According to local game store owners and employees, player response to the new Lorwyn Eclipsed Draft Night product have been lukewarm at best.
Wizards of the Coast describes Draft Night, which debut with Lorwyn Eclipsed, as "a self-contained kit for hosting a Pick-Two Draft for four players" that "encourages fast, dynamic drafting that’s great for kitchen table play or adding a dash of variety to game night."
It includes 12 Lorwyn Eclipsed Play Boosters, 90 basic lands, and a Collector Booster designed to be the draft's prize. Whether it be the unpopularity of Magic's recently-introduced Pick-Two Draft variant or just overall dismissal of the product, it doesn't seem to be selling very well. In a recent poll by Wizards of the Coast, 54 percent of Wizards Play Network members say that player response has been "neutral."
"Customers told me they'd rather have a gift bundle,." says Rob Gootz of Gootzy Gaming in Altoona, Penn. "My folks don't like the Pick-Two Draft format (prefer 8 man) and they felt the Collector Booster was a big prize and inflated the box cost (which didn't have any bundle discount vs just buying the items individual MSRP)."
Others agree that the Pick-Two Draft format the product is designed for might be the issue.
"Players still prefer the traditional 8-person draft. " says Daniel Crabtree, who runs Magic events in Joplin, Mo. "We have tried to get commander players interested in this product, but there is little to no interest."
"Players say its a high price point and prefer 8 players, maybe a promo card for first place," adds LC Cox, owner of Geeks & Games in Oregon City, Ore.
Brian Knight, owner of Game Knight Games in Pueblo, Col., sees a different problem with the product.
"My players have bought it only because there is a Collector Booster," he says. "Most are buying to open themselves; not as a draft experience."
For other LGSs, sales of the product aren't there because the product itself has yet to arrive.
"If we were actually shipped anything that we ordered, I could ask the costumers that wanted these products," comments Dave Fromerth of Citadel Game Center in Groton, Conn.
Though, even for stores that did receive product, price seems to be an issue.
"There is little interest currently as Collector packs are still available individually," says Josh Reedy of Starling Cards & Comics in Martinsville, Vir. "It's also about $10 too expensive to justify buying comparatively."
Lorwyn Eclipsed Draft Night is available from retailers for around $90.
