Earlier today, Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) announced their new setting guide to be released in November. It is from a Magic: The Gathering setting: Ravnica. The book is Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica [Amazon Affiliate Link] . Last night fans reported that Amazon had leaked the listing ahead of the announcement.

I suspect if there was a “leak” it was a strategic leak meant to build excitement. Here is the link [Amazon Affiliate Link].

I did a series of tweets about this, and I think that analysis has been confirmed to be spot on, so I repeat it here.

My Twitter Analysis

Ravnica is a new D&D 5e setting. It’s from Magic: The Gathering. I don’t know the M:TG settings and have only played a few games just a few months ago. Some are upset that it wasn’t a revival of a setting from a prior version. I don’t see the problem. This is a smart strategy.

It has more appeal for novice players that only know 5e. It also invites M:TG players that aren’t as already into RPGs to give them a try. The demographic has shifted. If it was my business I’d leverage every asset I could while the wave of popularity lasts.

You don’t need WOTCs official 5e setting to use an older setting. You can even roll your own. Be glad that they’re doing settings and alternate covers of the core. books. It means the investment you made in 5e will last. I’d say there’s little reason for a new version.

Settings and adventure books will keep things going for the foreseeable future. That’s my 2 cents.

Hasbro’s Best Year Ever

This evening Jim Cramer, the annoying screaming stock analyst on CNBC, interviewed the CEO of Hasbro. You can read the article and see that interview here.  Hasbro has had its best year ever. D&D is once again a darling of the stock market. Stranger Things and Twitch streaming has played a big part of that. They have partnered with Amazon, which owns Twitch.

This interview explains that they are using the success of D&D to leverage everything. They are talking about eSports…. I don’t like that idea, but that’s a gut reaction. I’d like to know what they envision that looking like. I would guess they are thinking along the lines of tournament modules with the teams being composed of parties of players.

The Hasbro stock (HAS) is now trading over $100 a share and was up $12 today because it beat the market predictions. Many anticipated that it would be adversely impacted by the closure of Toys R Us. They were, but are leveraging their winners and crossing over core fan bases. As I wrote above, I think this is a smart move, and one I’d make in that position.

Conclusion

As long as 5e is the core driving things, I bet the plan is to leave that alone until the wave of success subsides. They can continue releasing various settings that are either from prior rulesets, or other Hasbro properties. As long as they are all done well and not slap dash and rushed out the door, it should work.