Cards worth investing in for a low income player?

Economics forum

Posted on Dec. 22, 2013, 12:16 a.m. by NumberSeven

Hello! i'm a low income player, i'm a poor art student basically and every so often i get some money to spend on cards, but i honestly dont get that much money. i play mostly standard, but card im thinking of investing in are things like getting a playset of Thoughtseize and some of hte shocklands ( Blood Crypt is my first one, for my aggro deck).

They're just especially expensive where i live (thoughtseize is $20 at my local store, as opposed to 15 on TCGplayer but the shipping can be anywhere from like 9 dollars to 40 dollars (!!!)

which cards do you think i should invest in, and is it worth it for low income?

Osang says... #2

Shock lands are quite low right now, those are rotating out and are commonly used in eternal formats, so get me while they're low.

Try looking for cards with uses in eternal formats, such as Thoughtseize . Mutavault and Scavenging Ooze also has a niche in some other cases.

December 22, 2013 12:20 a.m.

Osang says... #3

them* not me. Anyway, well known cards that are decently priced right now is Soldier of the Pantheon ; he might see a price increase IF the next sets emphasize multicolor and he proves to be a useful card against them.

December 22, 2013 12:26 a.m.

notamardybum says... #4

Lands without a doubt are the most important

December 22, 2013 1:05 a.m.

ChiefBell says... #5

The shocklands won't be rotating for a little while. Not until the start of the next block after Theros (I don't mean the next set in Theros - I mean the start of a whole new block). Besides that, they're great cards, are cheaper than they have been before, and are fairly important in a variety of formats.

December 22, 2013 3:46 a.m.

Um the average shipping USD on TCG is 1.00 USD. Anyway everthing in Theros has dropped by almost half price since release. The Theros Scry lands ar unique and will at least take the place of guild gates in EDH. In addition I believe if they ever get reprinted these originals will go up. New duel mana lands are always a solid buy in first printing when they are rare. In response to thoughtseize well its reprinted and will be again because of how fast and powerful standard decks are getting. I see the market flooding with them and after rotation standard non legacy or modern players will flood the market with them. So I wouldn't invest in those maybe the Gods may shoot up again during Born of the Gods or after and they are all cheap now except Thassa I believe. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and Mutavault are at a good purchase price and will in my opinion be relevant in all formats.

December 22, 2013 3:51 a.m.

Mutavault is relevant in all formats

December 22, 2013 3:54 a.m.

PasorofMuppets says... #8

While mutavault is relevant in all formats, given its current ubiquity in top standard decks -- I would wager now is not the best time to buy mutavaults unless you really need them.

December 22, 2013 4:36 a.m.

PasorofMuppets says... #9

That said, your best bet for speculation/investment is to wait and study trends. Reddits mtg finance is okay, there are places like brainstorm brewery and quiet speculation (QS costs money) that are, in my opinion, much better.

With all that, I'm looking at picking up some modern staples that seem sorta low before the season starts, stuff like birthing pod (been going up but $5 is still pretty low trade/buy in for a top deck, especially for a rare that was in a third set -- although I think it also saw an event deck printing but that's no longer really that relevant imo).

December 22, 2013 4:42 a.m.

sylvannos says... #10

The scry lands are terrible and completely unplayable outside of Standard....EDH is pushing it since there's already a plethora of strong duals available and the only reason to use guildgates/scry lands is because you can't afford fetches.

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is also unplayable outside of Standard. It requires you to commit a lot to the board. In other formats, there's a significant amount of efficient removal that make it a really bad.

These aren't strong enough cards to invest in over shocks, Thoughtsieze, and the aforementioned Mutavault .

December 22, 2013 4:47 a.m.

unholycookies says... #11

Your best bet for standard in my opinion is wait til previews of the next set and think about the cards. Might be able to buy the good cards cheaper than when they're released. But of course this would require very heavy thinking and leaves much to luck. Unless of course you can predict the next seasons top decks. In which case, you are amazing and should be a pro player that deserves to be in pro tours. Or at least compete and maybe get sponsored.

December 22, 2013 5:13 a.m.

8vomit says... #12

Everything you would want for eternal value has been mentioned. Shocks and thoughseizes, mutavaults and scoozes. Mutavault was like 60$ before it was reprinted.

Sidenote: @sylvannos Ive seen nykthos shrine in a bunch of decks outside of standard. EDH mostly. I use it in mono green EDH, and its good.

December 22, 2013 9:37 a.m.

ChiefBell says... #13

People don't play edh in the same way as they play 60 card formats though - most treat it as more casual and use worse lands. A lot of the cards in Theros encourage bad play such as Nykthos and the heroic mechanic.

December 22, 2013 10:41 a.m.

This discussion has been closed