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Mar 30, 2012 -- 2:53PM, perodequeso wrote:

I think one point many of the newer players might not get about the reserved list is that it isn't about "collectors" who hoard old rare cards.  It's about players like me and some of my friends that have been playing and collecting for the past 18 years.  We've put in time and money to acquire the cards we have and if they dropped the list now I'd feel dupped.

And for every new player that complains about whiney collectors hoarding the good stuff, there are many old collectors complaining about whiney newbs not happy with the cards available to them.  If everyone would stop whining and complaing and just play the d**n game.

 Only old collectors may enjoy the whole game, you are stuck with stuff that is more plentiful since Magic is more popular now and more of each cards is printed! Enjoy your Consecrated Sphinx es and Sorin, Lord of Innistrad s, but don't think about enjoying the Black Lotus es or Mox Emerald s; those are not part of your lower class version of Magic!

Oh well. Whether they ever alter the Reserved list or reprint anything old and hard to get, I still enjoy the game. I guess I just don't desreve to play with cards that aren't readily available because they are over-priced and not reprinted. My apologies.

Ever since I've been playing the P9 and ABUR duals have been expensive.  Back then I was buying cards one pack at a time.  I only acquired my P9 after playing for 16 years.  Some times in life you can't have every thing good all at once.  Getting those cards was challenging and thrilling, it took time and effort.  All of which are part what makes MTG a "collectable".  If you want a game in a box play Risk or something.
I'm not some elitist snob.  Acquiring a collection is like climbing a mountain while some people just want to be flown to the top.

Even if they reprinted the P9 and ABUR duals(lets face it, these and a small handful of cards are what we're really talking about) as foil, mythic rares in a FTV or similar product, the prices would sky rocket
right out the gate.  Maybe not as high as ABU, but high enough that the same people complaining about
prices now will still be complaining.

@ lechgame: I'm sorry if high school kids can't afford expensive toys.  My friends and I got jobs and saved money to buy cards, try it sometime.

@ Minus_Prime:  I meant to say " isn't ONLY just about......"

Mar 30, 2012 -- 2:53PM, perodequeso wrote:

After this long of a time searching down cards(remember that at one time you actually had to find used cards in stores) scrimping and saving to afford them and then one day "here they are at 1/10th the cost and effort you've expended" would feel a bit insulting.

This is an accurate description of card price trends for every Standard rotation.

When you buy or trade for cards you need, you are always accepting the risk that the cards could drop in price some day. If they were ever to ban dual lands in Legacy, the price of those cards would drop like a rock. The players who spent the time and money to acquire full playsets of each of them would feel pretty cheated. But in the end, you spent that time and money so that you could play the game with the best cards available at the time. It's just like Standard players who spend $25 on a Huntmaster of the Fells, even though it will likely drop to $10-15 post-rotation.

Mar 30, 2012 -- 10:11PM, DarkAvatar1018 wrote:

Mar 30, 2012 -- 2:53PM, perodequeso wrote:

After this long of a time searching down cards(remember that at one time you actually had to find used cards in stores) scrimping and saving to afford them and then one day "here they are at 1/10th the cost and effort you've expended" would feel a bit insulting.

This is an accurate description of card price trends for every Standard rotation.

When you buy or trade for cards you need, you are always accepting the risk that the cards could drop in price some day. If they were ever to ban dual lands in Legacy, the price of those cards would drop like a rock. The players who spent the time and money to acquire full playsets of each of them would feel pretty cheated. But in the end, you spent that time and money so that you could play the game with the best cards available at the time. It's just like Standard players who spend $25 on a Huntmaster of the Fells, even though it will likely drop to $10-15 post-rotation.

I don't exactly think that a true comparison can be made between these cards on the reserved list and cards rotating in and out of a format.

First of all this doesn't account for the price variance. Paying $25 for a Huntmaster of the Fells is a bit different then paying $60-$70 for a Volcanic Island. When it comes to standard, the closest comparison you can make price wise is Planeswalkers, which admittedly CAN reach the inflated levels of reserved list cards (for example, look at the prices that JTMS fetches).

Second, we have to keep in mind that when it comes to these reserve list cards, there is no such thing as rotation. While Huntmaster for example, may be fetching $25, at some point it will rotate. This is as much of a boon as it is a bane for people interested in buying the card.

If I want to play Huntmaster in my standard deck, yes, I will have to pay that $25 for it, and I will also have to accept the risk that once it rotates out of standard, I will likely be losing money on my purchase(unless I sell said card before it rotates).

That being said, if I am a person who doesn't care about standard, and want to pick up said card, most likely for use in a non-standard format (be it EDH, Modern, etc.), I have the luxury of waiting until it rotates out from standard to buy them for the cheaper price.

This is not the case for reserved list cards. If I buy a Volcanic Island, I can rest assured that my card will always retain its value, as long as the card remains in good condition. The only way these cards can really lose value, is if they were to one day be reprinted (or potentially get banned).

While this means I will have to spend more money on said card, when the time comes, I can sell it for high as well, unlike cards in the standard format which lose value once they rotate. This helps to balance things out.

Now I am neither for or against the reserve list, as I see situations where both sides make sense.

For example, reprinting ABUR lands seems like a good idea to me. Not only will this make the associated formats more accessible to newer players, but the price varience between these cards and certain cards in other formats isn't really that large. So people who "invest" in those cards likely wont be losing out on a TON of money via a reprint. Since a Volcanic Island fetches around the same price as JTMS does (other comparisons can be made as well, like Bayou fetching around the same price that Sorin Lord of Innistrad did when it was first spoiled/released)

On the other hand, in situations where the price is different by such a large margin, it makes complete sense to me. If I were to go out and spend $1400 on a Black Lotus or $400-$800 on a Mox just to have it reprinted shortly after and thus plummet in price, I would be standing on WotC's doorstep with a torch and pitchfork.

Mar 31, 2012 -- 5:02AM, LMTRK wrote:

markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/2018690861...

This is the last one on this topic. There are things in life that you want to change that you cannot. In order to live with them you have to learn to accept them because beating your head repeatedly against a wall really doesn’t do anyone much good. I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about myself (and R&D).

The Reserved List cannot change. Please just accept it. End of topic.

~ Tim
p.s. I keep coming here hoping for some sort of leak or spoiler or something, and I keep being dissapointed. I want to know whats in this damn thing, so I can decide whether I want to bother buying it. :/  

Here's the thing about that quote:  they did change it.  The original policy allowed for them to reprint cards in "premium" versions.  A few collectors whined, and they clamped down even harder.  Conversely, a vast number of players (I'd argue a majority, but have no real data) have been complaining about the list since its inception.  They acted so swiftly to respond to collectors, and snubbed players that just want to use the cards.  They had no real cause to modify the policy, as it had that caveat from the beginning, and they weren't violating it.

I just want the lands, and really, I just want Gaea's Cradle .  That's why I'm so excited about Realms.  I have the chance to pick up some useful lands that were around when I wasn't playing.  Further, lands are intrinsic to the game, and being able to choose from two colors of mana without strings attached shouldn't be reserved for the privileged few.  Keep your P9 and your awful Vintage format.  Give me the lands!