Earlier today (February 28, 2017), Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) announced plans to reprint the Awakenings set on a limited basis, and also gave some details about the future plans for Star Wars: Destiny. While we at The Chance Cube love this game and are thankful to FFG for creating it, this news is sending mixed signals.
Concerns
What concerns us most about this news is that FFG doesn’t give numbers. While we are glad that they are doing another limited run for Awakenings, it would be nice to know how “limited” the reprint will be. As it stands, knowing that the reprint of Awakenings is limited will wreak havoc with the secondary market for boosters and singles alike. So, for people looking for a card or two to complete their sets, do it now as the cost will only go up.
A minor point is that the reprint for Awakenings will not be available until after Spirit of Rebellion is released. A lot of players would have preferred if FFG had pushed the reprint to have it available prior to the new expansion.
They also have stated that they will be doing a tiered release for Spirit of Rebellion much like they did for Awakenings. We still don’t know if FFG is producing more of Spirit of Rebellion compared to Awakenings so people can get their product. However, when FFG switched to a tiered/wave release for the initial run in early December, it was due to production issues, so announcing the same release structure for Spirit of Rebellion does not bode well.
Along the same lines, when will sets be considered “released,” given that the next set will be released in tiers much like the first? Are they officially “released” and legal when the first tier/wave becomes available? For competitive players, this is something they need to know, and, given that Worlds is in early May (and Store Championships starting the following weekend), Spirit of Rebellion starts releasing before Worlds, when will it be legal? The rules say that product is legal 11 days after release, but will a tiered release muddy the waters? For casual events (like Store Championships), this won’t matter, but with Worlds in line with the release date, who knows what can happen.
For those looking to pre-order Spirit of Rebellion booster boxes, good luck. Many online retailers and local stores are not (at this time) accepting pre-orders or prepayments due to the history of supply shortages.
Anyone who plays any game seriously from FFG knows that they never allow hope to get in the way of facts. (X-Wing, anyone?) They are late on deliveries of product (within and without their control), sometime months late, they give poor information in news articles (K-wing comes to mind), and are as tight-lipped as anyone. We still don’t know what Wave 6 for Armada contains, with Wave 5 having already been release for a couple of months, and the same with Wave 11 for X-Wing, with Wave 10 dropping a couple of weeks ago.
Hopes
It’s nice to see that they announced yearly starter decks and a yearly “base” set, and that the base set will be in print for about a year. While we do have to wait a year for this new base set, it does show that FFG realized that they completely underestimated the demand for this game, and are taking steps to rectify the situation. However, it does bring into question how FFG will handle any sort of rotation for permitted sets. They already do this for their LCGs, and we fully expect to see it happen to this game as well, but we have no idea yet as to what, or when, any rotation will take place.
Also, since this game is a Star Wars game, it will sell. It will most likely flourish, and if FFG can keep the quality consistently high, this game should have a long, healthy life.
Cautiously Optimistic
Yes, we have several concerns, but those are based on incomplete information, speculation, and our own human tendencies to see the worst in the shadows. But we also have FFG’s track record of putting out quality products, even after considering delays, shortages, and other setbacks. Like any other company, FFG has had their highs and lows, but with many more highs than lows. And that is why we at The Chance Cube remain cautiously optimistic.
Will this announcement drive people to sell off their sets? Sure. Will that mean that players will have more product available to buy on the secondary market? Yes. Is this healthy for the game? Is Fantasy Flight Games losing potential money? How will this news change future sets? Right now, we wait and see. And we hope.
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