Wizards of the Coast probably isn't too happy with how Magic: The Gathering's 30th-anniversary celebrations are going at the minute. The highly controversial, very expensive 30th Anniversary Edition continues to anger the community, and now the disastrous launch of the 30th Anniversary Countdown Kit has poured fuel on the fire.
The kit itself went on sale on Monday at 9 AM ET and - just like any highly desired product sold in limited numbers - was sold out within an hour. Unfortunately, a large amount of the kits seem to have ended up in the hands of scalpers, which is expected to be fair to Wizards of the Coast. What can't be excused is that Wizards apparently allowed customers - and potential scalpers - to buy up to 30 kits in a single purchase, according to folks on social media who attempted to get one (thanks Wargamer).
Head on over to Ebay and you don't have to look very hard to find 30th Anniversary Countdown Kits being sold for double the price, suggesting that Wizards hasn't really done enough to get the kits into the hands of fans that actually want them. To make matters worse, even those that did manage to secure one had to fight through a number of technical issues and weren't even sure if they had one until hours after purchase.
For example, Magic pro Brian Kibler detailed his experience trying to snag a kit on Twitter, telling fans of his ordeals with gateway errors and a number of other issues. In the end, Kibler accidentally managed to purchase two copies, the second of which he says he's going to give away.
Not the ideal launch for a new product and it's yet more controversy that Wizards has to deal with after the latest trailer for its expensive 30th Anniversary Edition was mass disliked on YouTube.