Avatar at least fits in thematically with Magic, like LoTR and possibly Assassin’s Creed. What’s frustrating is that there aren’t many other IPs that fit in very well, so once they get exhausted we’re left with things like Marvel, Spongebob, etc.

As an aside, Tintin is probably my favorite IP in my life, and I will always love everything Tintin. But I don’t think I would buy a Tintin magic set at all, and in fact it would kind of make me feel weird. Tintin, a journalist set in the 20s/30s, grounded fully in reality and current events, is the exact opposite of magic and spellcasting. They make as much sense as peanut butter and tomato sauce together.

And I think that right there might be my biggest underlying problem and disgust with it all – because there is zero thematic overlap it comes off entirely as a naked cash grab. Effectively, “see! you love magic and you love tintin, you should love magic-tintin! will you give us money now?” That’s how I see this in my head and that’s how it all plays out to me. The “game” of Magic is now very clearly a much lower priority than the “business” of Magic and right there you lost me. They have figured they won’t lose enough to impact “growth” and maybe they figure they can recapture lost fans with a “return to magic” phase in the future. But right now I have 0 interest in anything coming out this year, and I’ve grown too frustrated with the current state of the game regardless of UB.