I don't mean casual players as "not-so-serious" but those who briefly get into the game & then bail on it by selling off their collection.
This is where I am getting this idea:
I constantly search Craigslist for deals on singles. What I see a lot of is players selling off their standard deck that has a lot of big ticket cards. Here's the od dpart (& but possibly obvious), the cards are ONLY standard legal cards. Not legacy or modern or EDH-ish cards, but ONLY standard. It would make some sense if it were a month or two ONLY before a block rotates out of standard, but this is a YEAR round phenomenon.
It is like these people try to get into Magic, then either get into a financial crisis, or get frustrated with the game, or just do not really get into it. They then dump their decks/cards for fair market value (nothing wrong there). I just peeved that the game is taken less serious.
Back in the day (for us original players) it was a rare sight to see someone get into Magic, then a year or less get out of Magic. Now it's a common occurrence. Now a portion of the players out there are wishy-washy - "Should I say, should I go"...
What so all of you think? Do any of you see more and more folks "try" out Magic then leave the game for whatever reason? Or has this always been an issue, but Craigslist and sites like tcgplayers.com making it easier for others to get their "investment" back (instead of getting Scry Magiazine half mid-value from a card shop)?
I know this rant may seem like a complaint, but it is more of an annoyed observation, where I am looking for solid evidence of why this is happening, that will convince me and answer my frustrated observation.
It's always been like that. The difference is that we have more players overall. We also have things like Craigslist that make what you're describing more visible than in years past.
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Currently playing:
Standard: I, for one, welcome our new rhinoceros overlords
Modern: Pod's dead, Bob's back.
Legacy: Lands, Deathblade, Death and Taxes, Elves, MUD
Retired Legacy: Merfolk, Goblins, Jund, Delver, Reanimator
My theory is that Wizards is great at advertising and MtG is more popular than ever. Many people flock to the game for all the right reasons, and then are disheartened within a year or less by rotation and prices since most new players play Standard. When your $20 card drops to less than $4 in a matter of weeks, it has an affect on you.
Magic is an excellent game, but most people aren't willing to make horrendous financial investments to play it year after year. You can only deal with so many Standard rotations before you've had enough. Most of those players fall back and start playing EDH or something equally as casual. A select few are drawn to Modern. An even smaller portion of those are drawn into Legacy. Wizards, at the very least, hopes to keep most of them playing Limited for years to come.
Why do you need to feel "annoyed" by anyone quitting the game?
1)MTG is often expensive, especially standard. Some people treat the game as an investment or a serious hobby, and others feel like flipping cardboard to those willing to pay at their whim.
2)You need time and a place to play, or you need to use the mediocre MTGO client.
3)The current standard is the worst/most boring one in a few years.
Also I'm not sure if I understand your statement about the month or two before rotating out. Some cards that have no obvious impact in modern or legacy start dropping sooner than that. Look at the graph on Nightveil Specter http://store.tcgplayer.com/magic/gatecrash/nightveil-specter $10 around BNG, and dropped steadily right around JOU. That's more than "one or two months before rotation"
There's no dearth of people who find themselves in a financial bind and have to sell off their cards, especially the ones who are new to the game and splurge on purchases. That or they just want to switch hobbies Not sure why you'd be annoyed at this, it should result in cheaper cards for you if you're interested...
I've bought and sold collections enough to know that sometimes it's just a matter of economics when people join/quit this game. I had to sell off my playset of Goyfs just under a year ago and I don't regret it. I had to make some ends meet in order to keep a roof over my head and I never second-guessed myself.
I bought a guy's collection once because he needed money to finish college. Another collection I bought was to help a kid fund his mission trip overseas. Magic is just a game and there are ebbs and flows with the playerbase, it's just the nature of the thing.
I don't see how players moving in and out of the game is any way harmful, and your example is nowhere near indicative of how the community is moving as a whole.
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Old enough to know better, much too young to care.
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This is where I am getting this idea:
I constantly search Craigslist for deals on singles. What I see a lot of is players selling off their standard deck that has a lot of big ticket cards. Here's the od dpart (& but possibly obvious), the cards are ONLY standard legal cards. Not legacy or modern or EDH-ish cards, but ONLY standard. It would make some sense if it were a month or two ONLY before a block rotates out of standard, but this is a YEAR round phenomenon.
It is like these people try to get into Magic, then either get into a financial crisis, or get frustrated with the game, or just do not really get into it. They then dump their decks/cards for fair market value (nothing wrong there). I just peeved that the game is taken less serious.
Back in the day (for us original players) it was a rare sight to see someone get into Magic, then a year or less get out of Magic. Now it's a common occurrence. Now a portion of the players out there are wishy-washy - "Should I say, should I go"...
What so all of you think? Do any of you see more and more folks "try" out Magic then leave the game for whatever reason? Or has this always been an issue, but Craigslist and sites like tcgplayers.com making it easier for others to get their "investment" back (instead of getting Scry Magiazine half mid-value from a card shop)?
I know this rant may seem like a complaint, but it is more of an annoyed observation, where I am looking for solid evidence of why this is happening, that will convince me and answer my frustrated observation.
Standard: I, for one, welcome our new rhinoceros overlords
Modern: Pod's dead, Bob's back.
Legacy: Lands, Deathblade, Death and Taxes, Elves, MUD
Retired Legacy: Merfolk, Goblins, Jund, Delver, Reanimator
Magic is an excellent game, but most people aren't willing to make horrendous financial investments to play it year after year. You can only deal with so many Standard rotations before you've had enough. Most of those players fall back and start playing EDH or something equally as casual. A select few are drawn to Modern. An even smaller portion of those are drawn into Legacy. Wizards, at the very least, hopes to keep most of them playing Limited for years to come.
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1)MTG is often expensive, especially standard. Some people treat the game as an investment or a serious hobby, and others feel like flipping cardboard to those willing to pay at their whim.
2)You need time and a place to play, or you need to use the mediocre MTGO client.
3)The current standard is the worst/most boring one in a few years.
Also I'm not sure if I understand your statement about the month or two before rotating out. Some cards that have no obvious impact in modern or legacy start dropping sooner than that. Look at the graph on Nightveil Specter http://store.tcgplayer.com/magic/gatecrash/nightveil-specter $10 around BNG, and dropped steadily right around JOU. That's more than "one or two months before rotation"
I bought a guy's collection once because he needed money to finish college. Another collection I bought was to help a kid fund his mission trip overseas. Magic is just a game and there are ebbs and flows with the playerbase, it's just the nature of the thing.
I don't see how players moving in and out of the game is any way harmful, and your example is nowhere near indicative of how the community is moving as a whole.