I’ve noticed decreased drops as well. I will only craft the black queen if i end up with enough by end of event, otherwise i may get a second white queen piece for the drops (same as the black queen) so I’m just weighing my odds. I don’t need another red piece as their drops aren’t as beneficial to me.
I’m just hoping the delay in correcting the pawn timer won’t affect my ability to get enough books to complete the event. That is my main focus for now.