Just curious. I only use MTGO to draft when I had some spare time and some cash, but it's really annoying that I can never even come close to breaking even if I don't have a near perfect draft. (I usually do Swiss) I'm just curious as to why everything with the exception of a few choice rares (Baneslayer, fetchlands, Nocturnus, DoJ, and other "staples" for popular decks atm) is next to worthless? For example, the m10 duals sell for 1-2 tickets it seems, while their real life counterparts are all in $8-$10 range. Even good rares that aren't chase rares are worthless, like I found out with cards like Twincast and Captain of the Watch (before Zen, when Soldiers were still really popular). Is there any reasoning to this?
There are fewer MTGO players than paper Magic players, so there's a lower demand. While there's also lower supply, there's a larger supply than there is demand for most cards. For example, there are lots of people (Like you and me) who only use MTGO to draft. As such, ALL cards are worthless to us, and we just sell them for what we can get. I draft multiple times a day, so that's adding quite a bit of supply and 0 demand.
Also, unlike paper Magic, customers have basically perfect information. If you go to the classified section, every store is right there next to each other. You can't have a store like Star City price gouging and assuming people will just go to them because they have name recognition or to make all their purchases in one place. MTGO trading gives you instant delivery for all your purchases and the dealers are all 100% reliable because of how the software works, so no one can try to use name power to get ahead. This creates a LOT of competition, which means they all have to undercut each other to get business.
That's about the shortest answer I can give you.
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"Rage is the only freedom left me"
"Wizards could put $100 bills in packs and people would complain about how they're folded.". - Dr. Jeebus
I'm going on record right now and stating that before the end of 2012 we will see foil dual lands in booster packs (The real, Alpha dual lands). You can quote me on that.
It actually has to do with availability of cards. When you're on MTGO you don't have to settle for your local shop's prices, or whatever online prices are. There are a ton of bots ready to sell you the card. You can easily shop around for the lowest price with just a quick search. In order for the bots to work, they have to have reasonable prices. So the reason why everything is cheap is because it's more purely based on supply demand. Cards like you mentioned are pricy IRL because of the way things work. The demand is low on Twincast online, and the price directly reflects it. It's because you don't have to settle for some shop, or some website that has a set price. There's almost no overhead to these bots, so they have no reason to markup prices like stores do. They take what the market gives them, and move cards as fast as they can.
So the reason why Twincast is cheap, is because not many people use it. Some weird cards are expensive because of supply as well. Like anything from Coldsnap skyrockets in price once somebody finds a use for it in competitive. The most recent example is Dark Depths, but there have been a few others.
Basically my answer involves the fact that physical dealers have a straight markup on stuff, making it more expensive. MTGO seems to be more reflective of what the card should cost with complete disregard for overhead cost and all of that. Things like M10 duals will fluctuate with the flow of deckbuilding. I've seen the Shadowmoor filters go up and down from time to time. Same with Planeswalkers. My Garruks went from 2.50 a piece to 14 on MTGOtraders. You might want to buy into some of the m10 duals if you think they'll go up in price.
I remember buying up Lord of Atlantis at like 6 for a tix, and selling at 3 each a little after Lorwyn came out. Some of the fun of MTGO is playing the market.
As drafter mentioned, supply and demand. But there's something he didn't directly state: drafters/sealed players outnumber constructed players by a wide margin. Which means that there's a LOT more new cards coming in than there are people who want them and, of course, the price falls fast and hard and stays low until something changes in that dynamic (like, say, a new card in demand or a new set taking away the limited events of the old one like M10 -> Zendikar).
Also, regular rares are no longer as expensive as they used to be thanks to Mythic Rares and how Redemption works online.
It used to be (before mythics) that when a set left the MTGO client it would leave behind excess commons and uncommons. Now a set leaves behind rares, commons and uncommons which build up a float of rares that didn't used to exist.
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^^
MTGO Writer and Epic Time-Waster.
If you have questions about MTGO PM me, I'm all up ons, as it were.
Check out my articles on http://puremtgo.com/ I'm the nerd you see there... wait, not that one. Nope, not that one either... yeah. That one.
It used to be (before mythics) that when a set left the MTGO client it would leave behind excess commons and uncommons. Now a set leaves behind rares, commons and uncommons which build up a float of rares that didn't used to exist.
I dont understand this. When you redeem don't you just get one copy of each card in the set?
Also, while I kind of get it, the extent of "rare" price drops still surprises me. They are still no less rare than they were before mythics. I think a lot of it has to do with the current balance in standard also. Much fewer "play me or lose". If it wasn't for the Mythic rarity prices would all be rock bottom.
I dont understand this. When you redeem don't you just get one copy of each card in the set?
Also, while I kind of get it, the extent of "rare" price drops still surprises me. They are still no less rare than they were before mythics. I think a lot of it has to do with the current balance in standard also. Much fewer "play me or lose". If it wasn't for the Mythic rarity prices would all be rock bottom.
Think about it this way:
You draft 10 times and open 3 mythics 27 rares 90 uncommons and 300 commons.
I redeem 1 set from your draft. I take 3 mythics 10 rares 12 uncomons and 20 commons. You're stuck with the rest.
If you open 2 rares for every 1 that I buy there is a glut on the market.
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Not sure I follow you exactly there. If you say it takes more packs opened to get the Mythics for redemption, thus there are extra Rares opened and not redeemed, that makes sense.
Your comment sounds more like seling to a bot to me.
Rares used to be the limiting factor on redemption, so junk rares held some value despite their lack of playability, while junk uncommons fell to basically nothing. With the introduction of rarer cards than rares, the new cards became the limiting factor on redemption. The result is that now junk mythics hold some value while junk rares fall to next to nothing like uncommons used to.
Besides redemption, the smaller set sizes has made rares less rare and, therefore, less valuable.
Not sure I follow you exactly there. If you say it takes more packs opened to get the Mythics for redemption, thus there are extra Rares opened and not redeemed, that makes sense.
Your comment sounds more like seling to a bot to me.
Most people running bots that buy cards are tied either directly or indirectly to the redemption process. There are bots that will buy just about everything but you might not get very much for it. There are bots that sell non standard commons for 0.01 (100 for 1 tix). They are buying them 300:1.
If you want to see it in action go look for Mythic rares in the bots late on tuesday night. Anything cheep has been snapped up.
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Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
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Also, unlike paper Magic, customers have basically perfect information. If you go to the classified section, every store is right there next to each other. You can't have a store like Star City price gouging and assuming people will just go to them because they have name recognition or to make all their purchases in one place. MTGO trading gives you instant delivery for all your purchases and the dealers are all 100% reliable because of how the software works, so no one can try to use name power to get ahead. This creates a LOT of competition, which means they all have to undercut each other to get business.
That's about the shortest answer I can give you.
"Wizards could put $100 bills in packs and people would complain about how they're folded.". - Dr. Jeebus
So the reason why Twincast is cheap, is because not many people use it. Some weird cards are expensive because of supply as well. Like anything from Coldsnap skyrockets in price once somebody finds a use for it in competitive. The most recent example is Dark Depths, but there have been a few others.
Basically my answer involves the fact that physical dealers have a straight markup on stuff, making it more expensive. MTGO seems to be more reflective of what the card should cost with complete disregard for overhead cost and all of that. Things like M10 duals will fluctuate with the flow of deckbuilding. I've seen the Shadowmoor filters go up and down from time to time. Same with Planeswalkers. My Garruks went from 2.50 a piece to 14 on MTGOtraders. You might want to buy into some of the m10 duals if you think they'll go up in price.
I remember buying up Lord of Atlantis at like 6 for a tix, and selling at 3 each a little after Lorwyn came out. Some of the fun of MTGO is playing the market.
Also, regular rares are no longer as expensive as they used to be thanks to Mythic Rares and how Redemption works online.
It used to be (before mythics) that when a set left the MTGO client it would leave behind excess commons and uncommons. Now a set leaves behind rares, commons and uncommons which build up a float of rares that didn't used to exist.
MTGO Writer and Epic Time-Waster.
If you have questions about MTGO PM me, I'm all up ons, as it were.
Check out my articles on http://puremtgo.com/ I'm the nerd you see there... wait, not that one. Nope, not that one either... yeah. That one.
I dont understand this. When you redeem don't you just get one copy of each card in the set?
Also, while I kind of get it, the extent of "rare" price drops still surprises me. They are still no less rare than they were before mythics. I think a lot of it has to do with the current balance in standard also. Much fewer "play me or lose". If it wasn't for the Mythic rarity prices would all be rock bottom.
Peak rating 1832
Brain Freeze is the coolest card ever printed.
Think about it this way:
You draft 10 times and open 3 mythics 27 rares 90 uncommons and 300 commons.
I redeem 1 set from your draft. I take 3 mythics 10 rares 12 uncomons and 20 commons. You're stuck with the rest.
If you open 2 rares for every 1 that I buy there is a glut on the market.
Your comment sounds more like seling to a bot to me.
Peak rating 1832
Brain Freeze is the coolest card ever printed.
Besides redemption, the smaller set sizes has made rares less rare and, therefore, less valuable.
Most people running bots that buy cards are tied either directly or indirectly to the redemption process. There are bots that will buy just about everything but you might not get very much for it. There are bots that sell non standard commons for 0.01 (100 for 1 tix). They are buying them 300:1.
If you want to see it in action go look for Mythic rares in the bots late on tuesday night. Anything cheep has been snapped up.