Buy collections, it nets you the widest spread with the least amount of work. Look specifically for ones with little chaff, so you can use most of the stuff, and sell the rest to finance your needs.
I have never and will never pay more than MSRP (Well, I may pay a little more) for a FTV. If you spent all the energy you put into complaining on the internet into looking for cheap copies, you would find them, I promise. There are 3 stores (Out of a good 20) in a 100 mile radius of me that sell these at MSRP.
Some stores will sell at MSRP, some for price X, others will use them as tournament prizes to drum up interest. The point of FTV is to give LG stores some discretionary power over the MTG product, which is otherwise tightly regulated by WotC and DCI.
These things are collector's items being released in limited quantities--they're not made to be sold for MSRP. Plenty of items (cars, clothes) are sold for below MSRP, and plenty of items are marked up from MSRP (limited-release and high-demand items, etc...).
Seriously, stop whining. You couldn't get $100+ of cards for $35? Boo hoo
Exploration: $25
Gaea's Cradle: $70
Serra's Sanctum: $20
Show and Tell: $60
Sneak Attack: $45
Time Spiral: $25
Tolarian Academy: $25
Yawgmoth's Will: $15
Drake is already $25. Why is $15 generous for this? It's a solid sideboard card and sees as much or more play than many of the cards on this list.
- It's a situational, reactionary, creature-speed sideboard card
- The last few lots on eBay have gone for about $15-18. Where are you getting $25?
- Doubled in price over the past 6 months, i.e. you already missed the gravy train
And your prices are all inflated. Are those SCG prices? I just can't take that seriously.
Overmaster got a little bit of love on a Omniscience SnT deck tech over the weekend. I don't have an opinion either way, just pointing it out because I know there was a bit of discussion on it.
That deck tried to be way too cutesy and didn't win a single game...
Link is here, if people are curious. If anything, Omniscience is the real "tech."
You might be able to get it a little cheaper than $3, but that's a card that's already tier 1 in Modern and is beginning to see a small amount of Legacy play, not to mention being nuts in EDH and probably in casual as well. I would buy for sure below 2.50, but I'm more of a hold at 3-4 for now. (Copping out, I know).
Here's one for you: Trading post at $1.00?
There's not really any downside to picking up some Pods. It's an interesting, potentially-combo-driving card, but it's not being played as such in Standard. There's always going to be some weird Pod deck in Modern, and essentially plays the role of quasi-GSZ. Worst-case scenario, you have 50 Birthing Pods and lose like $20 over a period of 6-12 months.
I'd buy Trading Post @ $1 too. At $1, you're swapping extra Lightning Bolts for this thing. It plays well with Tezz and Karn and just about everything else from Scars block, though everything rotates in a few months, but again, it's freaking $2 for a playset. Just buy a few and move on.
Buy Birthing Pod @ $2-3: there's no real downside; I'd be shocked if you couldn't pick them up at $1 or $1.50 though, since there are tons floating around.
Sell Thundermaws @ $15-20: For a big facebeater with no real board impact (destroying Lingering Souls does not count)... eh. For comparison, Primeval Titan was in Thundermaw's price range.
Sell Batterskull @ 9: Sell ASAP. These things can be had for $5-6 right now. If Wizards keeps printing OP equipment and creatures though, this guy could just stagnate, but if not, I could see $10 within a few yrs.
Even well-run LGS stores don't make a lot of money. It's just the nature of the industry.
Some stores will sell at MSRP, some for price X, others will use them as tournament prizes to drum up interest. The point of FTV is to give LG stores some discretionary power over the MTG product, which is otherwise tightly regulated by WotC and DCI.
Seriously, stop whining. You couldn't get $100+ of cards for $35? Boo hoo
- It's a situational, reactionary, creature-speed sideboard card
- The last few lots on eBay have gone for about $15-18. Where are you getting $25?
- Doubled in price over the past 6 months, i.e. you already missed the gravy train
And your prices are all inflated. Are those SCG prices? I just can't take that seriously.
There's no way it's hitting $25 in the near future. $20 is pushing it, $15 is already fairly generous.
Speaking of Omniscience... anti-Gilded Drake, anti-Karakas. It's pretty much S&T trolling the metagame.
That deck tried to be way too cutesy and didn't win a single game...
Link is here, if people are curious. If anything, Omniscience is the real "tech."
There's not really any downside to picking up some Pods. It's an interesting, potentially-combo-driving card, but it's not being played as such in Standard. There's always going to be some weird Pod deck in Modern, and essentially plays the role of quasi-GSZ. Worst-case scenario, you have 50 Birthing Pods and lose like $20 over a period of 6-12 months.
I'd buy Trading Post @ $1 too. At $1, you're swapping extra Lightning Bolts for this thing. It plays well with Tezz and Karn and just about everything else from Scars block, though everything rotates in a few months, but again, it's freaking $2 for a playset. Just buy a few and move on.
Sell Thundermaws @ $15-20: For a big facebeater with no real board impact (destroying Lingering Souls does not count)... eh. For comparison, Primeval Titan was in Thundermaw's price range.
Sell Batterskull @ 9: Sell ASAP. These things can be had for $5-6 right now. If Wizards keeps printing OP equipment and creatures though, this guy could just stagnate, but if not, I could see $10 within a few yrs.
Value is pretty even, but I like Pile A. Master of the Pearl Trident is a POS, and Molten-Tail is a free toss-in. If you need Caverns, take Pile B.
Pile A won't build you any viable decks, but it's just great all-around, cross-format trade bait.