Once collectors start working toward something, its terms don't change. That covers the supply, the requirements, what each stage guarantees, and the odds. The deal is what makes a gate worth chasing.
An example, to show the difference.
Collectors who already acted can't tell if what they did still counts.
A collector can act today knowing the rules won't move under them.
The fixed supply, the requirements and what they earn, the published odds, and what each stage guarantees all go out together, at the announcement (Chapter 2). Supply is fixed from that point and is never added to.
A locked set, a draw entry, a finished quest — the achievement stays on the collector's profile after the window closes, whether or not they end up with the product. Earning it was real, even for the collectors who don't win the draw.
Catch it early and fix it in public, before anyone has acted against it. If people already have, protect what they did: honour the effort, or refund the cost of what changed. A standing public promise, kept for decades, is Magic's Reserved List: a published list of cards Wizards has promised not to reprint. Refunding the cost in full is Hearthstone's practice when a card changes: players get back what they spent to craft it.
Never make a silent change. Say it in public, in writing, and reverse it. Collectors forgive a mistake that's owned. They don't forgive one they find out about later.
The producer writes the full set of terms for every drop in a single document: supply, requirements, odds, and what each stage guarantees. That document is what ships, not a set of answers assembled after someone asks.
We don't control market prices, so we don't promise one goes up. We promise that collecting and loyalty matter, not that any piece is an investment.
A drop's terms never move once published. Ongoing systems are different: the rates in an exchange or a points store can change over time, but announce each change before it takes effect, and never apply it to something a collector has already earned.
Examples of the move, not plans.
"What you see at the announcement is what holds through the close."
"Hold or complete last October's collection, and that requirement doesn't move once the draw opens."
The deal stays the same. The reason it matters changes with who's hearing it.
| Collector | What they hear | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Grail Collector | The supply for the rarest tier, fixed and published at the announcement | A personal email, and the drop page |
| Completionist | "The requirement hasn't changed. Finish the set, and it still qualifies." | A push or in-app message triggered by their progress |
| Collector-Speculator | The published odds for the chases, before they buy | The drop page, and email |
| Social Fan | "Your player's set still earns what it always did." | Social media, and push |
| Newcomer | "What you see today is what holds through the close." | Social, and the home screen |
A hypothetical. Say the Pack supply is announced at a fixed number. It sells out within the hour. Demand keeps coming, and the cap gets raised to let more collectors in. The collectors who locked their sets and entered within that first hour did everything the published terms asked of them. Once the cap moves, their speed bought them nothing — the collectors who waited got the same shot. They learn that moving first doesn't pay, and they wait next time.
The fix: once it's published, supply never goes up. If demand runs bigger than expected, that is a decision for the next drop's supply, not this one's.