Speculation?

[The N82O Molecule]

once again its speculation time. the aftermath

this is a fun interesting set.

the speculation for this set is not so much in the individual card, but the iteration of the said card.

im not particularly interested in planes walkers without sparks. im surprised they didn't model the power down like Jaya Ballard, Task Mage well not that suprised what do I know. but I love Karn and so I would like the new one.

be happy with any iteration of training ground you pull
for all of you who have a blue red dragon deck you are in luck. the dragons are blue.

there really are some super cool arts that may help make a bad card good.

[duducrash]

´Faerie Mastermind seems like a card that will get super high. I'll pick my playset before winds of eldraine appears, as they have a faerie theme and this card already sees plenty of play as is, a tribal ressurgence would be insane. In the same "area" Halo Forager reads pretty good. I've put it in one deck but haven't drawn it yet. will pick more

if you are into looooooooooong term, one thing I'll think will spike is the phyrexian matters cards. Phyrexians will come back eventually, it might be 5 or 10 years, but they will, and the second it comes arround any phyrexian matters will spike. Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos and Phyrexian Censor and Phyrexian Awakening and Grafted Butcher

[The N82O Molecule]

an additional layer of speculation is what planes will we visit again and the ramifications of the war.

Ikoria, innistrad, ravnica, theros, ixalan, eldraine. . .etc what could they all mean now.

one thing to note is that "Phyrexian" is not "on" so all these planes are merely dealing with what already may or may not have happen. for example I don't think the eldraine will have much Phyrexian at all if any. influence in the art? maybe

eldraine - power vacuum. knights/faeries (as @duducrash stated)
ixalan - regaining the dinosaur prestige, im thinking new eggs or young legendary dinosaurs.

these are the obvious ones, now speculation

Ikoria - I think we are going back, the kaiju plane has its followers. perhaps the Ozolith, the Shattered Spire has the Phyrexian.
innistrad - unless it unlocked something I don't think this plane really cared.
ravnica - pretty sure Ral melted all the invaders. however a theory about Azor taking a omen path to Ravnica and battling Niv sounds super cool.
zendikar - I would think with all the metal that was distributed around the multiverse this is the place that will refurbish.
Kamigawa - a couple flavor text reveal that this plane is already moved on. going back I don't think the Phyrexian influence will matter? better wifi?

my fav theory though is the next time we see Phyrexia it will be the phase in of mirrodin on dominaria and ol Venser is there waving. without any mana suns they will lay pretty dormant and find a way to blend in when they phase back. maybe be the radio shack of dominaria.

[The N82O Molecule]

ok once again its speculation time. lord of the rings

so I guess I should apologize to @duducrash because I post here and it probably sends a notification. which means I have 1 reader. so this is a thank you letter lol

Lord of the rings. . .LORD. . .of the rings. honestly I wasn't in it. for reasons later. but after they previewed some cards and a understanding that this set is modern legal. they got me. to stay modern relevant im going to need some cards from this set, I think.

so I guess I don't want to talk about the serialized cards. I do want to talk about my speculation that non foil standard frame magic cards are the cards that will be hard to find in 10 years. this is because everyone is opening the high end for the one ring. let the record state that I think its a great plot by hasbro. however im not sure how many times it will work. I have tried to think about what else there is that would hold such a prestige but I just haven't yet. what else besides lord of the rings. im sure there are universes that can fill up card names but to have a "one ring"

its come to my understanding that this is being treated as a "core set" and so id like to get to my point. its not the serialized, or all the Gandalf's, or all the commander wanna bes. I want to talk about the little triangle foil thingy at the bottom of the card. is it a magic card? if I sit down and play a game of commander, and someone plays a unhinged card. . .I say ho-ho-ho its about to get whacky, I didn't know this was allowed but that's an acorn. . .and yet similar to the street fighter cards and the stranger thing cards. but do I care if im in it for the fun? will I get "laughed at" like if I pulled out a 30th edition proxy? so like, where do these cards sit in the hierarchy of needs? they trap me with the. . for modern. . .but perhaps a functional reprint is at hand so you don't hear You Cannot Pass! over the twitch while you watch matches. people will say "oh, thats lord of the rings". and all those OCD hardcore persons will correct them! . . .Ahem, no its Magic the gathering, and yes its akin to D&D which is very much akin to Tolkien but Magic has been its seperate thing for 30 years and ill be Dammed!. . .I cast Goldberry, River-Daughter and END MY TURN! lol

note: I said "core set" and so im speculating that we could get one of these every year. a set to bridge the gap between UB. . .it doesn't sound bad

so where does that triangle foil stand with regards to other. . .well. . .non UB? ill need my playset of Reprieve, I still think in terms of 60 not 100.

cheers

[SquirrelToken]

its come to my understanding that this is being treated as a "core set" and so id like to get to my point. its not the serialized, or all the Gandalf's, or all the commander wanna bes. I want to talk about the little triangle foil thingy at the bottom of the card. is it a magic card? if I sit down and play a game of commander, and someone plays a unhinged card. . .I say ho-ho-ho its about to get whacky, I didn't know this was allowed but that's an acorn. . .and yet similar to the street fighter cards and the stranger thing cards. but do I care if im in it for the fun? will I get "laughed at" like if I pulled out a 30th edition proxy? so like, where do these cards sit in the hierarchy of needs? they trap me with the. . for modern. . .but perhaps a functional reprint is at hand so you don't hear You Cannot Pass! over the twitch while you watch matches. people will say "oh, thats lord of the rings". and all those OCD hardcore persons will correct them! . . .Ahem, no its Magic the gathering, and yes its akin to D&D which is very much akin to Tolkien but Magic has been its seperate thing for 30 years and ill be Dammed!. . .I cast Goldberry, River-Daughter and END MY TURN! lol

note: I said "core set" and so im speculating that we could get one of these every year. a set to bridge the gap between UB. . .it doesn't sound bad

so where does that triangle foil stand with regards to other. . .well. . .non UB? ill need my playset of Reprieve, I still think in terms of 60 not 100.

cheers

So ... you're wondering how UB cards will be received by 60-card players? I think that you can look at Rick, Steadfast Leader's performance in Legacy. People didn't care that it had a triangle, they played the card. Reprieve, as you've called out, seems really solid. I think that while there may be some offended Vorthoses amongst 60-card players, most people who are playing competitively don't care so much about what the card lore is and more care about what it does. Personally, I have a strong dislike for UB, but I'll still add LOTR and D&D cards to my decks because they're sufficiently MTG-adjacent. So, finance-wise, I wouldn't worry about the triangle vs the oval stamp. The question, to my mind, is reprintability. Reprieve is a common word, so that card can be reprinted in a non-LOTR context with new art. But what about something like Aragorn? What if he turns out to be an amazing card? What are WOTC's reprint options for him? This is something that we can't really know, because it depends on the contract that they signed with the various entities - which may differ between franchises, further complicating things. For Street Fighter and Stranger Things, there are UW versions. Can they do that with LOTR or WH40K? Can they just straight-up reprint them in a Masters set? Ugh, Universes Beyond Masters sounds horrible, but is a thing that will probably happen in the next few years. I'd look at cards like Shelob, cards that use copyrighted names that will be harder to shoehorn in someplace else.

[The N82O Molecule]

So ... you're wondering how UB cards will be received by 60-card players? I think that you can look at Rick, Steadfast Leader's performance in Legacy. People didn't care that it had a triangle, they played the card. Reprieve, as you've called out, seems really solid. I think that while there may be some offended Vorthoses amongst 60-card players, most people who are playing competitively don't care so much about what the card lore is and more care about what it does. Personally, I have a strong dislike for UB, but I'll still add LOTR and D&D cards to my decks because they're sufficiently MTG-adjacent. So, finance-wise, I wouldn't worry about the triangle vs the oval stamp. The question, to my mind, is reprintability. Reprieve is a common word, so that card can be reprinted in a non-LOTR context with new art. But what about something like Aragorn? What if he turns out to be an amazing card? What are WOTC's reprint options for him? This is something that we can't really know, because it depends on the contract that they signed with the various entities - which may differ between franchises, further complicating things. For Street Fighter and Stranger Things, there are UW versions. Can they do that with LOTR or WH40K? Can they just straight-up reprint them in a Masters set? Ugh, Universes Beyond Masters sounds horrible, but is a thing that will probably happen in the next few years. I'd look at cards like Shelob, cards that use copyrighted names that will be harder to shoehorn in someplace else.

firstly thanks for your post

in short, yes.

I checked out the top decks and it looks like they are absorbing the best cards without issue. which is a good thing I suppose. until orcish bow masters is a 50 card cause you need four of them. it looks like the one ring is doing work also.

[SquirrelToken]

Bowmasters is non-LOTR-specific, so it can easily be reprinted with new art. The One Ring, though, that'll be a LOT harder to reprint. I was really hoping that it'd appear in the Baikshi secret lair (OK, I was really hoping for 9 animated Nazgul, but The One Ring with some other stuff was second on the list). Yeah, it's doing some work, and it looks like a 4-of in several formats.

So yeah, UB cards are just cards to anyone playing competitively.

[The N82O Molecule]

once again its speculation time, commander masters

this time you say, no new cards, what's to speculate.

and so to the point. does a low purchased set affect the individual print version of a card?

commander masters is all reprints. that doesn't mean its not a product. much like how coins find value over time. so an additional question will the art versions drive a product? I want to claim that I think its a great set. full of cool prints, awesome versions, and cool downshifts for pauper. hitting pauper in a commander set, all genius. its the price point. and of course its not to say that its not going to get opened and I speak only for myself.

I speak only as a person that buys the stuff. and I assume im close to the mean. im no whale. rather someone who buys a measure of product and diamond hands it. so in this case, commander masters, im going to do the smart thing, and buy singles. im going to face the fomo, and put my money where my wallet and hands are. (my collection is old enough a lot of these cards I already have via a previous reprint)

I wonder if it will tell a story. the counter argument is 8X2=16 the same way 4X4=16.

so, back to the point. the versions are what is driving the sales (imo) and increasing the odds of opening one by creating even more versions at rare (the only card that gets A or (1)) will stretch the opening. is that enough? do you buy LOTR because of a version of a card or you buying cause you need 4 orcish bowmasters. I would think its the latter because, in the old days, land cycles are what drove sales. Ravnica sold because you needed four versions of every shock land. needing 4 of a card drove opening. that metric, recently, is out the window. we are way down the road now.

and im curious your thoughts about your purchasing power towards this product, and overall thoughts.

oh and the speculation is this, the profile cards, and the rare versions of rare cards will be of value, in 20 years. just like a penny. some years they don't make a lot of pennies. over time pennies drop out of circulation and after a while they get interestingly rare, almost statistically zero rare. so in this case it won't get opened much overall and thus a scarcity that will dwindle down over time after you throw your versions into the well for wishes.

cheers

[The N82O Molecule]

once again its speculation time the wilds of eldraine

I would like to thank Squirreltoken for keeping me in line. I must respect the spike

you know another name for spike? thorns are everywhere in eldraine in the form of 2 cmc spells. so keep your eye on those spells and adventures.

the crystal ball says - avoid the goose, and let the bunny and rats into your life. I bet you never knew your RUG spirit animal was the otter.

and lastly keep a keen eye on the cards from this set, as a looking forward. . .and im looking at you bloomburrow. im thinking Swarmyard origins.

eldraine looks cool and ill probably get a little bit more of this than usual to up my chances for those enchanted enchantments.

bring on the dinosaurs!! lol

cheers

[duducrash]

Short term : I think Rowan is super strong and it will spike some cards. Both enablers and payoffs. Fire covenant, hatred, etc. Greven, Predator Captain style cards might jump.

I dont plat with expensive specs, its a hobby, but I think Mosswood Dreadknight // Dread Whispers is pioneer playable, and if it gets low enough it might be something.

Pauper cards have been a ting lately, specially cheap day 1 and latter growing. I spotlighted some cards I think are good

Troublemaker Ouphe
Rowan's Grim Search
Candy Trail
Hopeless Nightmare

Rats:
Rats players are crazy about rats. I've several times encountered blinged out deck rats. Its a loves tribe by their players. BR rats might get a huge push with a better BR cmdr eventually

[The N82O Molecule]

once again its speculation time. ixalan lost caverns

if you thought the layers of mirrodin/New Phyrexia were weird, I know a place that is a matryoshka doll but with Dinos.

im late on this and the speculation is over. so just to recap

find your inner spike. keep an eye on 2 mana "bears". im still sort of within this set to see the seeds for bloomdburrow.

I would recommend this set for the art alone. its rather cool. and the dinosaurs. its why you bought in the first time anyway. pirates will never be famous. blame Jerry Seinfeld.

if you get any of the gods. you did good. but mainly I would say buy this and hold onto things you like for some time. mostly people are to inundated with cards right now to know what's straight. with all the commander support im under the impression that people aren't really looking at sets with a "60 lens". so here in the next couple month perhaps a shake out will happen and expose a little more clearly the true gems hidden in the lost caverns.

I really enjoy this plain overall. the pirates/vamps/dino meso American vibe going on is really cool and I hope that inside this lost world is yet another lost world behind some secret Gate. . .well ok not a gate but in a cave. man I wish the caves were gates.

I opened 2 set booster boxes and didn't get the red or white gods. I didn't get the rare land either.I would say that my distribution was a bit peculiar. ill have to pick up like 10 or more rares in the singles market to round out my set.

cheers

[The N82O Molecule]

once again its speculation time, murders at karlov manor

one card I would like to thank for going up in price over time, Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor

the set is all the way spoiled and there are some pretty obvious cards you will be glad you pulled. Doorkeeper Thrull, Lightning Helix and probably Krenko's Buzzcrusher. but most importantly, the new survey lands. what a way to sell a Ravnica set, put a dual land with the types in it. shocking.

the one thing, if I have one, is the detective creature type. look what they did to Lazav, Wearer of Faces, I suppose you could take it out, along with all the hats, and maybe it would be the same. and the hats. I find it incredibly funny.

the one card I wish would turn out because I think I like the card. Hide in Plain Sight I still really can't get over how slow "morph" is in the competitive game but I really like how hide reads.

but my speculation this time is going to be behind the card Barbed Servitor I really liked Stuffy Doll when it first came out. also Cryptic Coat cause its silly.

anyway and as usual post your comments below and be sure to hit the like and subscribe buttons. the finance portion could use the traffic.

cheers

[duducrash]

I will not speculate on, but I'll get plenty of play copies of Archdruid's Charm I feel this is too good and will be a moderate to heavily include card in t2, pioneer and EDH. I'll also make an effort to grab some commander cards in Trouble in Pairs and Unexplained Absence they might go sky high in price. Both seem stample-y.

If you think any of the clue cards is good, I think they might be super scarce. as I understand you have to actually buy a game of clue to get some of the kirds? if there is a chase I think it will be pretty high price.

[The N82O Molecule]

we are voyaging into the frontier now, with the new pack structure. what we knew as children is over now. I will say that the recent sets packs have really been fun to open. so I look forward to it, but, in general, change like this, if I had to say, from a corporate stand point, isn't in favor to the customer. you will get at least one rare a pack, that hasn't changed. but the price is higher. some say its justified. ill be honest there will be a part of me that will never trust the math. bad rares will feel worse. the "gamble" of it all.

im hoping the clue edition is in a box stores im only going to buy one but I should buy all that I see lol

[duducrash]

im hoping the clue edition is in a box stores im only going to buy one but I should buy all that I see lol

I don't know how those are received in NA, but over here stores always get stuck with gimmicky versions of traditional board games. Such as monopoly, clue and war. Someone will find a bunch of clues in a random store in the middle of nowhere in a few years

[The N82O Molecule]

im surprised the edh folks aint in here speculating the best buys for edh decks. I've noticed that a lot of "movers" have a tendency to be the new cards that come with the edh decks. I don't really buy edh decks anymore. im the collateral damage to to many edh decks that the reprints get redundant.

I wouldn't mind getting the best deck that comes out but I don't think edh. I think in terms of I want all the cards. I should have bought the Dino edh deck and of course I think its appropriate that I by the Scooby doo.

[The N82O Molecule]

once again its speculation time. outlaws of thunder junction

yeehaw

little side about me. I grew up in the Oklahoma panhandle, some call it no mans land. so this set hits a little close to home on the range

much like the scarecrow, im in on the cactus folks.

so, they packed a lot in this set. with the original cards, the "extra" sheet, the list, and then the big score.

lets skip to the jitte. they did it, this card is cool. 1 to cast and 1 to equip is mythic country, and this card still has all of what made the jitte awesome. Lost Jitte

the spree cards, Final Showdown Great Train Heist these are game changers. I've been an advocate for modal spells since cryptic command. spree must be the brain child of the command cycle. now, not all are great, but man, they should be able to upgrade any card that has any individual node.

you want the tiny bones. a 1 cast deathtouch is always decent. equip a jitte, the jitte never loses the counters. Tinybones, the Pickpocket

still, there are just so many cards. what will or may end up happening is you buy otj just to chance the cards from the big score. like me, for the jitte.

I was listening to mark rosewater's drive to work and he, they, keep expressing that "people" didn't like "the aftermath". well, I thought it was a cool set. what Im not really into was the old release schedule. there was just to much, and I think that with thunder junction. idk if just cramming more into, is the answer.

the future, we are here. capitalism has set forth this "play" booster. the "slot machine" has more in it, its brighter now with lots of lights flashing.

and sorry about the lack of yeehaws and cowboy puns. but maybe yull notice there is no "Cookie" in the set.

cheers. . .and thought?

[CommanderMaster999]

Well things are getting very interesting

Looks like people thinking "the big score" cards might need a kidney are looking to be wrong so far

My pre-release I went to I saw at least 3 big score cards from around 14 people (one was me with "loot")

One person told me two of the packs in their kit had a big score card

So this may actually be a new capenna with universe within stranger things situation (might be more likely to get a big score card rather than a list card)

But will see how it goes.

[wildfire393]

Well things are getting very interesting

Looks like people thinking "the big score" cards might need a kidney are looking to be wrong so far

My pre-release I went to I saw at least 3 big score cards from around 14 people (one was me with "loot")

One person told me two of the packs in their kit had a big score card

So this may actually be a new capenna with universe within stranger things situation (might be more likely to get a big score card rather than a list card)

But will see how it goes.

You are much more likely to get a Big Score card than a List Special Guests card. One in five packs has a "List Slot" card, but 14 out of 15 of those are Big Score cards.

Overall though, each specific Big Score card is about 30% rarer than any specific Mythic.

The normal Rare Slot print run is 2x of the 60 rares and 1x of the 20 mythics, meaning the chances of pulling a specific Mythic are 1:140 rare slots. With 1.25 rares per pack on average with the wildcard and foil slots taken into account, this means a specific mythic is 1:112 packs.

For Big Score, 1:5 packs has a List slot, 14:15 List slots are Big Score, and there's 30 Big Score cards, which means any specific Big Score card is about 1:160 packs. 112 is 70% of 160.

[The N82O Molecule]

thanks for that. @wildfire393

I opened two boxes and the assortment of the big score I got was not very spread out. I got 3 Tarnation Vista and 2 Fomori Vault for example. which makes me wonder about our favorite word collation.

the professor put out a decent video about the evolution of the play booster thus far. but Im under the immediate impression that thunder junction will be an outlier with the extra sheets. though I haven't heard anyone complaining against it.

don't get me wrong its an interesting position wotc is putting themselves in. the more cards they add the worse it is to open packs. in that case it drives the market (me) to the singles websites and puts me in the jaws of capitalism. but im addicted to the smell of fresh pack.

currently saving for modern horizons 3.