Because of stronger than anticipated sales of Joyride Entertainment's Full Metal Alchemist TCG: A Hero's Passing release (see ''FMA TCG' Adds Autograph Cards'), Joyride has begun to divert product originally intended for the mass market to hobby distributors and dealers.  While the Starter Decks for A Hero's Passing are identical in both the hobby and mass market version, booster boxes will soon be replaced by single packs on cardboard backing with a slot for a hanging tab.  The composition of these mass-market packs is exactly the same as the hobby packs (foil reprint in every pack, chase cards 1 per every 24 packs, and transmutated cards 1 per every 80 packs), but they do not come in 12-count display boxes.

Product shipments over the next few weeks are likely to be a mixture of the old 12-count boxes and the new single packs.  Retailers who don't have display racks should save their old 12-count display boxes -- they can remove the new mass-market packs from their cardboard backing and refill display boxes.