im betting to some people, it will be pretty obvious who had the spoiler and who didn't.

Most of the sets released thus far have taken some time to truly explore. Every Vs. set has been complex enough to warrant months of exploration. While Avengers was played successfully two months after the set came out; that is longer than Xmen will be available, and other decks like FoE and Squad did not show up until later. The complexity of Vs. sets is the primary reason I could see this as significant.

A bit more, actually.

Not that it matters. I'd still love to hear how extra playtest time with half of a cardpool isn't an advantage.

@shamilton777: I don't think there's a rule forbidding use of knowledge. If people are called cheaters over this, those doing the calling will be idiots, so who cares what they think?

I can't really add anything to this that hasn't already been said. It is true that individuals and groups recieve spoiler lists before others after they have signed an NDA contract with UDE. And it is true that it's nearly impossible to stop these individuals from then sharing that information with others as it's once again almost impossible for them to get caught in the process. And with that out of the way:

I'm starting to get the feeling that with as many people here who are bickering and hollering about this it's quite possible that some of the very posters in this thread have gotten their hands on the spoiler. But in all honesty, do you really think that #####ing about this will make anything happen? Especially when you're #####ing about it here on an online forum community. I say we email UDE about this, email the [email protected] (I can hear the fuss about flooding emails now but..) voice your concerns about this.

No one will notice this is here until someone points them to it in the first place, so go about it that way. Point them to the thread, tell them that a vast majority of the VS community is upset with the thought of an unfair advantage such as this and with such an advantage, we demand that a spoiler be officially released to all of the VS community to at least make things even. Sure, we may have lost God knows how many weeks to the other teams or individuals who have gotten a spoiler but to sit back and do nothing about the situation to at least make it seem fair to the other players will just drive players away.

helpoemer316:

1. People from UDE use this forum. They'll probably see this.
2. Massive email campaigns are obnoxious, particularly when people will get the message without one.
3. Probably nothing will come of this for the immediate future, but it may cause UDE to tighten things up a bit, which is good.
4. This is an internet forum. There doesn't seem to be a single person here who's taking this too hard, so no harm is being done. Besides which, if we weren't #####ing, we'd be posting in Stu's "what would you do if you had a magic unicorn for a day?" thread. This is quite a bit less gay.

It's an advantage, I just don't think it's a very significant one. In economics they talk about diminishing utility. An example would be that the 1st scoop of chocolate ice cream is great, and the 2nd might be almost as good, but by the 30th scoop of chocolate ice cream, you really don't get anything out of it. Your 1st week testing w/ a new set teaches you a lot. Your 2nd week a little less, 3rd even less, 4th even less, etc. Of course every week is teaching you something, but how much really? Is that amount significant? I don't really think so. And when you factor in that any time spent testing the new Marvel Modern is time not spent drafting... the advantage is smaller than you'd think. My original point was that the best way you can neutralize the slight disadvantage you are at is by using this time productively (drafting JLA like we are).

So, while not technically cheating, it would still create an unfair advantage for someone over someone else - and IMHO is something to at least ##### and moan about. And if you go and pull a 10-0 day one Don't think for a second that alot of people - idiot or not - will have suspicions about your performance. This sucks for someone who builds a good deck and does well - even if he never got the spoiler. And I want to know from some of the pros out there if you could accept that - that a great day one will almost certainly have some people looking at you sideways - and frankly it wouldn't be completely unfounded...

What also sucks is if this rumor isn't 100% proven false - this will be the 2nd consecutive PC with some controversy - and that can't be good for the game.

I also want to point out that I have about as much chance of competing at the PC as Stephen Hawkings has of catching a Touchdown pass in the Superbowl.

(edited because I can't type...)

Diminishing utility also applies to draft. For those without the spoiler, it'll be about: 12 weeks to test draft, 6 to test MMA. I'm not sure that that's the most efficient division of time.

I agree that the advantage isn't necessarily huge, but PCs are won by degrees, and I have a problem with some people having unfair advantages over others. It makes the game look bad.

@shamilton777: I guess my point is that if there is a leak, people should be annoyed with the leakers, not the leakees.

Understandable and good points, I know that specific people from UDE do visit these forums on a regular basis, but put yourself in their shoes.

What is the first thing you would think when you saw a thread like this. I know what I'd think. "Why in the hell didn't this ####### just email us about this concern rather than spread such a story on a popular forum?"

In the end posts like this do nothing for the cause, that was my main point before. Many companies and individuals who are professional by heart will ignore complaints on non-official channels and write them off as just open criticism and in the end no action is taken. When you go the professional route and actually email a concern (which is why those emails are there btw, for you to voice your concerns or problems) to the appropriate channels.

Sure, it's no guarantee that anything will come out of it either way. But at least you made a decision to be professional about it and act accordingly and not just post some random thread about it on a big gaming community where you know all that's gonna follow is continued posts with the exact same thing in it. Really... How many posts in this thread have actually brought something new to the table? Over half of this thread is all "Yeah, getting a spoiler well in advance is unfair to other players!"

Maybe it's easier for me to look at it from the other side of the coin with the corporate view of things. I am somewhat of a businessman so it makes sense in the long run, but I was only bringing to the attention of everyone here that there are other avenues for your concerns besides an internet forum.

Utility of whining on the internet is negative though :).

I can't draft at work :cry: .

@help: when a group of people hear about something they don't like, they tend to do two things. They talk to each other, and they complain to those who can change the problem. By posting in the thread, they're doing both at the same time. It's like magic or something! Meanwhile, by doing it here you're adding hits to a site you care about, rather than flooding an in-box.
Oh, and you're stretching 'professional' to the breaking point.

If not for people "working", how much traffic do you think these forums would get?

none...oh crap, client calling lol....

The only reason I'm annoyed with this, is that I'll be playing in what is most likely going to be the first MXM-legal Golden Age $10k tournament.

And I wouldn't always rely on people from UDE etcera reading this topic. Emailing them with a well written, reasonable email is probably going to be bounds more efficent than complaining about it on forums.

why doesnt UDE just release the spoiler because its blatantly obvious that several teams already have it, giving them a huge advantage