Rafiq of the Many and Elspeth, Knight-Errant are excellent examples of Mythic rares that are also tournament staples. Not surprisingly, both of these cards are quite expensive; Rafiq being ~$16 and Elspeth well over $20.
Fast forward to M10. Baneslayer Angel has been getting a lot of hype for the upcoming standard. A 5/5 flying, first striking, lifelinking creature for only 5 mana, and for 2 white is just crazy good. I definately expect Baneslayer Angel to see a lot of play as a finisher and powerful mid-range threat post M10 Standard. She requires at least 2 burn spells to get rid of, and saying "Just PtE/Terminate her" is much easier said than done in a format with a ton of quality creatures that also demand to be answered as well.
I did a quick check on eBay to see pre-sale prices for Baneslayer Angel on Buy it Now. She is roughly going for $14-$15. I know pre-sale prices can be unreliable at times, but the card as already been spoiled, and everyone has had time to have it sink into them about how good Baneslayer Angel can be. This isn't another Slithermuse debacle obviously.
I don't know if you guys remember this article over a year ago that had MaRo explain Mythic Rares being added to the game, and also giving us an idea of what Mythics would be (planeswalkers, other "mindblowing" spells, epic stuff). MaRo said Mythic Rares would not be tournament staple, constructed worthy cards to prevent a higher barrier from being created to acquire these cards.
If that's the case, why has it already happened when it supposedly shouldn't have? Elspeth and Rafiq are both cards that casual players love (at least around here). However, they both are extremely good and have easily seen play in Constructed. Hell, both Elspeth and Rafiq see some play in Legacy!
Baneslayer Angel is a definite Constructed-worthy card, and she's a Mythic rare. Simple supply and demand; Mythic rares are twice as harder to find than a normal rare (according to MaRo in the same article), and people are still going to want her. Just like with other Mythic rares, Baneslayer Angel will carry a definite higher price than if she was just a rare.
I don't want to see this to continue to be a trend. Mythic rares should NOT be constructed staples. Then again, Mythic rares should never have been created in the first place.
Umm. You might want to reread what MaRo said about Mythics. He said that they would never be Utility cards, not that they couldn't be tournament staples. Hence, stuff like Maelstrom pulse, the lands, and noble hierarch are rares, but cards like Uril and Jenara are mythics (despite Uril becoming heavily played in Shards block). Wizards can only predict some tournament playability (because of the impact of the metagame), so expecting them to go "Oh, that's too good because it'll become expensive" is silly.
No one except confused forumites have said that Mythics shouldn't be tournament staples.
What was said (in the article you linked) is that they won't be utility cards.
Rafiq of the Many and Elspeth, Knight-Errant are excellent examples of Mythic rares that are also tournament staples. Not surprisingly, both of these cards are quite expensive; Rafiq being ~$16 and Elspeth well over $20.
Fast forward to M10. Baneslayer Angel has been getting a lot of hype for the upcoming standard. A 5/5 flying, first striking, lifelinking creature for only 5 mana, and for 2 white is just crazy good. I definately expect Baneslayer Angel to see a lot of play as a finisher and powerful mid-range threat post M10 Standard. She requires at least 2 burn spells to get rid of, and saying "Just PtE/Terminate her" is much easier said than done in a format with a tone of quality creatures that also demand to be answered as well.
I did a quick check on eBay to see pre-sale prices for Baneslayer Angel on Buy it Now. She is roughly going for $14-$15. I know pre-sale prices can be unreliable at times, but the card as already been spoiled, and everyone has had time to have it sink into them about how good Baneslayer Angel can be. This isn't another Slithermuse debacle obviously.
I don't know if you guys remember this article over a year ago that had MaRo explain Mythic Rares being added to the game, and also giving us an idea of what Mythics would be (planeswalkers, other "mindblowing" spells, epic stuff). MaRo said Mythic Rares would not be tournament staple, constructed worthy cards to prevent a higher barrier from being created to acquire these cards.
If that's the case, why has it already happened when it supposedly shouldn't have? Elspeth and Rafiq are both cards that casual players love (at least around here). However, they both are extremely good and have easily seen play in Constructed. Hell, both Elspeth and Rafiq see some play in Legacy!
Baneslayer Angel is a definite Constructed-worthy card, and she's a Mythic rare. Simple supply and demand; Mythic rares are twice as harder to find than a normal rare (according to MaRo in the same article), and people are still going to want her. Just like with other Mythic rares, Baneslayer Angel will carry a definite higher price than if she was just a rare.
I don't want to see this to continue to be a trend. Mythic rares should NOT be constructed staples. Then again, Mythic rares should never have been created in the first place.
Your quote from maro is incorrect. They said that mythics would not be utility cards like duals, mutavault, bitterblossom, thoughtseize, et all, but rather would be planeswalkers, legendary creatures, and mythic seeming spells/creatures. Youll notice that elsepth is a planeswalker, rafiq is legendary, and Baneslayer angel has a mythic feel to her.
Mythics can be be perfectly playable as most planeswalkers usually are. Planeswalkers I would put as the exception to the rule, because, heck, whats not mythic about a planeswalker? The rarity of mythic was practically made for them. Rafiq is a legendary creature and requires three different colors of mana to cast. Rafiq is not played in every deck and you dont see decks spashing to try to cast her ala things like bitterblossom, or tarmogoyf saw during their high points. Baneslayer angel is a 5-cost white creature, while certainly good, when compared to comparable creatures in the white-tree of creatures its not really overpowered, and will likely see play, but not as a staple in every deck, nor will you likely see decks splashing white in order to be able to use her. From a flavor perspective the angel is certainly mythic. And last I checked the completed listings for the baneslayer angel were only up in the $12-$13 range, the same that we saw jenara and sen triplets in the range of before they dropped to $8 and $5 respectively. Its a good creature, Ill give it that, all three of those cards are good and eithor do or will likely see plenty of play. But never did wizards say that mythics would not be playable rares.
If it had haste I would be more concerned as the creature would be a bit on the crazy side. But as it stands its a 5-cost creature that you have to sit on for a turn before it can start attacking. It doesnt have vigilance or trample so it can still be chumped by tokens all day long, and you still have to choose whether to attack or block with it.
Mythics are fine. And I really wish people would stop complaining. Magic will always have some cards that will be more expensive because the people want them. Inevitably its a matter of supply/demand. If people want something whether it be tournament or casual players the prices will go up accordingly. Wizards does not set prices, players who are willing to pay lots of money for cards do. Besides. $20 for the most expensive mythic, I think is fine. From there it drops down to $13 with things like rafiq, baneslayer angel and sarkhan vol. And then down to $10 and below with things like tezzeret, nicol bolas, garruk and ajani in M10. And then it goes down from there. Only two of those listed are not planeswalkers and one hasnt even been released yet, so its hard to say what it will inevitably settle at once the set has been out for a bit.
The creation of mythics as well, with the reduction in set sizes has helped to keep prices of other rares down as well in general. Shards rares are very very inexpensive (nothing over $5), Conflux only has 2 rares over $5 (banefire, noble hierarch), and Alara Reborn only has 3 rares over $5 with (meddling mage, dauntless escort(for now), and maelstrom pulse).
Overall I would say the format is healthy and affordable, sure you may have difficulty picking up those elspeths, but outside of that, its not too bad when it comes to the mythics.
Edit: For the sake of simplifying this a little too, here are the appropriate quotes that are most relevant:
"This now leads us to the next question: How are cards split between rare and mythic rare? Or more to the point, what kind of cards are going to become mythic rares? We want the flavor of mythic rare to be something that feels very special and unique. Generally speaking we expect that to mean cards like Planeswalkers, most legends, and epic-feeling creatures and spells. They will not just be a list of each set's most powerful tournament-level cards."
"We've also decided that there are certain things we specifically do not want to be mythic rares. The largest category is utility cards, what I'll define as cards that fill a universal function. Some examples of this category would be cycles of dual lands and cards like Mutavault or Char. That also addresses a long-standing issue that some players have had with certain rares like dual lands. Because we're making fewer cards per set, in the new world individual rares will be easier to acquire because each rare in a large set now appears 25% more often."
Rafiq of the Many and Elspeth, Knight-Errant are excellent examples of Mythic rares that are also tournament staples. Not surprisingly, both of these cards are quite expensive; Rafiq being ~$16 and Elspeth well over $20.
Fast forward to M10. Baneslayer Angel has been getting a lot of hype for the upcoming standard. A 5/5 flying, first striking, lifelinking creature for only 5 mana, and for 2 white is just crazy good. I definately expect Baneslayer Angel to see a lot of play as a finisher and powerful mid-range threat post M10 Standard. She requires at least 2 burn spells to get rid of, and saying "Just PtE/Terminate her" is much easier said than done in a format with a ton of quality creatures that also demand to be answered as well.
I did a quick check on eBay to see pre-sale prices for Baneslayer Angel on Buy it Now. She is roughly going for $14-$15. I know pre-sale prices can be unreliable at times, but the card as already been spoiled, and everyone has had time to have it sink into them about how good Baneslayer Angel can be. This isn't another Slithermuse debacle obviously.
I don't know if you guys remember this article over a year ago that had MaRo explain Mythic Rares being added to the game, and also giving us an idea of what Mythics would be (planeswalkers, other "mindblowing" spells, epic stuff). MaRo said Mythic Rares would not be tournament staple, constructed worthy cards to prevent a higher barrier from being created to acquire these cards.
If that's the case, why has it already happened when it supposedly shouldn't have? Elspeth and Rafiq are both cards that casual players love (at least around here). However, they both are extremely good and have easily seen play in Constructed. Hell, both Elspeth and Rafiq see some play in Legacy!
Baneslayer Angel is a definite Constructed-worthy card, and she's a Mythic rare. Simple supply and demand; Mythic rares are twice as harder to find than a normal rare (according to MaRo in the same article), and people are still going to want her. Just like with other Mythic rares, Baneslayer Angel will carry a definite higher price than if she was just a rare.
I don't want to see this to continue to be a trend. Mythic rares should NOT be constructed staples. Then again, Mythic rares should never have been created in the first place.
The word "tournament" appears exactly one time in the aforementioned article. Allow me to quote it for you:
Quote from Mark Rosewater »
This now leads us to the next question: How are cards split between rare and mythic rare? Or more to the point, what kind of cards are going to become mythic rares? We want the flavor of mythic rare to be something that feels very special and unique. Generally speaking we expect that to mean cards like Planeswalkers, most legends, and epic-feeling creatures and spells. They will not just be a list of each set's most powerful tournament-level cards.
As others have said -- Wizards said they wouldn't be utility cards. So far, they've kept that promised. And Mythics are not a list of the most powerful tournament cards, either, which means they've kept both promises re: Mythic Rares.
So why are you whinging, exactly?
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I don't have any hard numbers on this, but I'm targeted more often than a black guy driving a beat-up sedan with a broken tail-light and no license plate, and Cy's well aware of that.
Overall I would say the format is healthy and affordable, sure you may have difficulty picking up those elspeths, but outside of that, its not too bad when it comes to the mythics.
Most of your post is completely correct... but did you really just say affordable? Really?
The top decks:
BG Elves
BW Tokens
Faeries
Cascade
BG Elves - runs Garruk, some filters, some duals (probably the cheapest)
BW Tokens - Elspeth, Ajani, Bitterblossom
Faeries - Bitterblossom, Warhammer (not too bad), duals, Cryptics
Cascade - 4 Reflecting Pools (at least $80), probably around 12-15 Vivids and another 8 filters
I'm not really sure what you meant by affordable but i guess it's better than shelling out the money when Rav was legal for all the shocklands
EDIT: and honestly... if you read the OP and misunderstood the MaRo article like he did, he makes a very solid point.
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I want the seriously competitive standard forums to be segregated, even if it means excluding myself from posting in them. Post this in your signature if you agree with this.
Most of your post is completely correct... but did you really just say affordable? Really?
The top decks:
BG Elves
BW Tokens
Faeries
Cascade
BG Elves - runs Garruk, some filters, some duals (probably the cheapest)
BW Tokens - Elspeth, Ajani, Bitterblossom
Faeries - Bitterblossom, Warhammer (not too bad), duals, Cryptics
Cascade - 4 Reflecting Pools (at least $80), probably around 12-15 Vivids and another 8 filters
I'm not really sure what you meant by affordable but i guess it's better than shelling out the money when Rav was legal for all the shocklands
In the context of talking about mythics I would hope people would have been able to think in the context of the sets that have been printed since mythics were introduced. Once we hit the rotation, the expense of putting decks together should decrease a good deal because then only post-mythic sets and the overall decrease in regular rare prices will be left in standard.
Also as of your list, lets see, you have some planeswalkers, which will still be around, and well, nothing else on your entire list will still be around post-rotation in the fall. So yes, Im saying that with the current setup of the newer sets, standard will be much cheaper.
Im sorry if you misunderstood what I was trying to say, hopefully this clears that up.
Of course there will also be the new duals as well which will I imagine be used plenty enough post rotation but shouldnt be as rediculously expensive as things like reflecting pool et all at the very least.
Magic cards cost money (to produce and thus to own).
Some Magic cards are better/more appealing to own than others.
Some cards are scarcer than others.
Therefore, some cards cost more than others.
It's not the end of the world if Elspeth costs $20. It gives you something to aspire to, like a WoW quest or something - that game is built upon scarcity of resources you want (exp, gold, ubergear). I saw a friend of mine open a FOIL Elspeth which I'll probably remember my whole life - I certainly wouldn't have remembered that if Elspeth wasn't the total hotness, and all Magic cards were worth two pennies.
I ride the bus to work which costs $2.00 and I get a relatively safe and pleasant ride. When the bus is free during certain Friday evening hours (to help the town economy by getting people to places of business to spend their money), the bus is overloaded with freeloader riffraff, some people riding the bus for random reasons such as to stay warm. I actually prefer to ride the bus when it costs $2.00 than to ride when it's free due to the riffraff factor.
More to the point, I'm not sure you see that there are benefits to Magic cards costing varying amounts of money, the entire game having its own economy, the excitement of busting the best rare possible in a pack, etc. You sound like:
"I don't like spending money on Magic cards/I wish I could spend less money on Magic cards."
People have already addressed that the quote was about utility cards (ala Extirpate) not being mythic, not staples. Also, Rafiq is most assuredly not a staple. It's a great card, but not a staple. Staples are cards like:
Birds of Paradise
Wrath of God
Pithing Needle
Dual lands
Lightning Bolt
Duress
These are cards that, whether you're using them or not, you are essentially required to own 4 of each because they will always be useful at some point and never really lose value.
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I'm with Dr. Jeebus on this one. Like he said about Rafiq and that rule applies to many cards. Rafiq is only good in decks that you can use him in, but Lightning Bolt is good about any deck running Red. Pithing Needle is a powerful card, but it is needed a as control card. Just imagine P. Needle being a Mythic. The power of planeswalkers and Assualt would be much more money burning to stop. Rafiq on the other hand doesn't do much but give a single creature double strike and no evasion and is also a legendary creature so you only need one to two in your deck and I've never seen one with more.
They wanted things like legends and planeswalkers in the mythic slot due to their non-multiple rule and they probably didn't expect players to want to pack their deck with 4 Elspeths or Ajanis.
I really don't see the problem with Mythic prices when rares like Cryptic Command and Reflecting Pool are almost up to the price of the higher priced mythics. Supply and Demand is the game and will always be a part of Magic.
With the amount of boxes I get I seem to end up with more mythic doubles than I do with regular rare doubles. Though I am unlucky with my mythic rare doubles after 3 or so boxes as I never seem to hit the top dollar choice of the time.
Rafiq being a staple is completely silly. Any card that's legendary and costs 1GWU can't possibly be a staple. Even if it looks like it might be right now, it's just because the mana fixing is insane for a couple more months.
As for Elspeth, we were told explicitly, that planeswalkers were going to be a powerful card type back when they were introduced. When a card type is noting but powerful cards, some of them will see play. Of course, she's also 'legendary.' If planeswalker kill were as numerous as creature kill, though, she probably wouldn't see play at all.
Of course, it's also interesting to note that they were from the first batch of mythic rares ever printed. So, they're going to change things and get it perfect the first time? I think the only major ****up has been Flameblast Dragon. It's nothing for constructed, but it's easily the strongest first pick of the whole block and unlike some of the other tough bombs, it's rare that it doesn't win the game the turn after you untap with it. There's really no excuse for it not being mythic, though. Shivan Dragon has been a stupid, windmill slam bomb since forever and it can't hold a candle to Flameblast Dragon.
There is a very easy fix for this. Do what my play group does and just print out whatever cards you need from the computer.
We agreed as a group many years ago that forcing eveyone to pay $80 for a playset of something, eveyone was going to use, cut into our beer money... and is ********.
Unless you want to play in tournaments all the time, I suggest you get your friends or your FNM judge to agree to this.
I still pay for Limited events, because they are just fun, but collecting complete playsets of things, every year and paying upwards of $1000 is a gross misuse of money.
There is a very easy fix for this. Do what my play group does and just print out whatever cards you need from the computer.
We agreed as a group many years ago that forcing eveyone to pay $80 for a playset of something, eveyone was going to use, cut into our beer money... and is ********.
Unless you want to play in tournaments all the time, I suggest you get your friends or your FNM judge to agree to this.
I still pay for Limited events, because they are just fun, but collecting complete playsets of things, every year and paying upwards of $1000 is a gross misuse of money.
I'd rather spend money on MTG than on beer (personally). Spending a grand a year on a hobby isn't a big deal if you can afford it. Some people fix up old cars, others travel, and others still collect MTG. All these cost $ and are valid hobbies.
Hobbies cost money, and I'd wager that Magic is one of the cheaper hobbies. A grand a year isn't a misuse of money when you consider a grand is practically nothing.
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I don't have any hard numbers on this, but I'm targeted more often than a black guy driving a beat-up sedan with a broken tail-light and no license plate, and Cy's well aware of that.
I'd rather spend money on MTG than on beer (personally). Spending a grand a year on a hobby isn't a big deal if you can afford it. Some people fix up old cars, others travel, and others still collect MTG. All these cost $ and are valid hobbies.
Some people like to get drunk and play MTG. It's a lot of fun. But, really, beer isn't that expensive, and collecting playsets shouldn't cost you $1k for standard staples. Just preorder and get your stuff early.
don't complain about prices. in yugioh, a card that is basically a staple in almost every deck peaked at around $350 and top decks have been over $1000. in magic, the only format that tops that is type 1.
There is a very easy fix for this. Do what my play group does and just print out whatever cards you need from the computer.
We agreed as a group many years ago that forcing eveyone to pay $80 for a playset of something, eveyone was going to use, cut into our beer money... and is ********.
Unless you want to play in tournaments all the time, I suggest you get your friends or your FNM judge to agree to this.
I still pay for Limited events, because they are just fun, but collecting complete playsets of things, every year and paying upwards of $1000 is a gross misuse of money.
Actually, FNM is a DCI sanctioned Tournament and proxies are not allowed. If your FNM TO is doing it and the Head Judge is allowing it (may be the same person) they are going against the DCI policy and could be banned. I would definetly not recommend it.
Rafiq may not be a staple but what about Time Wrap? Taking an extra turn for 3UU seems to be a great utility card....
Actually, FNM is a DCI sanctioned Tournament and proxies are not allowed. If your FNM TO is doing it and the Head Judge is allowing it (may be the same person) they are going against the DCI policy and could be banned. I would definetly not recommend it.
Rafiq may not be a staple but what about Time Wrap? Taking an extra turn for 3UU seems to be a great utility card....
Its not even in the same category of utility cards as wizards mentioned with cards like bitterblossom, thoughtseize, mutavault, dual lands, etc. Time Warp is a nice card to be sure, but its a 5 mana spell that you arent going to see decks trying to splash into to use, and outside of use in a couple decks I dont expect to see much of in constructed play. Not saying the card is bad, but I would put time warp in the category of mythic because taking an extra turn certain seems like a mythic affect, and so long as they dont print anything that costs less than 5 mana for this affect from this point forward, Im not going to worry too much about it.
Also, Time Warps are only going for $4 on ebay completed listing pre-orders right now. So certainly not breaking the bank as far as that goes eithor.
Neat and nifty card, but I think its fine from a flavor perspective as a mythic rare.
Edit: And yes, if DCI found out that your FNM judges/organizer were allowing people to use proxies for sanctioned FNM tournaments, then they would lose their ability to run sanctioned tournaments. Proxies are fine for casual play. But if you dont own the cards, dont expect to be able to use them for any sanctioned tournaments.
Bitterblossom is NOT a utility card. Thoughtseize, Mutavault, Silence, and Lightning Bolt are utility cards.
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YuGIOh does one thing not done in MTG. Tournament staples get reprinted into a special set, such as with the Gold Series 2.
This would be like MTG putting Elsbeth, Garuuk, Bitterblossom, Ajani, Cryptic Command, Wrath of God inot a single pack you can buy for $20. However i doubt WoTC would make something like that, but Konomi does
YuGIOh does one thing not done in MTG. Tournament staples get reprinted into a special set, such as with the Gold Series 2.
This would be like MTG putting Elsbeth, Garuuk, Bitterblossom, Ajani, Cryptic Command, Wrath of God inot a single pack you can buy for $20. However i doubt WoTC would make something like that, but Konomi does
I think they tried this once with Chronicles and some of the earlier core sets. The thing with Magic is that, in regards to Standard, what is a staple for one year has the possibility of seeing very little play the next year because new sets have a way of overshadowing printed cards. Look at Meddling Mage. He is a great card, considered a staple, but he is not in many decks. Even *** numbers were down for the last year or two. Staples change, which is what makes this a collectible game. Reprinting old staple cards is a chance for collectors to get the card, but not necessarily a chance for the card to have a big impact on the meta.
I really hate posts like these. Did these people think that mythics were all going to be horrible and not deserve play? That would be pretty dumb. Is he really complaining that Baneslayer is going for $15? Before mythic rarity there were rares like B-blossom, Tarmogoyf, Mutavault and Reflecting pool, that went for $35-55 at their peak. Since mythic rarity only one card (Elspeth) has even touched 30. Do you really think Maelstrom Pulse would be an $18 if there was still one rarity and it was more difficult to pull? How much more would Noble Heirarch cost? Why isn't this guy complaining about all of the affordable and powerful rares instead of $15 mythics?
To me this is nothing more than a remanent of "Lets speak with a unified voice and maybe WotC will get rid of mythic rares!" Like it's been said a billion times. No utility cards are going to printed as mythics.
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Fast forward to M10. Baneslayer Angel has been getting a lot of hype for the upcoming standard. A 5/5 flying, first striking, lifelinking creature for only 5 mana, and for 2 white is just crazy good. I definately expect Baneslayer Angel to see a lot of play as a finisher and powerful mid-range threat post M10 Standard. She requires at least 2 burn spells to get rid of, and saying "Just PtE/Terminate her" is much easier said than done in a format with a ton of quality creatures that also demand to be answered as well.
I did a quick check on eBay to see pre-sale prices for Baneslayer Angel on Buy it Now. She is roughly going for $14-$15. I know pre-sale prices can be unreliable at times, but the card as already been spoiled, and everyone has had time to have it sink into them about how good Baneslayer Angel can be. This isn't another Slithermuse debacle obviously.
I don't know if you guys remember this article over a year ago that had MaRo explain Mythic Rares being added to the game, and also giving us an idea of what Mythics would be (planeswalkers, other "mindblowing" spells, epic stuff). MaRo said Mythic Rares would not be tournament staple, constructed worthy cards to prevent a higher barrier from being created to acquire these cards.
If that's the case, why has it already happened when it supposedly shouldn't have? Elspeth and Rafiq are both cards that casual players love (at least around here). However, they both are extremely good and have easily seen play in Constructed. Hell, both Elspeth and Rafiq see some play in Legacy!
Baneslayer Angel is a definite Constructed-worthy card, and she's a Mythic rare. Simple supply and demand; Mythic rares are twice as harder to find than a normal rare (according to MaRo in the same article), and people are still going to want her. Just like with other Mythic rares, Baneslayer Angel will carry a definite higher price than if she was just a rare.
I don't want to see this to continue to be a trend. Mythic rares should NOT be constructed staples. Then again, Mythic rares should never have been created in the first place.
What was said (in the article you linked) is that they won't be utility cards.
Your quote from maro is incorrect. They said that mythics would not be utility cards like duals, mutavault, bitterblossom, thoughtseize, et all, but rather would be planeswalkers, legendary creatures, and mythic seeming spells/creatures. Youll notice that elsepth is a planeswalker, rafiq is legendary, and Baneslayer angel has a mythic feel to her.
Mythics can be be perfectly playable as most planeswalkers usually are. Planeswalkers I would put as the exception to the rule, because, heck, whats not mythic about a planeswalker? The rarity of mythic was practically made for them. Rafiq is a legendary creature and requires three different colors of mana to cast. Rafiq is not played in every deck and you dont see decks spashing to try to cast her ala things like bitterblossom, or tarmogoyf saw during their high points. Baneslayer angel is a 5-cost white creature, while certainly good, when compared to comparable creatures in the white-tree of creatures its not really overpowered, and will likely see play, but not as a staple in every deck, nor will you likely see decks splashing white in order to be able to use her. From a flavor perspective the angel is certainly mythic. And last I checked the completed listings for the baneslayer angel were only up in the $12-$13 range, the same that we saw jenara and sen triplets in the range of before they dropped to $8 and $5 respectively. Its a good creature, Ill give it that, all three of those cards are good and eithor do or will likely see plenty of play. But never did wizards say that mythics would not be playable rares.
If it had haste I would be more concerned as the creature would be a bit on the crazy side. But as it stands its a 5-cost creature that you have to sit on for a turn before it can start attacking. It doesnt have vigilance or trample so it can still be chumped by tokens all day long, and you still have to choose whether to attack or block with it.
Mythics are fine. And I really wish people would stop complaining. Magic will always have some cards that will be more expensive because the people want them. Inevitably its a matter of supply/demand. If people want something whether it be tournament or casual players the prices will go up accordingly. Wizards does not set prices, players who are willing to pay lots of money for cards do. Besides. $20 for the most expensive mythic, I think is fine. From there it drops down to $13 with things like rafiq, baneslayer angel and sarkhan vol. And then down to $10 and below with things like tezzeret, nicol bolas, garruk and ajani in M10. And then it goes down from there. Only two of those listed are not planeswalkers and one hasnt even been released yet, so its hard to say what it will inevitably settle at once the set has been out for a bit.
The creation of mythics as well, with the reduction in set sizes has helped to keep prices of other rares down as well in general. Shards rares are very very inexpensive (nothing over $5), Conflux only has 2 rares over $5 (banefire, noble hierarch), and Alara Reborn only has 3 rares over $5 with (meddling mage, dauntless escort(for now), and maelstrom pulse).
Overall I would say the format is healthy and affordable, sure you may have difficulty picking up those elspeths, but outside of that, its not too bad when it comes to the mythics.
Edit: For the sake of simplifying this a little too, here are the appropriate quotes that are most relevant:
"This now leads us to the next question: How are cards split between rare and mythic rare? Or more to the point, what kind of cards are going to become mythic rares? We want the flavor of mythic rare to be something that feels very special and unique. Generally speaking we expect that to mean cards like Planeswalkers, most legends, and epic-feeling creatures and spells. They will not just be a list of each set's most powerful tournament-level cards."
"We've also decided that there are certain things we specifically do not want to be mythic rares. The largest category is utility cards, what I'll define as cards that fill a universal function. Some examples of this category would be cycles of dual lands and cards like Mutavault or Char. That also addresses a long-standing issue that some players have had with certain rares like dual lands. Because we're making fewer cards per set, in the new world individual rares will be easier to acquire because each rare in a large set now appears 25% more often."
The word "tournament" appears exactly one time in the aforementioned article. Allow me to quote it for you:
As others have said -- Wizards said they wouldn't be utility cards. So far, they've kept that promised. And Mythics are not a list of the most powerful tournament cards, either, which means they've kept both promises re: Mythic Rares.
So why are you whinging, exactly?
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Mafia Stats
Most of your post is completely correct... but did you really just say affordable? Really?
The top decks:
BG Elves
BW Tokens
Faeries
Cascade
BG Elves - runs Garruk, some filters, some duals (probably the cheapest)
BW Tokens - Elspeth, Ajani, Bitterblossom
Faeries - Bitterblossom, Warhammer (not too bad), duals, Cryptics
Cascade - 4 Reflecting Pools (at least $80), probably around 12-15 Vivids and another 8 filters
I'm not really sure what you meant by affordable but i guess it's better than shelling out the money when Rav was legal for all the shocklands
EDIT: and honestly... if you read the OP and misunderstood the MaRo article like he did, he makes a very solid point.
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I want the seriously competitive standard forums to be segregated, even if it means excluding myself from posting in them. Post this in your signature if you agree with this.
In the context of talking about mythics I would hope people would have been able to think in the context of the sets that have been printed since mythics were introduced. Once we hit the rotation, the expense of putting decks together should decrease a good deal because then only post-mythic sets and the overall decrease in regular rare prices will be left in standard.
Also as of your list, lets see, you have some planeswalkers, which will still be around, and well, nothing else on your entire list will still be around post-rotation in the fall. So yes, Im saying that with the current setup of the newer sets, standard will be much cheaper.
Im sorry if you misunderstood what I was trying to say, hopefully this clears that up.
Of course there will also be the new duals as well which will I imagine be used plenty enough post rotation but shouldnt be as rediculously expensive as things like reflecting pool et all at the very least.
Some mythic rares have prices going down as much as common card prices.
I ride the bus to work which costs $2.00 and I get a relatively safe and pleasant ride. When the bus is free during certain Friday evening hours (to help the town economy by getting people to places of business to spend their money), the bus is overloaded with freeloader riffraff, some people riding the bus for random reasons such as to stay warm. I actually prefer to ride the bus when it costs $2.00 than to ride when it's free due to the riffraff factor.
More to the point, I'm not sure you see that there are benefits to Magic cards costing varying amounts of money, the entire game having its own economy, the excitement of busting the best rare possible in a pack, etc. You sound like:
Birds of Paradise
Wrath of God
Pithing Needle
Dual lands
Lightning Bolt
Duress
These are cards that, whether you're using them or not, you are essentially required to own 4 of each because they will always be useful at some point and never really lose value.
Wizards could put $100 bills in packs and people would complain about how they were folded.
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They wanted things like legends and planeswalkers in the mythic slot due to their non-multiple rule and they probably didn't expect players to want to pack their deck with 4 Elspeths or Ajanis.
I really don't see the problem with Mythic prices when rares like Cryptic Command and Reflecting Pool are almost up to the price of the higher priced mythics. Supply and Demand is the game and will always be a part of Magic.
As for Elspeth, we were told explicitly, that planeswalkers were going to be a powerful card type back when they were introduced. When a card type is noting but powerful cards, some of them will see play. Of course, she's also 'legendary.' If planeswalker kill were as numerous as creature kill, though, she probably wouldn't see play at all.
Of course, it's also interesting to note that they were from the first batch of mythic rares ever printed. So, they're going to change things and get it perfect the first time? I think the only major ****up has been Flameblast Dragon. It's nothing for constructed, but it's easily the strongest first pick of the whole block and unlike some of the other tough bombs, it's rare that it doesn't win the game the turn after you untap with it. There's really no excuse for it not being mythic, though. Shivan Dragon has been a stupid, windmill slam bomb since forever and it can't hold a candle to Flameblast Dragon.
There is a very easy fix for this. Do what my play group does and just print out whatever cards you need from the computer.
We agreed as a group many years ago that forcing eveyone to pay $80 for a playset of something, eveyone was going to use, cut into our beer money... and is ********.
Unless you want to play in tournaments all the time, I suggest you get your friends or your FNM judge to agree to this.
I still pay for Limited events, because they are just fun, but collecting complete playsets of things, every year and paying upwards of $1000 is a gross misuse of money.
I'd rather spend money on MTG than on beer (personally). Spending a grand a year on a hobby isn't a big deal if you can afford it. Some people fix up old cars, others travel, and others still collect MTG. All these cost $ and are valid hobbies.
UUU Azami, Lady of Scrolls
RRR Diaochan, Artful Beauty
UR(U/R) Tibor, Lumia, & Melek (WIP)
Mafia Stats
Some people like to get drunk and play MTG. It's a lot of fun. But, really, beer isn't that expensive, and collecting playsets shouldn't cost you $1k for standard staples. Just preorder and get your stuff early.
This is a Shivan Ampersand
Actually, FNM is a DCI sanctioned Tournament and proxies are not allowed. If your FNM TO is doing it and the Head Judge is allowing it (may be the same person) they are going against the DCI policy and could be banned. I would definetly not recommend it.
Rafiq may not be a staple but what about Time Wrap? Taking an extra turn for 3UU seems to be a great utility card....
DCI Judge
Its not even in the same category of utility cards as wizards mentioned with cards like bitterblossom, thoughtseize, mutavault, dual lands, etc. Time Warp is a nice card to be sure, but its a 5 mana spell that you arent going to see decks trying to splash into to use, and outside of use in a couple decks I dont expect to see much of in constructed play. Not saying the card is bad, but I would put time warp in the category of mythic because taking an extra turn certain seems like a mythic affect, and so long as they dont print anything that costs less than 5 mana for this affect from this point forward, Im not going to worry too much about it.
Also, Time Warps are only going for $4 on ebay completed listing pre-orders right now. So certainly not breaking the bank as far as that goes eithor.
Neat and nifty card, but I think its fine from a flavor perspective as a mythic rare.
Edit: And yes, if DCI found out that your FNM judges/organizer were allowing people to use proxies for sanctioned FNM tournaments, then they would lose their ability to run sanctioned tournaments. Proxies are fine for casual play. But if you dont own the cards, dont expect to be able to use them for any sanctioned tournaments.
Wizards could put $100 bills in packs and people would complain about how they were folded.
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This would be like MTG putting Elsbeth, Garuuk, Bitterblossom, Ajani, Cryptic Command, Wrath of God inot a single pack you can buy for $20. However i doubt WoTC would make something like that, but Konomi does
I think they tried this once with Chronicles and some of the earlier core sets. The thing with Magic is that, in regards to Standard, what is a staple for one year has the possibility of seeing very little play the next year because new sets have a way of overshadowing printed cards. Look at Meddling Mage. He is a great card, considered a staple, but he is not in many decks. Even *** numbers were down for the last year or two. Staples change, which is what makes this a collectible game. Reprinting old staple cards is a chance for collectors to get the card, but not necessarily a chance for the card to have a big impact on the meta.