MTG Salvation

Quote from Malpheas »

I wish prices of Stix would come down in price. I remember the day it shot up after Alix won an SCG event with it.

Same. That's moved into the range where it's really hard for me to justify spending the money on it, especially when it's kind of a narrow card. I'm sticking with Solidarity to scratch my High Tide itch.

Wizards can't actually abolish the reserved list. The implications go far beyond a few potential lawsuits and a couple of unhappy collectors. We're talking about LGS survival and the sustainability of the game's player base in the future. Contrary to popular belief, cheap and accessible cards are not what makes a card game stick around.

That said, damn do I wish I could afford Legacy. I would actually be game for a format without the reserved list - it's the best way to bypass the reserved list that I've seen, and honestly that's what I think Modern should have been. A non-rotating format without Brainstorm is just meh.

Quote from frankiepeanuts »

Contrary to popular belief, cheap and accessible cards are not what makes a card game stick around.

Neither are competitive decks costing thousands of dollars to build. You are presenting a false dichotomy.

Legacy was thriving and growing nicely when duals cost $50-$100.

Hey folks looking for dual land buying advice.

Prices have recently gone up again and also the cards below a certain cut off seem to have disappeared from the UK market. (All over the weekend very annoyed as I was enquiring with shops for scans on Friday and then they were gone by Monday)

I need a range of them for the 2 decks I'm looking to finish.

My question is - Do I get the cheaper duals first while they're reasonable? I can pick those up at 2 or 3 a month. Or do I go for 1 a month underground sea first? Not sure what is the safer option? Any advice would be appreciated.

Disclaimer - this is speculative and I am not a qualified financial advisor. Purchase at your own risk.

What duals do you need?

My guess is that Badlands and Tundra are the most likely to increase in the short term. U.Seas and Volcs are so high that purchasing might slow down. Also these lands tend to go into decks that need lots of duals, which might be a prohibitive barrier to many people. The same applies to Trops and Bayous, but to a lesser extent.

I can see Volc and Trops moving faster than the other 2 because they can build UR Prowess or Infect - both are a lot easier to put together than anything running Seas or Bayous. Volcs more so than Trops, because they also go in Sneak Show, and because UR Prowess is a better "stepping-stone" deck than Infect (and can run on fewer duals).

The duals which imo have the most potential for growth in the near future are Badlands and Tundra. These are a lot cheaper than Volcs, plus Miracles or RB Reanimator require a lot less money in duals than other competitive decks. People trying to break into Legacy will might be very tempted by decks that are running $500 worth of duals rather than decks with $1000s in duals or no duals at all. Between the 2 decks, they appeal to both combo players and control players (Mentor builds might even attract fair-deck midrange players).

Scrubland, Savannah, and Plateau are fairly cheap, but unlike Badlands they don't easily make a mana-base for an established deck. Taiga is similar - they build Lands, but they're not much use without a Tabernacle (which is a big turn-off for a deck that already has a niche play-style). I'd expect slower growth on these.

TLDR:

I'd expect Tundra, Badlands, and to a lesser extent Volcanic Island, to be in the highest demand because they offer the most "bang for your buck" in terms of deck building options.

I cannot really account for people with partially completed decks. eg, if people are just 1 or 2 U.Seas short of a Grixis or 4 colour mana base, obviously they are going to want to fill their needs.

I also will not attempt to guess at demand driven by speculators (cards bought without the intention to play), nor at demand driven by EDH.

Best of luck!

Thanks, that was my feeling. I could do with 3/1/1 Tundra/Badlands/Volcanic Island and 3/1 Underground Sea/Tropical Island.
I sort of assume I'm screwed either way (bad timing with PT and GP announcements) but thanks for the logical explanation.

Antiquities, Legends and Arabian Nights saw a massive influx of money, between $20,000 - $100,000 in the last 3 weeks.

There is more coming. Wall Street has noticed, and even lesser The Dark rares are spiking.

Right now, I think the money is moving very slowly - picking off a few copies a week to avoid spooking the market and encouraging people to increase the price. Eventually, though, someone is going to walk in with $2 million, and we'll be longing for the days of $400 Moat, $300 Diamond Valley, $1200 Tabernacle. It absolutely flabbergasts me that there are Reserved List cards that are still under $1 each. I'm buying RL cards wherever I can, because the money is coming into Magic, and soon.