Everything got expensive ._.
Economics forum
Posted on March 7, 2014, 10:36 p.m. by Jay
So, I'm sure it comes as no surprise when I tell you that almost every staple or playable card in Modern/Legacy has spike in price in the last month or two. I'm not questioning why, because I know that it has to do with recent/upcoming tournaments ('tis the season) and an influx of new players jumping into Modern. My question is: Will this trend continue? As an extremely budgetted player (Highschool life yo), I could already barely keep up with Modern prices. Watching fetches jump from $20 to $80 in a year is worrying to say the least.
After the tournament scene has calmed down, will these staple cards settle down to a more amiable price? Will they continue to rise steadily/sharply? Basically, it's gotten to the point where everything has gotten so expensive I can't keep up with the format at all.
Thanks for any insights, and if you have any relevant advice (other than "trade," which I do actively) I'm sure it wouldn't fall on deaf ears.
Thanks!
-Jay
I would reccomend investing. Look for trends in cards that are going up and buy/trade for the cheap. If it pans out in a couple months you could be looking at 20+ dollar profits which can make deck building more managble.
March 8, 2014 12:22 a.m.
I really just can't afford to invest. Any investment substantial enough to be worth the wait, save breakout spikes, generally isn't worth the initial price input.
A $10 card I need now is more useful than a $20 card I don't need in a month :/
March 8, 2014 12:34 a.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #5
Yay for broke high schoolers!
This is one of the reasons I like to make Modern decks that don't play all the staples. Janky wincons for the win!
I'm starting to invest in certain shocks for three reasons: because they're at their most affordable price, their value will only rise, and relatively quickly too, and because I need those shocks for my eternal projects that I don't ever intend to scrap.
March 8, 2014 12:44 a.m.
Yea, I've been shock-hunting. I almost exclusively play wack combo decks... Almost.
March 8, 2014 12:55 a.m.
fluffybunnypants says... #9
To answer your question, expect a dip post GP Richmond and then another spike at the beginning of Modern season.
Sell those Bitterblossoms for $80 a piece, bruh.
March 8, 2014 1:02 a.m.
fluffybunnypants says... #10
Traded for 2 tarns and a misty before the $40-$50 price spike, that guy must be pissed.
March 8, 2014 1:03 a.m.
I want to, but that would be like selling my children. And I regretted that for years.
March 8, 2014 1:04 a.m.
fluffybunnypants says... #12
This post has been approved by the Fluffybunnypants Society For Socially Awkward Quotes Foundation.
March 8, 2014 1:05 a.m.
ryuzaki32667 says... #14
Just like fluffy, I was lucky to almost finish my set of blue zendis short one misty now before the spike
March 8, 2014 1:11 a.m.
Seriously though. Popularity happens and you have to get used to it. I'm still building my teneb deck - getting ABUR lands and Imperial Seal . Things take time when you're still in school because you're broke.
I'm so broke :(
March 8, 2014 7:08 a.m.
Sometimes expensive cards go unnoticed on eBay and auction for much less... I've picked up a $100 Forcefield for $45 and even stumbled into 3x Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary for $19.99. Outside of luck you just gotta save. I graduated high school in 03 and while my magic income has grown its still not too easy to get the good stuff w/o having to save. Good luck to you :)
March 8, 2014 7:30 a.m.
gnarlicide says... #18
It's harder to buy staple cards when you're married. I decided to go buy 3 Bobs a while ago, it cost me 190 bucks. I came home and showed her, and she looked at me like I was retarded. Like, "really? 190 for 3 cards? what are you gonna d with them?"
I replied to her... "Win."
March 8, 2014 7:57 a.m.
My girlfriend said that after we graduate at university we can buy one of all of the ABUR duals together. I'm in love.
March 8, 2014 8:18 a.m.
gnarlicide says... #20
ChiefBell... Marry her, bro. Lol.
Seriously though, my wife and I used to spend our time opening packs and drafting. She is more of a casual player. When I started getting competitive, she lost a substantial bit of interest. Every now and again she will draft or do sealed with me, though. She also helps my seven year old daughter build decks to hate me out, (I have been teaching her how to play lately).
My wife does support my hobby, regardless of how expensive it is/can be. I remember for my birthday last year, I came home from work and saw a birthday card on the counter. Inside of it was a play set of Verdant Catacombs . Best gift ever.
March 8, 2014 8:51 a.m.
Dalektable says... #22
I feel ya, bro. Highschool life is tough, this is partially why i avoid the big modern staples. Janky home brews all day erryday!
Small conversation point about the argument people make "Just trade, it's a cheaper way to get cards!" Okay, well, to trade you first have to have cards. I'm in highschool with no way of income, when i do have money i don't blow it on boosters. All the money i spend on magic is either for a tourney or on singles to buy a deck. So there is the problem, being on a tight tight tight budget i can't afford to buy packs and stuff which would give me trading material.
Gosh, i just can't wait till i have a job. This summer...playsets of shocks here i come...
March 8, 2014 9:34 a.m.
I think that cards going for a certain price level are as expensive as they are because they are rare and not meant for everyone to be able to have them.
Whether it's high school, marriage, underemployment, unemployment, having children, having debt, or having other hobbies and interests - most people wouldn't drop hundreds of dollars on a card game.
March 8, 2014 9:41 a.m.
fluffybunnypants says... #24
@ ChiefBell and gnarlicide
I'm pretty sure that, if the misses endorses your Magic playing, you're required to wife her... unless she's absolutely insane/homicidal/other terrible thing. It's an unwritten rule.
March 8, 2014 10:49 a.m.
megawurmple says... #27
Relationship advice from the TappedOut community: if your other half plays Magic, you have to "wife" her unless she's a crazy mass-murdering drug lord.
Seems solid.
March 9, 2014 7:03 a.m.
chicagobearz says... #28
I play almost exclusively legacy. It is my favorite format but often the price tag of 1,000+ for a competitive deck excludes folks. I don't remember how much i paid in total to get some of my sets of cards. I've been using the same Force of Will
, Flooded Strand
, Tundra
sets for years. I'll invest in new cards if they are promising, Deathrite Shaman
for example, but the truth of it is I don't have the money for standard. My advice, get a part time job, save money, keep an eye on the market deals will come around every once and a while. I made a little cash last year grabbing all the commander pre-cons from stores and reselling them on ebay.
March 9, 2014 7:27 a.m.
Even if she's a mass-murdering drug lord, I wouldn't exactly say that's an automatic disqualification. It just means she has her hobbies, just like you have yours.
As far as Modern staples go, I doubt any of them will go down in price after the season is over unless there's reprints. Scalding Tarn , for example, went from $17 at the start of the 2013 Modern season to $32. Arid Mesa went from $12 to $20. Remand from $5 to $9. And none of these have gone down.
The only thing that comes close is Thoughtseize , because Lorwyn had a small print run, causing its price to be higher than it needed to be. Then, it got reprinted in Theros, which has continued with a larger print run.
My advice would be to limit yourself on impulsive buys and finish working on decks you already have and enjoy playing. Only get new cards that are staples of multiple decks. You won't regret taking the time to acquire a playset of Force of Will or Wasteland , for example, but you'll kick yourself if you decide now is a good time to start up Esper Control in Standard.
March 9, 2014 7:54 a.m.
ExpectDragons says... #30
you'd have to be a fool to buy/trade fetches at their current price, just two weeks ago they were averaging 23 now their 44 with rainforest at 63! From what i've heard it's as a result of large websites buying up as much of them as possible to artificially increase the price, well if that's the case it worked. I'm just lucky my local group which plays only Modern & EDH (occasional casual legacy) is unsanctioned so we've agreed that anyone can proxy fetches until they drop down to an affordable price so as to not stifle deck building and ultimately the meta which has allot of talented players, plus we want to have fun.
Will the trend continue? More than likely. It's a case of supply and demand, more and more people are making the move to modern from standard increasing demand for staples across the board. The immediate answer to this is usually 'reprint it' so as to shore up supply but this isn't as simple as it sounds. Wizards don't want to tank the market or introduce all the staples we want/need back into standard so other products like the modern event deck & modern masters are needed, this takes time & planning. It is important remember the benefit modern & legacy has over standard in that cards you're investing in will not rotate out which makes for a good in the long term, also few cards have been making their way into competitive modern since the format began so it's not like the staple list is expanding much - BOTG was absolute crap small set or not!
On the topic of expense it kind of irritates me when i hear standard players complain how expensive modern which is why they don't play, really? Set aside 600 to build two competitive decks, one for standard, one for modern. One will see you replacing cards each year to keep it up to date requiring more and more investment as time goes on, the other will be done, finished, rarely needing updating. For example my friend Dyfrig has been playing the same mono green stomp deck for roughly 18 months and it still wins, a few cards have come out he could add that would improve it but it's just not needed unless he wants to spend the cash unlike in standard where you have too after each rotation....meh, Rant over lol
March 9, 2014 8:27 a.m.
Couldn't agree more with ya PooPlayer, standard can be fun but it seems kinda like a scam imho... it helps feed the market but it seems players are more n more getting tired of constantly having to revamp their decks just to stay competitive while, as you pointed out, decks in other formats stay competitive unless some broken card comes along and shakes up the meta/format... but then it usually just gets banned.
March 9, 2014 10:25 a.m.
Completely agree with the above. I find that eternal formats are actually far cheaper than standard. Whilst a vintage deck could easily cost a few thousand, once it's done it's done. That's it forever. It's a more compelling case with modern where you don't have to shell out for power 9 etc.
miracleHat says... #2
"but money...". I am also a high school student and magic is pricey. for my edh decks, it took me 7 months to assemble it with all of the expensive pieces through trading. it costs currently $550 and to wait that long got very frustrating. The staple cards i doubt are going to go down in price, so i think that you are out of luck there. You can also sell your standard cards for something reasonable and slowly accumulate money that way. The best is get a cheap paying job (ralphs is a great place; or working for your parents) which is what i do and you can learn real life experiences while getting money for magic. Don't spend all of it on magic, save and see what happens when stuff in life gives you.
March 7, 2014 11:04 p.m.