Mana - Platinum/Gold/"Sybil" - SHIPPING

[volantangel]

However I don't understand the consistency of the commenters. These decks are priced similarly to the Hive decks (actually a little more) but there isn't the same snark/contempt /outrage/ill feeling as was directed at Kings Wild and Brendan Hong. That is a good thing. But why the double standard and why don't the same people calling for the price correction and high prices not equally as livid at Mr. Mana?

Well for one thing, shipping is included (Hive isnt). Tuckboxes are completely custom, new layout will probably cost a fair bit more to create compared to a standard box. And the use of Metallic inks.

Furthermore prices have not officially been released, and you will probably get it cheaper with larger bundles.

That being said, ill see if i can snag one at EB prices, otherwise im probably out as well.

[Godzillian]

However I don't understand the consistency of the commenters. These decks are priced similarly to the Hive decks (actually a little more) but there isn't the same snark/contempt /outrage/ill feeling as was directed at Kings Wild and Brendan Hong. That is a good thing. But why the double standard and why don't the same people calling for the price correction and high prices not equally as livid at Mr. Mana?

Well for one thing, shipping is included (Hive isnt). Tuckboxes are completely custom, new layout will probably cost a fair bit more to create compared to a standard box. And the use of Metallic inks.

Furthermore prices have not officially been released, and you will probably get it cheaper with larger bundles.

That being said, ill see if i can snag one at EB prices, otherwise im probably out as well.

Also because this has an Unlimited version for $11 / $9.75EB. Hive doesn't.
Also there's EB sets of 3 for $36.50 shipped ($12.17 each). Hive does, but it's a set of 2 for $36 + shipping.
Also because Erik Mana doesn't have any (major) controversy with any of his releases. JR does - quite a few too.

EDIT: Prices are unofficial but they're from Mike Ratledge (who I'm assuming has direct contact with Erik Mana)
EDIT2: My 3rd point is probably unfair because Erik Mana has only 1 campaign versus JR who has had several.

[sinjin7]

However I don't understand the consistency of the commenters. These decks are priced similarly to the Hive decks (actually a little more) but there isn't the same snark/contempt /outrage/ill feeling as was directed at Kings Wild and Brendan Hong. That is a good thing. But why the double standard and why don't the same people calling for the price correction and high prices not equally as livid at Mr. Mana?

Trust me, I'm not thrilled by the prices of the limited Reserve decks either (and it remains to be seen if they will sell many at that price point or not), but like Volantangel and Godzillian stated above, the Hive is still more expensive and doesn't come with a more economical unlimited version.

But in addition to the bottom line numbers and prices, there's no question Brendan got caught up in the negative backlash against Jack$on/King$ Wild, whether fairly or not. Jack$on made mistakes with the Moriarty deck and King$ Wild Tally Ho decks (enough has been said about that and there's no need to rehash it further), but instead of being conciliatory, he came off as arrogant and churlish in some people's eyes instead. Plus, Jack$on and Brendan aren't doing themselves any favors with their petulant avoidance of UC. I have much more respect for people who can come and face the heat, at least then they have the chance to defend themselves and win me back.

[Mike Ratledge]

Well, let me say this about that: Erik and I have been discussing the pluses and minuses of pricing and where the 'sweet spot' is for things right now. In the end we agreed that we're setting the retail "MSRP" at $14.95 for these, but it's also going to be $11CA or roughly $10 US for the unlimited Livida blue/grey metallic deck.

Understand that we're limited by the KS paradigm that stuffs shipping and handling into the price for the deck. No way to get around that without making it so that instead of 75% of people need to adjust their pledge amount we would make it 100% if we even tried to unbundle the S&H from the price. Again, it's a double-edged sword. That means that a single deck is the worst-case cost-wise, and basically for all intents and purposes 4 decks cost about the same shipping-wise, but there is a $2.25-$3 handling charge for three more decks. We're getting into the fine toothed comb when we start talking about handling fees, but - it's reality. I don't like to sugar-coat things.

Erik is aware that some people don't favor the side-load tuck, but that's what he did to be very clearly distinctive as opposed to those sweet awesome tucks for the Reserves.

The problem with trying to cut the price on those Q1000 Reserve decks is that a lot of the costs are 'sunk' costs, meaning they are fixed regardless of whether he produces 1000 or 5000, plates cost the same, setup costs the same, etc. That means that for a Q1000 deck by the very nature there is 5x the cost spread over what a Q5000 printing allows. There's not a lot you can do there, those costs won't "go away" and it's really not fair to 'hide' part of it in the standard unlimited deck, so we're doing the opposite: that deck is going to be less than I originally posted. If you want to get very precise, the cost is $10.07 US as of today, since $10 US is $10.92 Canadian exchange.

[StanKindLee]

I think Jackson is willing to sacrifice 10% of his market just to avoid the grade school playground attitude (read: "we are just being brutally honest - grow some skin") which permeates UC at times.

[msp062]

A photo of the Ace and King of Spades from this deck has been posted on Mana Playing cards facebook page

[SpecialK]

I'm curious to see how these turn out with EPCC. Like another commenter in this thread, I was a bit disappointed these decks were not going to maintain continuity and use USPCC. I pulled a deck of Oracles and Zenith last night and I preferred the USPCC Oracles over the Zenith's by a mile! The cards were smoother, handled better, printing was gorgeous and the tuckbox did not feel like a piece of cardboard from an Amazon package.

Excited for these and with the EPCC upgrades everyone is talking about, I hope they stand up to the rest of the series.

[Mike Ratledge]

A photo of the Ace and King of Spades from this deck has been posted on Mana Playing cards facebook page

I checked, thought I had put the social media link I'm feeding as well, but I hadn't. Go figure: @ErikMana on FB

[msp062]

Hi Mike,

That link you just poted takes me to Amazon.

Mike

[Sher]

Here's the pic. King reminds me of the French courts.

[PlayingCardz]

Looks VERY promising !

[chach]

Very cool indeed, looking forward to tomorrow's release. Granted I'll admit I won't be heartbroken if I don't get the limited decks. Don't get me wrong, they're beautiful, but the Livida is by far the best design of the 3, which is also the unlimited version. But that doesn't mean I won't be trying for a Platinum reserve deck (never been much of a fan for gold really).

[badpete69]

I don't think anyone will have problems getting the limited decks if you pledge the first day Chach... Unless you are looking for a specific pledge level

[Rose]

Gorgeous, just truly beautiful, anything with embossing I am a fan of. This is regal and magical!

[chach]

Wow that tri-pack went fast

[volantangel]

Haha who got in on a tri-pack ! Wheee !

[Maddest Hammer]

I went for the one of everything box. I dropped out of the last campaign, and kicking myself for giving up the mixed brick. Would like a couple extra of the limited decks though...

[Widdee]

Tri-Pack Brick here. Wonder how long those will last. About 20 of 25 left.

[PlayingCardz]

Got one RS6 **COMPLETE SYBIL PACKAGE**

[markjanderson]

I got in for the Tri-Pack and I'll probably add-on some more of the unlimited Sybil Livida Decks later

[badpete69]

I almost went for the full limited brick but too many decks and too many upcoming decks etc etc settled for the tripak

[madcolin]

Missed out on the EB Tri-Pack, but got the last Mana Complete 6 deck set.

[sinjin7]

So here is the final break-down of non Early Bird prices in US currency:

One Sybil deck = $10.07 shipped
One Gold/Platinum Reserve deck = $18.32 shipped

Obviously, if you got in one of the many Early Bird levels, your price per deck goes down, plus you also get price breaks for buying in quantities. I got in on the RS5 Gold/Platinum Reserve Brick, so that in essence dropped my costs down to $8.46 shipped per Sybil and $15.38 shipped per Gold/Platinum Reserve.

[markjanderson]

Out of curiosity, I'm wondering if the add-on price of $13 CAD for the Sybil unlimited deck is still correct (sounded like Mike and Erik were discussing pricing earlier). Only asking because the 1 deck tier is only $11 CAD and the 3 deck tier is $31 CAD. Can't remember off the top of my head if this is consistent with other projects.

[sinjin7]

Most playing card campaigns on KS usually offers a discount for an early bird deck, then has the regular KS price for a regular deck. Some campaigns allow you to add on decks at the KS price for a regular deck, while others charge a little additional premium for add on deck, but the add on deck would still be less than the full retail price after the campaign is over.

Personally, I think the add on price per deck of $13 CAD or $11.91 USD shipped is a bit steep for an unlimited, EPCC produced deck in a rather plain side tuck. But at the end of the day, you're only paying an additional $1.84 USD per add on deck. If you want multiple Sybil decks, there's still plenty of multi deck tiers that gets you decks for even less than the cost of a single deck.

[SpecialK]

I went for the S4 since I missed the EB Tri-Pack. I'll be using the Livida's the most, so 1 set of reserve seems fine.

[flyers3003]

Out of curiosity, I'm wondering if the add-on price of $13 CAD for the Sybil unlimited deck is still correct (sounded like Mike and Erik were discussing pricing earlier). Only asking because the 1 deck tier is only $11 CAD and the 3 deck tier is $31 CAD. Can't remember off the top of my head if this is consistent with other projects.

Looks like it was a typo. It now reads $11 CAD for the add on of the unlimited deck.

[msp062]

Is the coloring of the face cards the same for all three versions?? or different like indigo and zinfandel were different?

[Eoghann]

Forgot this was today. I'm in.

[Widdee]

Forgot this was today. I'm in.

I'll e-mail you a double espresso next time!