Why the Difference
Economics forum
Posted on June 6, 2016, 5:08 a.m. by DarkMagician
Why is Zulaport Cutthroat practically worthless while Blood Artist sits at almost four dollars? Is it scarcity or am I missing something?
Also, one is printed only in Avacyn restored, a fairly limited and old release, compared to BFZ, which is still in print and in standard.
June 6, 2016 5:23 a.m.
DarkMagician says... #5
Boza How was Avacyn Restored in any way a limited release? The only sets done on a limited release are special sets such as Modern Masters. I feel like people want to claim this about any set that's more than a few years old but in reality new sets are almost always opened on a massive scale by people buying boxes and packs. That's not to mention all of the packs opened for drafts.
June 6, 2016 6:29 a.m.
It is more limited than BFZ by the fact that the set had horrible draft enviroment and next to no valuable cards and was not opened very much for limited purposes (you draft only 1 pack of AVR anyways, compared to 3x BFZ and then 1x BFZ when oath came out, so that is a limited ratio of 4:1) and every new set outsells the previous one, according to WOTC, meaning there are more copies in circulation of a particular uncommon especially compared to a set several years ago.
Additionally, the only valuable card in it that is not strictly for Commander is Cavern of Souls and to an extend Craterhoof Behemoth and it has less than 10 cards worth over 10 bucks, limiting its appeal to increase circulation now.
Also, this card is being reprinted in Eternal Masters now, so its price should come down by about 50%, if not more (current price before release for EMA Blood Artist is 1.8 bucks).
June 6, 2016 6:41 a.m. Edited.
Thats all true but a bit harsh. Griselbrand is your go to reanimate dude. And entreat the angels must be played in miracles right?
June 6, 2016 8:37 a.m.
Griselbrand is around the 10 mark, despite being a popular card. Entreat the Angels being played in a single legacy deck, albeit the most popular one, in usually fewer than 4 copies, contributes to entreat being a 5-6 dollar mythic, which is where most non-modern playable mythics end up.
10 and 5 dollar mythics are no reasons to open boxes of product. On average, many standard boxes like Origins or Oath or SOI have a higher EV, making it all the less desirable to open AVR and increase copies in circulation.
June 6, 2016 8:53 a.m.
I'm not telling people to open that set or even soiled product at all, I'm just pointing out that it wasn't totally full of trash.
I agree with what you said. It was less opened. It was a terrible draft environment. But it did have some great cards in, many of which have become format defining.
June 6, 2016 9:20 a.m.
Restoration Angel, Desolate Lighthouse and Vexing Devil all see enough play to be worth noting, along with a number of 'fringe' played cards, like Wild Defiance in Infect.
If you were to include the EDH Staples, the set is full of playables, (true, not that many high value).
June 6, 2016 9:24 a.m. Edited.
I actually think the set had a lot of great playables, but you are correct in that the draft environment was terrible, and it was a largely unopened set.
Not to mention Avacyn, Angel of Hope isn't played in EDH at all, right?
June 6, 2016 11:04 a.m.
TurboFagoot says... #14
A bunch of reasons.
-Magic, while popular at the time of AVR, has only grown since, leading to more product being opened-AVR was maligned for limited, leading to less drafts/sealed
-BFZ has expeditions, which serve to lower the price of every other card in the set, while AVR did not have nearly as many pricey cards
-AVR is several years older than BFZ. A played (Even casually played) card's price is only going to appreciate with age, barring reprints. Give Cutthroat some time and it could appreciate a bit too.
When thinking about card prices you have to look beyond the function of the card. The context (Or contexts for reprints) in which it was released tell the larger story.
June 6, 2016 5:29 p.m.
Thunderninja387 says... #15
Cutthroat only triggers when your creatures die, artist always kicks in.
CChaos says... #2
Cuttthroat only has the upper hand in terms of power (1 more), whereas Artist has the trigger ability that applies to all creatures and not just yours.
June 6, 2016 5:15 a.m.