Promotional Cards Less Expensive Than Regular?
Economics forum
Posted on Jan. 27, 2014, 9:29 p.m. by ducttapedeckbox
I rarely deal with cards worth more than $10 or so, but when viewing a post regarding Karn Liberated 's recent price increase, I realized that Wurmcoil Engine (and its Promotional card) have also spiked since I traded for them.
Out of curiosity, why are the Promotional cards, in general, worth less than the regular ones? I guess I can come up with ideas for why that is, but also I could come up with ideas of why they'd be worth more...
As far as I'm aware, most promos are roughly the same price as normal versions (apart from corner-cases such as full-art or player's rewards). And I think this just stems from availability. Those promos are practically handed out to everyone for free at some shops.
The normal foils, however, still retain their rareness. And people may also like the original foil art moreso than the promo version. I prefer the promo art for Wurmcoil Engine , so that's why I chose as such. (And while it was only like ~10 bucks! :D )
January 27, 2014 9:36 p.m.
miracleHat says... #5
A simple example is Sheoldred, Whispering One
(just scroll over the name and see the picture). This is the promo's picture: 
That is a fucking ugly picture, and it is more accessible to anybody who went to the prerealease. So yeah, some promos are cheaper to get then the regular non F.
January 27, 2014 9:39 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #6
That would explain most of my misunderstanding - I had the misconception that you had to win or place at a prerelease to get the promo. Thanks Epochalyptik!
January 27, 2014 9:40 p.m.
Wow i didnt realized karn was averaging 53$ nowaday. thats nuts, I got him when he was like 30, and that wasnt even that long ago. But Im actually glad to see his price rising. I traded a Liliana of the Veil for mine and was kicking myself in the ass after when lili started creeping up in price.
January 27, 2014 9:44 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #9
More like Sheoldred, whispering twelve... Jesus...
Looks like I know which version i'm going to be altering! lol
January 27, 2014 9:45 p.m.
miracleHat says... #10
Glissa, the Traitor
promo is also pretty bad: 
On a sidenote, the image url is really long, so the picture better be worth it.
January 27, 2014 9:46 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #11
Thankfully I got my Promo Wurmcoil Engine s when they were ~$10 each, and they're one of the cards that has better art than the regular (in my opinion at least).
January 27, 2014 9:56 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox: I'm not alone!! I love both arts though haha.
January 27, 2014 10:05 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #13
@ Spootyone -- True, both are amazing. And the Promo is shiny!
January 27, 2014 10:08 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #14
To be "politically correct," I should've said foil. But you know what I meant.
January 27, 2014 10:09 p.m.
Karn is at $50? I grabbed a couple from ebay at $4 each. at $50 for the other two it's safe to assume I'll bever get around to building tron.
January 27, 2014 10:23 p.m.
notamardybum says... #16
The sin collector fnm promo is awesome. I had to put it in my deck along with the warleaders helix
January 28, 2014 2:40 a.m.
wow..didn't know this was the case. promo or not, it functions the same way when you put it in your deck. lol
January 28, 2014 8:29 a.m.
Hallowed_Titan says... #18
Some of the promo alternate arts I like better than the originals, or just as much. Them being a tad cheaper is just a bonus to me. Depends on the card really.
Epochalyptik says... #2
Promo cards are generally not hard to obtain, and, in the case of mythic rares, can be more available than their pack counterparts. Remember that people get prerelease promos simply for showing up to the prerelease event.
January 27, 2014 9:34 p.m.