Eternal Masters Spoiler Thread
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on Feb. 15, 2016, 11:26 a.m. by FAMOUSWATERMELON
Set Name: Eternal Masters
Number of Cards: 249
Release Date: June 10, 2016
Official Three Letter Code: EMA
MSRP: $9.99
Including:
It's worth noting that NOTHING ON THE RESERVED LIST WILL BE REPRINTED. So no ABUR duals and the like.
Additional Information:
DemonDragonJ says... #2
Omeros, that does make sense, but I still am not giving up hope for a reprint of Worldly Tutor at some point in the future. What about Eladamri's Call? How feasible is that card for a reprint in a future set?
I forgot to mention that I am very displeased with the choice of lands in this set; Karakas, Maze of Ith, Mishra's Factory, and Wasteland are all amazing, but the dual lands are not; why is WotC so reluctant to print dual lands that at least have the chance to enter the battlefield untapped? Why do they insist on so often printing dual lands that always enter tapped?
May 30, 2016 5:23 p.m.
Eladamri's Call and Worldly Tutor are both reasonable cards for a reprint, but since EMA had a mono-color tutor cycle the former was out and I've already mentioned why the latter lost its spot to GSZ. I wouldn't be surprised if an EMA2 or future Conspiracy set saw one or the other reprinted. In the meantime, neither is all that expensive so they at least have that going for them.
May 30, 2016 6:55 p.m.
PistonGolem says... #4
WotC on dual lands: "Hey guys, we need some dual lands for Eternal Masters. I know! Lets use some lands that are NEVER PLAYED in Vintage and Legacy due to being outclassed by other lands in STANDARD right now and RARELY used in EDH."
May 30, 2016 7:26 p.m.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #5
Eh, it's for the draft environment. Besides, there isn't really a great cycle of lands they should have included instead.
On mtggoldfish they made an article on the ev of the set, which is a little under msrp. To my genuine surprise, I'm sorta okay with that. I'll be able to single buy a bunch of cards I need for legacy for much cheaper since the reprints have already dropped the price of the staples I need considerably. Despite the msrp being low, this set reprinted a bunch of needed stuff, so while cracking boxes for value isn't worth it, ema has gotten my lgs to start legacy night and has lowered prices, which is all I could have wanted.
That, or I'm just in a good mood since I got 2 stoneforge mystic for $20 total and am not even missing my lack of a sfm reprint.
May 30, 2016 10:09 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #6
PistonGolem, I completely agree with you: would it really have been that difficult for them to have included either the shocklands, the filter lands, or the "checklands" from Magic 2010 and Innistrad?
May 30, 2016 10:22 p.m.
Shocklands and filters definitely take Rare spots away from other land cards they chose to include. Checklands should be at rare, too. The only dual lands that are reasonable (from a EV perspective) at uncommon are the kind of lands you're complaining about.
So either justify why some rares should be cut for cards not played in Legacy/Vintage (although played all over EDH), or consider the ramifications to pack price of having 10-35 dollar lands at uncommon.
May 30, 2016 10:33 p.m.
I was referring to shocks and filters with the price. Sorry for lack of clarity.
May 30, 2016 10:40 p.m.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #10
They're not, however note that the duals are purely for limited environment. Actually, note that most of the commons are meant for limited environment. Yes, there are some quality commons and uncommons too, kudos to WOTC for that, however there obviously has to be loads of common bulk to fill the packs and make the limited environment interesting. In order to make the decks fun, they included a common cycle of dual lands.
Had they put, say, the pain lands at rare, we would have reason to be mad. But a common cycle of lands for limited environment and not intended to be price-dropping reprints? Irrelevant.
May 30, 2016 10:42 p.m. Edited.
readerrw07 says... #11
Fair enough, though I do think that other cycles could have been used to mana fix in limited and be more interesting than the Tarkir taplands. Checklands could have reasonably gone at uncommon level I think, and some could have benefited from the reprint. Same with the other five painlands they havent printed since 10th Edition. At the common level, we would have... the Untap Duals from Kamigawa/Temepst I think wouldve worked fine at common level and could have benefited from modern reprints. Thats not even counting the endless cycles they never finished. I just wish they hadnt just grabbed the most recent common duals they printed. I wouldve liked them to at least choose crap lands that would still benefit from the reprint
May 30, 2016 11:14 p.m.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #12
Or crap lands that have an eternal feel to them, like the slow fetches or paranoriams (or whatever that shard fetchland was called). The untap lands are a good idea too.
May 30, 2016 11:54 p.m.
readerrw07 says... #13
Yeah, really anything besides the same damn taplands we've seen in every single set since RTR at least. Really anything would have been better. Hell if they really wanted to break the mold they could finish one of those sets of crap lands. Not like theyd need to do any fancy design work in R&D for it or really anything besides "Hey artist 234,981! We need some artwork"
May 31, 2016 12:01 a.m.
readerrw07 says... #14
Yeah, really anything besides the same damn taplands we've seen in every single set since RTR at least. Really anything would have been better. Hell if they really wanted to break the mold they could finish one of those sets of crap lands. Not like theyd need to do any fancy design work in R&D for it or really anything besides "Hey artist 234,981! We need some artwork"
May 31, 2016 12:01 a.m.
You guys complaining about dual land slots are absolutely ridiculous
May 31, 2016 12:12 a.m.
zyphermage says... #16
Mmmm not really. I expected some sort of untapped color fixing lands. Getting eternal reprints outside of lands is great but why not include them. Hell a couple of rainbow land reprints would've been nice. I think expecting better color fixing lands out of eternal masters isn't too much to ask. There are standard sets that have had better color fixing in them than this.
May 31, 2016 2:33 a.m.
GeminiSpartanX says... #17
Good lands are worth printing in non-limited-release sets. Everyone likes/wants good lands, so I'm perfectly fine with waiting until Wizards reprints them in a sets that will actually affect the cost of them enough for me to buy them at a reasonable price- aka standard. Small sets like this aren't the place for them.
May 31, 2016 3:26 a.m.
averagenovice74 says... #18
Is anyone working on a cube to practice drafting for this set? Since all the spoilers are done, I would like to run some drafts to practice picks.....
May 31, 2016 9:41 a.m.
You have to consider that untapped color fixing doesnt exist in eternal formats outside of the abur duals I did kind of expect to see zen fetches but after I saw the first 10 spoilers I knew they wouldnt do it and it makes sense because thats not the point of the set its to reprint some legacy and vintage staples and still have a good limited enviornment.
May 31, 2016 11:37 a.m.
@EmblemMan That's the part people seem to forget.... the good limited environment. You can kinda tell who participates in limited events like drafts and who doesn't based on their complaints LOL. A lot of complaints I've seen hold no weight at all, unless you completely ignore the fact that WotC expects this set to be drafted and designed it with that in mind. Some of them make a little more sense if you pretend that the limited environment doesn't exist, but not much more. There is almost always a logical explanation for why things are the way they are, but it's typically not the answer people want to hear so that just makes them complain even more. It's a vicious cycle and it'll happen with every set ever to be released. People just can't accept that their opinion is just that.... their opinion. Just because they want something to happen or think something should have happened they get mad when it doesn't without actually understanding the process behind the development of a set.
May 31, 2016 1:29 p.m.
readerrw07 says... #22
So the only lands that can go ina common slot and make a good limited environment for people tp spend $50 on for three packs are the same taplands we see in every other standard set? Theres literally no other options? Anything besides those craplands would ruin Limited? I find that hard to beleive.
May 31, 2016 5:24 p.m.
JohnnyBaggins says... #23
I'm honestly super-disappointed with these lands. I hoped for the Temple of Malady-cycle or the Woodland Cemetery-cycle. I really thought they'd up the game for this. I mean, seriously, if you sell packs for 10 bucks...
May 31, 2016 5:28 p.m.
logansullivan says... #24
then don't buy it, leaves more for the people that are pumped to draft this set
May 31, 2016 5:34 p.m.
Harashiohorn says... #25
I think what everyone should keep in mind is that as unexciting theses lands are, they are some of the few common cycle lands Pretty much all of the lands mentioned would have been rare cycles, and people would have been complaining FAR more if you might open on of those as your rare. Be thankful its only a cycle of worthless commons, instead of stealing uncommon or are slots. Most other dual lands are uncommon or rare -> not where you want your limited color fixers to be stealing the slots of from a value perspective.
May 31, 2016 5:38 p.m.
The problem with arguing that it's a draft set is that to draft this set it's going to cost $40-$50. For that kind of money they really needed to step up the commons and uncommons (let's be honest, unless your store does rare redrafts based on standings, everyone is taking the rare almost every time) so that it isn't a complete waste of money to participate in said draft. Instead of that, they bumped the rarity on a lot of cards up higher than it should be. The quality just isn't there. You'll be lucky to get half your money back in what you draft.
I will however say that this is not entirely Wizard's fault. They designed the set to be satisfactory at an MSRP of $10 per pack. The problem is that, since it has a very small print run (which is the part that is ENTIRELY their fault), stores tend to jack up prices. I think at $10 per pack, this set is acceptable. But at $15, which is what most seem to be charging, it is not. Most of the people I've seen online who are happy with the set are those whose local stores honor the MSRP. I really think that third party sellers are the real reason this set seems underwhelming.
May 31, 2016 9:41 p.m.
zephramtripp says... #27
Two of my friends bought boxes and they're kind enough to share the experience, so we're going to draft away!
May 31, 2016 10:44 p.m.
@zephramtripp - that's awesome, that's how I wish it could be for all of us <3
My LGS is running $50 drafts...3 packs to play 2 packs go into the prize pool...better odds for kicks and giggles at a craps table at that rate IMO
Oddly, this whole spoiler event for EMA has dialed-up my want for draft, looking forward to that sweet low-low price point of $10 CN2 drafts more than I thought I would...
June 1, 2016 2:43 a.m.
I do hope Conspiracy 2 isn't as bad as the first in terms of draft quality. I also hope they figure out how to actually figure prizes for those drafts since it's a multi player draft format.
June 1, 2016 9:29 a.m.
slymuthafuka says... #30
I'm in Canada and stores are already speculating $18 per pack.. the part that annoys me is that roughly 40% of the rares in this set are jank from a value perspective.. I get that there must be garbage in every set but seeing as how we are being raked across the coals for this set ($18/ pack and upwards of $400+ per box) it pretty much spells it out for us up here.... screw packs and boxes and buy singles...
June 1, 2016 9:43 a.m.
slymuthafuka I'm in Canada too, although my Local game store is only charging $12.95 plus tax per pack.
June 1, 2016 11:07 a.m.
Not sure how much my store is charging per pack, but they're charging 165, to 180 at most (about $240-$260) per box.
Reason being was that he struggled to sell MM15 and still has MM15 boxes, and that he's competing with another store for the mtg playerbase over here (not exactly successfully either, since the yugioh playerbase for his store far outweighs that of the mtg playerbase).
June 1, 2016 11:26 a.m.
slymuthafuka says... #33
Delta-117 Where in Canada are you? I'm in the Toronto area and they rape us every single chance they get.. FTV 20 was $40 msrp and they jacked it to $180-$200.. It's just ridiculous to buy sealed product here.. All of our stores still have MM15 as they struggled to sell outrageously priced packs with little EV too.. It's a joke here guys.. I got an offer as I'm a long time customer at one store to sell me a box of Eternal Masters for $350 cause "that's a great price" ... uh huh... suuuuuure it is...
June 2, 2016 8:47 a.m.
My local stores are in full rip off mode as well.
Totally sucks b/c some of the cards in this set the awesome.
I feel teased by wotz due to this limited print run BS
June 2, 2016 8:50 a.m.
They do that a lot more than they should. WOTC claims not to care about 3rd party prices, but the fact that they limit the print run of every set that could have a substantial impact on prices just proves that it's a complete lie. There's literally no other reason to limit the print run. There is more than enough demand for it all to sell if it were a normal print run.
June 2, 2016 8:54 a.m.
PistonGolem says... #36
I find that funny. WotC claims not to care about prices, yet they do not make a true "masters" set full of the ACTUAL STAPLES and not made for drafting (excuse to add crap commons and uncommons with maybe 1 or 2 staples at mythic) , if they so claim not to care about prices.
June 2, 2016 9:06 a.m.
Actually there is not enough demand to sell at a normal print run many stores havent even sold all of their MM2 boxes and that was a limited run so making it limited makes sense. Plus with eternal staples people care bout the prices so of course wizards does a little bit to make their customers happy. Also PistonGolem your complaint makes no sense how is this not a true masters set and also not a draft enviornment if thats truly how you feel no one will take you seriously because that is just plain wrong.
June 2, 2016 9:20 a.m.
WotC does care about prices... I've never seen them state otherwise.
In fact, the Reserve List exists as a way to keep up the value of older 'collectible' cards.
If prices of singles were to bottom out, there would be no incentive for stores to carry singles, which is where those stores make the most profit. - WotC knows that no profits from selling Magic products means the stores won't carry any Magic... no stores carrying Magic = no sales of new product. It's all linked.
Printing a 'Masters' set with ALL STAPLES, and no playability/draftability, and a non-limited printing would be horrible.
- At first, the value would be so high that stores would open all the boxes and sell singles. Selling boosters/boxes would be the same as giving away money.
- Eventually the prices would drop so much that it would make all cards like Force of Will drop to $5-$7 MAX, while Reserve List card prices skyrocket to literally over 3-4x what they are now.
June 2, 2016 9:34 a.m. Edited.
slymuthafuka I'm in Nova Scotia and my local game store only opened business in Late October-early November of this year, previously I could only get cards from my local Walmart. Otherwise I would pretty much have to buy online.
However the store is doing really well with magic, in the short time they have been open they have done well selling both fat packs/booster boxes and there was even a poll on what to do for Eternal Masters for Friday Night Magic.
It was decided that it would be a sealed event for $80 . Although the poll offered other options with the lowest being $40 for an Eternal Masters Draft/$45 if prizes or $85 for sealed with prizes.
However I'm not sure what booster boxes will go for. They are selling packs for a good price though, so I probably assume the boxes will be fair. I have had very bad luck with my last 3 booster boxes of 1 Oath of the Gatewatch/ 2 Shadows over Innistrad (these could have been better, but I split the 2 SOI ones with 2 friends although it always seemed one person got all the value that way) so I probably won't risk buying one either myself or with others.
June 2, 2016 9:42 a.m.
averagenovice74 says... #40
It would seem that the people who are complaning about WOTC's economic stance on reprints are the ones who haven't been playing/been involved in Magic for more 10+ years. If you want true clarification look at fetchlands; particularly allied fetchlands. Before KTK, allied fetchlands where, if not on par, the same amount as the enemy fetchlands due to the time of the print of onslaught. They announce fetchlands for KTK and the box flew off the shelves with singles being sold by the dozen. Yet the time elasped didn't completely kill the value of the fetches, ranging 12 to 25 USD which is fine because people are still willing to hunt for fetches, hence stores carrying them, hence stores opening more boxes of KTK.
Why is this relevant? Because WOTC knows how to reprint the staples, bring in new product to the market and not shoot themselves dead in the foot by doing constant reprints. Want a more relevance? Look at Baleful Strix in this set. Baleful Strix came out in planechase, then became a staple in BUG and it's price shot up. Reprint was needed because planechase is hard-to-find product but they reprinted it at rare to ensure it's value stays the same, doesn't kill the limited format as a 1/1 flying, deathtouch that replaces itself at uncommon.
June 2, 2016 12:35 p.m.
slymuthafuka says... #41
[Delta-117] That's cool man.. I grew up 4 hours north of here and the one guy with the ONE shop in my town sold at MSRP to his regulars.. always.. no tax on singles.. none of this complete rip off crap that all the stores are starting to do here in the Toronto area... It's really sad to be honest.. Pretty sure that even at $350 for the box that I'm not gonna buy it. I preordered a playset of Sinkholes and I might order a few more singles but that's it for me.
June 2, 2016 2:52 p.m.
slymuthafuka - You grew up 4hrs north of Toronto? So, North Bay...? I could also guess Sudbury, but you said only one shop in town (though depending on when, that may have been Sudbury as well)...
Just wondering, because I'm in North Bay. Boxes are going for $350 (CDN, obviously) here... Though I just saw an announcement (that I have yet to confirm) that if you buy a case, it will be $300/box (lower than MSRP, @ $229 USD), so people will likely pool their funds to save some cash.
June 3, 2016 8:01 a.m. Edited.
My lgs is doing $40 draft with $10 store credit per person. So the draft is at least Msrp. But packs/boxes not at msrp outside of drafts. Which is fine to me, as I just want to draft with these, and use the cards I get, to trade for cards I want.
June 4, 2016 12:41 p.m.
Brampton here, I see a box on pre-order for $320 but I'm sure it will increase once released (my LGS tends to do that with their products).
Still going for singles though...and maybe a couple packs for fun.
June 6, 2016 7:27 a.m.
EpicFreddi says... #45
Seems like one of those products where I buy singles two weeks after release and one booster for shits'n'giggles.
June 6, 2016 7:32 a.m.
My lgs has confirmed that they're selling their boxes for 165gbp (ie $240~. on a side note, why doesn't TO show pound symbols?), so I'm definitely buying one :) Even have the rest of the week off to go pick up a box XD
June 6, 2016 8:44 a.m.
Rabid_Wombat says... #49
I just won a Draft down here with a UW Flyers deck- 3x Squadron Hawk FTW!!
June 10, 2016 6:44 a.m.
TheFoilAjani says... #50
Rabid_Wombat Nice!
I'm hoping to draft a Maze of Ith just so I can do the psuedo-vigilance trick and confuse the hell out of the newer players at the shop. Also commander.
My store is doing $35 draft. Prizes are 1 pack of a $5 booster per win, promo for top 4, promo for rando, and a pack of EMA for the winner. God I love my store.
SwaggyMcSwagglepants says... #1
@DemonDragonJ it is very hard to play a card you will need to spend 4+ mana on one card in formats where 3 mana is the highest mana cost you can reasonably put into your deck without warping the decklist. Wargate is a good edh card, but in legacy and vintage, by the time you can use it for a 1 cost permanent, you could easily be dead.
May 30, 2016 5:10 p.m.