For them, selling comic books and other products is more of a priority than selling Magic cards, and they often forget to sign up and report sanctioned events. In addition, the organizers rarely know anything about the game and kind of have a hostile feeling towards MTG players in general.
You could be describing my previous home-store word for word. Until we created our WPN group and started outdrawing the LGS, we dealt with:
1) No product on draft day. Triple conflux draft, yay!
2) Buying into Prerelease events and not getting seat. No refund, here is some store credit!
3) Getting kicked out of tournaments. I'm going home, finish everything in 5 minutes.
4) No prize packs for FNM. More store credit!
5) Hoarding FNM/WPN promos and not giving them out.
6) Prices go up, prizes go down. You won a 30-man sealed release event ($25). Your prize is a fatpack.
7) Banning members of the MTG community from the store because of personal disputes.
I can't wait to tell the playgroup that WOTC pissed in the cheerios.
I'd have to guess that profit margins are HUUUUGE on presale.
If I was a store, I would presale cards like crazy. Imagine the profits on cobras, valakuts, warren instigators, even feteches, compared to what they sell at now...
10/1/2008: This effect doesn't change the mana cost or converted mana cost of an artifact spell. Rather, it reduces the total cost of the spell, which is the amount you actually pay while casting it. The total cost takes into account additional or alternative costs.
CardKid black books and knows what 1-2 boxes that are left and unopened they should keep and which ones to ship off. Last time I ever bought from them.
I've ordered from CardKid for the last few sets, and I've gotten FAT m10 boxes, to the tune of 2-3 planeswalkers, 3-4 duals, and a premium foil -- foil summit, foil colossus, respectively. I think you're looking into this way too much.
I see Mark of Mutiny as the best answer, because playing an (awesome) card like Teetering Peaks means that Spire Barrage may still not be a turn 5 answer. Magma Rift is fine as well, but doesn't seal the deal.
Malakir Bloodwitch is a playable standard card that fetches ~$15/playset on E-bay right now. That plus some vamp uncommons, a timmy rare and a pack are worth it.
That's not the point. The point is that they're getting you MILKED LIKE A COW on a SLIM CHANCE of getting a MARGINAL BONUS.
I have two boxes of Zendikar coming. I'm going to some pre-releases. I know these cards are floating around. Am I buying two extra cases in hopes of cracking something? Nah. It's just a cool perk to going to draft and sealed, to see what someone might open, and it's an extra excitement to opening up my boxes.
I still think this was a promotional gimick, and won't be in mass packs. A cool trick for shops to open up a extremely rare treasure and excite the people attending...
I dunno, the owner of the local store here is pretty shameless, if he was given a gimmick to bring more players in, I'm sure I would have heard about it a week ago...
Due to Baneslayer's popularity already, And the hype everyone is giving ramp decks (aka Green) from ZEN, Is Deathmark worth playing main deck as a 2-3 of?
for PTQs, Ask in a month, when a meta has developed and we have the full set.
For FNM, look at what's played locally, and decide from there.
T1-2: Hierarch, Birds
T3: The new white WWW2 rare: Put 5 soldiers into play
T4: Beastmaster Ascension: Swing 7 guys that are all 6/6's (hierarch + birds 5/6)
So you know, M11 design was finished right before M10 hit the shelves.
"M11 design finishes next Monday, before M10 is even released. Quite the challenge with minimal feedback." Aaron Forsythe, Twitter, June 22
Because of the Future-Future League, and because of a tendency in the past for Wizards to respond to the Standard metagame with cards here and there (Volcanic Fallout, Great Sable Stag), I'm sure they're willing to make changes here and there before M11 hits stores, especially with a mythic rare that requires 0 consideration for M11 limited.
Quote from Pastamaster »
This is a 18-20 dollar rare, but a 30-35 dollar mythic because they are so much harder to obtain. Once Zendikar hits, and everyone stops cracking M10 packs, it's going to be even more insane.
This is an interesting prediction. If Banselayer continues to be a card of choice, I could see it. Even hardcore collectors in my area are struggling to get baneslayers without busting out the wallet. I'm the only one I've seen locally w/ a playset, and I've been loaning it out left and right to buddies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwJaELXadKo
Mod note: contains coarse language, probably NSFW. -viper
You could be describing my previous home-store word for word. Until we created our WPN group and started outdrawing the LGS, we dealt with:
1) No product on draft day. Triple conflux draft, yay!
2) Buying into Prerelease events and not getting seat. No refund, here is some store credit!
3) Getting kicked out of tournaments. I'm going home, finish everything in 5 minutes.
4) No prize packs for FNM. More store credit!
5) Hoarding FNM/WPN promos and not giving them out.
6) Prices go up, prizes go down. You won a 30-man sealed release event ($25). Your prize is a fatpack.
7) Banning members of the MTG community from the store because of personal disputes.
I can't wait to tell the playgroup that WOTC pissed in the cheerios.
?
If I was a store, I would presale cards like crazy. Imagine the profits on cobras, valakuts, warren instigators, even feteches, compared to what they sell at now...
10/1/2008: This effect doesn't change the mana cost or converted mana cost of an artifact spell. Rather, it reduces the total cost of the spell, which is the amount you actually pay while casting it. The total cost takes into account additional or alternative costs.
Definitely a very flavorful card. The list of cards to put into play using this guy (in standard) include:
**Inkwell Leviathan
Nemesis of Reason
Lorthos, the Tidemaker
(Bad)
Kederekt Leviathan
Kraken Hatchling
Serpent of the Endless Sea
Steelclad Serpent
Shoal Serpent ** Added
Also of Note, Sphinx Summoner can fetch your Inkwell Leviathan.
Ways to manipulate library to find and trigger the quest:
Ponder
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Anything I'm missing? Certainly this is a casual-designed card, but can it be broken?
I've ordered from CardKid for the last few sets, and I've gotten FAT m10 boxes, to the tune of 2-3 planeswalkers, 3-4 duals, and a premium foil -- foil summit, foil colossus, respectively. I think you're looking into this way too much.
Banefire is a Turn 6 answer to a turn 5 card, whereas Mark of Mutiny, Spire Barrage, Magma Rift are all viable answers immediately.
I see Mark of Mutiny as the best answer, because playing an (awesome) card like Teetering Peaks means that Spire Barrage may still not be a turn 5 answer. Magma Rift is fine as well, but doesn't seal the deal.
The rest, meh.
I have two boxes of Zendikar coming. I'm going to some pre-releases. I know these cards are floating around. Am I buying two extra cases in hopes of cracking something? Nah. It's just a cool perk to going to draft and sealed, to see what someone might open, and it's an extra excitement to opening up my boxes.
I dunno, the owner of the local store here is pretty shameless, if he was given a gimmick to bring more players in, I'm sure I would have heard about it a week ago...
for PTQs, Ask in a month, when a meta has developed and we have the full set.
For FNM, look at what's played locally, and decide from there.
T1-2: Hierarch, Birds
T3: The new white WWW2 rare: Put 5 soldiers into play
T4: Beastmaster Ascension: Swing 7 guys that are all 6/6's (hierarch + birds 5/6)
Because of the Future-Future League, and because of a tendency in the past for Wizards to respond to the Standard metagame with cards here and there (Volcanic Fallout, Great Sable Stag), I'm sure they're willing to make changes here and there before M11 hits stores, especially with a mythic rare that requires 0 consideration for M11 limited.
This is an interesting prediction. If Banselayer continues to be a card of choice, I could see it. Even hardcore collectors in my area are struggling to get baneslayers without busting out the wallet. I'm the only one I've seen locally w/ a playset, and I've been loaning it out left and right to buddies.
ESPECIALLY with M10 prints done forever...