion is obviously not ideal. It certainly wouldn’t fly in a tournament setting, either. Since each sleeve’s uniqueness could unintentionally lead to a marked card, bringing sleeves like this to a competitive-sanctioned event could lead to no end of trouble.
While the above image is rather concerning, thankfully, MTG players were on the case. Responding to Realbadpainting’s question, which asked: “Why do my dragon shields get all wavey like this?” MTG players on Reddit offered up countless answers. Alongside being some interesting sleuthing, these answers provide a handy guide of what not to do with your sleeves.
External Pressure
Suggested by u/JohnWokBabaYaga, it appears one potential explanation for this effect is an overabundance of shuffling pressure. Thanks to the additional length at the top of Dragon Shield sleeves, this pressure can lead to warping over time. Especially if players happen to grip the sleeve’s extended open top. Effectively this is a byproduct of general wear and tear.
Internal Pressure
As if one kind of pressure wasn’t bad enough, many players suggested that pressure from within the sleeves can also be problematic. Pointed out by u/GotBacon4Life the main cause for this will be inner sleeves that don’t quite fit. In this instance, the added tension will similarly result in the plastic of the sleeves warping over time. Subsequently, whenever you’re double sleeving your cards, make sure everything fits together perfectly.
Time
While everything would last forever in a perfect world, unfortunately, in real life, products have an expiration date. Subsequently, after a while, you may simply have to replace sleeves and even cards if they get damaged. Highlighted by u/Zaneysed, this appears to be the main problem for Realbadpainting, as their sleeves are eight months old.
Thankfully, while sleeves may deteriorate over time, like all things, actual production issues are few and far between. When they do happen, typically, Dragon Shield has been quick to rectify the issue. This was seen recently following a bad production batch of sleeves slipping through the cracks of quality assurance. Subsequently, if you believe your sleeves are actually faulty, it should be possible to replace them.
Aftermath Affairs
Being the latest MTG set, unfortunately, March of the Machine: The Aftermath has also experienced a handful of production problems. Arguably the most interesting of these issues is the misprinted foil cards. As showcased by u/spiral813 on Reddit, these misprinted cards sport quite a unique look.
Effectively missing one of the printing layers, believed to be the black color pass, these foils are incredibly washed out. That being said, however, they don’t exactly look bad, with many players actually enjoying the novelty. As usual, with misprinted cards, it’s likely these washed-out foils could be worth a pretty penny.
Alongside foiling issues, March of the Machine: The Aftermath also has some rather unique production quirks. As pointed out by u/xaleyhopx recently, it appears Deification has two different wordings. The changed text can be found on the Halo Foil variant of the card.
Thankfully, unlike the snafu on Zopandrel, Hunger Dominus, this production quirk doesn’t make the card worse. Instead, the difference is only in the card’s grammar, which doesn’t change its effect at all. As you can see below, this is hardly the most major change, however, it’s still an interesting design quirk.
Halo Foil Deification | “As long as you control a creature, if damage dealt to a planeswalker you control of the chosen type would result in all of its loyalty counters being removed, instead all but one of those counters are removed.”
All Other Versions | “As long as you control a creature, if damage dealt to a planeswalker you control of the chosen type would result in all loyalty counters on it being removed, instead all but one of those counters are removed.”
