Hi there everyone. Being both a big mtg and pokenerd I always wondered which tcg had a stronger collecting draw.
Now obviously this is down to personal tastes but I feel Pokémon beats out Magic here since they produce a lot more collector style cards (Holo's, promo's, full arts, secret rares etc.) and I can't deny I have a greater attachment to my pokemon cards from a purely sediment, nostalgic value. For eg I love my Full Art Espeon GX much more that my Mythic Rare Liliana of the veil even though Liliana is much more valuable financial wise and game wise. With Mtg playset buying is my no 1. focus where's pokemon I'm happy getting sealed products and singles to fill out my collection regardless of their value in game.
My view is that with Mtg gaming first, collecting second, with Pokémon the reverse.
What are your personal thoughts though. I'd love to hear everyone's view on the matter :).
MTG if you are looking at value. While Pokemon does have some expensive cards, like Shadowless Holo Charizard, and a few extremely limited print run cards, Magic has the RL with a host of cards on it that see play in Legacy/Vintage/Commander, and have massive value.
If you are just looking at emotional attachment, it will vary from person to person. Many have watched the Pokemon Anime, played it's gameboy games, it's TCG, and now Go. For these people the cards probably hold far greater value. But for the magic player who's been playing since 93-94, it would go the other way.
If you are just looking at the pokemon cards, I'd say they are about even with collecting vs playing the card game. Pokemon has a much better online client and a decent paper player base. If you throw in all the other Pokemon merch, it's all about collecting. That's what the whole thing is based on with "Gotta Catch 'em all!". There are innumerable toys and plushies, games, cards, shows, movies, it eclipses MTG.
I think it depends on what the collector is looking for, But I agree with you about Pokemon. They just have a lot of cooler looking cards. Reverse foils are my favorite. And being a 90s kid Pokemon holds a special place in my heart. Im not a big fun of how the actual pokemon tcg game plays (i don't like prizes, what happens if all your win cons end up being prizes, instaloss). However I know that the financial value of a lot of the MTG cards drive collectors that I know over the cool looking cards of pokemon. But I have considered just "collecting" Pokemon cards for the sake of it, since Magic isn't really a collector thing with me (besides siege rhinos) I just buy cards to build decks.
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Same here for me I grew up with pokemon and aside from a decline during my High school years (4th gen mainly) It's always held a special place in my heart. Mtg was never big here in Australia until at least after Mirrodin and as such I never really grew up with it and never build such a deep attachment. I don't mind the game (I enjoy online play) but I wish it had more formats to better diversify the game like MTG. Plus I think the prize cards would work better if you got to choose your cards pre game and not have them randomly drawn. For me unlike magic I actually enjoy collecting for collecting sake. I even get the Japanese prints too since I love the quality and you can tell they put a lot of love into their cards. I order my collection via national dex order then type then set and collect which ever pokemon I feel the most love for. Right now It's the eevelutions and I have nearly a binder full of just their English and jap prints haha!
Overall MTG has more value, from what I've seen the most expensive Pokemon cards are a fraction of the cost of MTG's finest. I also think that the reprint cycle and circulation strategy for MTG is better, instead of just reprinting the same cards which tanks the vale.
I still have my Pokemon cards from childhood, but I'm not sure the value is still there.
But because the Pokemon franchise is very video game-centered, and the games generate hundreds of new pokemon, then collecting all the cards kinda seems like cool task. That's a lot of cards.
The better game for collectors is Magic, but that's largely due to how Wizards handles print runs more than anything else, and they are turning things around right now in how they are doing printings so most likely the price wall is going to keep dropping as time goes on.
The big difference between the two games is that Magic has always been about standard for Wizards of the Coast, with modern being a format that got pushed by the communities desire for a non-rotating format. Pokemon has basically two supported formats and the company does reprints of older sets that are currently in rotation, thus keeping supply going. To put things in perspective, if Wizards did what Hasbro is doing with Pokemon, we'd see reprints of RtR and Innistrad blocks instead of a Modern Masters 2017.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Overall MTG has more value, from what I've seen the most expensive Pokemon cards are a fraction of the cost of MTG's finest. I also think that the reprint cycle and circulation strategy for MTG is better, instead of just reprinting the same cards which tanks the vale.
I still have my Pokemon cards from childhood, but I'm not sure the value is still there.
But because the Pokemon franchise is very video game-centered, and the games generate hundreds of new pokemon, then collecting all the cards kinda seems like cool task. That's a lot of cards.
On an aside do you actually play the Pokemon TCG?
Depends on the cards though. Some promo pokemon cards are very expensive. Illustrator is up wards of $100,000. A lot of early 1st ed cards are up there too.
Yeah that's a big part of it for me since I'm a big lover of the game play and am a very competitive battler too (following smogon rules and breed perfect poke etc). I especially love collecting the Japanese cards since they are top notch quality and japan is after all Pokémon's birth place.
Sometimes online, I find it a fun casual game but my main draw for it is the collecting aspect. Mtg is my main gaming tcg.
The better game for collectors is Magic, but that's largely due to how Wizards handles print runs more than anything else, and they are turning things around right now in how they are doing printings so most likely the price wall is going to keep dropping as time goes on.
The big difference between the two games is that Magic has always been about standard for Wizards of the Coast, with modern being a format that got pushed by the communities desire for a non-rotating format. Pokemon has basically two supported formats and the company does reprints of older sets that are currently in rotation, thus keeping supply going. To put things in perspective, if Wizards did what Hasbro is doing with Pokemon, we'd see reprints of RtR and Innistrad blocks instead of a Modern Masters 2017.
It's ironic because I'd love it to be the other way around since I game with mtg and collect with Pokémon. I don't mind paying a decent price for a rare promo card to fill out my collection but if I'm needing to pay say 1000AU just for a competitive Modern deck then it tends to leave a sour taste in my mouth.
I feel Magic has the most collectability, in between all the different promos, Masterpeices, complete sets, special sets and what not
True still I think it mainly comes down to personal preference. For someone who grew up with Mtg since the beginning the cards would hold a more special place in their hearts just as it would if you grew up with Pokémon at the beginning. Though the issue with some mtg cards being so high priced is that it can sometimes bar me from wanting to use them (Even double sleeved) for fear of causing damage. For example if I had a legacy deck I'd feel really uncomfortable using Dual lands since they are such prized cards.
I don't think being worth more money equates to better collectability. That's better investment, not necessarily "collectability". Pokemon adds alternate art chase cards, secret rares and a lot of stuff for collects and players alike to go after and have been doing so for a long time. It has been developed to be collectable, where as MTG has always focused more on pushing the play aspect of the game over anything else. Having a significant difference in value is partially due to the fact that Magic sales and the secondary market is pushed off of the back of needing cards to play the game better or more effectively, meaning the cards are moving more often and it's easier for investors and speculators to take advantage of buy outs and it's easier to sell cards despite moving prices. Pokemon regular reprints cards in supplemental products to keep the availability of cards and price of entering the game in check. You can't even look at Masterpieces or reprint sets like Modern Masters as a collectibility incentive because they print those in response to a huge demand for those cards to play them and low supply, and they've backed themselves into a corner where they're stuck printing limited print runs or artificially limiting their printings by making them "masterpieces" because they don't want to crash the secondary market. These decisions are good for a game that is increasingly moving further and further away from affordability for players and is a marketing decision to keep the game alive. It's not first and foremost there as a treat for collector's like Pokemon's alternate art and secret rares are.
I feel Magic has the most collectability, in between all the different promos, Masterpeices, complete sets, special sets and what not
True still I think it mainly comes down to personal preference. For someone who grew up with Mtg since the beginning the cards would hold a more special place in their hearts just as it would if you grew up with Pokémon at the beginning. Though the issue with some mtg cards being so high priced is that it can sometimes bar me from wanting to use them (Even double sleeved) for fear of causing damage. For example if I had a legacy deck I'd feel really uncomfortable using Dual lands since they are such prized cards.
I kinda do have a special place for Older Pokemon as I grew up with it, traded my Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh into magic. I just hate the way they took the frame and how powerful they made even basic Pokemon. Plus I just hate the new Pokemon. Looking back, Yu-gi-oh got old fast
I feel Magic has the most collectability, in between all the different promos, Masterpeices, complete sets, special sets and what not
True still I think it mainly comes down to personal preference. For someone who grew up with Mtg since the beginning the cards would hold a more special place in their hearts just as it would if you grew up with Pokémon at the beginning. Though the issue with some mtg cards being so high priced is that it can sometimes bar me from wanting to use them (Even double sleeved) for fear of causing damage. For example if I had a legacy deck I'd feel really uncomfortable using Dual lands since they are such prized cards.
I kinda do have a special place for Older Pokemon as I grew up with it, traded my Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh into magic. I just hate the way they took the frame and how powerful they made even basic Pokemon. Plus I just hate the new Pokemon. Looking back, Yu-gi-oh got old fast
Yeah classic power creep sadly. I love full arts and ex cards they they are gorgeous! Yeah yugioh definitely got old pretty quick for me. The new Pokémon I still love because a lot have great design and thought gone into them. Depends again on your tastes. My fav generation is a tie between 1 and 5 and a lot of my faves hail from 5th gen. Hydreigon, Zoroark, Darmanitan, Volcarona, Cofagrigus, Genesect, Serperior etc. 3rd gen love Mawile, Absol and Rayquaza, 6th gen Diance, Sylveon and Xerneas are gorgeous! And the list goes on haha!
A little bit of background: I picked up MTG in 1996, and I pre-ordered Pokémon Blue version months before it came out, and stood in line for 3 hours to buy Pokémon cards on their launch date. So i have a childhood emotional connection to both games. Today, I have invested close to $50,000 into my MTG, and started to diversify into Pokémon at the beginning of this year. I am very experienced at collecting card games. I've got complete NM set of Unlimited, BGS graded, Artist Proofs, 1st Edition Shadowless, misprints, the works.
Which one is better to collect? Honestly, right now I would say Pokémon. The Pokémon brand is just so much more powerful. It was and still is a cultural phenomenon. What does this mean? Card prices haven't hit their high point yet. 1St Edition Shadowless Charizard is going for $10k right now. That's not even close to where it could be. And right now they are KILLING it with current sets. That much cannot be said about MTG which just seems to make more and more mistakes every day.
The other really really important factor is collectors are HATED in the MTG community. They are blamed for just about everything. In Pokémon, nothing could be farther from the truth. Collectors make up the majority, not the hated minority, and Pokémon creates product to match this need. WotC might as well have a huge F You sign to collectors on their front door.
But, MTG has certain advantages. For example, getting cards signed for Pokémon is near non existent. Collecting misprints is near non existent. There are no artist proofs, or buying artwork. There's no premium for different languages. Pokémon is all about the PSA 10s. In MTG, there is a greater diversity of posssibiloties for collecting.
To sum up, Pokémon is a great opportunity if you want to make money. We haven't seen nothing yet when it comes to graded card prices, I think it's about to explode. MTG can be a lot more fun to collect as it offers more variety and more connection to the artists. But it's kind of hit a cap. The easy money has been made, and the market is highly regulated and completely based on playability, not just collector value. Black Lotus is expensive because it is the most OP card ever made. 1st Edition Shadowless Charizard is expensive because people just want it to have it.
I'm not a Pokemon collector and have played it for just a bit. I was already too old for the Pokemon craze. That being said, I think Pokemon is better in terms of collectability right now. It has different rarities and so on. Also, I like how they tie a lot of secondary products with the card game like pins, figures, and stuff. I don't like the way they reprint cards, but at the same time it makes sense for their market. One strike against it IMO is it doesn't feel mature even thou it's an old TCG now. It feels like it lives by the moment.
MTG is very conservative. They just introduced masterpieces to the game. However, MTG has some unique qualities to it. Being that conservative about print runs and rarity levels give some value security and a vibrant secondary market. Also, being the first TCG of its kind makes it special. Really old cards have an unique feel to it. Even if you collect alpha and beta basic lands or even rats, they feel special and mature. It's like collecting stamps or even art.
Our small group of 7 persons several years ago.. we were all in our teens back then. Somehow, the pokemon tcg didn't really appeal to us that no one invested seriously in it.. those of us who played pokemon only used fake cards. In contrast, we took serious effort to improve our mtg collection.. one of my cousins even brings food to school, so that he could use the lunch money to buy packs of mtg. And we were like crazy happy when our moms gave us 6 or 7 packs each on Christmas day.
Maybe it's the competitiveness of mtg.. or maybe it's the story of Urza and the weatherlight.. or maybe both. In my experience at least, collecting mtg cards feels more satisfying than collecting pokemon cards.
Pokemon has this weird juxtaposition on prices. For instance I have boxes of Gym Heroes that Amazon lists for over $1K U.S. Even if I figure I can sell mine for 1/2 that, that's still far more than what the entire set or any one single sells for. Prices on say Mtg Legends boxes can be traced to the top teir cards in that set.
I never really understood why pokemon prices were so weird compared to Mtg until reading some of the discussion here. Now it makes a lot more sense.
Pokemon has this weird juxtaposition on prices. For instance I have boxes of Gym Heroes that Amazon lists for over $1K U.S. Even if I figure I can sell mine for 1/2 that, that's still far more than what the entire set or any one single sells for. Prices on say Mtg Legends boxes can be traced to the top teir cards in that set.
I never really understood why pokemon prices were so weird compared to Mtg until reading some of the discussion here. Now it makes a lot more sense.
Don't forget, Amazon is like eBay in the way of any store can post their listing, no matter how ridiculous their price is! I'm in Canada and a box of any standard set booster box for MtG is like, 500+ on Amazon, even though we have Face to Face which sells boosters at the regular price (if you're talking about online shopping). I'd probably look at average eBay prices, specifically maybe on sold listings to determine the value??
That said, I'd say Magic is definitely more collectible in terms of value, especially if you hold onto an entire box. I'm also pretty biased towards mtg though, of course, since I actually play it and the way I got into it was through my long-term boyfriend, so it holds a lotta' cute sentimental. Pokemon definitely holds some sentimental as well when it comes to certain cards, since I remember being given some by friends or opening a few packs and getting regular common cards of Pokemon I really like.
I think if you were to choose collecting one of the two from an outsider standpoint, Magic would be the go to.
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Now obviously this is down to personal tastes but I feel Pokémon beats out Magic here since they produce a lot more collector style cards (Holo's, promo's, full arts, secret rares etc.) and I can't deny I have a greater attachment to my pokemon cards from a purely sediment, nostalgic value. For eg I love my Full Art Espeon GX much more that my Mythic Rare Liliana of the veil even though Liliana is much more valuable financial wise and game wise. With Mtg playset buying is my no 1. focus where's pokemon I'm happy getting sealed products and singles to fill out my collection regardless of their value in game.
My view is that with Mtg gaming first, collecting second, with Pokémon the reverse.
What are your personal thoughts though. I'd love to hear everyone's view on the matter :).
If you are just looking at emotional attachment, it will vary from person to person. Many have watched the Pokemon Anime, played it's gameboy games, it's TCG, and now Go. For these people the cards probably hold far greater value. But for the magic player who's been playing since 93-94, it would go the other way.
If you are just looking at the pokemon cards, I'd say they are about even with collecting vs playing the card game. Pokemon has a much better online client and a decent paper player base. If you throw in all the other Pokemon merch, it's all about collecting. That's what the whole thing is based on with "Gotta Catch 'em all!". There are innumerable toys and plushies, games, cards, shows, movies, it eclipses MTG.
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I still have my Pokemon cards from childhood, but I'm not sure the value is still there.
But because the Pokemon franchise is very video game-centered, and the games generate hundreds of new pokemon, then collecting all the cards kinda seems like cool task. That's a lot of cards.
On an aside do you actually play the Pokemon TCG?
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The big difference between the two games is that Magic has always been about standard for Wizards of the Coast, with modern being a format that got pushed by the communities desire for a non-rotating format. Pokemon has basically two supported formats and the company does reprints of older sets that are currently in rotation, thus keeping supply going. To put things in perspective, if Wizards did what Hasbro is doing with Pokemon, we'd see reprints of RtR and Innistrad blocks instead of a Modern Masters 2017.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Depends on the cards though. Some promo pokemon cards are very expensive. Illustrator is up wards of $100,000. A lot of early 1st ed cards are up there too.
Yeah that's a big part of it for me since I'm a big lover of the game play and am a very competitive battler too (following smogon rules and breed perfect poke etc). I especially love collecting the Japanese cards since they are top notch quality and japan is after all Pokémon's birth place.
Sometimes online, I find it a fun casual game but my main draw for it is the collecting aspect. Mtg is my main gaming tcg.
It's ironic because I'd love it to be the other way around since I game with mtg and collect with Pokémon. I don't mind paying a decent price for a rare promo card to fill out my collection but if I'm needing to pay say 1000AU just for a competitive Modern deck then it tends to leave a sour taste in my mouth.
(W/U)(B/R)GForm of Progenitus, Shape of a Scrubland
BRGJund Tokens with Prossh, the Magic Dragon Foil
URGAnimar, the RUG CleanerFoil
RRRFeldon of the Third Path 2.0 Foil
BG(B/G)Not Another Meren DeckFoil
UR(U/R)Mizzix, Y Control and X Burn Spells
(W/U)(B/R)GHarold Ramos - The 35 Foot Long Twinkie (In +1/+1 counters)
UB(U/B)Dragonlord Silumgar
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pokémon_Illustrator_(CoroCoro_promo)
It sold for 54,900 US last November I believe.
P.s link doesn't work without the Corocoro promo at the end.
True still I think it mainly comes down to personal preference. For someone who grew up with Mtg since the beginning the cards would hold a more special place in their hearts just as it would if you grew up with Pokémon at the beginning. Though the issue with some mtg cards being so high priced is that it can sometimes bar me from wanting to use them (Even double sleeved) for fear of causing damage. For example if I had a legacy deck I'd feel really uncomfortable using Dual lands since they are such prized cards.
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(W/U)(B/R)GForm of Progenitus, Shape of a Scrubland
BRGJund Tokens with Prossh, the Magic Dragon Foil
URGAnimar, the RUG CleanerFoil
RRRFeldon of the Third Path 2.0 Foil
BG(B/G)Not Another Meren DeckFoil
UR(U/R)Mizzix, Y Control and X Burn Spells
(W/U)(B/R)GHarold Ramos - The 35 Foot Long Twinkie (In +1/+1 counters)
UB(U/B)Dragonlord Silumgar
I kinda do have a special place for Older Pokemon as I grew up with it, traded my Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh into magic. I just hate the way they took the frame and how powerful they made even basic Pokemon. Plus I just hate the new Pokemon. Looking back, Yu-gi-oh got old fast
Yeah classic power creep sadly. I love full arts and ex cards they they are gorgeous! Yeah yugioh definitely got old pretty quick for me. The new Pokémon I still love because a lot have great design and thought gone into them. Depends again on your tastes. My fav generation is a tie between 1 and 5 and a lot of my faves hail from 5th gen. Hydreigon, Zoroark, Darmanitan, Volcarona, Cofagrigus, Genesect, Serperior etc. 3rd gen love Mawile, Absol and Rayquaza, 6th gen Diance, Sylveon and Xerneas are gorgeous! And the list goes on haha!
Which one is better to collect? Honestly, right now I would say Pokémon. The Pokémon brand is just so much more powerful. It was and still is a cultural phenomenon. What does this mean? Card prices haven't hit their high point yet. 1St Edition Shadowless Charizard is going for $10k right now. That's not even close to where it could be. And right now they are KILLING it with current sets. That much cannot be said about MTG which just seems to make more and more mistakes every day.
The other really really important factor is collectors are HATED in the MTG community. They are blamed for just about everything. In Pokémon, nothing could be farther from the truth. Collectors make up the majority, not the hated minority, and Pokémon creates product to match this need. WotC might as well have a huge F You sign to collectors on their front door.
But, MTG has certain advantages. For example, getting cards signed for Pokémon is near non existent. Collecting misprints is near non existent. There are no artist proofs, or buying artwork. There's no premium for different languages. Pokémon is all about the PSA 10s. In MTG, there is a greater diversity of posssibiloties for collecting.
To sum up, Pokémon is a great opportunity if you want to make money. We haven't seen nothing yet when it comes to graded card prices, I think it's about to explode. MTG can be a lot more fun to collect as it offers more variety and more connection to the artists. But it's kind of hit a cap. The easy money has been made, and the market is highly regulated and completely based on playability, not just collector value. Black Lotus is expensive because it is the most OP card ever made. 1st Edition Shadowless Charizard is expensive because people just want it to have it.
MTG is very conservative. They just introduced masterpieces to the game. However, MTG has some unique qualities to it. Being that conservative about print runs and rarity levels give some value security and a vibrant secondary market. Also, being the first TCG of its kind makes it special. Really old cards have an unique feel to it. Even if you collect alpha and beta basic lands or even rats, they feel special and mature. It's like collecting stamps or even art.
Maybe it's the competitiveness of mtg.. or maybe it's the story of Urza and the weatherlight.. or maybe both. In my experience at least, collecting mtg cards feels more satisfying than collecting pokemon cards.
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I never really understood why pokemon prices were so weird compared to Mtg until reading some of the discussion here. Now it makes a lot more sense.
Don't forget, Amazon is like eBay in the way of any store can post their listing, no matter how ridiculous their price is! I'm in Canada and a box of any standard set booster box for MtG is like, 500+ on Amazon, even though we have Face to Face which sells boosters at the regular price (if you're talking about online shopping). I'd probably look at average eBay prices, specifically maybe on sold listings to determine the value??
That said, I'd say Magic is definitely more collectible in terms of value, especially if you hold onto an entire box. I'm also pretty biased towards mtg though, of course, since I actually play it and the way I got into it was through my long-term boyfriend, so it holds a lotta' cute sentimental. Pokemon definitely holds some sentimental as well when it comes to certain cards, since I remember being given some by friends or opening a few packs and getting regular common cards of Pokemon I really like.
I think if you were to choose collecting one of the two from an outsider standpoint, Magic would be the go to.
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