I'll swear the background art on the new Commander 2013 card Ophiomancer is very similar to another pre-Modern card. My memory says its scene of middle eastern buildings with canopies was used on some other card which featured a snake coming out of a basket.
And I would also like to snag permission from the artists Wayne Reynolds & Arnie Swekel - what is the best way to go about getting their consent for this?
I hate to be the bearer of bad new, but I am 99.9999% sure that you will not get any permission from any artists to use their works like this. Most artists will not even send you a scan of their work so as to stop this very thing. I have reached out to artists about purchasing originals and they will not even send a high quality scan or picture for that. On top of that, the rights of art used for magic do not belong to the artist, but to WotC, and they will not give these rights away. There is a reason every artist does not have tons of playmats for sale with all their images on them.
The other one was buying a timeshifted karakas. Before timeshift, karakas was fairly valuable. When it was reprinted, I knew it was going to go down in price... just not _that_ much, and ended up buying it for 3x its real price.
Regarding Rob Alexander's alters: Annorax it's real. While I agree that it isn't his best work I'd gladly take this alter over anything in the Alter-Thread here on MTGS (or the "Magic card torture chamber" as I call it)...It's in the eye of the beholder...
We get that you don't like non artist alters, why do you have to put it in every third post you make?
I've seen several Rob Alexander alters, both here and in the pimp threads on SCG. I've never met him or seen him do an alteration before, but this seems similar to the fetchland alterations I've seen that are signed by him. I know the signature is legit, but is there any chance this alter could've been done by someone else? I'm not sure if I got scammed on this.
I would say with 99% ++ confidence that that was a real alter by Alexander. It matches most of the alters that he has done. It is really hit or miss with him. I have an unlimited Taiga that is altered and looks sick, but have seen many many alters just like yours that is just ugly.
Artists do it to add a personal touch but also to prevent you from reselling the card for profit.
This is 100% false. Most of the time the artists charge a small price to do a quick sketch on the cards for the person, and it is the person who has asked the artist to do the sketch.
I have met well over 50 artists in person and have never seen an artist take someone's card and start drawing over it without the person asking. I understand it can happen, but it is no where near the norm.
Sketch cards also command a premium in price when dealing with the right people, so the artist is actually making the card more valuable and therefore helping you to resell the card for a profit.
Whether or not my group decides to crack these packs though, shall remain to be seen.
So you are saying that you might not crack packs of this set because of this mechanic? If I was a betting man, which thanks to GA I am not, I would ask you how much money do you want to put that you will crack packs?
It is amazing how much people overreact to these things and the lies they spit afterwords.
This is def a weird twist to the game, and I admit I do not like the looks of it, but people saying they will not buy and open packs is just a flat out LIE.
I had an opportunity to buy the whole command cycle from him when Lorwyn was just out, regret passing that up, I know it is now split up and owned by different people.
FYI, One person owns all 5 of the commands originals.
Well the mtgolibrary guy had assured me they quit ripping prices. Oh well I let stuff like this drive me crazy haha. If you all saw how much time we spent doing prices you would understand.
Drop your prices like crazy, turn your bots selling to off, let them leech the prices, tell us, and then let everyone go crazy buying all their stuff for dirt cheap!
Since I assume you were talking about me: I posted my rather comprehensive list before the lands were added. I say "bulk" for the rest since they are $1 or (much) less each, and they are hard to sell even at that price.
The lands add enough value that the $200 asking price is totally fair, though not a steal by any means. I still wouldn't buy it, but if you're looking to enhance a collection then you could do a lot worse.
That is a Steal at $200 and there is a great deal of potential profit to be made. I would drive 1.5 hours easily to buy it.
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&set=[%22Duel%20Decks:%20Jace%20vs.%20Vraska%22]
Name
Acidic Slime
Aeon Chronicler
Æther Adept
Æther Figment
Agoraphobia
Archaeomancer
Body Double
Chronomaton
Claustrophobia
Consume Strength
Control Magic
Corpse Traders
Crosstown Courier
Death-Hood Cobra
Dread Statuary
Dream Stalker
Drooling Groodion
Errant Ephemeron
Festerhide Boar
Forest
Forest
Forest
Forest
Forest
Future Sight
Gatecreeper Vine
Golgari Guildgate
Griptide
Grisly Spectacle
Halimar Depths
Highway Robber
Hypnotic Cloud
Into the Roil
Island
Island
Island
Island
Island
Jace, Architect of Thought
Jace's Ingenuity
Jace's Mindseeker
Jace's Phantasm
Krovikan Mist
Last Kiss
Leyline Phantom
Marsh Casualties
Memory Lapse
Merfolk Wayfinder
Mold Shambler
Nekrataal
Night's Whisper
Ohran Viper
Oran-Rief Recluse
Phantasmal Bear
Phantasmal Dragon
Prohibit
Pulse Tracker
Putrid Leech
Ray of Command
Reaper of the Wilds
Remand
Riftwing Cloudskate
River Boa
Rogue's Passage
Sadistic Augermage
Sea Gate Oracle
Shadow Alley Denizen
Slate Street Ruffian
Spawnwrithe
Spelltwine
Stab Wound
Stealer of Secrets
Stonefare Crocodile
Summoner's Bane
Swamp
Swamp
Swamp
Swamp
Swamp
Tainted Wood
Tavern Swindler
Thought Scour
Tragic Slip
Treasured Find
Underworld Connections
Vinelasher Kudzu
Vraska the Unseen
Wight of Precinct Six
Bazaar of Baghdad maybe?
http://magiccards.info/an/en/84.html
I hate to be the bearer of bad new, but I am 99.9999% sure that you will not get any permission from any artists to use their works like this. Most artists will not even send you a scan of their work so as to stop this very thing. I have reached out to artists about purchasing originals and they will not even send a high quality scan or picture for that. On top of that, the rights of art used for magic do not belong to the artist, but to WotC, and they will not give these rights away. There is a reason every artist does not have tons of playmats for sale with all their images on them.
That site does not ship to the United States, just so people know. Jason
That was Not a timeshifted card.
We get that you don't like non artist alters, why do you have to put it in every third post you make?
I would say with 99% ++ confidence that that was a real alter by Alexander. It matches most of the alters that he has done. It is really hit or miss with him. I have an unlimited Taiga that is altered and looks sick, but have seen many many alters just like yours that is just ugly.
This is 100% false. Most of the time the artists charge a small price to do a quick sketch on the cards for the person, and it is the person who has asked the artist to do the sketch.
I have met well over 50 artists in person and have never seen an artist take someone's card and start drawing over it without the person asking. I understand it can happen, but it is no where near the norm.
Sketch cards also command a premium in price when dealing with the right people, so the artist is actually making the card more valuable and therefore helping you to resell the card for a profit.
Jason
So you are saying that you might not crack packs of this set because of this mechanic? If I was a betting man, which thanks to GA I am not, I would ask you how much money do you want to put that you will crack packs?
It is amazing how much people overreact to these things and the lies they spit afterwords.
This is def a weird twist to the game, and I admit I do not like the looks of it, but people saying they will not buy and open packs is just a flat out LIE.
FYI, One person owns all 5 of the commands originals.
I would suggest he not ruin high value cards until he gets good at it. There is no way that gets the buy it now of $150.
I will go out on a limb and say that that alter is never leaving Matt's hands. Jason
Drop your prices like crazy, turn your bots selling to off, let them leech the prices, tell us, and then let everyone go crazy buying all their stuff for dirt cheap!
That is a Steal at $200 and there is a great deal of potential profit to be made. I would drive 1.5 hours easily to buy it.