The Problem with Expanded

The Problem with Expanded

Hello Everyone, 

Today I am going to talk about problems with the Expanded Format. This has NOTHING to do with the format or Meta, only with the Business side of things, which is huge. I am going to talk about costs, older sets relating to costs, Tournament Structures, and counterarguments. I will also not talk about things like Sleeves, or items that do not impact the format, such as plushes. 

So here we go: 

Costs of Expanded: 

Most people have to know which sets have good cards, and what certain cards are worth. For Example: Tapu Lele-GX costs $30 -$40 depending on the conditions and where it is bought. That in itself is a big pain, especially when other good cards are accounted for. Even a small GX such as Vikavolt GX is a few dollars, which is a lot when added up. That was just for the Standard Format. 

Now, take Expanded into account. There are over 20 sets in the game with Expanded. Lets start with some big name EXs and GXs. Some of these are huge, and make the deck a fortune. 

Back when Shaymin EX came out, most people ran 3 or 4. It was the thing that was needed. When Tapu-Lele GX came out, it became less valuable. But, it will still be at least $20-$30 afterwards because some major decks STILL need the card. That already is a huge problem. 

Pokemon is seen as budget game to many people, especially when the age demographic is different compared to Yu-Gi-Oh! and Magic: The Gathering. Pokemon has a different variety of people, and not many are wiling to spend $1000 on some decks. It's not practical to them. Unfortunately, some decks will cost $200 just because of the cards like Tapu Lele GX and Shaymin EX. 

Older sets relating to Costs: 

What most people don't realize is that Pokemon does not make much money off of the older sets. I'll explain why. 

Pokemon only makes a few sets in production at a time. For the longest time, they did not make Roaring Skies, and instead only made the newer sets, like Steam Siege, or Sun and Moon. By having a bunch of sets that aren't even legal, it diminishes the value of the newer sets, which is what Pokemon needs to sell. 

For example: Black and White Base Set is no longer being made. Some people want Pluspower (a Trainer card). What people don't buy because of that is Guardian's Rising, or the new Burning Shadows (as of this article's time of writing). They'll buy the Pluspower, which is good for the secondary market (Troll and Toad, and Collectors's Cache are stores that fit this example, alongside with normal card game shops), but this is terrible for the Company itself, as they make very little money on that.

Pokemon needs to sell the packs, as I have been told. By buying cards from other old sets, it may prevent people from buying packs of the newest set, which is where the profit for Pokemon is made. 

Tournament Structures Problem: 

Most people saw on Pokemon.com that Regionals are now having more of both Standard and Expanded Tournaments. What is wrong with the addition of more Expanded tournaments is that people won't buy the newest sets, but the older stuff that is still good. 

Standard will not be played as much, and people will mostly buy for the old Expanded Cards, at least for Expanded Tournaments. When Standard comes along, that is a different story. 

Counterarguments: 

Most people will say a few arguments to the article. One is that Powercreep will make most decks bad, and keep a few good ones. That is wrong because Seismitoad EX (a very strong and good card) will still be played a lot. 

Another one is that Pokemon will still make money. The problem is that the stores will pay a little bit to Pokemon for being a vendor or other marketing reasons, but after that, only the vendor makes money, not Pokemon. 

Closing: 

Overall, I think that Expanded is terrible in a business sense. It doesn't let people buy new products, but instead only the old cards. If Pokemon made more money on Expanded, then I think that it would be ok to have. 

Please comment if you want to post a counterargument, or agree, etc. 

Thank you.