Modern Masters 2015 Discard

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

So I was opening up one of my boxes of Modern Masters, and in the place of the foil card was this piece of work.  At first I was upset, and felt like I was ripped off.  I went to Reddit and saw some posts on this mistake WOTC made, and got a little more angry.

I sent a message to the LGS asking them if they would replace my cards with something worth anything, and they said that I could contact WOTC for replacements, try and sell it on eBay, or sell it to them for $5.

I also went into a LGS and asked them about it, but they made it sound like they were pretty rare and going for some nice cash on eBay.  So I decided to go to said eBay and find out for myself.  Low and behold there was one on auction and it was up to $39.90!

And!  And!  I found some forums talking about the filler cards from an older set, and Star City Games and Channel Fireball were selling them for like $600!

So there was a mistake, and these things have a chance to be really worth something.  If this is as rare as it might seem, collectors might really want these things.  I plan on just holding on to them until they stop printing Modern Masters 2015 and then check again to see where I am at.

I will also keep checking Reddit to see if there are more reports, but I am hoping that this is just a first print issue, and they will fix it moving forward.  Then, this might actually be a good pickup!

15,292 Went crazy again M11, Torment, Modern Masters 2015 complete

Seriously I need to just stop buying cards.  I have no idea why I am so hell bent on picking up all these cards that I am in dire need to get, and why I am so hell bent on finishing this goal.  I think my OCD is getting in the way of actually enjoying this big task, and the rush of filling out my spreadsheet is really getting to me.

So lets get this update done.

First off, I really need to get a new phone, my phone just takes fuzzy pictures.  But anyway I picked up some needed cards for Modern.  A really big win here are the 2 Magic 2011 cards to finish the set. Granted most of these are pretty high priced cards, but they are all ones that I have really needed.

Boom!  Torment done!

Invasion is almost done.  I only need 5 more cards, but this was a pretty good dent.

Planeshift almost done too, and only need 2 more cards!  TWO!  Big spotlight, 4 Chants!  I was worried about getting these.

And again, only need 2 more for finishing off Prophecy and with the set... nothing really special to point out.

So with this purchase I was able to close out Modern Masters 2015 in buying Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite.  I was also able to close out Torment and Magic 2011.  Might have hit the budget a bit on this one, but it was a good day.

15,373 Legacy trade in

Ok, so nothing to write home about, but here I write it on the blog...

I was able to pick up these Legacy cards for a standard card, so all in all it is a win on my side.  A couple of the cards were dinged up a bit, but that should be fine when I am done with round one, and I can move on to round two.

I really have not talked about what round two will entail, but it will consist of me going through all my cards, doing a final count to make sure I did not make a mistake, and then sifting through all my collection cards to see what is not NM/M.  Then I will make a list and start trading again.  The list will not be nearly as bad as what I am trying to do right now, but it will let me setup some cards in my trade binder, and get better condition cards all the while I will have completed my task, and I just need to make the collection better.

Modern Masters 2015 Post-Order

What the crap was this set about.  Ok so full disclosure, I bought 4 Booster Boxes in the hopes that I would just get my full set.  That is 96 packs.

I was able to get all the Token, Common, Uncommon, and Rare cards.  I am only missing 6 Mythic Rare cards, one being Tarmogoyf.  I think I got lucky with the last set, and got my Tarmogoyf in the first box.  But still, the cards that I am missing is over $320.00 and I did get close to $270.00 cards for trade, so the difference I can figure is around $50.00 in the negative.

The new packaging was a wonderful sight, but the practice of using the new pack material is causing some issues with card condition.  I did see a little bit of issues on the cards I got, but it wasn't too bad. In hindsight I don't think I would buy that many boxes again, and I should have just done what I did with the last set.  I should have just got 4 boxes, opened 2, and kept 2.

I hear a lot of concern with the price of the packs increase, but not really getting any good common and uncommon cards.  But come on, let's see.  They set the price at $6.99 last set, and every single store pushed that price up to $10.50, so why shouldn't WOTC set the price closer to what people would be willing to pay?  And, and, and!  Going rate for a box of Worldwake is going for around $680 - $950.

I wish I could shout this, but $680 - $950!!!!!

Worldwake:
(M) Jace: $100
(R) Stoneforge: $32
(R) Land: $17
(M) Dragonmaster: $17
(R) Land: $12
(R) Land: $10

So lets look at the price at the low end $690 / 36 = $19.15 a pack and stores that actually have boosters for sale price them at $25 a pack.  $25 * 36 = $900.  Seriously... $900!

Now WTF, seriously WTF.  Lets break down the Modern Masters 2015 price and contents.

$240 / 24 = $10 a pack.

Modern Masters:
(M) Tarmogoyf: $154.94
(M) Vendilion Clique: $48.62
(M) Dark Confidant: $44.55
(R) Cryptic Command: $38.29
(M) Mox Opal: $37.12
(R) Noble Hierarch: $36.86
(M) Kozilek, Butcher of Truth: $34.51
(M) Karn Liberated: $33.59
(M) Bitterblossom: $32.99
(M) Emrakul, the Aeons Torn: $32.27
(M) Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre: $27.24
(M) Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite: $23.70
(R) Fulminator Mage: $22.05
(R) Splinter Twin: $18.80
(M) Iona, Shield of Emeria: $18.60
(R) Spellskite: $18.00
(M) Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker: $16.98
(R) Leyline of Sanctity: $16.89
(R) Daybreak Coronet: $16.60
(R) Wilt-Leaf Liege: $16.13
(M) Primeval Titan: $13.95
(M) Tezzeret the Seeker: $10.25

Ok, so seriously what the hell is everyone complaining about?  Honestly the packs should be closer to $50 a pack because of the sheer weight of the cards in the set.

So there is only 145 cards in Worldwake and there are 249 cards in Modern Master 2015, but seriously 6 +$10 cards vs 21 +$10 cards.  That is pretty much 3X the amount of +$10 cards in Worldwake, and it is less than 1/2 the price of a Worldwake pack.  I also pulled 4 +$10 Rares for trade.

So I am upset with not getting my complete set from the 4 boxes, but I only received 3 duplicate Mythic Rares.  With no duplicates I would still be short 3 Mythic Rares.  I did get all the rares I need with some to trade, so I honestly have no idea what people are complaining about.

15,386 Picked up more Modern Staples

So I was on my way to pick up my Modern Masters 2015 Pre-Order so I decided to see what my LGS had that I needed to pick up.  

Here are the Legacy cards that I needed, but Cabal Coffers is the most important one.  Now all I need is one more card to finish up Torment.

So now that I am trying to get all those Modern cards, I have started to do the stupid thing and buy a bunch of stuff for no reason.  Like always, I try and pick up the more expensive cards, and then hit up the cheap ones after I get the bulk of the higher priced cards.  I don't know why I always feel so rushed when I put something on the priority list, but there it is and I am starting to lose the fun of this little plan.

I do need to try and calm down, kill the rush, and enjoy the marathon I am trying to accomplish here. It is one thing to just straight up and buy everything, but this is a goal I am really trying to enjoy and I think I need to keep reminding myself of that.

Cardboard Crack

Website: http://cardboard-crack.com/

So I check twitter every morning right when I get up, and I always have the pleasure to catch up on my Cardboard Crack comic.  MODO, to old players, to player types, and set releases this comic is pretty spot on with what is going on in the Magic community.  Considering how much I enjoy his work, I figured it was about time I picked up the books.

I will still keep up with his new comics, but really like having his comics in print.  I know I can just go to his website and read them anytime I want, but if we don't support the people that bring smiles to our faces, then we won't have anything to smile about.

First book favorite: Yo Mama Jokes

Tolarian Community College

https://www.youtube.com/user/tolariancommunity

Innocent plug here.  Not trying to steal his signage, or plagiarize anything, but I am not good with the credit giving part about writing, so I hope just posting his YouTube page is enough.  But, if I do get in trouble for stealing his pictures then so be it, because I just need to share more about what the Professor does.

So I have been playing since 1995, took some time off to chase the women, and now that I have a wife that loves me I got right back into it.  I stumbled onto this YouTuber a while back, and just need to give him a shout out, and it is a bit sad it took me this long to share him on the blog.  But his grumpy old man segments make me cry because I remember playing back then, and it is such a good flash back.

Basically if you want to know about any product within the MTG community, the Professor has done a really good review of the product.  I can't say that I agree with every review he has put out there, but you get a really good, consistent opinion about everything he talks about.  From trade binders, to sleeves, to new sets and old sets, he goes through a lot of Magic the Gathering products and gives them a proper review.  These are not just reviews to be reviews, but they are actually useful.

I have gone through a lot of videos, and blogs, and podcasts, and articles, but with the Professor you get consistent quality reviews on pretty much everything that has to deal with MTG.

Great thing now is you can actually be a patron of his work.

https://www.patreon.com/tolariancommunitycollege

I was pretty excited that he did this, and did not go the Twitch road, but I do think he is going to be doing some Twitch for his patrons.  I do love that I can just hit his YouTube page and check out his reviews.  I might be looking at some new product, or I might be looking for a deckbox.  I know I can get an in depth review of multiple products to find out what would be the best thing for me to choose.

15,450 Big Modern and a couple of small trades in.

I got a big trade in from one half of a couple that I have traded a lot with on deckbox.org.

Normally I would take a picture of all the cards and post them, but considering that there are 907 cards incoming on this trade I would not have been able to post all the pictures.  Besides this was a pretty large down trade for me, but considering that I was trading with a couple that I have done many trades with, I was more than willing to do a down trade with these folks.  Just another reason why I love building relationships with people on deckbox.org.

All in all it was a good trade for me.  I was able to get a ton of rares that I needed for the Modern sets and fill out some of the cards I needed for Legacy.  I did trade away some Dual lands in the trade, but the gains I had from cards that I got back in the 90's and being able to trade them to folks that I really enjoy trading with, for cards that I really needed because I was stupid and did not keep collecting cards, I really consider this a win on all counts.

Got this pair on a first trade.  Big card to pick up on the Phyrexian Altar.  I know, these sets that are considered Legacy sets are not really worth much, but I still consider those sets very valuable.  They are still on the reserved list, and the print cycle on the sets are not as much the cards in print now, but I think in the coming years the value on these cards will only increase based off of availability.  

But yeah, those sets are the bane of my existence.  A horrible reminder of a time in which I decided that going out to bars, chasing after girls meant more to me than playing a game I love.

Modern Master 2015 Pre-Order in

So the hype is here, and I have decided to go big.  I am not really going to say how much of this set I am getting, but it is going to be more than I did last Modern Masters set.  And I know there are a lot of posts out there about ROI based on the pack cost, and there is the increase price of the pack from $6.99 to $9.99, but in reality everyone was paying $10.95 after the first release and all the MSRP packs got bought up, and now that there are really no pack available, people are paying way more than the $10.95 per pack.

So initially the booster boxes might be a the MSRP price, but considering the cards that are in the sets, and the new expansion announced earlier this year to come after the Khans of Tarkir block, I can only assume that this set is going to be a big one once the new block is released.

I could be wrong and the short term ROI on this new Modern Master 2015 set could go down, but considering that the print cycle is going to be shorter than the first Modern masters set, and the set itself is pretty amazing, the long term ROI on unopened booster boxes is going to be good.  And once you factor in the Return to Zendikar set, with all the Eldrazi hanging out.  And the fact that Ugin is back in town, it could be a pretty spectacular set to own.

If they reprint the Eldrazi, we might see a huge drop in those prices, but I am hoping that some new Eldrazi come out, and we keep the original ones back in Rise of Eldrazi and Modern Masters 2015.

I will update this blog as soon as I get confirmation from my pre-order.

UPDATE!!!

So yeah, call me a bastard or don't, but I went a little crazy with this set.  I am pretty sure I am not going to open all my boxes, but then I think I will for some good trading fodder.  But if I hit a big foil, I think I will take it slow.

Who the hell am I kidding, I am totally going to open all the boxes.  Why would I keep more sealed then I have been?

Shout out goes to Mead Hall Games for getting the preorder I wanted.  I know with the high demand of the set, it was a big deal for them to fill out my order.  And considering that, I did not want to try and get more than I should have from a single store, considering the other bigger store in Minnesota (Source Comics and Games) was only selling 1 box per customer to meet the demand.  I highly doubt I will be going to the Source to get that box, but I just might if I really go crazy.

And I got my other preorder from IDeal808.com.  I had shopped there before for the Conspiracy set, since I could only get a couple boxes from Mead Hall Games, so I decided to hit them up again.  Well, the IDeal808 was not planned at all, and was a complete impulse buy.  I was more thinking of just getting more trading fodder, but then why would you not just buy singles?  Yeah yeah, shut the mouth...  ;-)

I don't really want to post the amount of the boxes I am getting, because I do feel a slight bit of shame for going too crazy.

16,367 Buy coming in and Magic 2015 Complete!

Do I need to pitch this LGS again?

Mead Hall Games (www.meadhallgames.com)

I just love this store so much it hurts.  I mean really, you walk in and see something not found in any Comic and Gaming store.  There are not that many shelves, but they are stocked with just wonderful goodies.  The MTG singles cases are easy to access and always full, around adult height tall with full glass fronts and shelves that hold a top loader filled with the most wanted cards.  Almost one case for every color, with the colorless sharing the same case.  The space efficiency practiced here is a thing of beauty, allowing for the placement of wares visible but not tacky, and keeping enough space for the free play of any game that is on the schedule, opening and inviting.

So with that being said, I always go out of my way to buy anything and everything I can from this store.  Now it is not just because I like the ambiance, but where else do you find a store that has a social network for a game they support, and look to add to the community.  Not just sell to the community and make a profit, but to really contribute to the community.  The only thing I can compare it to is that the Source Comics and Games is the previous generation's greatest gaming store, and the Mead Hall Games is it's baby.  I know, I know, stop preaching about the Millennials and their importance to society, but seriously the vibe that I get from the generation when it comes to this LGS really comes out in everything they do as a LGS.

Now, I might be buying a load of MTG poop, but in honesty that is how I feel when I do anything with this LGS, so that is why I try and go out of my way to buy anything I need from this LGS to keep them in business.  After all, we do live in a society of consumerism.

Now that I have tried to suck up to my favorite LGS, this is what I did recently to support my LGS.

Oops I forgot to add something new that I learned about their website.  So if you are looking for specific cards, make sure you use the search feature on their site.  If you just go to the sets listed in the MTG singles section you won't see all the cards.  But if you search for the card you get a much more in depth search into their inventory.  Now I am not sure why they do it like that, and it is really confusing why they don't have all the sets listed, but I hope they fix it at some point.

Trading Fodder:

Now I know, "How stupid are you to buy 4 Noble Hierarch when Modern Masters 2015 is releasing a reprint in the upcoming set, and think you are going to use them for trading fodder?"  And it is very simple, I bought 4 Future Sight Tarmogoyfs for $80 a piece right before Modern Masters was first released, and the originals went up over 100%.  In fact, almost all the originals doubled in price and that is because the set did what it was supposed to do, get more people playing Modern decks they wanted to.  This increased the demand, which increased the price on the card in circulation.  I feel that people are selling their originals thinking that the price will go down, and they want to cash in. In the short term, the price will drop because there are so many people trying to cash in on the higher price, but in the long term they will lose out on the real gains.  And why will they lose out on the long term gains?  Because there still is no more Conflux Noble Hierarchs being printed, and the Modern Master 2015 will be on such a small print run it will make the Conflux ones more wanted.  Just like the same way a Alpha/Beta/Unlimited dual land is much more expensive than the Revised ones.

A good card is a good card.

Legacy:

These are some of the cards that I have decided to try and buy because they are pretty impossible to trade for.

The Modern Battle continues:

So just like with all the other collecting I try and do, complete the lands and get the most expensive cards in the set that I can.  Currently the most expensive card that I need from Lorwyn is 2 more Rings of Brightheart, which I will most likely need to purchase.

Morningtide is a long and painful trip.  Holy Hell I only need 7 more cards!!!!

I could say that I am happy to really starting Shadowmoor, but really I am not.  This set and Champions of Kamigawa are the only 2 expansion that there is over $1000 worth of cards that I need to finish...  Yeah, not looking forward to this.

Future Sight, so yeah...  I did get a single booster box in a trade, I regret opening it, but I did and got most of the commons/uncommons, but there is still a ton of cards that I need.  Really expensive ones too, but I do have all the Goyfs, so that is a positive.

So during my first trading since being back, I was all over the place with what I was trying to get. One good mistake that I made was to get a lot of the Shards of Alara block.  Also I traded for some booster boxes that I opened like an idiot, but it did get me a lot of commons/uncommons that I needed.  But all in all, I only need 18 more cards for the block, so again it is positive.

Worldwake: 13 more cards needed and only 4 of them are Mythic Rares (none of them being Jace, Boom!)

Magic 2015 is complete!  Normally I wait until the sets is out of rotation before I start buying up the standard cards, but I just didn't want to wait anymore.  And considering Magic Origins is coming out this year, I just wanted to get it done.  Magic 2011 is down to needing two more cards, Titan's to be specific, one green and one black to be more specific.  Magic 2010 I was able to get all my Baneslayer Angels that I needed.

As happy as I am that they are finishing the Core sets, I just want to stop wasting my trading fodder on these reprints.

16,458 Zendikar, Conflux, and Mercadian Masques Complete!

Today was a good day!  I got three trades in, small trades but important ones.

Boom! Mercadian Masques is finally done!  What is so exciting about this finish? Well back around 2011 when I got back into Magic I was trading a lot but it was all over the place.  I had no real strategy in how I was going to get all the cards that I did not have since taking a break from Magic after Urza's Destiny.  Now I still need a bunch from that set, but that is the set that I stopped at, so I felt it only fitting to start back up right where I left off.  2011 is a long time ago, and it has taken me this long to finish this set up!  I did buy most of the common/uncommons from a LGS online store Lotus Vault: www.lotusvault.com, but it is so nice that I finally finished the first set since taking my break.

As you can see, right there in the middle is Conflux.  And all I can say is that it is so fitting that I finished the Conflux set with Conflux the card.

And here is yet another card for Morningtide.  I am getting close on this set, but now that I have really started on the Modern cards I should be able to finish this set soon.

Zendikar is also a set I was able to finish up with.  I had all the set cards for the longest time, and the only thing I was missing were the basic lands that were not full art.  Now I had bought some packs, and a Fat Pack of Zendikar trying to get the non full art lands, but all I got were the stupid full art lands...  ;-P

I have spent countless hours digging through basic land boxes at LGS's, and asking about these cards on deckbox, but no one had them for sale or trade.  So I decided to logon to ABU Games (www.abugames.com) and just buy them outright.  Those lands also came into today, so it was a three set finish day for me!

I still have a couple trades coming in, one which is over 900 cards, so expect an update soon.