Rolling for Initiative is a weekly column by Scott Thorne, PhD, owner of Castle Perilous Games & Books in Carbondale, Illinois and instructor in marketing at Southeast Missouri State University. This week, Thorne talks about tariffs and the Magic the Gathering Universes Beyond Final Fantasy prerelease.
One thing I noticed at both the ACD and Astra shows was how publishers were dealing with the tariffs. At both shows, most publishers took a wait and see approach to them, either saying they were opting to hold prices as they are currently or raise them 5 to 10 per cent, passing along as little of the increase due to tariffs as possible. Given the fluctuation in tariff rates over the past few months, it makes sense for companies to hold off on increasing prices as tariffs might get negotiated downward or just reduced for no given reason (see “Erratic Tariff Policy“). Incidentally, a group of GAMA members are travelling to Washington D.C. this week to lobby Congress regarding the tariffs. I’m not sure how much good it will do given that Congress has abrogated its power to set tariffs to the executive branch and has shown little inclination to take it back.
Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond Final Fantasy released this past week and for many stores, the shipment was the largest invoice in the store’s history. One store owner remarked their invoice total looked like the tracking number for the shipment. Wizards of the Coast has said that Final Fantasy was the best-selling set in the history of Magic (see “Hasbro Raises Guidance for WotC“) and I do not doubt it. However, I do wonder if they are measuring that by dollar amount sold or by numbers sold. Given the pricing for the sets (keystoning the retail price for a sealed box of Final Fantasy Collector Boosters produces a retail price of around $600, though most online retailers are selling them for around $500), I can see the total dollar amount sold of the set easily eclipsing the previous best-selling set, The Lord of the Rings, but I do not think the quantity of product sold will exceed some less expensive sets such as Foundations and Tarkir: Dragonstorm.
I hope that stores view the set for what it is, a short-term windfall. They should treat it as such, using it to pay down outstanding bills, putting money into a rainy day fund or some store improvements. One thing I do not plan on doing with it is using it to bulk up store inventory. Maybe look into bringing a new line that you were considering but not more copies of a game already stocked.
Based on the success of this set, I expect WotC to go back to the well again with more video game-themed Universes Beyond sets. The recent success of the A Minecraft Movie (see “A Minecraft Movie Boffo“), and the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Echoes of Wisdom video games, set them up as ripe IP candidates for Universes Beyond sets. Next week, thoughts on some problems with the official set release I hope WotC addresses in the future.
Comments? Were you allocated? How were your store sales? What Universes Beyond sets do you think are on the horizon for WotC? Send them to castleperilousgames@gmail.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
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