Idea for non-collectible card game that is still collectible.

[orthonormal]

Would it be feasible to make a CCG that caters to both the competitive-non-collectible crowd and the collectible crowd at the same time using this method:

1) An entire tournament viable set can be bought for say US$30.
2) Players can still choose to buy boosters, which contains foil/alternate-art/premium cards.

So anyone who don't card about collectibility can just pay US$30 up front and have access to all the cards of the game. But collectors can still chase the foil or expanded art mythic rare by opening boosters.

Is this a good idea? Are there examples of this being done before that I can study?

*We focus on constructed formats in this discussion and ignore draft/limited formats.

[Dragoon]

See Living Card Games by Fantasyflight games. More info

[orthonormal]

See Living Card Games by Fantasyflight games. More info

Not exactly. Living Card Games = Core set that contain enough of every card + regular expansion packs that contain enough of every card. No random booster packs, no rares.

My plan = Random booster packs + rares. i.e. The M:tG business model. With only 1 difference: you can buy an entire playset of an entire set for US$30. You can already do this in M:tG by buying the entire playset through a third party vendor for US$300-600. But in my case, I will be selling the whole playset officially for US$30.

The difference is that the US$30 playset contains regular cards. The random booster packs contains foil, promo, alternate art card. To get that foil alternate art promo edition of a mythic rare, you still need to crack a large pile of randomize boosters. However, for pure tournament players, they can just pick up a US$30 playset.

[Cyrus]

I think you'd need to tweak boosters significantly to make it work. 5-7 cards, all "rares" (or just good cards from the set), all foils or alternate art. You may even be able to raise the price of em a little. I think this could attract collectors and here-and-there buys from regular players as well, just to see what cool stuff they'll get. The collection aspect won't be as strong as a full-fledged booster pack ccg but maybe it doesn't need to be?

[dboeren]

So you're saying the cards in these booster packs would be identical to the normal ones as far as gameplay - they'd just feature different art, foil, or other appearance differences?  What do you mean by a "premium" card exactly?

Personally, I don't know how many people would be interested in spending significant amounts of money on that.  I suspect I'd just buy the base set for $30 and be done with it.  If you wanted me to buy booster packs, I'd need to be convinced.  So, how much better is the art on these upgraded versions of the cards?  Are we talking lush full color full bleed art by top artists versus stick-men or what?

Also, you say you can spend $30 to get a full playset of an "entire set".  What is an entire set?  How many cards, and how frequently?