Project Lore

Upper Deck Entertainment was one of the first companies to jump on board of the World of Warcraft band wagon, and now it is also going to be one of the first to leave it.  According to ManaNation, a Magic: The Gathering site, Upper Deck Entertainment and Blizzard have split.  Fear not, like so many of my high school relationships it was a mutual, or "ami­ca­ble" in business terms.

ManaNation's sources could not locate the exact reasoning for the split, but the website assumes it has something to do with Upper Deck's recent legal troubles.  The card company has had not one, but two foul ups recently.  The first over another licensed card game, the ever popular Yu-Gi-Oh from Konami, and a more recent tiff with one of the company's longest-standing partners, Major League Baseball.

Blizzard's disembodied head hit the official forums shortly after the news broke to clear the air.  Zarhym is quick to point out that although the rumor is true, Blizzard is not going to let the game die. 

"As some of you may already be aware, we will not be renewing the World of Warcraft: The Trading Card Game license with Upper Deck. We want to assure you that we are committed to supporting the TCG, and players can look forward to new content and strong organized play support in the near future. We will share additional details about the game’s transition to a new partner as soon as possible. For those awaiting tournament prizes, we will ensure you receive them."

Sources close the TCG claim that Blizzard has been actively developing the game and its art for over a year.  If that tidbit is true, then Blizzard has been patiently waiting for the license to expire so the company could take over all aspects of the lucrative game.  There was no mention of the Miniatures game's status, Upper Deck's other licensed product, but ManaNation believes that it, and all TCG products that were in the works have been dropped.

It's not for lack of trying, but Heartbourne and I have never actually playd the WoW TCG with living humans.  How many readers out there actively play the game, and how many have at least tried it?  Is it safe to assume that most of us play the WoW TCG loot card lottery?