MTG thread

cabbitcabbit_sl said:

Gave all my old cards to a buddy of mine like 10 years ago after I stopped playing and he's agreed to ship them all back if I pay for the boxes and shipping. Tons of old unlimited and revised cards including a couple balances, demonic tutors, sunglasses, and a bunch dual lands. Baller

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You're going to make bank off the dual lands, especially if they're in good condition. Nice looking duals aree quite rare these days, and even busted up revised ones fetch around a hundred bucks. Underground Seas are pushing 200 on SCG.

I traded all my old shit in for 40k when I was a teenager. In today's dollars, probably something like 18-20k in cards.

Heylel: I know the feeling, I think when I sold out around Visions from Beta/Alpha I only got around $2k total, and there was a few Moxen, a Lotus, a Timetwister, multiple Time Vaults, and other goodies (including god knows how many duals - I had a reasonable number I recall) that are nearing $1k a piece these days - made like quadruple my investment back then, now it would've been insane though.

I like the ideas behind it, I like what they can do with tech (as opposed to the limitations of printed paper), etc.

But damn if todays Penny Arcade doesn't sum it up for me in a nutshell.

I know MtGO's still around, years after I thought it would blow away, but...

Right bought the Boros Event Deck and going to FNM tomorrow. I'm surprised how expensive most of the cards seem to be, I though Shocklands would be the big cost...

In the era of Mythics shock lands are only a tease of what prices are for the standard staples.

They're normal rares and are reprints as well.

Nah, your mana base is where the bulk of the money goes, but that's always been the case. Honestly, a competitive standard deck has always hovered somewhere in the $300-450 range. It was that way back in the 90s too, people just don't really remember it that way. Yeah, you COULD build a mono-red Sligh deck for 50 bucks, but it'll get smashed by the one that had all the right cards instead of the cheap knock offs.

I'm not suggesting it isn't a hobby that takes money, but it doesn't hold a candle to things like Warhammer. Mythic rarities get a bad rap sometimes, but there's usually one or two chase ones from each set and they're rarely things you need four of. Decks aren't built quite the same way anymore, so you don't *always* need 4 of something. Honestly, it's the rares that add up, because you're more likely to need 4. Try buying Snapcasters or Cavern of Souls right now; they're both more expensive than all but 1 mythic in the format right now, and they're only rares.

I generally just scour the web and get cards when they're cheap before they take off. If I can get a mythic for $4 that isn't seeing play (Council of the Absolute, Deadbridge Chant, Progenitor Mimic just to name some Dragon's Maze stuff), I'll get em now because they have a higher chance of spiking later. Ignore planeswalkers for at least two months; they always crater. Even Liliana of the Veil was under $20 for a while, until consensus opinion found it a home in a million decks. I just grab whatever I can that's cheap, and if things jump great. If not, I'm not out very much. I only buy something pricey when I have a specific home for it already built.

What mythics really fuck with are long term prices on commander playable cards. With so many fewer copies of a given mythic, if it's something people want for commander or legacy it will hold it's value much better than a comparable rare in most circumstances. Some of the Scars block praetors are still expensive, as are Eldrazi legends.

Mist_sl said:

Magic cards also have resale value, where Warhammer shit generally does not. A well rotated trading collection stays valuable, and the staples that go in decks for non-rotating formats (modern, legacy, vintage) rise in value significantly faster than the rate of inflation, making them an investment, so long as you manage your collection by buying and selling at the right time.

That said, it's a hobby that requires as much attention as your stock portfolio. When done right, the cost is your time, not your money.

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If you are investing in magic cards you are doing it wrong.

Well I went 1-3, I feel really bad for the guy I beat withhttp://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/pro...entdecks#deck2he was just out of having time called on his last game because "it was lifegain v lifegain" and was pissed that he lost.

I think I'll buy the common/uncommons I need this week and try to trade for some of the rares I need on Friday, I'm going for something like this:http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazin...ptdgm13/video4I think it's block constructed but I'm going to refuse to invest in expensive Innistrad cards at the tail end of their life - I'll use the few that came with my deck and possibly cheap commons.

I really want to use this card, love stuff like this though they never tend to be viable:http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/Ca...verseid=366386It's cheap too!

Mist_sl said:

Magic cards also have resale value, where Warhammer shit generally does not.

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Tell me about it. My original MTG collection, including 4 Moxen, a Timetwister, a Time Walk, 4 Mana Drains, a Library of Alexandria and ~32 dual lands was what I traded away in the late 90s to start playing Warhammer 40k with all my buddies. We had all gotten tired of Magic and moved on to other things, and I figured prices would never really rise past what they were. All of those cards have at least tripled in value, with dual lands being anywhere from 10-20x as expensive as they were at the time.

I wince every time I think about all the stuff I hocked. I could have easily paid my way through grad school without loans if I'd kept it.

Mist_sl said:

Uh, why? Even just investing in sealed box products you can expect 400-600% returns over 5 years. I bought a bunch of zendikar booster boxes last year and doubled my money on them in 12 months...

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That's only because of fetch lands.

Looking at prices (again) I'm interested in selling my collection, but sitting down and going through buy lists, on several sites... prices vary wildly, and there's just too damn many cards to look up. How is a lazy guy supposed to get the most bang for his cards, without getting ripped off?

OneofOne_sl said:

Looking at prices (again) I'm interested in selling my collection, but sitting down and going through buy lists, on several sites... prices vary wildly, and there's just too damn many cards to look up. How is a lazy guy supposed to get the most bang for his cards, without getting ripped off?

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Ebay, usually. Most of the card sites will pay 35-40% (If you are LUCKY) of what they will sell the card for, most more like 25-30%. Your best bet is to sell the expensive cards singled out/in groups and then chuck all of the other rares into bundles. Same with uncommons and commons, though some are worth a bit more than their usual counterparts and you may want to look into that.

wee 1st place premier~ I really like this set

On a side note, I really despise MTGO and WOTC...they keep all of the extra prize pool money for entries beyond the initial 65 required to start the event. They do this because they claim to add that money would make the game "gambling" and therefor illegal. So it's ok for them to scam the players out of money but it's ok because to not take it would be illegal...lol. What a fucking joke and a scam. That's like going to a poker tournament and the people running it saying "only the first initial 100 buyins will be counted towards the prize pool, otherwise it would be considered gambling!". Not only that but when I talk about it in the chat some retards actually defend WOTC. Drives me fucking insane.