Old frames. The new ones are cleaner and easier to read, but the old ones just had a better "feel" to them. Felt somehow more mystical/ancient. Like others, I think that the art has something to do with that as well.
No, PCs are not a necessity (though they are more necessary than MTG). But Wizards does not have a monopoly, which makes this a worse comparison still. MTG is one game among many. People can play video games, board games, other cards games, or none at all.
He's talking about a oligopoly in which all the major oil providers raise prices, effectively functioning as a monopoly. But it really does not matter if it would work or not. Just if raising prices of a non-necessary item could be exploitation and what other game developer's? give me one pls, i would love to jump out of MTG. I require is one a store that host regular events, two the game is not just terrible and three the game is not looking to price gouge me whenever it can. If you find me that game ill quit MTG right now.
Whether it would work or not is exactly the relevant point. In a free market, price gouging does not exist. It cannot exist. It defies proven economic law. When someone raises prices far above market price, people stop buying. Now, a free market assumes perfect competition; i.e. that someone can switch to another product if they don't like the first one. That means that it starts to break down when we talk about things like health care or electrical power. But a game? You can stop playing if you want to. There are other games and other hobbies.
So then if oil companies, decide to hold back oil production and raise the price of gas to $15 a gallon it would not be explotative. It's still a mutually beneficial raltionship and if you don't want to pay that much for gas then you don't have to buy it.
Of course it wouldn't be exploitative, and honestly, the fact that you chose this example proves how little you understand the situation.
First off, you haven't given an apples-to-apples comparison. Oil is more necessary to everyday life than MTG is. I can choose not to buy a pack of magic cards, and it doesn't affect the way I get to work.
Second, it's still not exploitative because if an oil company raised their prices like that, they'd be cutting their own throats. People would simply buy from other oil companies who are setting their prices according to the market. (Unless you're arguing that Wizards is colluding with every other game developer on the market to raise prices)
Third, no oil company would do that, because of reason #2. Which is kind of the whole point. Companies generally have an incentive to price their goods lower (as long as they're still profiting), not higher. It increases their business on a volume basis, which is far more effective than competing on profit margins. Why do you think Wal-Mart is so much bigger than, say, Williams-Sonoma? (Also, for cash flow reasons, this is a much more stable financial model)
Fourth, if you are getting oil companies to collude, how are you doing it? Do you really think that Saudi companies, African companies, Russian companies, and truly international giants like Royal Dutch Shell are going to get together and raise prices because someone has a harebrained idea to increase profit margins?
Fifth, even if you got everyone to collude and raise prices, it would only provide stronger incentives to develop alternative methods of transport (public rail transport and electric cars would probably be the first candidates), permanently damaging the entire oil/natural gas industry, which is another reason that it wouldn't be exploitative. Businesses that create value flourish. Businesses that don't create value become extinct.
Honestly, this argument is so full of holes that it's baffling to me that someone would make it in the first place. There's no way you thought this through.
Wizards' practices are absolutely not exploitative in any way. They produce a card game that many people enjoy. Those people pay to play the game. It's a mutually beneficial relationship. If anyone doesn't want to pay what a card costs, then they don't have to. Pretty much how everything else in life works.
Once again people begin to fall into the pretty art trap.
One of the things to be taken into mind when voting for cards is how well the artwork relates to the card itself.
Yes, Auramancer is pretty, but no, it doesn't deally represent the card or it's effects in any way whatsoever.
Conversely, Celestial Purge may have art that some would consider ugly or unsightly, but the artwork at least correlates to the card and it's effect.
Representing a card's function is one (of many) things to take into consideration when judging a piece of Magic artwork, but fortunately, it's no problem with Auramancer. Auramancer is a human wizard who specializes in enchantments. What's the card show? A human wizard, doing something (very possibly enchantment-related) with her right hand. Not every piece of art needs to hit one over the head with the card's effects in order to be relevant to the card itself.
Anyway, Mighty Leap gets my vote. Cartoonish, hard to make out, and the dutch angle doesn't add a thing to the composition.
Seconding Phyrexia's Core. I just don't think this one quite worked. The colors are weird, and for something as sinister as the core of Phyrexia, it's not the least bit intimidating.
I'm in the same boat as you, OP. I came back a while ago (probably a year, give or take), and I'm still rebuilding my collection. I doubt I'm halfway to where I want to be.
Your best bet (especially if you're staying away from standard for the time being, like me) is to cruise the web every few days for deals on old staples and snap them up when you find them cheap. Trading standard for legacy is always a losing proposition, dollar-wise, for the player trading standard cards, so it's really more efficient to buy the legacy cards themselves.
My vote goes to Soul Conduit. It's one of the best representations of the original concept of Phyrexians in the entire set: the terrible, Frankenstein-fusion of organics and machine. Lots of tubes, electricity, and diabolical machinery. Best of all, the perspective and lighting show enough to give a clear conceptual picture, but hide enough so that a lot is left to the imagination. It's something that I wish more Magic art did these days.
Lashwrithe is also very cool, but it seems a little more at home as concept art for a Quake or Dead Space sequel than in the Magic universe. It's my honorable mention.
I agree with other that have posted here. Trade sounds risky. Use a third party. If you don't want to, or he doesn't want to, then politely say, "Thanks, but no thanks."
Always be willing to walk away from a trade that you're not comfortable with, in any situation. It's not rude in the least.
Ice Age and Mirage are my favorites. They have wonderful flavor and art, a nice balance gameplay-wise, and for your purposes are still pretty accessible/cheap.
Started in Ice Age/4th.
No, PCs are not a necessity (though they are more necessary than MTG). But Wizards does not have a monopoly, which makes this a worse comparison still. MTG is one game among many. People can play video games, board games, other cards games, or none at all.
Whether it would work or not is exactly the relevant point. In a free market, price gouging does not exist. It cannot exist. It defies proven economic law. When someone raises prices far above market price, people stop buying. Now, a free market assumes perfect competition; i.e. that someone can switch to another product if they don't like the first one. That means that it starts to break down when we talk about things like health care or electrical power. But a game? You can stop playing if you want to. There are other games and other hobbies.
Of course it wouldn't be exploitative, and honestly, the fact that you chose this example proves how little you understand the situation.
First off, you haven't given an apples-to-apples comparison. Oil is more necessary to everyday life than MTG is. I can choose not to buy a pack of magic cards, and it doesn't affect the way I get to work.
Second, it's still not exploitative because if an oil company raised their prices like that, they'd be cutting their own throats. People would simply buy from other oil companies who are setting their prices according to the market. (Unless you're arguing that Wizards is colluding with every other game developer on the market to raise prices)
Third, no oil company would do that, because of reason #2. Which is kind of the whole point. Companies generally have an incentive to price their goods lower (as long as they're still profiting), not higher. It increases their business on a volume basis, which is far more effective than competing on profit margins. Why do you think Wal-Mart is so much bigger than, say, Williams-Sonoma? (Also, for cash flow reasons, this is a much more stable financial model)
Fourth, if you are getting oil companies to collude, how are you doing it? Do you really think that Saudi companies, African companies, Russian companies, and truly international giants like Royal Dutch Shell are going to get together and raise prices because someone has a harebrained idea to increase profit margins?
Fifth, even if you got everyone to collude and raise prices, it would only provide stronger incentives to develop alternative methods of transport (public rail transport and electric cars would probably be the first candidates), permanently damaging the entire oil/natural gas industry, which is another reason that it wouldn't be exploitative. Businesses that create value flourish. Businesses that don't create value become extinct.
Honestly, this argument is so full of holes that it's baffling to me that someone would make it in the first place. There's no way you thought this through.
Representing a card's function is one (of many) things to take into consideration when judging a piece of Magic artwork, but fortunately, it's no problem with Auramancer. Auramancer is a human wizard who specializes in enchantments. What's the card show? A human wizard, doing something (very possibly enchantment-related) with her right hand. Not every piece of art needs to hit one over the head with the card's effects in order to be relevant to the card itself.
Anyway, Mighty Leap gets my vote. Cartoonish, hard to make out, and the dutch angle doesn't add a thing to the composition.
HM - Aegis Angel - Complex textures and fantastic detail. Bonus points for actually dressing the angel like she could kick some ass.
Lord of the Pit
Sol Ring
Mana Vault
Chaos Orb
Leviathan
Mana Crypt
Mana Drain
Nevinyrral's Disk
Winter Orb
Juzam Djinn
Fireball
Timetwister
Necropotence
Time Vault
Aside from them:
The rest of the P9
Demonic Tutor
Shivan Dragon
Sengir Vampire
Serra Angel
Library of Alexandria
Mishra's Workshop
Force of Nature
Swords to Plowshares
Dark Ritual
Lightning Bolt
Counterspell
Force of Will
Craw Wurm
Maze of Ith
Birds of Paradise
Hurkyl's Recall
Llanowar Elves
That should take care of most of the old cards.
Your best bet (especially if you're staying away from standard for the time being, like me) is to cruise the web every few days for deals on old staples and snap them up when you find them cheap. Trading standard for legacy is always a losing proposition, dollar-wise, for the player trading standard cards, so it's really more efficient to buy the legacy cards themselves.
Lashwrithe is also very cool, but it seems a little more at home as concept art for a Quake or Dead Space sequel than in the Magic universe. It's my honorable mention.
Always be willing to walk away from a trade that you're not comfortable with, in any situation. It's not rude in the least.