So, after not playing for a few years, I'm looking to do so again.

A few questions I had:

I've seen the announcements for 2nd edition of course, does this mean 1st edition is done done. Will this cycle be the last sets for it?

Will there still be first editions events until the end of this year/World this year?

There will be no more 1st Ed. sets or cycles after the current one.

All major events in the 2015 Organized Play season (store championships, regionals, nationals and worlds) will be 1st Ed., but it seems that there will be no 1st Ed. events starting with the 2016 OP season.

I am in the same position as OP.

Is there any discussion or talk or place to lobby FFG for maintaining 1st Ed. events the same way Magic maintains legacy formats?

I really want to avoid what happened when the CCG-LCG switch fiasco happened and I wasted thousand dollars catching up on CCG only to few months later be told that they would no longer support CCG-LCG transition as they first promised.

I hope they are seriously considering maintaining event support for 1st Ed. for at least another year simultaneously with 2nd Ed. while 2nd Ed. can build up a card base. I realize that based on history this is probably not likely though

I look at it this way: it doesn't really change my monthly expenses. I spend $15 per month on chapter packs now, I'll spend $15 on Chapter packs six months from now. And at a given point, the game markedly improves.

They want you to buy new edition to make more money so I doubt they will support an edition that wont bring money into their Pocket.

How dare a company do something that would earn them more money?!?

; )

Honestly though, I don't think that opinion (i.e. that they are just doing this to make more money) is all that prevalent. Most of the people I know that actually play the game are quite happy with the reboot. While we all love this game, none of us are fooling ourselves by saying the game was perfect and didn't need a serious overhaul. Too many things carried over from the CCG days or added since then (moribund....shudder), really needed to be removed.

I did not play the first edition but will puck up and start playing the second. The lack of a massive card pool and the obvious attention FFG has paid to player base and what makes an LCG have made this an easy decision.

They want you to buy new edition to make more money so I doubt they will support an edition that wont bring money into their Pocket.

Other than the outlay to buy new core sets, I just proved that it isn't going to change my monthly expenses. They're closing down one game line and starting up a new one, a game which looks to be a much better product. And as Tekwych pointed out, this is FFG responding to their player base who aren't happy that AGOT had such a steep cost curve to become competitive.

What's not to like?

I have to say as a somewhat competitive MTG player I am pleased about this as it should allow me to get in on the ground floor - I found it frustrating trying to track down old chapter packs just to have the "best" decks etc.

I would also be more inclined, if my LGS supports it, to get into playing tournaments as I do find this game more fun than MTG from a flavour perspective as I love ASOFI (although drafting MTG might be my favourite gaming thing to do).

I also think it's good that (from what I read hear) the majority of players seem to support what must have been the biggest decision of the developers careers!

I would also be more inclined, if my LGS supports it, to get into playing tournaments as I do find this game more fun than MTG from a flavour perspective as I love ASOFI (although drafting MTG might be my favourite gaming thing to do).