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Hello nation! I hope your week has been productive, fun, and Magic-filled! Last week I was playing multiplayer with the gang, and one of my friends played a large Marshal's Anthem, with multikicker triggered three times. That's pretty powerful. What struck me was that my friend had created a proxy of the card. Considering how cheap the Anthem is, I promptly made fun of him. We began talking about prices of cards recently.
Later on, I saw another player play a white-bordered Fellwar Stone, and again, I pointed out that getting a black bordered one is mega cheap, and our conversation about card prices continued.
In the tournament world there's been a lot of moping and complaining about card prices. Oh, my Jace, the Mind Sculptor costs too much, and oh, my Vengevine and Primeval Titan cost so much. They are complaining, because a handful of cards are showing up in high numbers in tournament decks, and therefore have a high cost associated with them.
Well, you'll excuse me if I don't shed a few tears because this has made Magic very accessible and very good for the budget player. Today we are going to talk about card prices and Mythics, and what it means for casual players who may be more budget inclined.
In my first article for ManaNation, I made sure to let everybody know that casual players are not identical to casual players. It's a Venn Diagram where one circle intersects with the other. There are budget players who are more tournament minded, and there are budget players who are casual.
We're going to look at some cards on CoolStuffInc.com and see what their current prices are. Then I can make some recommendations for you and yours about what you might want to Acquire.
A lot of experts in the field of Magic sales have pointed to the draw of Mythics. Opening up a pack of Scars of Mirrodin is like a lottery ticket. You hope to rub off a few squares and reveal a planeswalker or mox. Everybody is buying the lottery tickets, and then they get all of this chaff they don't want. There's only so much demand for a Hoard-Smelter Dragon, after all.
The result is a lot of booster pack sales, and depressed secondary market for singles, unless they are a tournament staple. Let's take a closer look at Scars of Mirrodin:
In Scars, we have 53 rares. You can buy a booster from Scars on CSI.com for $2.49. That's a significantly reduced price from the retail price.
Of those 53, more than half have a price of less than a booster pack. Of the remaining 25 cards, most have a value in the2.50-3.50 range.
Just six rares have a value more than 3.50.
Etched Champion for 4.50
Ezuri, Renegade Leader for 4
Hand of the Praetors for 7.50
Mimic Vat for 7
Putrefax for 4
Ratchet Bomb for 9
There was a time when you would have a ton of cards that were in the 5 dollar range in a set. I called them 5 dollar rares, because you'd have a chunk in the 4-6 range in each set. They were good, but not great. Then you'd have those in the 8-10 range, and then you'd have those higher. With rare dual lands of various types, and cards from Cursed Scroll to Cryptic Command; you had some high value stuff.
It used to be the case that reprinting a rare increased its value because it was Standard legal, but that's no longer seems to be so. Now their value drops south like a duck in winter. For an example, look at Leyline of the Void, which used to be worth a lot of money, but now is 1.25 for a M11 version and just a few bucks for the Guildpact one.
This doesn't just impact rares. Take a look at Scars again. Of the 15 mythics, 5 have a price at or less than 3.50 (Mindslaver, Geth, Quicksilver Gargantuan, Platinum Emperion and Liege of the Tangle). A full third of your banner cards are worth very little on the secondary market.
And it's not just Scars. In M11 we have 15 mythics as well. Despite two high value cycle in the Titans and planewalkers, and the reprint of Baneslayer Angel, you have several mythics going for very cheap right now. Of the 53 rares, only 15 are more expensive than a booster pack of M11. (Which is currently going for $2.59). Only 4 rares cost more than $4.
Captivating Vampire – $5
Fauna Shaman - $10
Leyline of Sanctity - $4.50
Steel Overseer - $5
We've had 9 sets of Magic with Mythics. What happens when those sets start to rotate out of Standard? We've always known that cards that rotate out tend to drop in price, often significantly. Alara block has rotated out, so let's check the prices there.
Shards of Alara – 53 rares.
Only 14 are worth more than a dollar.
Only 8 are worth more than $2.50
Just 3 of 53 rares are worth more than 3.50
Knight of the White Orchid - $4
Ranger of Eos - $6
Death Baron -$4
And now let's look at the Mythics:
15 Mythics – 6 are worth less than $2.50. 4 more are in the 3.50-4.50 range. Only 5 are worth 5 or more dollars.
Conflux - 35 rares.
10 are worth more than a dollar.
5 are worth more than $2.50.
Banefire - $3
Inkwell Leviathan - $3.50
Knight of the Reliquary - $10
Master Transmuter - $3.50
Noble Hierarch - $14
10 Mythics – Just 3 are worth more than 2.50:
Maelstrom Archangel – $4.50
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker - $12
Progenitus - $12
Alara Reborn – 35 rares.
6 have a value greater than 1
2 have a value greater than 2.50
Meddling Mage - $4
Maelstrom Pulse - $10
Mythics – 10 again. 5 are worth more than $2.50. Only 1 is worth more than $4. Sphinx of the Steel Wind goes for six dollars.
This was a block defined by the new mythics. What happened? Low prices. Now, let's take a look at another block, just to prove the point. Lorwyn-Morningtide-Shadowmoor-Eventide.
Total number of rares in all four sets combined: 270
How many are worth more than a buck? 139
Of those, 75 are worth more than $2.50.
Percentage of rares in these four sets worth more than $2.50: 28%
Percentage of rares in Alara Block worth more than $2.50: 12%
That's a pretty obvious difference in price. The numbers support the claim that the presence of Mythics has depressed the secondary market value of cards both while they are in Standard, and after they rotate.
Let's finish looking at Lorwyn Block. How many of these rares have a value of more than $4? 43. 16% of the rares. That's still a pretty good chunk. Even if we include mythics in the count, the number of cards from Alara block with a value of more than $4 is 14, which is 9% of the rares and mythics combined. I even added the new rarity and it still shows that the previous sets come out on top.
Why does all of this matter? I mean, sure, it's great conversation fodder, but why bother? That's an excellent question. Let's take a look at why this matters.
Wrath of God was published in a bajillion sets. Portal, Portal 2, and every base set from Alpha to 10th. There are a ton of Wraths out there, and they haven't been Standard legal in an eon. If I want to buy a Wrath of God , do you know how much the cheapest one is? Ten dollars.
If you want to play casual magic, and especially multiplayer, then you know how good sweeping effects are. You'll certainly want some of your own for your awesome decks. Let's say you want to pick up a few for your EDH decks. What would you pay? Let's look at sweeping removal printed since the introduction of mythics:
Day of Judgment - $4
Consume the Meek - $2
Scourglass – $1.50
Planar Cleansing - $0.50
Sunblast Angel – $2
Martial Coup - $2.50
If you want to pick up some mass removal for your deck for this week's multiplayer game, you have a lot of cheap options. You can pick up a player's set of Planar Cleansing for less than the price of one booster pack! That's a great deal. Your money goes farther.
What about great creatures? There have been some really strong rare and mythic creatures printed over the last few years that you might want for your deck. Let's take a look at some:
Angelic Arbiter - $0.50
Anowon, the Ruin Sage - $1.25
Ant Queen – $0.50
Apocalypse Hydra - $2.49 exactly
Battlegrace Angel - $2
Blood Tyrant - $0.50
Broodmate Dragon - $1.75
Butcher of Malakir – $0.75
Cemetery Reaper - $2
Child of Alara – $1.50
Dauntless Escort -$2
Deathbringer Thoctar - $0.50
Deathless Angel - $1
Djinn of Wishes - $0.50
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief - $1
Emeria Angel - $1.50
Ethersworn Adjudicator - $2.49 exactly
Ezuri's Brigade - $0.75
Flameblast Dragon - $1
Giltspire Avenger - $0.50
Goblin Chieftain - $1.50
Great Sable Stag - $2
Guardian Seraph – $0.50
Guul Draz Assassin - $1.50
Hellkite Charger - $0.50
Hoard-Smelter Dragon - $0.50
Hoarding Dragon - $0.50
It That Betrays - $2
Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund - $2.49 exactly
Kazandu Tuskcaller - $0.75
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs - $0.50
Knight of New Alara - $1
Kor Spiritdancer - $0.75
Madrush Cyclops - $0.50
Magister Sphinx - $0.50
Magmaw - $0.50
Meglonoth - $0.75
Merfolk Sovereign - $0.60
Mordant Dragon - $0.50
Mycoid Shepherd - $0.50
Necrotic Ooze - $2.49 exactly
Novablast Wurm - $2
Precursor Golem - $2
Protean Hydra - $0.60
Rakka Mar - $0.50
Roil Elemental - $0.50
Sages of the Anima - $0.50
Salvage Titan - $0.50
Sedraxis Specter - $1
Skullmulcher - $0.50
Sovereigns of Lost Alara – $1.25
Spawnsire of Ulamog - $1
Spearbreaker Behemoth - $0.50
Spellbreaker Behemoth - $0.75
Sphinx of Lost Truths - $0.50
Sphinx of Magosi - $0.50
Steel Hellkite - $1.50
Stoic Angel - $1
Thada Adel, Acquisitor - $0.60
Thornling - $2
Thraximundar - $2
Vein Drinker - $0.50
World Queller - $0.50
And those are just some of the 167 rare and mythic creatures since mythics started seeing print (and worth less than $2.50) (Note that most of the time I am adding a cent to the cost. $0.99 is being considered as $1, for example. The ones at $0.75 actually are that price though).
As you can see, there are a lot of great creatures out there, ready for you to pick them up and play with them. And that's not all. There are lots of great artifacts, enchantments, sorceries and instants running around too. Here are some of my favorites for multiplayer and casual:
Asceticism - $2.50 exactly
Beastmaster Ascension - $1.75
Bloodchief Ascension - $2
Chain Reaction - $0.75
Conflux - $1.75
Conquerer's Pledge - $1
Cruel Ultimatum - $1
Dark Tutelage - $0.50
Destructive Force - $1.50
Dissipation Field - $0.50
Eldrazi Conscription - $2
Fight to the Death - $0.50
Font of Mythos - $2
Gather Specimens - $0.50
Goblin Assault - $1.25
Honor of the Pure - $2
Identity Crisis - $0.50
Invincible Hymn - $0.50
Kuldotha Forgemaster - $1
Lavalanche - $0.50
Leyline of Punishment - $1.25
Lightmine Field - $0.50
Lurking Predators - $0.75
Maelstrom Nexus - $2
Marshall's Anthem - $0.75
Mind Spring – $0.50 (if it counts)
Mindlock Orb - $0.50
Molten Psyche - $0.50
Momentous Fall - $1
Nim Deathmantle - $1
Nomads' Assembly - $0.50
Obelisk of Alara - $0.75
Open the Vaults - $0.75
Punish Ignorance - $0.60
Quest for the Nihil Stone - $0.75
Realms Uncharted - $0.50
Recurring Insight - $0.50
Seer's Sundial - $0.50
Sigil of Distinction - $0.50
Soul's Majesty - $0.50
Stone Idol Trap - $0.50
Time Reversal - $2
Violent Ultimatum - $0.50
Wargate - $0.50
Or any other of the 151 rares and mythics that are instants, artifacts, enchantments and sorceries less than $2.50 from Shards of Alara and on. This doesn't even include those cards in the next level, $2.50 to, say, $4. It's just the really cheap stuff. As you can see, there are a ton of great cards for mega cheap.
There are even really cheap lands, from Emeria, the Sky Ruin to Mystifying Maze and Oran-Rief, the Vastwood to Crypt of Agadeem.
All total, there are 355 rares and mythics from the mythic era that can be purchased for less than the price of a booster pack (and keep in mind that's a pack with a lowered price from the suggested retail)
Now, that doesn't mean there aren't good , cheap rares from the Lorwyn 4, because there are. You can find cards like Brion Stoutarm and Cauldron of Souls and Profane Command all over the place.
Since the cards from the mythic sets have a depressed cost, you simply have a better chance of finding the high play value rares for a low cost. Budget players have to be dancing in their seats. Even players who aren't budget conscious are happy that they can get cards like Planar Cleansing and Hoarding Dragon and Mind Spring and Realms Uncharted for half a buck each.
Could you imagine how much some of those cards would be going for if they were printed in a pre-Mythic set? It's harsh.
As a side note, drafting is not as much fun for me. I used to be able to be able to essentially go infinite by rare drafting and then winning my first round most of the time, and getting two packs there and more than enough value is my other stuff. I can't rare draft, so I just have to normal draft, and it's boring. I was used to a challenge where I was rare drafting and putting my deck behind everyone else. Now, I don't have the challenge any more. Boring, boring, boring.
Well, I hope you found something interesting among all of this. Enjoy yourself!
See You Next Week,
Abe Sargent
