What’s Next for OP, Collecting and Communication

MetaZoo’s July 21 Q&A wasn’t just about long-term marketing. Charlie Hurlocker also addressed several near-term updates the community has been asking for—including Organized Play, collecting tools, and the state of MetaZoo’s communication strategy.

OP Update: Behind-the-Scenes Testing Is Underway

In response to a question about when Local Game Stores (LGSs) can start signing up for OP kits and events, Charlie confirmed that work is actively happening—but emphasized they’re not ready to go live just yet.

Nothing tangible yet. We were actually running test events in office today as part of getting ready for it.

- Charlie Hurlocker

He explained that after gathering feedback from focus groups and OP retailers, the MetaZoo team is laser-focused on clarity and ease of access.

The feedback that we have received consistently since we did our earliest focus groups with OP Retailers is that they value clear information and asks above everything else. So we are taking extra time to make sure that it is as clear as possible where to get what, how to go about signing up, etc.

- Charlie Hurlocker

And while it may take a little longer, Charlie believes the upfront effort will pay off.

I think that this extra work before pushing things live will pay dividends. The first experience trying to make an event shouldn’t be super painful.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Collector Tools: A New Database Is Coming

A community member asked whether MetaZoo plans to improve card sorting on its website—specifically by card number, which would help master set collectors organize their binders. Charlie agreed that the need is real and shared that a major solution is on the way:

Carde.io is developing a new card database. We are waiting for that implementation to become available so that it links cleanly with the rest of the OP ecosystem in the future.

- Charlie Hurlocker

This confirms that collecting tools and OP systems are being designed to work together, and that a more polished card database is in the pipeline.

Early Red Booster Box Art Won’t See Production

Collectors have been asking whether the original red placeholder booster box with “FPO” (For Placement Only) art will ever be produced. Charlie addressed this clearly:

FPO artwork is super common in the industry. In most industries, actually.

- Charlie Hurlocker

He went on to explain why this kind of temporary art is used in the first place:

Because distributors require a lot of time and set-up in advance of product actually landing to process orders, it is common for artwork to be finalized for print after the sales sheet is released

- Charlie Hurlocker

And for those hoping the “OG box” might get made as a collector’s item:

There is no plan to produce the FPO artwork. The final artwork for the set is the only thing that was produced.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Communication: Finding the Right Cadence

One Discord user noted that there have been fewer event announcements lately—particularly for things like spoiler drops or The Hunt—and asked whether more announcements might be coming.

Charlie acknowledged the shift and explained that the team is still experimenting with how to best keep the community informed.

Candidly, I don’t think we’ve found the right mix yet but it’s something that I want to get right.

- Charlie Hurlocker

In fact, the team intentionally scaled back because they found that too many pings led to disengagement.

We’ve found that people disengaged when they were getting notices for each event and spoiler. Might have overcorrected in the other direction.

- Charlie Hurlocker

To test alternatives, the team created the “Social Club” Discord channel—but the results have been mixed.

We tried to do the social club channel to try to rebalance it some as well, but that hasn’t necessarily formed strong following. There’s a balance and we should keep exploring it.

- Charlie Hurlocker