You know how the LotR decks were at a pretty suspect pricepoint...?

[3drinks]

At the lowest end, you had Simic elves retailing for $55usd while at the high end was Junk Food w/ Sam & Frodo retailing for $75usd.

Well now that it's out on Magic Online, I found the decks in the store, with the "infinite availability" as it were for this kind of stuff;

I feel kinda hosed now, as an owner of the Sauron deck. I'd be afraid to see what the March of Machines decks look like, but they're not in store (those are retailing now for ~$42-$45usd and are only holding ~$37usd worth of cards in them).

[TheAmericanSpirit]

At the lowest end, you had Simic elves retailing for $55usd while at the high end was Junk Food w/ Sam & Frodo retailing for $75usd.

Well now that it's out on Magic Online, I found the decks in the store, with the "infinite availability" as it were for this kind of stuff;

lotr deck prices.jpg

I feel kinda hosed now, as an owner of the Sauron deck. I'd be afraid to see what the March of Machines decks look like, but they're not in store (those are retailing now for ~$42-$45usd and are only holding ~$37usd worth of cards in them).

The MOM decks are unlikely to hold any value beyond the knight deck and the planechase gimmick. Card Kingdom will already sell you a copy of Tinker Time for only 14.99.

I got no problem with precipitous price drops though. Buying product within a month of release is poor money management due to hype pricing and waiting for distribution to catch up with demand. You know what makes great financial sense though? Waiting, watching, and shopping around.

LOTR might skew the math a little because of the whole Outside Advertising IP thing, but if the 40k decks are any indication, prices should stabilize within a reasonable timeframe.

[yeti1069]

Are you buying those on MTGO? Aren't cards/product typically cheaper there anyway?

I got the set of 4 decks off TCGPlayer for $178, or about $45/deck, which seems pretty reasonable. As far deck value goes, these seem to be higher than most precons, with some pricey reprints.

That said, I'll second TAS's comment above: buying immediately almost always means paying a premium (outside of chase rares/mythics).

[3drinks]

Are you buying those on MTGO? Aren't cards/product typically cheaper there anyway?

I got the set of 4 decks off TCGPlayer for $178, or about $45/deck, which seems pretty reasonable. As far deck value goes, these seem to be higher than most precons, with some pricey reprints.

That said, I'll second TAS's comment above: buying immediately almost always means paying a premium (outside of chase rares/mythics).

Singles yes through sources a la mtgotraders. But sealed product has always been the same in store as it is in paper, which has been one of the biggest criticisms of the mtgo client.

[yeti1069]

Are you buying those on MTGO? Aren't cards/product typically cheaper there anyway?

I got the set of 4 decks off TCGPlayer for $178, or about $45/deck, which seems pretty reasonable. As far deck value goes, these seem to be higher than most precons, with some pricey reprints.

That said, I'll second TAS's comment above: buying immediately almost always means paying a premium (outside of chase rares/mythics).

Singles yes through sources a la mtgotraders. But sealed product has always been the same in store as it is in paper, which has been one of the biggest criticisms of the mtgo client.

Oh, yeah, that's nonsense. I stopped playing MTGO several years ago. Now, with spelltable, I don't know what the value of playing on there is if you're looking for commander.

[3drinks]

I've only ever used modo since I don't have a decent setup for cam games so I can't speak to that. I imagine being infinitely annoyed at not knowing what the heck people cards are from a small cam screen though.

[Venedrex]

I've only ever used modo since I don't have a decent setup for cam games so I can't speak to that. I imagine being infinitely annoyed at not knowing what the heck people cards are from a small cam screen though.

I downloaded Tabletop Simulator the other day and spectated an EDH game, and it looked pretty decent. I mean, some things might be a hassle but you could zoom in on the board, rotate and I was pretty impressed overall. Still, I dream the impossible dream of EDH coming to Arena.

[yeti1069]

I've only ever used modo since I don't have a decent setup for cam games so I can't speak to that. I imagine being infinitely annoyed at not knowing what the heck people cards are from a small cam screen though.

I bought a flexible cellphone stand on Amazon for $15, and downloaded DroidCam (there's a version for iPhones by a different name, I think), that has the phone act as a webcam. The app is free. That's my whole setup. Most of the time, cards are fairly clear, and spelltable allows you to click on them to do a search and display cards. Doesn't always work well, but not too bad. It also keeps a running list on one side of each card you've clicked/searched for (and you can delete those if you want). I've been able to play decks where I steal other people's stuff without too much hassle (use dry erase cards to represent on my side).

This maybe:

[pokken]

droidcam ate my battery so fast it was hilarious. just buy a farking webcam they're like $30 for really nice ones again.

[yeti1069]

droidcam ate my battery so fast it was hilarious. just buy a farking webcam they're like $30 for really nice ones again.

I just plug my phone in while I'm using it. Hasn't ever been a problem.

[3drinks]

Yeah, I've used spelltable before, it's just.....it's a lot and modo is infinitely more efficient.

droidcam ate my battery so fast it was hilarious. just buy a farking webcam they're like $30 for really nice ones again.

I have a little cam. I was going to tape it to a couple fat pack boxes but then we come to my mic. Which is a great desktop mic, but my PC fan is LOUD. Noticed that recording a podcast series ~8 months ago.

[3drinks]

I guess this topic is...uhh, topical, with the CMD MST decks eclipsing even the LotR decks in price point, with a sawft "suggest price" at $99.99usd. Currently being pushed at online retailers for upwards of $150 (Eldrazi Unbound), how much is too much, how long before we as players start voting with our wallets for this unsanctioned format with no cash money on the line? They can't keep getting away with this, no? Not to doomsay, but this has to be the beginnings of the death spiral phase, right?

Is any {non-whale} buying hundred dollar precon decks? I know I'm not.

[Treamayne]

I guess this topic is...uhh, topical, with the CMD MST decks eclipsing even the LotR decks in price point, with a sawft "suggest price" at $99.99usd. Currently being pushed at online retailers for upwards of $150 (Eldrazi Unbound), how much is too much, how long before we as players start voting with our wallets for this unsanctioned format with no cash money on the line? They can't keep getting away with this, no? Not to doomsay, but this has to be the beginnings of the death spiral phase, right?

Is any {non-whale} buying hundred dollar precon decks? I know I'm not.

Remember when WotC removed "MSRP" from packages "because it didn't matter?"

Does it now?

[Dunharrow]

I definitely think WOTC has been experimenting with how far they can push prices for products. Even if the product flops it is a net gain.
Especially because then the new cards will be scarce and highly sought out and can be reprinted to drive sales of another product in a few years.

I would not be surprised to see sell prices jump up 20% across the board in 2024.

[onering]

Nobody should be buying these precons. Absurdly overpriced. Magic has been profitable, trying to squeeze maximum money out of players in the now will only hurt the product in the future.

[3drinks]

Nobody should be buying these precons. Absurdly overpriced. Magic has been profitable, trying to squeeze maximum money out of players in the now will only hurt the product in the future.

It's still in the crazy presale timepoint, but I just saw the Eldrazi deck listing for $199 about an hour ago, if that tells you anything...

And also a perfectly valid time to remind everyone you can make anything you want at MPC for far less. Half the cost even, if you print a deck on the backside too...

[PrimevalCommander]

Even the Warhammer decks at $65 retail from Walmart were a tough sell for me. But I jumped on a couple of those because of the uniqueness of the product, the new art for all 100 cards, and the difficulty of reprinting them in the future. Same of the above could be said for the LoTR decks, so I feel the return on these decks should be worth it long term. I did not buy any LoTR because they just didn't appeal to me as much. The mechanics were flavorful but maybe a little to niche. I really like the LoTR cards, but I didn't see a deck that made me go out and pay the premium. I already have more decks than I can keep up with due to my severely limited magic time.

Masters Precons have none of those three special features of the Universe Beyond proudct. Just an overpriced precon deck with uninteresting reprints and degraded value prop.

I picked up one of the New Capenna precons on scAmazon for $35 and felt like I got a great deal on a playable deck. Probably $55-$65 is my turning point on buying a precon since for that price buying singles goes a lot farther than most of these decks.

[3drinks]

All this does is reinforce that maaayyybbbbeeee I should ship most my {non-bulk} stuff that isn't altered or foreign to Card Conduit and just keep bare bones decks (Kaalia, {w/b}Brimaz) and downsize, and just not worry about the beginning of the death spiral. It's not like I play super often anyway, and if that's ~3 decks by my count + modern burn, I'm in a pretty good place anyway.

[yeti1069]

I got the 4 LotR precons for $178 + tax (about $45/deck). I'm not buying any of the Commander Masters products.

[PrimevalCommander]

I would call that a good price for sure. I paid $65 ea for my 2 Warhammer decks and flinched slightly, but I am happy to have them.

[yeti1069]

I would call that a good price for sure. I paid $65 ea for my 2 Warhammer decks and flinched slightly, but I am happy to have them.

Yeah. When they got spoiled I looked on TCGplayer and the price seemed solid. Amazon was showing them for about $10 more in total, so I opted for TCG. A week later, I was seeing them for even more than that, and when I went to the prerelease the LGS was selling them for $55+. The only downside was that the TCG vendor was slow in getting them out, so I had to wait 3 weeks.

I'll add that although a couple of the Commander Masters decks look interesting, I'll not be buying any CM product at their ridiculous prices.

[GuJiaXian]

I'll admit to having preordered all four Doctor Who precons for about $55 apiece (including shipping and tax). My wife blanched at the price, but the whole family loves the fandom, so it'll be worth it.

[3drinks]

Went to my LGS last night for Modern FNM and saw;

• Slivers @ $139
• Eldrazi @ $169
• Planeswalkers @ $79
• Enchantments @ $89

SPOILER

Show

Hide

And to follow up. Folks, don't spend a hundred dollars on over priced shiny new cards when the product is 40% of that price point.

[Igzex]

The Slivers one is like Draconic Domination and Heavenly Inferno all over again. Pay a ridiculous mark up for a deck that basically does absolutely nothing in a game right out of the box.

[Hermes_]

Went to my LGS last night for Modern FNM and saw;

• Slivers @ $139
• Eldrazi @ $169
• Planeswalkers @ $79
• Enchantments @ $89

SPOILER

Show

Hide

Capture2.PNGCapture3.PNG

And to follow up. Folks, don't spend a hundred dollars on over priced shiny new cards when the product is 40% of that price point.

link? lol I got the Sliver deck (cost me 96 dollars after tax) and played it today right out of the book only adding three cards: Exploration, Amulet of Vigor and Land Tax. I had a good start but it fizzled after a board wipe. The other decks at the table were the PW and the Eldrazi all from the box untampered with.