In a very large binder I have:
- one of every land from Alpha to M13 (including un-lands and the zendikar *non* full art lands).
- the vast majority of lands from all special sets or decks (from Starter 1999 through to Planechase 2012).
- all the Euro and APAC lands.
- all the portal 3 kingdoms lands.
- all the MPS lands, and the majority of promo basic lands (Arena lands etc).
- many foil lands.
- a decent collection of basics in non-English.
The most notable omission from my collection is Guru lands, but I'm sure I'll get them one day. I'd also like to acquire more non-English lands, although these aren't exactly difficult to obtain.
I genuinely love MTG basic lands. My favourite part of every new set is seeing the basic land art. If ever I sell my MTG collection, I'm sure I'll keep my basic lands.
BTW, since people ask, even though it's not very 'magic', my favourite all time land is the Colin MacNeil APAC plains depicting Uluru with the kangaroo in the foreground
I have most of these. The Euro and Asia lands are still (somewhat) common at retailers - I think I got most of mine at SCG.
The Guru lands are much harder to find, and must more expensive as well. They are, however, relatively common on EBay. Expect to pay upwards of $25 each though (maybe a lot more actually).
Personally, amongst my 750+ card collection of basic lands, the various alternate art DCI arena lands were amongst the hardest to find, although amusingly not very expensive when I did stumble upon a source (a binder in a store). Some of the older box set lands (like Battle Royale) can be tricky to get a full set of these days as well.
It looks very likely the box has been opened. The perforations are broken, and it has definitely been re-shrinkwrapped. No matter what you paid for it, I'd return it since you don't really know what's inside. If they resealed the box, who's to say they didn't reseal packs?
In fact I'd go one further and *if the box was unquestionably sold to you as unopened* tell us the vendor. I certainly would never want to buy from a store that misrepresented product.
Assuming they are available in your area, has anyone noticed an incline in the distribution of rares/mythics coming out of them? I have. I have gotten some noteworthy foil mythics as well as just a general increase in the occurence of rares (but they are usually crap rares).
I've bought exactly one of these from each set. I have never previously gotten anything better than uncommon, but from Innistrad I got the mythic dragon. I was so surprised I bought one more and got a rare land.
Complaining to WotC will probably get you nowhere, complaining to The Fairfield Company might get you something.
I'm not so much complaining to them. I'm just letting them know a product HEAVILY branded with their insignia, name, address and advertising contains fraudulent product.
If this is 100% the work of Fairfield, WOTC shouldn't allow their branding on the product. Since they do, it's completely reasonable to assume that customers may think it is official Wizards product.
You should let WoTC know about it, with whatever evidence you can provide. They are the ones who can do something about this.
I just finished sending an email to Wizards customer service. I've still got everything, including all the packaging and offered to send them photos so let's see if I get a reply.
Looking again at the back of the box this looks awfully like official Wizards product. Their logo and copyright statements are everywhere and it even has adds for organized play and other official product. The company I mentioned earlier - Fairfield - is only listed as distributor.
My wife purchased me one of the new Target 2 booster + a few random cards packs today. It's called an 'Extreme Value Package' and contains 2 sealed boosters and about a dozen random cards. It cost $7.99
The boosters were 2011 and New Phyrexia. The random cards were a mishmash ranging from 4E all the way to Lorwyn but nothing newer, and were all commons.
I opened the New Phyrexia booster first, and was pleasantly surprised to find an Elesh Norn.
I then opened the 2011 and was *very* surprised to find a single Rise of the Eldrazi uncommon, 3 2011 commons, and 10 basic lands which are a mix of 2011 and Mirrodin (old Mirrodin, not Scars) lands. It had obviously been repacked.
I've never seen a repacked booster before and looking at it right now I'm amazed by how well it has been done. I tore it open from the back, so the seal is intact at the top and bottom, and there is no sign to my eye this was ever opened and resealed. I'm sure I never would have noticed by inspecting it through the blister pack before buying.
So buyer beware. The product is made and distributed by The Fairfield Company, and is (I believe) a Target exclusive. It is also *heavily* branded with WOTC information and logos, so if they have anything to do with it they should be ashamed of themselves.
First I remember with clarity was a Rock Hydra. But it was white bordered, and I know my first packs were Beta. Strange I can't remember the cards though
It likely has more to do with growth of the gaming industry as a whole then anything WoTC or hasbro is doing right with MTG. The 80% growth is lower then most of the industry in that time period.
Evidence?
I was talking with my LGS owner thus weekend, who said that between the drop in comic sales and generally stagnant game (miniature and rpg) sales he's very happy that MTG has surged since it's kept him profitable. Based on what he said, it seemed MTG's % had increased.
Insofar as playing MTG is a choice, there's no way they can be exploiting the players, who could simply choose not to play.
If you are wondering if their actions are damaging the game, then the market suggests otherwise. Magic has only increased in popularity in the last few years, and if the sales and excitement of Innistrad are any indication this looks to continue in the future.
Just opened my Innistrad fat pack and got 3 mythics (Garruk, Grimoire, Endless Army), 3 foils (2 were DFC) and a Snapcaster Mage. Easily the best fat pack I've opened.
I still have the 36 boosters in my box to open. Here's hoping my luck holds...
In a very large binder I have:
- one of every land from Alpha to M13 (including un-lands and the zendikar *non* full art lands).
- the vast majority of lands from all special sets or decks (from Starter 1999 through to Planechase 2012).
- all the Euro and APAC lands.
- all the portal 3 kingdoms lands.
- all the MPS lands, and the majority of promo basic lands (Arena lands etc).
- many foil lands.
- a decent collection of basics in non-English.
The most notable omission from my collection is Guru lands, but I'm sure I'll get them one day. I'd also like to acquire more non-English lands, although these aren't exactly difficult to obtain.
I genuinely love MTG basic lands. My favourite part of every new set is seeing the basic land art. If ever I sell my MTG collection, I'm sure I'll keep my basic lands.
BTW, since people ask, even though it's not very 'magic', my favourite all time land is the Colin MacNeil APAC plains depicting Uluru with the kangaroo in the foreground
This seller isn't trustworthy. Buy the cards from someone who is.
The Guru lands are much harder to find, and must more expensive as well. They are, however, relatively common on EBay. Expect to pay upwards of $25 each though (maybe a lot more actually).
Personally, amongst my 750+ card collection of basic lands, the various alternate art DCI arena lands were amongst the hardest to find, although amusingly not very expensive when I did stumble upon a source (a binder in a store). Some of the older box set lands (like Battle Royale) can be tricky to get a full set of these days as well.
In fact I'd go one further and *if the box was unquestionably sold to you as unopened* tell us the vendor. I certainly would never want to buy from a store that misrepresented product.
I've bought exactly one of these from each set. I have never previously gotten anything better than uncommon, but from Innistrad I got the mythic dragon. I was so surprised I bought one more and got a rare land.
Make of that what you will.
I'm not so much complaining to them. I'm just letting them know a product HEAVILY branded with their insignia, name, address and advertising contains fraudulent product.
If this is 100% the work of Fairfield, WOTC shouldn't allow their branding on the product. Since they do, it's completely reasonable to assume that customers may think it is official Wizards product.
I just finished sending an email to Wizards customer service. I've still got everything, including all the packaging and offered to send them photos so let's see if I get a reply.
Looking again at the back of the box this looks awfully like official Wizards product. Their logo and copyright statements are everywhere and it even has adds for organized play and other official product. The company I mentioned earlier - Fairfield - is only listed as distributor.
The boosters were 2011 and New Phyrexia. The random cards were a mishmash ranging from 4E all the way to Lorwyn but nothing newer, and were all commons.
I opened the New Phyrexia booster first, and was pleasantly surprised to find an Elesh Norn.
I then opened the 2011 and was *very* surprised to find a single Rise of the Eldrazi uncommon, 3 2011 commons, and 10 basic lands which are a mix of 2011 and Mirrodin (old Mirrodin, not Scars) lands. It had obviously been repacked.
I've never seen a repacked booster before and looking at it right now I'm amazed by how well it has been done. I tore it open from the back, so the seal is intact at the top and bottom, and there is no sign to my eye this was ever opened and resealed. I'm sure I never would have noticed by inspecting it through the blister pack before buying.
So buyer beware. The product is made and distributed by The Fairfield Company, and is (I believe) a Target exclusive. It is also *heavily* branded with WOTC information and logos, so if they have anything to do with it they should be ashamed of themselves.
Wish I still had them all...
Evidence?
I was talking with my LGS owner thus weekend, who said that between the drop in comic sales and generally stagnant game (miniature and rpg) sales he's very happy that MTG has surged since it's kept him profitable. Based on what he said, it seemed MTG's % had increased.
Thanks for sharing Occam.
Frankly I find it irritating when I go to a store with unpriced cards.
If you are wondering if their actions are damaging the game, then the market suggests otherwise. Magic has only increased in popularity in the last few years, and if the sales and excitement of Innistrad are any indication this looks to continue in the future.
I still have the 36 boosters in my box to open. Here's hoping my luck holds...