Altered art cards.
Economics forum
Posted on Oct. 31, 2013, 12:58 a.m. by KingSorin
How much should altered art cards be valued at over normal ones. If they're done by a professional (someone who has done 100 or more as a general guide) and if done by an amateur (around 10). I know it can vary depending on quality, but what would you expect as a general guide?
So it doesn't matter which rarity or card it is? Say, would an altered Dragon Mantle cost less than an altered Watery Grave ? I mean would the price gap widen like if it were a foil?
October 31, 2013 1:09 a.m.
$0, most of the altereds I've seen are not worth anything. They're definitely not tourney legal, and the ones I've seen are just really poor.
October 31, 2013 1:16 a.m.
The Doctor says... #5
No. They charge the same amount no matter what. It's still hours of their time, and their own materials being used. We don't care about the rarity.
October 31, 2013 1:20 a.m.
Cool, and what determines whether they're tournament legal? MyRevival I've seen them used in tourneys before, so they can at least be legal in some cases, at game days.
October 31, 2013 1:22 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #8
@MyRevival: That's wrong. Altered-art cards can be tournament legal provided they don't disclose any strategic information, obscure important existing information, or attempt to change one card into another. Ultimately, the legality of each altered-art card is up to the head judge of each event - he or she can approve or disapprove certain alters for tournament play.
@KingSorin: The prices vary, especially by quality of alter, the renown of the alterist, and the detail required. The value of the card itself only comes into play if the alterist has to acquire a copy of the card for you.
For foils, it really depends. Even some of the most practiced alterists don't have the skills necessary to do proper foil alterations.
October 31, 2013 1:39 a.m.
MetallKaos says... #9
I got my Liliana of the Veil altered at Salt Lake Comic Con by Steve Argyle, and he only charged me $20. I would personally say that the value of the card went up more than I paid for the alter, but I'm probably not going to sell it anyway.
I'd say it really depends on a lot of different factors, especially if the alter is something no one wants.
October 31, 2013 2:10 a.m.
Okay thanks. I feel dumb after reading this offering my friend a playlet of altered Dragon Mantle s for something worth around 10 bucks, (a shock land or something). Anyway, i'll reconsider the trade, and making it a bit better for him.
October 31, 2013 2:31 a.m.
RickyHoeppner says... #11
What is altering? You just find a magic artist and have him paint over the card?
October 31, 2013 3:33 a.m.
smash10101 says... #12
altering is anything done to change the art of the card. most alter artists use acrylics, but some do other things. You can find a ton of examples (both good and bad) here.
October 31, 2013 4:33 a.m.
If you have any cards with art by Steve Argyle, I believe you can send one to him and he'll do a free alter which is cool. I think I read that as a post on his tumblr a while back, can't say for sure. Btw, he posts all of his alters on his tumblr: http://steveargyle.tumblr.com/
October 31, 2013 6:59 a.m.
I've got an altered Vraska. It did cost me 50$, however I didn't provide the card and shipping was included (I live in Germany, the artist in the US). This is the final result, and I think it's stunning and simply amazing: http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad9/galspanicmtg/Planeswalkers/VraskaTheUnseen03_zpsf6a1bc21.jpg
October 31, 2013 7:44 a.m.
And Putrefy has shown us a great example of an alter that is almost certainly NOT tournament legal. Since all of the rules text is covered over by the alter, anybody playing against that Vraska who doesn't know the card very well (or played -by- someone who doesn't know the card very well) is going to need to stop play repeatedly to doublecheck the oracle text of her abilities, what they do, how much loyalty they add/remove etc. which would certainly fall under "obscures important existing information"
October 31, 2013 8:04 a.m.
Of course, it is also frigging awesome, and worth every penny of the 50 dollars.
October 31, 2013 8:09 a.m.
@ Devonin: I hadn't had the chance to show it to my LGS-judge yet. But he's a cool guy so I think it shouldn't be a problem, if I have the originale one in my deck-box to show my opponent the abilities. And even if I cannot use her in my deck, I really like her a lot :)
October 31, 2013 10:49 a.m.
Best practice is at any event with any kind of REL on it (So anything besides kitchen table magic) just start the day off by going to the judge and going "Opinions on all these alters?" and just get it out of the way ahead of time. But yeah, if you had a Vraska for reference nearby that was clearly not a part of the deck, it would probably be fine.
October 31, 2013 11:20 a.m.
I currently have a project in the works with a very well know artist in the alter community and it will cost me about $100 for the alter. This is due to the nature of the alter and the professionalism and quality of the artist. He is a proven himself and is a very successful artist, which is the reasoning for the price increase.
My recommendation is to only alter cards if:
1. They hold a special place in your heart
2. They are one of your favorites and you'd like to have a special copy.
3. Or if your playing them in EDH, or a cube.
From my experience, unless a card is altered by a professional (which should and needs to have their signature) then it doesn't really increase the value. However if you do have a pro alter your card then it can add to the value quite a bit.
Happy Hunting!
The Doctor says... #2
Professionally it's usually around $25-35 for an alter, provided you provide the card.
I myself do some, but I'd only charge $15, as I've only been doing it for about 4 months.
October 31, 2013 1:06 a.m.