Booster Box to buy for value right now.
Economics forum
Posted on Oct. 2, 2013, 12:27 p.m. by Raguto
I'm considering on spending some money to gamble on a booster box but I don't know which one I should buy that would give me the highest possible chance of getting cards of value.
Does anyone have some insight on this and what the best possible set would be for the highest chance of valued cards.
TorrentFreak says... #3
zendikar has the most value. But the booster box may not be cheap. Check this site out for set values, booster value, etc.
http://mtg.dawnglare.com/?p=sets
October 2, 2013 12:33 p.m.
RTR probably sitll has the highest value in cards, Shocks, Sphinx's rev, drs and quite a few others. played eternally.
I just don't think it compares to theros, though it has Thoughtseize, new elspeth and the god cards, swan song (foil here is best), ashen rider (again better as a foil).
October 2, 2013 12:33 p.m.
I would need to find each card of value from the booster boxes which will take a butt load of time, as of right now booster boxes go for pretty cheap on amazon, I can get Core 2014 for 99 dollars which is only 2.7 dollars per pack, the cheaper the better because it offers higher chance to make my money back.
October 2, 2013 12:34 p.m.
@TorrentFreak Heh... very nice chart but how recent is that? and by the looks of it zendikar is going for about 350 dollars so I'm gonna have to pass on that.
October 2, 2013 12:36 p.m.
TorrentFreak says... #7
Booster boxes are gambles, you may make your money back or miss completely. I have opened boxes and got my value, held onto the cards - poof - value gone. If your playing standard, RTR is your best bet.
October 2, 2013 12:37 p.m.
I play standard, casual, I'm mainly looking to make some money out of it and get some stuff I may wanna keep, I know it's quite a gamble which is why I'm looking for the most efficient buy and the smartest buy.
October 2, 2013 12:39 p.m.
Bobgalarneau says... #10
Depend what you are looking for. Right now, the best value is with theros, since most of the cards are still on a hype, but will go down in the next few weeks. If you are looking to trade them for eternal value these are your best bet. RTR cards have stabilized and while you may not get your money back, the set is prety damn good.
If you just want some of the rares you should by singles.
October 2, 2013 12:42 p.m.
TorrentFreak says... #11
If your looking to make money. Buy the booster box and sell packs for a marginal profit. Say your booster box was $113.85 after taxes, Making each pack approx. $3.17. Sell each pack for $4, you make $30 profit. Doesn't seem like much, but sealed product is usually worth more than what you will pull.
October 2, 2013 12:43 p.m.
As... I've said, I'm looking to gamble to re-sell cards, I've already got tons of singles.
October 2, 2013 12:43 p.m.
@TorrentFreak, You mean just re-sell the packs on amazon or ebay? I think what you are saying I should do is exactly what card shops do I would just be doing it out of my house and paying for shipping.
October 2, 2013 12:45 p.m.
According to the chart that you posted TorrentFreak and the cost of booster boxes on amazon the most value and profit I would get is with return to ravnica, Theros is really close behind it but with the difference of 94 dollars for ravnica and 107 for theros I would be getting less profit, selling each pack at what 3.50.
October 2, 2013 12:49 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #16
Theros stuff is priced pretty high right now since it was recently released. The way I see it, now's probably the best time to get a Theros box before prices start to drop (I can imagine Stormbreath Dragon , priced ~$40 now, dropping to $15-22). For eternal stuff, Return to Ravnica is probably your best bet behind Zendikar (stupid fetch lands).
Just my 2 cents.
October 2, 2013 1:04 p.m.
I think I wanna buy theros and just open the packs and sell anything worth money that I get, I think it's personally too unreliable to try and sell my own booster packs because there's so much competition.
October 2, 2013 1:17 p.m.
If you get a box of Theros the idea would be to sell/trade what you get as soon as possible because as has been mentioned, being new things are still a little over priced and there are quite a few cards that will more than likely (not guaranteed) drop. With that being said, as of right now, there are quite a few cards that are valuable and being new lots of standard players are looking for cards because everyone wants to start working it into their constructed decks.. With other sets, they may not be as valuable on a card for card basis, but their prices have settled and you will know exactly what each card is worth so you'll have time to find the right buyer/trader for specific cards, as opposed to the fluctuating prices of Theros.
October 2, 2013 1:23 p.m.
I guess I can bank on Thoughtseize and maybe elspeth? from Theros..I mean bank on them as in they might not drop much from what they are at.
October 2, 2013 1:31 p.m.
for most cards in theros you'll get more for them now than you will down the road is all I was saying.
October 2, 2013 1:46 p.m.
TorrentFreak says... #21
Raguto I am just making suggestions. No need to be a hater, shouldn't have even tried to help.
October 2, 2013 1:51 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #22
If you find Thoughtseize , those will most likely rise later, since they're in fairly high demand for other formats. Plus they're fairly usable in most black decks.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion might fall, but probably not until Theros rotates out of Standard. I don't, however, see her rising much more.
As I mentioned earlier, I see Stormbreath Dragon falling quite a bit when it does fall, but not all at once. I could also see Heliod, God of the Sun and Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver going down a little.
Just some more 2 cents.
October 2, 2013 1:52 p.m.
TurboFagoot says... #23
Buying a box of Alpha usually yields good results.
October 2, 2013 1:53 p.m.
Purphoros, God of the Forge is one of the cards I think will not drop at all. His utility in RDW is amazing, and fits well within Boros with token generation. The other gods I can see dropping, maybe not Thassa, God of the Sea , but I think the other 3 will drop. Nylea isn't the best, Heliod's abilities are kind of meh, and Erebos will likely only be used in the sideboard against lifegain. I don't see him hitting mainboard in many decks.
Their artifacts however are a different case. The Whip of Erebos is definitely a great card to have in any deck really, being able to throw your creatures for extra life from the graveyard is always welcome. The Hammer of Purphoros is also probably going to see a lot of RDW play since you can throw your extra lands at your opponents for a minimum 2 damage if you have Purphoros himself out. The Bident of Thassa is really only good if you can get in unblockable, which isn't too hard to do, but even so it won't see as much play as the Whip or Hammer. The Spear of Heliod is rather nice, giving an anthem effect. However, using its activated ability requires you to take damage. It's more of an attack deterrent than anything else. Finally the Bow of Nylea is nice as well. Not only does it give deathtouch, but the modality of its ability is useful in any deck that would use green.
So that's my 2 cents on some other good cards you could get from Theros. Also, the scry lands are good pulls as well.
October 2, 2013 5:19 p.m.
yes remember, there will be a point when shock lands aren't standard anymore, and anyone who doesn't have scry lands will be wanting them
October 2, 2013 5:25 p.m.
Not to mention that they're already going for around $5 a piece. They'll probably drop to around $2-$3 until either someone finds a way to abuse them or RTR rotates out.
October 2, 2013 5:41 p.m.
i think RTR has the most stable value to their cards right now, i can get boxes 95 after tax so i might go with that while i can, since theros will be available very readily, and basically all ill be able to do draft and sealed with, while RTR is going to grow more scare, plus i traded my jaces, and i could use more deathrites & sphinxs
October 3, 2013 9:55 a.m.
Isntitizzet says... #29
Now, a year later a lot of theros has actually retained and or increased in values. A box is now 89 on Tcg as you read this. Its still a good buy, and I'm actually highly debating this myself as a write this.
If you're in doubt about a box of set Y's value, just type in card X from set Y on tcg player, then click on the Set name in the card description. The default setting sorts cards from highest to lowest value. Scroll through the pages, and if you see a lot of high priced rares, 3-5 in the 10-15+ range, on the first page, and then even more worth 4-5 still clean through the second page, it looks to be a good buy. That means there are also many highly priced mythic rares, so you're almost guaranteed to pull a few nice mythics out of most boxes.
Say you pull elspeth, stormbreath, xenagos/ashiok, 4-5 temples, 1-2 thoughtsieze, 1-2 Sylvan caryatid, and a hero's downfall or several, and you've made your money back and then some. Of course those are all idealistic pulls, but you can see there are a large number of valuable cards in Theros, and a box gives you 36 shots at them plus 36 chances to pull a foil chase rare/mythic, which will mean you've guaranteed making a profit on the box if you pull say a foil thoughtseize or elspeth.
These are always things you need to consider before buying a sealed product, and I'm far from an expert. I just use intuition as I'm too lazy and uninterested in the statistical minutia of this stuff, but since its random anyway intuition is usually all you need to make a decision one way or another. All i really concern myself with is the PPP(price per pack) rating. Right now, at 89 bucks and a 2.42 PPP, theros is a great buy.
November 9, 2014 11:42 p.m.
Isntitizzet says... #30
Also, a heads up/pro tip/spoiler alert, *THE THIRD SET OF KHANS BLOCK IS OFFICIALLY DRAGONS OF TARKIR***
I (and likely many others) totally called the name btw, I couldn't even believe they actually were so predictable on that front. Like seriously, Khans of Tarkir==>Dragons of Tarkir is waaaay too formulaic. Should have called it Dragons' Reign or something.
Anyway, just think of what that will do to the value of cards such as Crucible of Fire and Stormbreath Dragon!!!! I think Stormbreath will easily hit 40 again if dragon tribal becomes the deck to beat. And if there is a red dragon deck, then Sylvan Caryatid and Courser of Kruphix figure to be important early game mana producers to ensure you get those dragons out on time and give them their +3/+3. I'm so excited my nipples are showing :)
November 9, 2014 11:51 p.m.
I hate to burst your bubble, but, people have known what the name of the last set was going to be long before they officially announced the name of the first set. I remember seeing a forum thread someone created when it was leaked that WotC had copyrighted the names "khans of tarkir", "fate reforged" and "dragons of tarkir".
November 10, 2014 3:38 a.m.
Isntitizzet says... #32
"(and likely many others)"
Plus I never even heard of that. It just seemed really obvious idk.
November 10, 2014 1:53 p.m.
ThisIsBullshit says... #33
The amount of necro is too damn high.
However, I'm not sure if Stormbreath Dragon will hit 40 again. If this is going to be dragon centered, there will most likely be more dragons coming out of that set. But who knows.
November 10, 2014 6:59 p.m.
Isntitizzet says... #34
The thread will be revived damn you! Especially with such an open ended title as "right now" I had no idea it was over a year old. However, discussing sealed product value and speculating card worth is always relevant imo.
Also, yeah maybe it won't hit 40, but there aren't too many dragons I could imagine being that much better than Stormbreath outside a Thundermaw Hellkite reprint, which is highly unlikely. So it will at least increase 5 dollars or so if dragon tribal is legit.
November 10, 2014 7:06 p.m.
Dalektable says... #35
Dragon tribal won't be a thing outside of every kitchen table. Sorry to bust any bubbles.
Raguto says... #2
Currently a theros booster box on amazon goes for about 3 dollars per pack by buying an entire booster box.
October 2, 2013 12:30 p.m.