An all-foil deck is like a house with every wall filled floor-to-ceiling with fine art. It stops being cool and interesting and starts looking pretentious and tacky.
An all foiled deck is an achievement, at least in my books. It's quite hard to acquire all the cards, not only because of the cost, but also because of the supply. I had to hunt all over Europe for foil cards and know how much time and patience this takes.
Anyways, as long as one's attitude toward deck construction and the pilot does not depend on it being foiled or not, everything is fine. I read on the forums about people who hate on others with foiled decks for apparently no reason and this is ridiculous.
Just because it's hard, expensive, or an "achievement" doesn't make it un-tacky. Also it's pointlessly hobbling your own deck since many powerful cards have never been printed in foil. If you just want to make your deck cost a ton to show off, I'd go with altered art. That can get as expensive as you like, is completely unique instead of merely rare, and doesn't limit your card selection. And depending how good the artist is, it might not even be tacky.
All-foil decks are as tacky as the "bling" people compare them to. But Hawaiian shirts are tacky too, and I don't give a crap what my opponent is wearing when we sit down. You can make whatever bad decisions you want, doesn't affect me. As long as you don't have an all-foreign deck without the ability to read the language.
I think some players (like me) see foiling decks like a growing baby. You feed it, take care of it; very much like how anyone is pimping their cars or sprucing their house with new furnishings and accessories.
It also reflects a constant reminder that you're putting work into it. If anything, the value doesn't really drop. That's the best part, but I see it more as an afterthought.
Just because it's hard, expensive, or an "achievement" doesn't make it un-tacky.
Well, whether something is tacky or not is quite subjective, really... to me foiled decks aren't tacky. A mint P3K english Capture of Jingzhou in a kitchen counter commander meta might seem like that, but foils? They are so common nowadays that only something like phyrexian wording Elesh Norn or the new judge foil FoW could be considered that in general sense (and, to emphasize, these cards I'd *personally* find tacky; there might be groups where these cards are common or simply people who do not care).
Of course it's subjective.
I wouldn't consider merely expensive, older cards to be tacky (although playing a powerful deck in a casual meta is in bad taste for other reasons). There's no replacement for the tabernacle at pendrell vale if that's what you need for your deck - the cost is justified by its function. The only advantage a foil has over a non-foil is to glitter and be more expensive, with no functional difference whatever to justify it. If you're playing with an all-foil deck, you're basically saying "My deck being glittery and expensive is more important to me than my deck functioning well". If that's not tacky, I don't know what is. But as you say, it's subjective.
It's also worth noting if we're foiling out with no budget restrictions or not. If your deck should be playing something like tabernacle, timetwister, workshop, candelabra, chains, cradle, duals or another $100+ card and you aren't - but you are foiling the deck out, I'll probably tell you that you're throwing money in the wrong place - you should have the optimal cards in place before you strive to achieve some fleeting veneer of luxury - the obscure uncommons that you've foiled aren't really impressing anyone.
Just build as good deck as possible and then foil out all foilable cards, don't you think?
That is what I do with my foil deck. I don't have a hard count, but there are only 2 cards in my deck available in foil that I don't have (actually 3 but I don't count Force of Will). There are probably a dozen more that are not available in foil that I will not remove. Duals, Force, Mana Drain, Fork, Gilded Drake, Gamble, Bane of Progress etc.) A couple of these are altered, the rest I am happy just to play as is. I do not sacrifice playability for looks. But I do put the time into making my deck unique by foiling all of the cards that I already have in the deck.
why anybody assumes that if someone foils the deck out, he sacrifices optimal cards for the sake of non-optimal foils? this would be weird.
Just build as good deck as possible and then foil out all foilable cards, don't you think?
I've seen more than a few decks here and elsewhere that purposely omit crucial cards because they aren't available in foil. I know there's an all-foil melek build (in the pimp thread, I think) I've seen that is like that, and I recall seeing others.
Additionally, I get shown foiled-out budget-y decks at my local gameshops pretty frequently - and I've always assumed that foiling out was the last step of deck acquisition but I've found that that's not always the case.
I'm reminded of kids I've seen at shops throughout the years that trade for any Dragon, Angel or Planeswalker because they think "it's the best" without giving much consideration to the rest of their decks - depending on your experience with the game, your experience with the format, your resources and your playgroup, it can be impractical to track down pricey foils - particularly if your decklist isn't etched in stone.
Foils are cool but an all foil deck is just too much. If the promo art is better than the original, I will go with that. It wouldn't matter to me if it was foil or not, cool art is cool art. That's why I have kind of gone the opposite way and am trying to get all the cards in my Ulamog deck altered by various artists.
foil for me,foil gives you a nice feel,you look good playing magic also for me,
but if your going foil it has to be the original print not the fnm's or judge foils
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There is actually a limit on how many expensive cards you can put in your deck. The reason people break their commander meta into the fastest combo decks and most vicious stax decks is because someone at some point payed to win their games until everyone else rose to match them. Foiling a deck is a way to put money into a deck you love without crushing everyone and creating an oppressive deck that no one wants to play against.
I am kind of at the limit of how many decks I can carry around easily I don't think I'll be building a new deck any time soon, so perhaps I'll put my money/trades into some foils. I actually like foiling "bad" cards because they are easy to find and cheap and good cards are already flashy by being good cards.
There is actually a limit on how many expensive cards you can put in your deck. The reason people break their commander meta into the fastest combo decks and most vicious stax decks is because someone at some point payed to win their games until everyone else rose to match them. Foiling a deck is a way to put money into a deck you love without crushing everyone and creating an oppressive deck that no one wants to play against.
I am kind of at the limit of how many decks I can carry around easily I don't think I'll be building a new deck any time soon, so perhaps I'll put my money/trades into some foils. I actually like foiling "bad" cards because they are easy to find and cheap and good cards are already flashy by being good cards.
I don't think there's anything forcing a deck with enough money into it to become a stax or combo deck. Lots of the strongest combos are made up of cheap cards, and there are certainly plenty of expensive cards that aren't combo or stax.
Also the idea that you HAVE to put money into your decks is ridiculous. Make another deck. Put it in the bank. Buy yourself a sandwich. If you love your deck, make it better, not tackier.
Make another deck. Put it in the bank. Buy yourself a sandwich. If you love your deck, make it better, not tackier.
.. and if it is as good as it gets, pimp it out with foils if you like it to make the deck piece of art.
If you ever see a fully optimized foil deck (not the cheap exclusion just to have foil in the deck), maybe you will understand the difference.
Anybody can just go to LGS and buy cards for any EDH deck with no effort. But to put energy (time, money) into getting some very rare foils, it is something what makes the deck special.
You can have dozens EDH decks easily without thinking about pimping (somebody more, somebody less according to their budget), but you can still play just a small number regularly. So, if you like the deck a lot and you will know you will use it for decades, why not combine your passion and investment? (and to buy a foil is sometimes much better investment than put money just into bank (or sandwich if you want)).
Or maybe you are just a player-user, who doesn't care how the deck looks and the function is all what matters. It is possible and OK, but you must understand that there are other EDH players, who cares also about artistic aspects of the deck - which doesn't mean they do care less about function. They have just wider specter of interests.
I dunno about your LGS, but I'm pretty sure my LGS would have a hard time finding loads of cards that I use in EDH decks. And even if they did, it would still cost a ton of money to put together most of my decks. But that doesn't matter, because the internet exists. Getting (almost) any card in foil is negligibly more difficult than getting the regular card, it's just more expensive. Except in very few cases (summer of magic, alpha 10s, etc), rarity doesn't exist. If I wanted to spend $600+, I could have a phyrexian elesh norn in the mail tomorrow. "Anyone can just go to an LGS and buy cards for an EDH deck with no effort"...well, anyone can go on the internet and get that deck in foil with no effort either. If you want to do something that not-just-anyone can do, make a cool, unique, and/or optimized decklist instead.
I also don't buy this idea that making your deck shiny makes it a "work of art". I'm no art critic, but I'm pretty sure making the Mona Lisa shiny wouldn't make it better. If you want to make your deck unique, spend actual effort, and make it an actual work of art - get the cards altered. I've seen some really cool altered decks on here, that took real effort to put together, and look unique and phenomenal. When I see someone playing altered cards, I'm always curious to take a peek, and compliment them if it's a cool alter. When I see someone playing foils, I couldn't care less. I've seen a million foils, which particular card it is doesn't make much difference. I'll grant you that foil Russian starts to get kind of interesting (gotta love Cyrillic), but if you actually play an all-Russian deck, and don't read Russian or have every card's oracle text memorized verbatim, I will cram your deck down your throat when you start asking me what your own cards do.
As far as investment, all cards are a gamble, some go up, some go down. Easy to point to the ones that got expensive and say it's a good investment. Overall foils generally do pretty well, I'll agree. But I don't think they can ever beat the rate of return on a good sandwich. A full stomach is the gift that keeps on giving.
OK, got it. At the end each of us have different opinions and it is OK.
As the alters mentioned - I also like them but I heard a several opinions that altering card (no matter how good it is) is just only damaging card. I don't agree with this but it shows how people rates different pimping differently.
Well, altering an expensive card is definitely risky and could hurt the value. Altering a cheap card can't really do much harm, and could make it pretty valuable. Depends a lot on how good the artist/alter is of course. Because I change decks constantly I haven't bothered to try getting many altered, but I definitely enjoy those that do. Frankly I have a hard time imagining sticking with a deck long enough that I'd consider altering or foiling it, most of my decks last a month, tops.
Whether alters or foils or regular look best is of course subjective, but I don't think you can argue that foils require any real extra effort in the internet age. If you like the look of foils and don't mind spending the money, go for it. It's your deck and it's your money, and I don't care either way. But in my book, a deck's merit is a lot more about how much effort was put into its design and testing, and a lot less about how much effort was put into making it reflect more photons.
Ya I can totally understand peoples dislike of foil.
I would say at least 85% of my cards that are foiled are either out of convenience (a friend hooking me up, puling it from a pack or a bulk buying deal like Foil Unhinged Island), are crazy beautiful for me (Sunpetal Grove, Temple Garden, Breeding Pool or 9th edition plains 331 foil), or mean something special to me ( Foil Tamiyo, the moon sage, first successful standard control deck built, Mayael, the anima was my first edh I ever built and is still together for over 5 years.
I don't just go blindly picking up foils... I'm not a skank like that
Something else occurs to me. Foils are special. A single foil card that's special to you, or looks far better than the nonfoil version (Savage Beating is both for me) stands out a lot more among nonfoils than if it were placed in an all-foil deck. It's like jewelry. Too much and you lose what makes it special.
A lot of people have been commenting on the cost of foiling out decks, and there is absolutely no denying this. But, foils, particularly staples, seem to hold their value better, and appreciate to a higher degree. I'm 10 cards total away from foiling out 4 different decks, Ezuri, Kozilek, Krenko, and Kaalia, to the extent they can be foiled, as there are a few cards in each that have no foil version and I won't sacrifice deck strength just for the sake of 100% foil. I've spent a pretty penny to do so, of that there's no doubt, but I've been meticulous in tracking my expenditure, so I can tell you just what I've spent on those cards. A VERY large percentage of those cards have dramatically increased since the time in which they were purchased. Just a few small examples: Arid Mesa foil, purchased for $42, now worth $80. Avacyn, Angel of Hope foil, purchased for $23, now worth $93. Blood Moon (MM) foil, purchased for $19, now worth $46. Bloodstained Mire Judge foil, purchased for $51, now worth $131. Demonic Tutor Judge foil, purchased for $108, now worth $260. Elesh Norn foil, purchased for $26, now worth $70. Gaea's Cradle judge foil, purchased for $225, now worth $375. Grim Monolith foil, purchased for $160, now worth $250. Imperial Recruiter Judge foil, purchased for $72, now worth $145. Mana Crypt Judge foil, purchased for $45, now worth $190. Vampiric Tutor Judge foil, purchased for $54, now worth $98.
This is just a small, small, sampling of the approximately 375 foil cards that make up these decks. That group of cards cost me $825, but today have a TCGP low of $1738, more than doubling my investment. Granted nothing is ever guaranteed. While unlikely, these cards could crash for any number of reasons. But yet, of all my cards that I purchased, and nearly all were purchased as opposed to pulled or traded for, there may be only 2 or 3 cards out of that 375 that I've lost money on, that's it. It also takes diligence, an investment of ones time and an understanding of pricing to find some deals such as these. I just want to say that for me, and for many others foiling out can be not just an expensive process but also a lucrative process. Kind of the old adage "it takes money to make money". Yes, foils aren't cheap, but I've gotten a good return on investment of them (ignoring the argument that I've not gotten a return unless I sell them). There are no guarantees in Magic as a commodity, but for me, foiling out decks has been a very worthwhile investment.
I've been slowly, slowly foiling my edh cube, but there are a bunch of pie-in-the-sky-expensive cards that I really don't have any expectation of owning. Instead, foiling is just another project to spend a modest amount of time and energy on, and one that continually locks a little more value each time into the overall cube. I will seek out foils for cards that I particularly enjoy the art on, or ones I expect the foiling process to really bring the fire out of.
I'd like to echo SonofaBith. I typically foil out things as investments as well as for pimping/sentimentality. So for example, in the RUG Modern deck I'm building I foiled out my Snapcasters, Lightning Bolts, and Huntmasters. Foil Snapcaster hasn't seen the same gains as regular Snapcasters so I think it has room to grow. MPR Bolts have slid down a bit and NM ones are getting hard to find, plus as a Modern/Legacy staple it's only going to rise over time. Huntmaster is one of my favorite cards and it could spike pretty easily if it starts seeing play in a RUG build or Jund.
Anyways, that wasn't me trying to sell you on specs, that's just an illustration of my thought process. I'd foil out the Steam Vents, Breeding Pool, etc. but those've already spiked and I can wait on them or get them altered instead. I'd never foil out a Serum Visions or something like that since it's just not justifiable. I'll probably end up altering the rest of the deck, since at this point it's about the same price to do so over foils.
I'll foil the occasional card if it looks pretty and I happen upon it (or it's something like Fleetfeather Cockatrice that is beyond gorgeous in foil yet doesn't cost much anything to get), but in general I keep foil amounts low.
I do have another reason beyond price and 'tackiness' though: I am partially red-green colorblind. Foiled cards can get really hard for me to actually recognize if there's a lot of them, and more than once I have misjudged the battlefield simply because I thought a foiled card was something else xP
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X Hope of Ghirapur Swordpile W Ghosty Blinky Anafenza U Nezahal- Big, Blue and HERE! B Gonti Can Afford It R Etali, Primal 'Whatjusthappened?' G Polukranos Wants More Mana WU The Exalted Vizier Temmet WB Home, Athreos WR Basandra, Recursive Aggression WG Karametra, Momma of Lands UB Wrexial Eats Your Brains UR Arjun, the Mad Flame UG The Fable of Prime Speaker BR Hellbent, Malfegor Style BG Jarad, Death is Served RG Running Thromok WUB Varina and ALL the Zombies WUBYennett, the Odd Pain-Train WUR Zedruu the Furyhearted WUG Arcades' Strategy, Shmategy, Sausage and Spam WBR A Case of Mathas' Persistent F*ckery WBRLicia's League of Legendary Lifegain Layabouts WBG The Karador Advantage PackageWRG Gahiji Rattlesnake Collection UBR Jeleva... does... things UBG Damia's Just Deserts URG Yasova's Has More Power Than Sense BRG Wasitora, Bad Kitty WUBRBreya, Eggs, Breya'd Eggs WUBG Tymna and Kydele, Extended Borrowing WURG Kynaios and Tiro, Landfall Impersonations WBRG Saskia Pet Card EnchantressUBRG Yidris of the Chi-Ting Corporation WUBRG Tazri's Amazing Allies
All of these business models stem from the assumption that reprints don't mess this up. This is usually not as bad when the art is changed, but for myself, Modern Masters put a large dent into my portfolio. Yes, the original set could be worth more, but few are actually going to spend more on a card with the exact same art just for the expansion symbol. I know I wouldn't
Other reprint products. Loyal Retainers paid $110, now Commander Arsenal $20 foil (I got one of these also, but I would NOT have gotten the P3K one had I known.)
And there are more. Yes, many foils go up in value, but not all. I still like foils, and am working slowly on my second foil deck, but MM still hurt me and now MM 2 is coming out and I am wondering if anything else I worked hard to get will drop in value after the reprints.
I have also picked up a few foils I didn't have thanks to modern masters in Life from the Loam and Reveilark, but there is always the chance that a reprint will spoil a seemingly fool proof investment.
.... and am working slowly on my second foil deck, but MM still hurt me and now MM 2 is coming out and I am wondering if anything else I worked hard to get will drop in value after the reprints.
.... and am working slowly on my second foil deck, but MM still hurt me and now MM 2 is coming out and I am wondering if anything else I worked hard to get will drop in value after the reprints.
I can almost certainly guarantee they will.
Yeah I know. My only consolation is that maybe there are enough cards printed that I don't already have in foil that I want to offset it somewhat. Although this gets ever more unlikely the closer I get to my goal.
Here's hoping for a Oblivion Stone reprint. Really want one for my main foil deck.
I personally think the ship has sailed on foiling out your deck. My Oloro Stax deck is foiled out with tons of expensive foils that were cheap when I got them (relatively) and seem to have plateaued.
I know original set foils are worth more than reprints, and generally retain value through reprinting, but that is usually to collectors. First time foilers are going to get Duel Deck, FtV, Judge foils and promo cards before they buy set foils. Nothing wrong with that.
foils are expensive now precisely because of EDH/Commander. The days of picking up format staples in foil for cheap are long past. Heck, even fringe cards that see SOME play are gonna cost you. Foil commons from old sets cost a fortune.
I guess what I'm saying is: EDH isn't cheap anymore, and if you're just starting to foil a deck it's going to cost you the most it ever has. I personally just buy foils of the card art I like, or if it's a crucial card in the deck.
Something else occurs to me. Foils are special. A single foil card that's special to you, or looks far better than the nonfoil version (Savage Beating is both for me) stands out a lot more among nonfoils than if it were placed in an all-foil deck. It's like jewelry. Too much and you lose what makes it special.
I like this quote. For me, I've decided to only foil my commander. This is because I discovered the joy of foils warping in humid climates - if a card's going to bend, might as well keep it to the card that's stuck in a toploader all day.
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EDH/Commander
(W/U)(W/U)Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage: The New da Vinci (historic control)
(W/B)(W/B)Teysa Karlov: Death Be Not Kind (aristocrats)
(R/G)(R/G)Hallar, the Firefletcher: Yavimaya Burning (kicker and counters)
(B/G)(G/U)Sidisi, Brood Tyrant: Queen of the Damned (dredge)
Maybe Build
(W/U)(U/B)Aminatou, the Fateshifter: And a Child Shall Lead Them (superfriends)
I foiled out my Omnath deck to the extent that it could be foiled (cards that don't exist in foil are still kept in the deck). Omnath is the deck that I've kind of made "my own," so after a while I felt the urge to foil it out. One deck is enough though. All my decks have a few foils at least, but I don't feel any great compulsion to foil any of the other decks out.
I'm nth-ing the price of foils have gotten outrageously expensive. I love the game and I love the commander format, but I ended up getting rid of all my foils because it became impossible. I mean, a foil Demonic Tutor when I last checked was $250. I do not love the game that much.
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All-foil decks are as tacky as the "bling" people compare them to. But Hawaiian shirts are tacky too, and I don't give a crap what my opponent is wearing when we sit down. You can make whatever bad decisions you want, doesn't affect me. As long as you don't have an all-foreign deck without the ability to read the language.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
It also reflects a constant reminder that you're putting work into it. If anything, the value doesn't really drop. That's the best part, but I see it more as an afterthought.
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
I wouldn't consider merely expensive, older cards to be tacky (although playing a powerful deck in a casual meta is in bad taste for other reasons). There's no replacement for the tabernacle at pendrell vale if that's what you need for your deck - the cost is justified by its function. The only advantage a foil has over a non-foil is to glitter and be more expensive, with no functional difference whatever to justify it. If you're playing with an all-foil deck, you're basically saying "My deck being glittery and expensive is more important to me than my deck functioning well". If that's not tacky, I don't know what is. But as you say, it's subjective.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
Edit: yeah, what Dirk said.
That is what I do with my foil deck. I don't have a hard count, but there are only 2 cards in my deck available in foil that I don't have (actually 3 but I don't count Force of Will). There are probably a dozen more that are not available in foil that I will not remove. Duals, Force, Mana Drain, Fork, Gilded Drake, Gamble, Bane of Progress etc.) A couple of these are altered, the rest I am happy just to play as is. I do not sacrifice playability for looks. But I do put the time into making my deck unique by foiling all of the cards that I already have in the deck.
I've seen more than a few decks here and elsewhere that purposely omit crucial cards because they aren't available in foil. I know there's an all-foil melek build (in the pimp thread, I think) I've seen that is like that, and I recall seeing others.
Additionally, I get shown foiled-out budget-y decks at my local gameshops pretty frequently - and I've always assumed that foiling out was the last step of deck acquisition but I've found that that's not always the case.
I'm reminded of kids I've seen at shops throughout the years that trade for any Dragon, Angel or Planeswalker because they think "it's the best" without giving much consideration to the rest of their decks - depending on your experience with the game, your experience with the format, your resources and your playgroup, it can be impractical to track down pricey foils - particularly if your decklist isn't etched in stone.
but if your going foil it has to be the original print not the fnm's or judge foils
thanks to DNC of Heroes of the Plane Studios for the coolest sig
vintage-WBdark timesBW
legacy-BGRJund-51/60BGR
RBBob Sligh 48/60BR
GRone land belcherRG
URBTES-54/60URB
Fun deck-BBBBKobolds stormBBBB
I am kind of at the limit of how many decks I can carry around easily I don't think I'll be building a new deck any time soon, so perhaps I'll put my money/trades into some foils. I actually like foiling "bad" cards because they are easy to find and cheap and good cards are already flashy by being good cards.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
Also the idea that you HAVE to put money into your decks is ridiculous. Make another deck. Put it in the bank. Buy yourself a sandwich. If you love your deck, make it better, not tackier.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
I also don't buy this idea that making your deck shiny makes it a "work of art". I'm no art critic, but I'm pretty sure making the Mona Lisa shiny wouldn't make it better. If you want to make your deck unique, spend actual effort, and make it an actual work of art - get the cards altered. I've seen some really cool altered decks on here, that took real effort to put together, and look unique and phenomenal. When I see someone playing altered cards, I'm always curious to take a peek, and compliment them if it's a cool alter. When I see someone playing foils, I couldn't care less. I've seen a million foils, which particular card it is doesn't make much difference. I'll grant you that foil Russian starts to get kind of interesting (gotta love Cyrillic), but if you actually play an all-Russian deck, and don't read Russian or have every card's oracle text memorized verbatim, I will cram your deck down your throat when you start asking me what your own cards do.
As far as investment, all cards are a gamble, some go up, some go down. Easy to point to the ones that got expensive and say it's a good investment. Overall foils generally do pretty well, I'll agree. But I don't think they can ever beat the rate of return on a good sandwich. A full stomach is the gift that keeps on giving.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
Whether alters or foils or regular look best is of course subjective, but I don't think you can argue that foils require any real extra effort in the internet age. If you like the look of foils and don't mind spending the money, go for it. It's your deck and it's your money, and I don't care either way. But in my book, a deck's merit is a lot more about how much effort was put into its design and testing, and a lot less about how much effort was put into making it reflect more photons.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
I would say at least 85% of my cards that are foiled are either out of convenience (a friend hooking me up, puling it from a pack or a bulk buying deal like Foil Unhinged Island), are crazy beautiful for me (Sunpetal Grove, Temple Garden, Breeding Pool or 9th edition plains 331 foil), or mean something special to me ( Foil Tamiyo, the moon sage, first successful standard control deck built, Mayael, the anima was my first edh I ever built and is still together for over 5 years.
I don't just go blindly picking up foils... I'm not a skank like that
Thanks you very much DarkNightCavalier for the Sig.
Arid Mesa foil, purchased for $42, now worth $80.
Avacyn, Angel of Hope foil, purchased for $23, now worth $93.
Blood Moon (MM) foil, purchased for $19, now worth $46.
Bloodstained Mire Judge foil, purchased for $51, now worth $131.
Demonic Tutor Judge foil, purchased for $108, now worth $260.
Elesh Norn foil, purchased for $26, now worth $70.
Gaea's Cradle judge foil, purchased for $225, now worth $375.
Grim Monolith foil, purchased for $160, now worth $250.
Imperial Recruiter Judge foil, purchased for $72, now worth $145.
Mana Crypt Judge foil, purchased for $45, now worth $190.
Vampiric Tutor Judge foil, purchased for $54, now worth $98.
This is just a small, small, sampling of the approximately 375 foil cards that make up these decks. That group of cards cost me $825, but today have a TCGP low of $1738, more than doubling my investment. Granted nothing is ever guaranteed. While unlikely, these cards could crash for any number of reasons. But yet, of all my cards that I purchased, and nearly all were purchased as opposed to pulled or traded for, there may be only 2 or 3 cards out of that 375 that I've lost money on, that's it. It also takes diligence, an investment of ones time and an understanding of pricing to find some deals such as these. I just want to say that for me, and for many others foiling out can be not just an expensive process but also a lucrative process. Kind of the old adage "it takes money to make money". Yes, foils aren't cheap, but I've gotten a good return on investment of them (ignoring the argument that I've not gotten a return unless I sell them). There are no guarantees in Magic as a commodity, but for me, foiling out decks has been a very worthwhile investment.
"Personally I love high-riak, low-reqars gambles. Life's best with a decent amount of riak. And f*** reqars."
Anyways, that wasn't me trying to sell you on specs, that's just an illustration of my thought process. I'd foil out the Steam Vents, Breeding Pool, etc. but those've already spiked and I can wait on them or get them altered instead. I'd never foil out a Serum Visions or something like that since it's just not justifiable. I'll probably end up altering the rest of the deck, since at this point it's about the same price to do so over foils.
I do have another reason beyond price and 'tackiness' though: I am partially red-green colorblind. Foiled cards can get really hard for me to actually recognize if there's a lot of them, and more than once I have misjudged the battlefield simply because I thought a foiled card was something else xP
Foil Glen Elendra Archmage was $90, now MM $20
Foil Woodfall Primus was $35+, now MM $15
Foil Yosei the Morning Star was $35+, now MM $18
Other reprint products.
Loyal Retainers paid $110, now Commander Arsenal $20 foil (I got one of these also, but I would NOT have gotten the P3K one had I known.)
And there are more. Yes, many foils go up in value, but not all. I still like foils, and am working slowly on my second foil deck, but MM still hurt me and now MM 2 is coming out and I am wondering if anything else I worked hard to get will drop in value after the reprints.
I have also picked up a few foils I didn't have thanks to modern masters in Life from the Loam and Reveilark, but there is always the chance that a reprint will spoil a seemingly fool proof investment.
I can almost certainly guarantee they will.
Yeah I know. My only consolation is that maybe there are enough cards printed that I don't already have in foil that I want to offset it somewhat. Although this gets ever more unlikely the closer I get to my goal.
Here's hoping for a Oblivion Stone reprint. Really want one for my main foil deck.
I know original set foils are worth more than reprints, and generally retain value through reprinting, but that is usually to collectors. First time foilers are going to get Duel Deck, FtV, Judge foils and promo cards before they buy set foils. Nothing wrong with that.
foils are expensive now precisely because of EDH/Commander. The days of picking up format staples in foil for cheap are long past. Heck, even fringe cards that see SOME play are gonna cost you. Foil commons from old sets cost a fortune.
I guess what I'm saying is: EDH isn't cheap anymore, and if you're just starting to foil a deck it's going to cost you the most it ever has. I personally just buy foils of the card art I like, or if it's a crucial card in the deck.
I like this quote. For me, I've decided to only foil my commander. This is because I discovered the joy of foils warping in humid climates - if a card's going to bend, might as well keep it to the card that's stuck in a toploader all day.
GGG [Primer] Omnath, Big Green Beatstick Machine GGG