Hello guys! A friend of mine finally got into MTG and wants a second deck for our casual table. He has no clue at all so I suggested GW Tokens, because it's kind of powerful and also budget friendly. I already own some playsets, that's why we decided to build this. I would be very thankful if you guys could help me and my mate complete this list!
There are obviously still 4 slots open and I really can't think of anything more budget friendly but also powerful. Hour of Reckoning maybe? Parallel Lives?
Looking forward to any kind of response!
Hello guys! A friend of mine finally got into MTG and wants a second deck for our casual table. He has no clue at all so I suggested GW Tokens, because it's kind of powerful and also budget friendly. I already own some playsets, that's why we decided to build this. I would be very thankful if you guys could help me and my mate complete this list!
There are obviously still 4 slots open and I really can't think of anything more budget friendly but also powerful. Hour of Reckoning maybe? Parallel Lives?
Looking forward to any kind of response!
Thank you,
Cheers.
You might want to play 4x Wild Growth and 2x Sprawl since WG doesn't require a Forest. What's your meta like Blue wise? Carpet of Flowers is the actual best manarock when you know that at least one player will be on Blue. They don't even need 3-4 Islands to make it work, it literally only takes 1.
You can probably drop down to 2x Cathars' Crusade. The card is powerful but you can easily flood out on them and you already have Virtues, Ascension and Revelations.
The main thing that I would add to this deck is more meat and some Gavony Townships if possible. I'd also rather see Krosan Verge over Blossoming Sands (or even a split) and I'd probably bump the land count up to 24.
For meat you could consider cutting a Soul Warden for a Trostani, Selesnya's Voice but otherwise your ~4 remaining slots should probably go to an actual token producer I think. You could probably add 1 Parallel Lives and 1 Hour of Reckoning but the other 2 slots should probably go to an Increasing Devotion type card. For the record I'm not the biggest fan of the generic Soul Sisters since I don't think that the deck needs the lifegain and I'd rather have more slots dedicated to actual token producers. 1 Trostani and the Benevolent Offerings are good enough for lifegain in my experience and so I'd rather have more action.
That way he could experiment between different builds and come up with the optimized list himself. Deck wouldn't become boring so easily when he could change parts of it when he wants.
I've been bringing new players into the game for decades and I disagree with this advice. New players have absolutely no idea what they're doing and should be treated like children. I mean that in a light-hearted sense in that they don't have the ability to build a functional deck with a solid curve, enough lands, the right amount of removal, etc. and so I think that you're significantly better off handing them a completed product. If they decide that they want to invest more into the game then you can talk to them about changes but until then I would hold off. Now, when I say "invest" I don't even mean money necessarily. Moreso I'm referring to the time and energy that it takes to actually learn Magic. Believe me when I say that there's a ton of Magic players out there who aren't real Magic players. I don't mean that maliciously, but you have to respect that they're just there to have fun with friends and only play because the rest of you do. They'll quit the second that you stop playing it and would have never gotten into the game themselves. That's totally fine, to each their own, but know that that person isn't going to home and start reading articles and building decks. As such it's a waste of money to have them buy a big sideboard that they'll probably never use.
Assuming that you want to go wide things like Secure the Wastes, Sylvan Offering and Increasing Devotion are all decent options. I typically dislike Raise the Alarm variants since they always seem to suck and it's up to you if you want cards like Call of the Conclave and Advent of the Wurm. They're decent blocker early on but that's about it. No Black means no Lingering Souls and Vault of the Archangel which is annoying but manageable. Still, if you can find a way to splash Black then it does help. You only need 10 Black sources to find 1 for turn 4 90% of the time so it's really not that bad all things considered. It's not as though your deck has any 1 drops to begin with and it's not exactly looking like it has much to do on turn 3 other than maybe cast a second 2 drop.
Otherwise Wurmcalling and Sprout Swarm type cards make for fun singletons and depending on the Forest count Beacon of Creation can work. That last one basically requires a Shockland + Fetchlands manabase however.
Normally I suggest Battle Screech but it was recently brought to my attention that it's now a 5 dollar card. I paid like 50 cnts for mine but oh how the times have changed. Who knew? Triplicate Spirits isn't overpowered and Spectral Procession and Benevolent Offering are mostly interchangeable. One card you're not thinking of is Syphon Flesh which is dece depending in the number of adversaries. Dread Summons same idea.
If anything you have way too much pump. 4x Virtue, 2x Dictate, 2x Monument and 2x Crusade is 10 total cards that care about you having a big board of tokens. In removal-light metas this can certainly be fine but if you get Wrath'd 1-2 times you could be in trouble. Personally I'd shave some of the 5 CMC pump for cards like Dictate of Erebos since you're missing removal if anything.
BW tokens is basically as fair as a deck can get. You have creatures, card draw and Overrun style finishers. It's slower and has fewer Gods draws that GW Tokens does (Black doesn't have cards like Parallel Lives or Shamanic Revelation) but your consistent card draw and better access to interaction means that you always get to play Magic. It's a very middle-of-the-road archetype.
I do agree that 1x Sacred Mesa helps a lot btw. Infinite fliers is a big game.
BS is quite good yes. 4 mana for 4 flying tokens is a sweet deal.
Heros are exceptionally powerful in removal-light metas.
Eldrazi Monument is good against Wraths but doesn't close the game out as fast as the alternatives. Cathars' Crusade is the least resilient option but in removal-light metas it will almost always race circles around the other pump spells when it comes to closing games out. Dictate of Heliod is a surprise Overrun that will almost always catch and kill 1-2 players off-guard. It's a safe "middle ground" option but doesn't have the same high-highs as the others. It's the weakest of the 3 overall IMO. Otherwise Dictate of Erebos is amazing if you need to play a Control game of sorts but it clearly doesn't help you to win games. The card is still nuts IMO and I like the 2 copies that you have but there's a limit to the value of the effect.
Personally I'd run the 4th Arena or some other card draw spell over one of the 3Spirits or Mesas.
This should realistically work fine too. 18 sources of White for WW spells on turn 4, 17 sources of Black for Phyrexian Arena which he can always mull aggressively for assuming that his opening hand is uncooperative. It's even fine if he discards to a turn 2 Bounceland assuming a turn 3 Arena since the card disadvantage doesn't really matter at that point.
This should realistically work fine too. 18 sources of White for WW spells on turn 4, 17 sources of Black for Phyrexian Arena which he can always mull aggressively for assuming that his opening hand is uncooperative. It's even fine if he discards to a turn 2 Bounceland assuming a turn 3 Arena since the card disadvantage doesn't really matter at that point.
Certainly. I would be OK with playing either myself. The one I posted is a slightly more consistent (the math is 19 sources for Phyrexian Arena on t3 90% of the time... obviously 17 isn't very far off whatsoever), but more expensive and potentially a little slower. Yours is cheaper and potentially faster, but also could be slightly less consistent. Honestly if you don't already own Isolated Chapel, I would use Prid3's list, as the extra couple black sources you get isn't worth the money IMO.
The one I posted is a slightly more consistent (the math is 19 sources for Phyrexian Arena on t3 90% of the time... obviously 17 isn't very far off whatsoever), but more expensive and potentially a little slower. Yours is cheaper and potentially faster, but also could be slightly less consistent. Honestly if you don't already own Isolated Chapel, I would use Prid3's list, as the extra couple black sources you get isn't worth the money IMO.
For me it literally just boils down to the fact that you're splitting hairs over $20.00 and I'd rather have the 20 bucks than the slightly increased consistency given that the deck that I posted will still consistently (90%) meet your colored requirements.
Your math is off in that it doesn't use any conditional probability to account for mulliganing. People mulligan unplayable hands that can't cast spells and in MP you get a free mull + you always draw on your first turn + even if you do mull again you get to Scry. In practice you only need 18 sources to consistently cast BB spells on turn 2 once you factor that into the equation so 17 to hit BB on turn 3 is still 90%+ adjusted probability of casting your spell.
Your deck has 5 swamps so no, Tainted Field doesn't really make any sense. You would have to use a bunch of Evolving Wilds and such to make that type of land work. That being said it's way better for Bx decks than it is for Wx ones and this is definitely a Wx list.
Looking back you have 6 mana sinks in L.Ascension and S.Mesa and it's hard to imagine getting value out of more than 1. Some of those numbers probably need to shift around a bit. Maybe -1 Mesa and +1 Benevolent Offering/Spec Proc/3Spirits.
And I did not really figure out how to use Sacred Mesa efficiently.
It's a lategame manasink. That's about it. There's a reason why I said that I only run 1. I never want to see more and I never want to draw it until turn 8. You don't even cast it until you have like 8+ mana because otherwise paying the upkeep is far too difficult.
I generally did not have a good early game. I know, the deck is not especially fast, but no matter how I look at it - the best thing I can have by turn 3 is two flyers with vigilance and 2/2.
You're supposed to have something better than a 4/4 vigilant flier across 2 bodies and an Anthem effect by turn 3? Are people curving Goblin Guide into Eidolon of the Great Revel?
Add answers to whatever was beating you basically. If you need removal, add removal. If you need lifegain, add lifegain. They're all good cards so it's mostly a matter of personal preference.
Okok, you are right. The 4/4 on turn 3 is not bad at all
I did not draw the Eldrazi Monuments, but if I had drawn them, I would have been happy to have the Mancer. I was thinking about going mono-white because of spells like True Conviction. But I guess in every single game I tested the deck I would have been able to cast it, despite its triple white.
I was totally missing some removal - so I will add some.
Sometimes it seems so easy. Have problems? Find answers!
I could have probably worded my statement about the 4/4 flier better. I don't think that having a 4/4 flier on turn 3 is "broken" or anything but if that's not good enough to compete then the deck itself is probably doomed from the get-to. BW tokens is a relatively fair deck and if people are doing wildly unfair things then it's not going to secure many victories. I think that in general turn 2 Virtue turn 3 token spell is "good enough" to stay afloat but when it's not the real problem is your deck and not your opener.
Don't even cast Sacred Mesa until you have have like 8 lands in play. There's no point. Think of it as an Aetherling of sorts.
To give you an idea an 18 White source deck will naturally draw 3 by turn 6 82% of the time and that's excluding mulligans and extra cards drawn. Even if you ignore everything you're inherently a "favorite" to get there.
A bit of removal does go a long way when people are doing unfair things with Enchantments.
Is your assumption that 100% of Magic players are willing and able to drop the $140.00 required to procure a playset? "This card is powerful and budget friendly" has more implications that you seem to think.
A lot of people seem to forget that Cryptolith Rite isn't actually an original card.
A huge % of Magic players weren't playing 19 years ago and/or can't afford $30.00 singletons. Shocker!
Basically I don't agree with your assumption that "N already exists therefore X doesn't change anything" if N and X are wildly different cards in terms of price, availability, set legality, etc. Real-world people have real-world constraints that go above and beyond sheer existence. Buying online is great if you're a US Citizen but try telling someone from Ukraine to pick up a playset of Earthcrafts from his LGS and see what kind of response you get.
Here it is:
4x Blossoming Sands
4x Selesnya Sanctuary
8x Forest
7x Plains
Creatures:(15)
4x Secure the Wastes
4x Sylvan Offering
4x Benevolent Offering
3x Soul Warden
4x Utopia Sprawl
2x Wild Growth
4x Intangible Virtue
1x Aura Shards
1x Beastmaster Ascension
2x Shamanic Revelation
4x Cathars' Crusade
There are obviously still 4 slots open and I really can't think of anything more budget friendly but also powerful. Hour of Reckoning maybe? Parallel Lives?
Looking forward to any kind of response!
Thank you,
Cheers.
You might want to play 4x Wild Growth and 2x Sprawl since WG doesn't require a Forest. What's your meta like Blue wise? Carpet of Flowers is the actual best manarock when you know that at least one player will be on Blue. They don't even need 3-4 Islands to make it work, it literally only takes 1.
You can probably drop down to 2x Cathars' Crusade. The card is powerful but you can easily flood out on them and you already have Virtues, Ascension and Revelations.
The main thing that I would add to this deck is more meat and some Gavony Townships if possible. I'd also rather see Krosan Verge over Blossoming Sands (or even a split) and I'd probably bump the land count up to 24.
For meat you could consider cutting a Soul Warden for a Trostani, Selesnya's Voice but otherwise your ~4 remaining slots should probably go to an actual token producer I think. You could probably add 1 Parallel Lives and 1 Hour of Reckoning but the other 2 slots should probably go to an Increasing Devotion type card. For the record I'm not the biggest fan of the generic Soul Sisters since I don't think that the deck needs the lifegain and I'd rather have more slots dedicated to actual token producers. 1 Trostani and the Benevolent Offerings are good enough for lifegain in my experience and so I'd rather have more action.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I've been bringing new players into the game for decades and I disagree with this advice. New players have absolutely no idea what they're doing and should be treated like children. I mean that in a light-hearted sense in that they don't have the ability to build a functional deck with a solid curve, enough lands, the right amount of removal, etc. and so I think that you're significantly better off handing them a completed product. If they decide that they want to invest more into the game then you can talk to them about changes but until then I would hold off. Now, when I say "invest" I don't even mean money necessarily. Moreso I'm referring to the time and energy that it takes to actually learn Magic. Believe me when I say that there's a ton of Magic players out there who aren't real Magic players. I don't mean that maliciously, but you have to respect that they're just there to have fun with friends and only play because the rest of you do. They'll quit the second that you stop playing it and would have never gotten into the game themselves. That's totally fine, to each their own, but know that that person isn't going to home and start reading articles and building decks. As such it's a waste of money to have them buy a big sideboard that they'll probably never use.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Otherwise Wurmcalling and Sprout Swarm type cards make for fun singletons and depending on the Forest count Beacon of Creation can work. That last one basically requires a Shockland + Fetchlands manabase however.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Normally I suggest Battle Screech but it was recently brought to my attention that it's now a 5 dollar card. I paid like 50 cnts for mine but oh how the times have changed. Who knew? Triplicate Spirits isn't overpowered and Spectral Procession and Benevolent Offering are mostly interchangeable. One card you're not thinking of is Syphon Flesh which is dece depending in the number of adversaries. Dread Summons same idea.
If anything you have way too much pump. 4x Virtue, 2x Dictate, 2x Monument and 2x Crusade is 10 total cards that care about you having a big board of tokens. In removal-light metas this can certainly be fine but if you get Wrath'd 1-2 times you could be in trouble. Personally I'd shave some of the 5 CMC pump for cards like Dictate of Erebos since you're missing removal if anything.
BW tokens is basically as fair as a deck can get. You have creatures, card draw and Overrun style finishers. It's slower and has fewer Gods draws that GW Tokens does (Black doesn't have cards like Parallel Lives or Shamanic Revelation) but your consistent card draw and better access to interaction means that you always get to play Magic. It's a very middle-of-the-road archetype.
I do agree that 1x Sacred Mesa helps a lot btw. Infinite fliers is a big game.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I assume fetches and shocks are not in the pictures, so something like...
4x Orzhov Basilica
4x Temple of Silence
4x Scoured Barrens
4x Isolated Chapel
3x Swamp
4x Plains
1x Vault of the Archangel
My Powered 630 card Vintage Multiplayer Cube
cEDH: WUBR Blue Farm WUBR, UG Kinnan Flips UG, U Urza Scepter U
BS is quite good yes. 4 mana for 4 flying tokens is a sweet deal.
Heros are exceptionally powerful in removal-light metas.
Eldrazi Monument is good against Wraths but doesn't close the game out as fast as the alternatives. Cathars' Crusade is the least resilient option but in removal-light metas it will almost always race circles around the other pump spells when it comes to closing games out. Dictate of Heliod is a surprise Overrun that will almost always catch and kill 1-2 players off-guard. It's a safe "middle ground" option but doesn't have the same high-highs as the others. It's the weakest of the 3 overall IMO. Otherwise Dictate of Erebos is amazing if you need to play a Control game of sorts but it clearly doesn't help you to win games. The card is still nuts IMO and I like the 2 copies that you have but there's a limit to the value of the effect.
Personally I'd run the 4th Arena or some other card draw spell over one of the 3Spirits or Mesas.
6x Plains
5x Swamp
4x Orzhov Basilica
4x Temple of Silence
4x Scoured Barrens
1x Vault of the Archangel
This should realistically work fine too. 18 sources of White for WW spells on turn 4, 17 sources of Black for Phyrexian Arena which he can always mull aggressively for assuming that his opening hand is uncooperative. It's even fine if he discards to a turn 2 Bounceland assuming a turn 3 Arena since the card disadvantage doesn't really matter at that point.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Certainly. I would be OK with playing either myself. The one I posted is a slightly more consistent (the math is 19 sources for Phyrexian Arena on t3 90% of the time... obviously 17 isn't very far off whatsoever), but more expensive and potentially a little slower. Yours is cheaper and potentially faster, but also could be slightly less consistent. Honestly if you don't already own Isolated Chapel, I would use Prid3's list, as the extra couple black sources you get isn't worth the money IMO.
My Powered 630 card Vintage Multiplayer Cube
cEDH: WUBR Blue Farm WUBR, UG Kinnan Flips UG, U Urza Scepter U
For me it literally just boils down to the fact that you're splitting hairs over $20.00 and I'd rather have the 20 bucks than the slightly increased consistency given that the deck that I posted will still consistently (90%) meet your colored requirements.
Your math is off in that it doesn't use any conditional probability to account for mulliganing. People mulligan unplayable hands that can't cast spells and in MP you get a free mull + you always draw on your first turn + even if you do mull again you get to Scry. In practice you only need 18 sources to consistently cast BB spells on turn 2 once you factor that into the equation so 17 to hit BB on turn 3 is still 90%+ adjusted probability of casting your spell.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Looking back you have 6 mana sinks in L.Ascension and S.Mesa and it's hard to imagine getting value out of more than 1. Some of those numbers probably need to shift around a bit. Maybe -1 Mesa and +1 Benevolent Offering/Spec Proc/3Spirits.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
If your meta has a ton of Ench removal and if no one else is playing powerful Enchs early on then you might have to shave their numbers/remove them.
It's a lategame manasink. That's about it. There's a reason why I said that I only run 1. I never want to see more and I never want to draw it until turn 8. You don't even cast it until you have like 8+ mana because otherwise paying the upkeep is far too difficult.
You're supposed to have something better than a 4/4 vigilant flier across 2 bodies and an Anthem effect by turn 3? Are people curving Goblin Guide into Eidolon of the Great Revel?
The 'Mancer is a blocker moreso than anything else. Assuming that you don't field any sac outlets then his primary role is to dissuade aggression.
If the Heros were removed far too frequently then cutting the creatures seems reasonable. Why go mono-White though?
Add answers to whatever was beating you basically. If you need removal, add removal. If you need lifegain, add lifegain. They're all good cards so it's mostly a matter of personal preference.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I could have probably worded my statement about the 4/4 flier better. I don't think that having a 4/4 flier on turn 3 is "broken" or anything but if that's not good enough to compete then the deck itself is probably doomed from the get-to. BW tokens is a relatively fair deck and if people are doing wildly unfair things then it's not going to secure many victories. I think that in general turn 2 Virtue turn 3 token spell is "good enough" to stay afloat but when it's not the real problem is your deck and not your opener.
Don't even cast Sacred Mesa until you have have like 8 lands in play. There's no point. Think of it as an Aetherling of sorts.
To give you an idea an 18 White source deck will naturally draw 3 by turn 6 82% of the time and that's excluding mulligans and extra cards drawn. Even if you ignore everything you're inherently a "favorite" to get there.
A bit of removal does go a long way when people are doing unfair things with Enchantments.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I imagine playing stuff like Increasing Devotion into Akroma's Memorial / True Conviction / Dictate of Heliod.
4 Sylvan Offering
4 Benevolent Offering
4 Battle Screech
1 Sacred Mesa
3 Crypotilith Rite
1 True Conviction
1 Akroma's Memorial
1 Eldrazi Monument
1 Beastmaster Ascension
1 Dictate of Heliod
You get the basic picture.
Is your assumption that 100% of Magic players are willing and able to drop the $140.00 required to procure a playset? "This card is powerful and budget friendly" has more implications that you seem to think.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
A huge % of Magic players weren't playing 19 years ago and/or can't afford $30.00 singletons. Shocker!
Basically I don't agree with your assumption that "N already exists therefore X doesn't change anything" if N and X are wildly different cards in terms of price, availability, set legality, etc. Real-world people have real-world constraints that go above and beyond sheer existence. Buying online is great if you're a US Citizen but try telling someone from Ukraine to pick up a playset of Earthcrafts from his LGS and see what kind of response you get.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold