MTG Salvation

poll is pretty simple, are you planning to break open those faction packs at the pre-release or store them away and drop for another day?

I may play at 2 events. Open 1 and save 1.

How much is a prerelease? 30+dollars?
You'll get 3 SoM packs and 3 faction boosters.

So to make money off those three boosters you'll
have to wait long enough that those boosters are
10+dollars each.

Urza's legacy boosters are around 10 dollars each
and they seem to be the most recent booster pack
to reach that level and they are 11 years old now.

So basically you'd have to keep them for at least 11
years (maybe less because they are limited edition,
but maybe more because they provided nothing different
a regular Besieged booster wouldn't provide) and you'll
just make your money back.

Personally, I'd rather just crack them all and have a fun
day of magic.

Quote from mara_eNtrO

How much is a prerelease? 30+dollars?
You'll get 3 SoM packs and 3 faction boosters.

So to make money off those three boosters you'll
have to wait long enough that those boosters are
10+dollars each.

Urza's legacy boosters are around 10 dollars each
and they seem to be the most recent booster pack
to reach that level and they are 11 years old now.

So basically you'd have to keep them for at least 11
years (maybe less because they are limited edition,
but maybe more because they provided nothing different
a regular Besieged booster wouldn't provide) and you'll
just make your money back.

Personally, I'd rather just crack them all and have a fun
day of magic.

You are making an AWFUL lot of assumptions here, but the general gist I agree with, i.e. NOT WORTH IT.

I'm gonna break them. I have more interest in the cards inside them as opposed to the collector's value they'll reach in a few decades.

If i'm paying to go to a prerelease, I'm doing so because I want to play with the new cards. 'nuff said

Quote from person_man

You are making an AWFUL lot of assumptions here, but the general gist I agree with, i.e. NOT WORTH IT.

Ya absolutely, but one would have to make
a lot of assumptions to argue its worth
keeping them as well. Either way its speculation.
Im just trying to bring some real world
values into my speculation, ie Legacy
boosters.

I have no idea what can you do with them if not pay with them.

I mean that's why they made them in the first place.

I'll be running a pre-release so it would be both poor form and a pain in the ass to run the event and drop immediately to keep the packs and then have to watch people play 6 rounds of fun magic :D.

I don't think you'd have to wait decades. These are being released in extremely limited quantities - JUST the prerelease. Almost all of those prerelease packs with be opened and played with. Comparing it to Urza's Legacy is silly because that was a full-fledged release.
I'm going to open mine, because I make a lot of bad financial decisions anyways. For example, I always tore the tags off my Beanie Babies, and look how much they're worth now!

unless the faction pack print runs are insanely crazy, I doubt these will gain any big value quickly.

Ya I guess having a faction booster unopened will appeal to someone, but unless the cards are not available in regular packs, or the print runs made the packs insanely good, who cares?

Crack the packs and play.

Also, packs are supposed to be opened at prereleases, so that product cannot be sold before release, so it might be harder to leave with unopened product.

I would be careful about assuming these packs are only available at the prerelease. Wizards may not be planning on holding any more tournaments with them, but they could still release them in other ways. For example, I could see them putting them in the intro packs, in place of the normal booster.

This is a really silly thread to even have considering we only know two cards out of the whole set. When we can see what kind of big money will be in each faction, then a decision like this becomes a lot easier. That's going to be the deciding factor of these boosters: "Does this faction have enough chase rares to drive its booster price upwards?"

I think keeping them would not net you any money. They are of a limited quantity? Sure, so are prerelease cards, and most people can agree that they are never in high demand (notable exceptions being Ajani V, Figure of Destiny, and Wurmcoil, but they are all worth less that regular versions). It's also illegal (in DCI/WotC eyes) to not open them if you acquire them from buying into a prerelease.

I immagine the only legit way to get these packs would be to win packs at your prerelease, AND the TO has faction packs that he has decided are in excess. In which case they will probably be at their height of value the day they are given out, like all new packs.

I plan on cracking them all, but in such a way that I hopefully am able to keep the packs largely intact except across one of the end seams.

All that needs to happen is one chase staple mythic in BOTH sets. Just one highly desired mythic will ensure an expected value (see worldwake), so at least one in each set and their values will be roughly even.

are the prize packs faction packs or regular?

Cracking them all, because I go to prereleases to have some fun. Dropping out after paying almost thirty bucks and holding on to some unopened boosters, however much money they might make me, is not fun.

Break 'em. You have to play the game in a way knowing that even if all your investments dropped and your cards were worthless, you would still be happy you had played.

I see one really big reason for the packs to not jump in price. You can get the same cards in the MBS boosters. True you will have a higher chance of opening whatever card you are looking for but the singles will be available for sale just like any other set.Plus it's a small set so if you buy a box you will probably pull what you want anyway.

To put it another way

Would you rather pay a LGS/cardsite $5 and have the card in hand or pay $20 for a pack that might have the card your looking for inside of it.

I assume prize packs will be regular.

Also, I asked a local TO, sealed products you get for the prerelease deckbuilding MUST be opened before you can drop.

Quote from Basaka

I assume prize packs will be regular.

Also, I asked a local TO, sealed products you get for the prerelease deckbuilding MUST be opened before you can drop.

There is no practical way to enforce this.

There is also no point in keeping the unopened packs. They're not going to contain cards that you can't get in normal packs, nor will they have any particular value. They're just special packaging.

Since the planeswalkers wont have factions, you are garunteed zero mythic planeswalkers. Congratulations

Quote from fistsofthor

Since the planeswalkers wont have factions, you are garunteed zero mythic planeswalkers. Congratulations

Or, you know, they could put walkers in both faction packs.
DUUUUURRRRR
LET ME THINK GEORGE!
Iffin we's a gonna make a set where the best card is a planeswalker, people will still go to the prerelease if they has no chance of pullin it right?

I mean, thats as stupid an assumption to make as saying a planeswalker will be a certain color, say G/W, without any real backing.

I mean, for all we know, wizards could have made a U/B tez and revived Glissa, and even though they aren't watermarked, still made each exclusive to a certain faction pack.
Or they could have just put them in all packs, cause again, it said the packs won't have any cards of the other faction, not "we're not letting you suckers get PWs at the pre LOLOLOL"


If I go (only going if the prerelease promo is AWESOME, IE Ajani V./Wurmcoil level AWESOME) I'll crack them for sure, holding them is really lame.

Quote from Cyan

There is no practical way to enforce this.

There is also no point in keeping the unopened packs. They're not going to contain cards that you can't get in normal packs, nor will they have any particular value. They're just special packaging.

Two words: Deck Registration.

I have not had to register cards at a prerelease since Tempest but I keep hearing some people on this site say their TO require registration. At that point the only thing you can do is get your product then try to leave. I don't know if anyone would try and stop you but it doesn't seem worth the trouble.

On the other hand a think a lot of you are missing the point of keeping unopened packs. My college roommate played Magic but was also a collector. He kept one unopened pack from every set that came out while we were in college and actively searched for older packs to buy and never open. Of course he also kept rules inserts, the small rules books that came with Starter Decks, and one empty wrapper from each set (I always thought him a little OCD). For anyone who also does this these packs may be the hardest one ever to get.

I also heard that TO have to send back the packs that they didn't use during the prerelease. If that is the case I can see those packs turning up later in blister packs at Wal-Mart and Target. You know those packs. One booster and than a pile of crap they call 30 random cards. Just a thought.