Born of the Gods Box
Economics forum
Posted on Feb. 5, 2014, 8:45 p.m. by abenz419
Ok so the only format I play is standard, since I've just recently gotten back into magic. I'm thinking of buying a box and since Born of the Gods is about to be released it seems like that would be the obvious choice. I'm not overly impressed with the set, but as I'm not as invested in other formats that received little to no help from the set I'm not as disappointed as some others people. Do you think it's worth investing in a box since Born of the Gods will be in standard for quite some time still? Plus, without knowledge of the next set or even the next block there could still very easily be cards that are standard staples even if they aren't "money" cards because of their multi-format use. What do you think?
If you are only looking for standard value and want it to keep as long as possible, Theros is probably the way to go. If you want immediate value, RTR is the best. The only reason to get a box of Born of the Gods is if you need the commons and uncommons for something or just like having a lot of magic cards (my reason for buying a box ;P). You are highly unlikely to get $100 worth of value out of Born of the Gods right now (you'd have to open three Brimaz basically). It might get better after Standard rotates, but Theros will also probably get better, so that is still the better option.
February 5, 2014 8:57 p.m.
I thought about RTR and I realize rotation isn't until September, but my main interaction with other magic players is Friday nights and I don't have an extremely large collection. That means unless I'm looking for something specific I don't make many trades. I just can't afford to trade strictly on value simply because when I'm looking for cards myself I will need the cards I have that have appeal in order to get them. So in order to get any value out of the cards from RTR (other than cards I end up playing with till rotation) i'd most likely have to sell them, which can be a lot of work. That's why I was still considering BNG now that I've seen the whole set. There are gonna be some cards that see a little play now, more that'll see some play once the last set comes out, and then it should be really prevalent in the meta right after rotation because your only sets to choose from will be the entire theros block, M15, and the first set of the next expansion. I figure that means even if I'm not getting the "money" cards of RTR I'll still be getting cards that should have an impact on the only format I play for quite some time without the work of having to move them relatively quickly to get full value. On the other hand, one thing that really limits my decks as far as what I can do right now is the fact that I don't have a lot of shocklands because after 10+ years of not playing I got back in right after M14 was released and only gotten more serious about it over the last couple of months so I didn't acquire all of the shocks during the RTR block like lots of people. There are quite a few not just valuable, but good, cards in RTR so I know it's not a bad investments (speaking only from a snapshot view of right now at this point in time). Since Inistrad rotated out almost immediately after I started getting back into magic this is really going to be the first time I go through a rotation of a block. I guess the question has become, is the immediate value of the cards I'd get in a box of RTR over the next 7 months(assuming I can move at least some of them to get full value) worth more than the value I'd get from a box of BNG over the next year and a half or so?
February 5, 2014 9:59 p.m.
Almost certainly you will get more value out of RTR than BNG. RTR has a few cards that are used even in Modern and Legacy, as well as shocks, which should retain value for quite a while.
BNG has very little value in it, and it's not clear that any of that value will increase. If you really want value that will last past rotation, a box of Theros will almost certainly go farther than a box of BNG.
February 5, 2014 10:05 p.m.
Buy return to ravnica for sure. Best bang for buck imo.
February 5, 2014 10:10 p.m.
RTR will hold value until at least mid to late summer. BNG is not a very good set from a $$ perspective. I usually buy 2-3 boxes per set, BNG... Just one and mainly because I like to gamble and love opening fresh packs. Their are decent cards that will see play and cards that will become staples, like scry lands. But if you're looking for value per pack, look away from BNG. Shop around and you might be able to get a box at a good price a few months from now.
February 5, 2014 10:12 p.m.
What I was trying to get at in my last post is that I don't have many opportunities to trade, so the main way for me to get value would be selling the cards which can be quite a bit of work and I will see less of a return than if I traded them. I don't play modern or legacy so the fact they see play in other formats is only relevant if I can trade/sell them as they will only sit around collecting dust, like my cards did from back when I used to play, once rotation hits. Is there still value there in a scenario like this? Like I said I realize there are many valuable cards in RTR but if I can't do anything with them, is it as much value as I'd get by buying a set I will be able to do more with since it'll be standard playable longer?
February 5, 2014 10:30 p.m.
Magiclover318 says... #9
I would get Theros since that is your view. You will get good money cards Thoughtseize and Hero's Downfall naming just 2. The scry lands are always nice to get also.
February 5, 2014 11:07 p.m.
The short answer is probably yes to a box of bng. Not for the money in rares, but the uncommons are really strong. In some cases I think they should be rares. The use and playability will be there for a few years.
February 5, 2014 11:11 p.m.
yes I think theros would be a good buy as well, but of the cards you named the only thing I don't have is Thoughtseize . I have 6x Hero's Downfall and playsets of almost all the scrylands, which is another reason I was considering BNG, I thought it would open up more options over the course of the next standard season. I mentioned that, now, my biggest problem is I only have a suitable land base for certain colors so it limits what decks I can build. In order to build something different I immediately start out needing to spend $40 on a playset of shocklands in those colors. So, I've been preparing my collection to support a mana base for a wide variety of deck as standard progresses towards rotation. This will be my first real rotation so I can only assume how things will be effected, so I don't really know if BNG will have any impact on standard. Is it possible that, being a small set, BNG doesn't have any real impact on standard at all, even immediately after rotation when there will only be 5 total sets to draw cards from?
February 5, 2014 11:42 p.m.
Magiclover318 says... #12
It doesn't have a major impact on standard meta, it was a crappy set. A lot of people think so.
February 6, 2014 12:13 a.m.
It doesn't currently have a major impact on standard, but in theory some of the cards could have a bigger card after rotation. Probably won't, but they could.
February 6, 2014 12:15 a.m.
Sounds like you need to decide on a direction and work on building one strong deck. It's much cheaper to focus then try to cover every type of build or just buy a box and hope. It's common knowledge that you usually lose money opening packs. In other words you get a box of 36 packs for ~$100 and after you open those packs you have less then $100 in tradeable cards. Since box mappers came around, the value of individual packs have dropped, I.e. Once you unseal a box the value of 36 unopened packs is worth less then the 36 packs in the sealed box: that's quite a change. Honestly, if you're playing on a budget, then you should either play limited (where you're guarenteed to get cards, which will build your collection), make budget decks (which allows you more diversity in play but limits competitiveness) or focus on making one deck the best it can be and play the crap out if that deck (only picking up a card here and there as tweaks for changes in your local meta).
February 6, 2014 7:31 a.m.
Schuesseled says... #16
Opening a box in the hopes of getting money, probably isn't going to be a good idea. Not unless we get another JtMS.
February 6, 2014 11:02 a.m.
Magiclover318, those same people calling it crappy are also only seeing the rares. Honestly a lot of the uncommons/commons in the set are better than 90% of the rares and worth playing and should have an impact on standard in some form. Currently and past rotation.
February 6, 2014 11:07 a.m.
Magiclover318 says... #18
True, I happen to love Unravel the Aether and Searing Blood .
I like the scry lands and Pain Seer for rares, but I am overall disappointed in the set.
Kiora, the Crashing Wave is the only mythic rare I like.
miracleHat says... #2
If you want to be a standard box, rtr (return to ravnica) is the way to go. It has shocks, Sphinx's Revelation , Deathrite Shaman and some other stuff. That is the money box in standard, though will rotate in a long time. Born of the gods is depressing value wise. The only value card is big kitty (somebody correct me if i am wrong).
February 5, 2014 8:53 p.m.