I got my box yesterday! These are the rares, mythics, and the feel good foil pulls I managed to get. I got zero duplication in the rares and mythics, even with the box topper thrown in.
What did people pull from their box or boxes? Personally, I think this box is more representative of an average box than some of the videos of people pulling the quintessential chase cards in the set like Liliana of the Veil or Karn, Liberated.
For those interesting, the foils in that list were the Lava Spike, Runed Halo, Sovereign of Lost Alara, the Lens, and the Shreikmaw.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
On a side note, I've seen/held some of the cards. The Japanese print stock and coating is FAR SUPERIOR to the garbage USA Texas crap. The stock is thicker, ink bold and colorful and the cards more glossy and all I saw were straight as a board, even the foils. Amazing when they use the good stock/priting.
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
On a side note, I've seen/held some of the cards. The Japanese print stock and coating is FAR SUPERIOR to the garbage USA Texas crap. The stock is thicker, ink bold and colorful and the cards more glossy and all I saw were straight as a board, even the foils. Amazing when they use the good stock/priting.
Oh yeah, I agree. However, I think the best idea is to dump or sell off the box topper to get the more played non-foil cards. I'm looking at the box topper and without some kind of alternate artwork to make it stick out, it's not worth having a blown up version full art floating in ones deck. They are really cool trinkets for collectors or those who already have nothing better to spend the money on, though.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
On a side note, I've seen/held some of the cards. The Japanese print stock and coating is FAR SUPERIOR to the garbage USA Texas crap. The stock is thicker, ink bold and colorful and the cards more glossy and all I saw were straight as a board, even the foils. Amazing when they use the good stock/priting.
I've been saying the Japanese card stock is superior for those exact reasons for years. So glad they listened and used it.
Just watched my cousin open his box - suffice to say he is severely unhappy.
Raging Ravine
Lavaclaw Reaches
Celestial Colonnade
Maelstrom Pulse
Platinum Emperion
Glen, Elenda Archmage
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Visions of Beyond
Spoils of the Vault
BitterBlossom
Pattern of REbirth
Golgari Grave Troll
Noble Heirarch
Woodfall Primus
Containment Priest
Daybreak Coronet
Sublime Archangel
Reveillark
Through the Breach
Seismic Assault
Balefire Dragon
Squee, Goblin Nabob
2 foil rares: Squee and Maelstrom
Box topper: Kitchen Finks
I have never seen a person so dejected and angry. I can't say I blame him one point. That box should never exist, period.
The problem isn't the box, the problem is that they are charging people too much for randomly distributed goods. I'm still sorting through all the changes that are going on and my recent experiences with how arena plays, but the reason they are stopping masters sets is due to the target audience of the sets and the goals moving forward. The thing people do not actively realize is that the people who buy these masters products get diminishing returns each time they print them. The cards are expensive on the secondary market, but that is because the cards are highly controlled, not because of demand and supply alone.
The strategy wizards of the coast has with older cards is to reprint the cards until the audience that wants those cards has them, then stop. They don't want the prices on big name cards in modern or legacy dropping to the point that people who play standard can readily pick them up, because they want those people playing Magic Version 3, not Magic Version 2.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I did get two spectacular packs. The best contained a foil Lili and a non-foil Heirarch. The other had both a foil and non-foil Ancient Tomb. Everything else however was on par with the lists above.
Yeah, the boxes have really good cards in them that see play, the problem is the price of the box! Most people don't realize that this box that costs 275 and up is about the equivalent to a box of Force of Will New Valhalla. You got some misses here and there, but for the most part the entire set is designed on the power scale to make it playable in constructed.
I try hopping into arena and they shower you with complete garbage, then stuff you into room with other people that have complete garbage, and you fight your way up out of the trash heap eventually with enough wild cards to get somewhere! Then rotation hits and you are under a deluge of garbage again.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Got a box from my LGS since it's the "last" Masters. For the record my Masters Sealed product purchase history has been 2 MM1 boxes, 1 MM2 box and 1 EMA pack (or 3 packs total if you counted the 2 I won from a FNM), ever since then the product line simply did not appeal to my from pretty much any angle (in fact I'd say with hindsight that falling for MM2 was a mistake already) despite being arguably the target demographic of the line. I had fun opening my MM1 boxes back in the day (for the record I never opened Goyf) and thought UMA did a pretty good job duplicating the set on paper and while the price is stupid on paper, in practice considering the mark-up on MM1 back then and the mark-down on UMA now, in reality there is very little difference, so I decided to go for one last hurrah.
Not going to pretend to be humble - I lucked out. Box topper was Liliana. So by virtue of hitting the Topper Jackpot the box can technically be considered free. But let's just see the pulls from the perspective if my box was sold as single packs.
This was the list of notable Rares & Mythics I opened, anything else not listed is below the price of an individual pack of what I took as $11. I was lazy and used SCG as a reference (easier to match at a glance) so pardon the generosity of especially the lower-end cards that might not actually meet the threshold based on another platform.
I cannot remember what rare came with the Foil Tower, but even assuming it came with a chaff rare, that's only 11 packs out of 24 where you could pull a card of greater value than the pack you paid for. Sure, I didn't keep track of the combined value of each pack, but my most valuable foils of other rarities were Desperate Ritual, Buried Alive and Foil. Since I didn't keep track of what was in which pack so they could either be with chaff or overlap with one of the better rares in the same pack, I'm going to assume only 1 of them elevated a subpar pack to "worth the pack price", leading us to a total of half the box being "worth it" to "spectacular" and the other half just duds.
One more major thing to note - my box was a 2 Mythic 1 Foil Rare box and I believe the average Masters box has 3 Mythics and 2 Foil Rares (due to every pack having a foil). I lucked majorly since 1 of the Mythics was Liliana (yes making the box the double-Lili box of rarity) and the foil rare is currently tied for second-most expensive (non-Mythic) rare foil by virtue of being the first foil run of the card so I could compensate from the lost quantity with pretty much the best quality, which shows the variance within the box is also heavily tilted and without the top 3 pulls this box could have easily been a disaster.
Just throwing this in despite already knowing it's going to be pointless "disclaimer": Somebody out there is going to interpret me pointing out the "flaws" of my box as rubbing salt on other after bragging, but at this point of having lucked out I don't think anything I say will really change the mindset of those who intent to see it that way to begin with (and it's partially true anyway - human nature dictates I would want to boast of a good box anyway).
mythics Tarmogolf
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Sigard, Host of Herons
Lots of decent rares notables
Daybreak Coronet
Gaddock Teeg (foil)
vexing devil
talrand, sky summoner
fauna Shaman
Noble Hierarch
Throught the breach
Reveilark
All is Dust
Eldrazi Conscripttion
Disrupting Shoal
Phyrexian Tower
Urbog, tomb of Yawmoth
Ancient Tomb
Maelstrom PulseSpoils of the Valt
Celestial Colonnade (foil)
A lot of playable cards that may go up in value in 5 years once the markets readjust. Before the releases the card value would have been close to retail price. Over all I think my box was ok, I made value back but others in my LGS definitely did not, it felt hit or miss.
I ended up opening a case today, which turned out to be quite enjoyable. My box toppers were not great (but I was excited about Urborg), and I had lots of duplicate rares across the case. I thought the variance in terms of mythic and foil pulls was interesting, and mine ended up mostly different in that regard.
2 mediocre mythics, one bad foil rare. This one was brutal--would have been hard to follow the first box, but at this point with 12 duplicate rares (!) from the previous one, needless to say I was just hoping to see anything different from the other two boxes (excepting the Hierarch of course).
3 mythics (one foil), two other foil rares. At this point I was just hoping to see no more Talrands and Eldrazi Conscriptions ever again, but I still liked this box quite a lot. The duplicates are a little out of hand here with one box to go.
Box 4: Topper was Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth (my favorite of those I received, but not a world beater)
4 mythics (!), one trash duplicate foil rare. It pains me to think about what might have been if those Conscriptions strewn about this case had been something actually decent This box definitely had the most poor quality rares of any of the four, but the mythic count props it up (in my mind) above my second box which was atrocious.
Fun notes from these boxes: Both packs that contained Seize the Day as the rare also had a foil rare or mythic. Also, the Flagstones of Trokair came in the same pack as the foil Karakas (go go white lands!) All Is Dust was in the very last pack of two of the boxes (I open left to right by column).
Here's hoping that nobody gets as many duplicates as I did (unless you need them for a deck or they are Noble Hierarch) :).
I ended up opening a case today, which turned out to be quite enjoyable. My box toppers were not great (but I was excited about Urborg), and I had lots of duplicate rares across the case. I thought the variance in terms of mythic and foil pulls was interesting, and mine ended up mostly different in that regard.
2 mediocre mythics, one bad foil rare. This one was brutal--would have been hard to follow the first box, but at this point with 12 duplicate rares (!) from the previous one, needless to say I was just hoping to see anything different from the other two boxes (excepting the Hierarch of course).
3 mythics (one foil), two other foil rares. At this point I was just hoping to see no more Talrands and Eldrazi Conscriptions ever again, but I still liked this box quite a lot. The duplicates are a little out of hand here with one box to go.
Box 4: Topper was Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth (my favorite of those I received, but not a world beater)
4 mythics (!), one trash duplicate foil rare. It pains me to think about what might have been if those Conscriptions strewn about this case had been something actually decent This box definitely had the most poor quality rares of any of the four, but the mythic count props it up (in my mind) above my second box which was atrocious.
Fun notes from these boxes: Both packs that contained Seize the Day as the rare also had a foil rare or mythic. Also, the Flagstones of Trokair came in the same pack as the foil Karakas (go go white lands!) All Is Dust was in the very last pack of two of the boxes (I open left to right by column).
Here's hoping that nobody gets as many duplicates as I did (unless you need them for a deck or they are Noble Hierarch) :).
It looks like the japanese printers are way better at sorting out cards than the cheaper ones in Texas. I honestly don't see them doing another set like this again at this price point. The issue with printing cards like this is that it makes the cards market value too much of a decision factor in deck building and ownership, which makes the masters sets glorified scratch off tickets. If the boxes were 120 msrp, the prices would go down substantially and people wouldn't really care as much if they picked up something like Eldrazi Conscription instead of hitting that mythic bomb Liliana of the Veil.
I mean, the cards in the box I opened definitely didn't add up to market value of the box, but that isn't really the point. The only thing people want are cards that actually see play in constructed, which is what this set actually delivered for once. That's a miracle considering how the company bulks up their sets to 200+ cards with nothing but chaff filler.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Rares:
Eldrazi Conscription
Reya Dawnbringer
Wall of Reverence
Back to Basics x2 (x1 foil)
Dig Through Time
Magus of the Bazaar
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Bridge From Below
Demonic Tutor
Reanimate
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Seize the Day
Life from the Loam
Pattern of Rebirth
Engineered Explosives
Phyrexian Altar
Desolate Lighthouse
Flagstones of Trokair
Lavaclaw Reaches
Stirring Wildwood
This is a painful box to open. Card prices dropped worse than I ever expected. Only a few cards worth the price of a pack. Box prices better fall or they will sit forever. I predicted it would be a bad deal at $12-15 a pack but had no idea it would get this bad.
Stores on Thursday were so hyped when opening boxes. Prices are like 1/4-1/10 what they were before on so many cards.
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Currently Playing: Standard:
Nothing, the format Bores me! Legacy: RBurn (Made on the Cheap!)R RGBelcherRG WSoldier StompyW BReanimatorB EDH: BUGRWSliver OverlordWRGUB BGeth, Lord of the VaultB
I was so excited when I saw the cards in the set but the prices dropped fast and the £210 ($260) I paid ended up looking awful. My box felt awful.
Got 3 mythics, Balefire Dragon, Mikaeus and Emrakul.
I've seen lots of box openings on youtube and people seem to get 2-3 foil rares, I got 1, a golgari grave troll.
For rares, of the cards over $10 on mtg goldfish I got 4 of the 14 including a Noble, Colonnade and EE which was reasonable. However of the dud rares (under $2) I got:
Talrand, Sky Summoner (worst one)
Desolate Lighthouse (second worst)
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Reveillark
Spoils of the Vault
Seismic Assault
Seize the Day
Squee, Goblin Nabob
Sublime Archangel
Pattern of Rebirth
Woodfall Primus
I ***** you not, there are 23 rares under $2 and I got 11 of them.
So it all came down to the box topper. STIRRING WILDWOOD YES! Such a joke. What's even worse is my masters 25 booster box had a foil mythic, a tree of redemption. After that ***** show I was sure I was due a good box this time but no. I said to myself after masters 25 that I wouldn't buy another masters product but UMA looked so tasty that I got sucked in and now I deeply regret it. This truly is the last booster box I ever buy from wizards.
Edit: Run the numbers and the rares/mythics/topper total $215 TCG Mid, even counting the foils/uncommons I didn't even get what I spent back, and wizards charged a $300 RRP for this crap? This box should have been $150.
This is a painful box to open. Card prices dropped worse than I ever expected. Only a few cards worth the price of a pack. Box prices better fall or they will sit forever. I predicted it would be a bad deal at $12-15 a pack but had no idea it would get this bad.
Stores on Thursday were so hyped when opening boxes. Prices are like 1/4-1/10 what they were before on so many cards.
Where are you getting your information? 16 of 20 mythics and 14 of 53 rares are worth the price of a pack ($11) or more as of this moment.
The card stop and printing is pretty good compared to past Master sets except for the first one. The foil effect is barely noticeable which is a pity. Otherwise, it's on the right track in terms of quality.
I opened a box too. I got 2 mythics and 3 foil rares. I managed to open almost all the bad rares possible, but mythics, foils, and, topper saved the box.
Topper: Mana Vault
Mythics: Snapcaster and Karn
Foil Rares: Through the Breach, Noble Hierarch, and Phyrexian Altar.
This is a painful box to open. Card prices dropped worse than I ever expected. Only a few cards worth the price of a pack. Box prices better fall or they will sit forever. I predicted it would be a bad deal at $12-15 a pack but had no idea it would get this bad.
Stores on Thursday were so hyped when opening boxes. Prices are like 1/4-1/10 what they were before on so many cards.
Where are you getting your information? 16 of 20 mythics and 14 of 53 rares are worth the price of a pack ($11) or more as of this moment.
Packs only cost $11 at outliers. Market price is over $12 and in stores it's often closer to $15. 22 of 73 mythics/rares are worth the cost of a pack. 36 of 73 (half) are under $5.
Packs should have been MSRP $10 for this set.
I'm glad it's dropping prices, but it could have done it for much less money. We are basically paying for the manipulation of the secondary and they know it.
Currently Playing: Standard:
Nothing, the format Bores me! Legacy: RBurn (Made on the Cheap!)R RGBelcherRG WSoldier StompyW BReanimatorB EDH: BUGRWSliver OverlordWRGUB BGeth, Lord of the VaultB
Just watched my cousin open his box - suffice to say he is severely unhappy.
Raging Ravine
Lavaclaw Reaches
Celestial Colonnade
Maelstrom Pulse
Platinum Emperion
Glen, Elenda Archmage
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Visions of Beyond
Spoils of the Vault
BitterBlossom
Pattern of REbirth
Golgari Grave Troll
Noble Heirarch
Woodfall Primus
Containment Priest
Daybreak Coronet
Sublime Archangel
Reveillark
Through the Breach
Seismic Assault
Balefire Dragon
Squee, Goblin Nabob
2 foil rares: Squee and Maelstrom
Box topper: Kitchen Finks
I have never seen a person so dejected and angry. I can't say I blame him one point. That box should never exist, period.
No offense but if he isn't making enough to piss away 300 US on a box he shouldnt be buying sealed product to just open. Its always going to AVERAGE losing money, thats just obvious (otherwise ppl would open until its not profitable anymore)
Im expecting to lose 100 when i open my box but itll be fun because i have the money and i like to gamble.
And the post right above mine is the same deal.
IF YOU CAN't AFFORD TO LOSE $500 INSTANTLY DON'T BOTHER.
My net worth changes $1000+ on any given day but thats investing. You don't hear me WHINING about it daily.
You average out when you buy a lot of boxes to the estimate value of a box (and random big hit foils still matter).
So if a box estimate value without big hit foils is already above what you pay for them, it will be a "guaranteed" profit given you can sell the cards that make up your estimate value for that money.
If you just buy 1 or 2 , its randomness involved.
As this set has an even bigger range of cards value the hit or miss is even bigger.
----
So if you have not crazy amounts of money buying just the cards you really need is the way to go.
Otherwise its more often feel bad than anything else.
Box Topper is Bitterblossom.
What did people pull from their box or boxes? Personally, I think this box is more representative of an average box than some of the videos of people pulling the quintessential chase cards in the set like Liliana of the Veil or Karn, Liberated.
For those interesting, the foils in that list were the Lava Spike, Runed Halo, Sovereign of Lost Alara, the Lens, and the Shreikmaw.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
On a side note, I've seen/held some of the cards. The Japanese print stock and coating is FAR SUPERIOR to the garbage USA Texas crap. The stock is thicker, ink bold and colorful and the cards more glossy and all I saw were straight as a board, even the foils. Amazing when they use the good stock/priting.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Oh yeah, I agree. However, I think the best idea is to dump or sell off the box topper to get the more played non-foil cards. I'm looking at the box topper and without some kind of alternate artwork to make it stick out, it's not worth having a blown up version full art floating in ones deck. They are really cool trinkets for collectors or those who already have nothing better to spend the money on, though.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
Raging Ravine
Lavaclaw Reaches
Celestial Colonnade
Maelstrom Pulse
Platinum Emperion
Glen, Elenda Archmage
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Visions of Beyond
Spoils of the Vault
BitterBlossom
Pattern of REbirth
Golgari Grave Troll
Noble Heirarch
Woodfall Primus
Containment Priest
Daybreak Coronet
Sublime Archangel
Reveillark
Through the Breach
Seismic Assault
Balefire Dragon
Squee, Goblin Nabob
2 foil rares: Squee and Maelstrom
Box topper: Kitchen Finks
I have never seen a person so dejected and angry. I can't say I blame him one point. That box should never exist, period.
The problem isn't the box, the problem is that they are charging people too much for randomly distributed goods. I'm still sorting through all the changes that are going on and my recent experiences with how arena plays, but the reason they are stopping masters sets is due to the target audience of the sets and the goals moving forward. The thing people do not actively realize is that the people who buy these masters products get diminishing returns each time they print them. The cards are expensive on the secondary market, but that is because the cards are highly controlled, not because of demand and supply alone.
The strategy wizards of the coast has with older cards is to reprint the cards until the audience that wants those cards has them, then stop. They don't want the prices on big name cards in modern or legacy dropping to the point that people who play standard can readily pick them up, because they want those people playing Magic Version 3, not Magic Version 2.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I did get two spectacular packs. The best contained a foil Lili and a non-foil Heirarch. The other had both a foil and non-foil Ancient Tomb. Everything else however was on par with the lists above.
Nice, congrats on getting those.
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Please come visit us at the Emeria Titan control thread
foil Tomb of Yawgmoth
Through the Breach
Demonic Tutor
Not super valuable, but I was thrilled to snag a foil Kodama's Reach. It's so pretty!
My 720 Peasant Cube
I try hopping into arena and they shower you with complete garbage, then stuff you into room with other people that have complete garbage, and you fight your way up out of the trash heap eventually with enough wild cards to get somewhere! Then rotation hits and you are under a deluge of garbage again.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Not going to pretend to be humble - I lucked out. Box topper was Liliana. So by virtue of hitting the Topper Jackpot the box can technically be considered free. But let's just see the pulls from the perspective if my box was sold as single packs.
This was the list of notable Rares & Mythics I opened, anything else not listed is below the price of an individual pack of what I took as $11. I was lazy and used SCG as a reference (easier to match at a glance) so pardon the generosity of especially the lower-end cards that might not actually meet the threshold based on another platform.
Gaddock Teeg
Goryo's Vengeance
Reanimate
Life from the Loam
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Phyrexian Tower
Demonic Tutor
Engineered Explosives
Back to Basics
Liliana of the Veil
Phyrexian Tower (Foil)
I cannot remember what rare came with the Foil Tower, but even assuming it came with a chaff rare, that's only 11 packs out of 24 where you could pull a card of greater value than the pack you paid for. Sure, I didn't keep track of the combined value of each pack, but my most valuable foils of other rarities were Desperate Ritual, Buried Alive and Foil. Since I didn't keep track of what was in which pack so they could either be with chaff or overlap with one of the better rares in the same pack, I'm going to assume only 1 of them elevated a subpar pack to "worth the pack price", leading us to a total of half the box being "worth it" to "spectacular" and the other half just duds.
One more major thing to note - my box was a 2 Mythic 1 Foil Rare box and I believe the average Masters box has 3 Mythics and 2 Foil Rares (due to every pack having a foil). I lucked majorly since 1 of the Mythics was Liliana (yes making the box the double-Lili box of rarity) and the foil rare is currently tied for second-most expensive (non-Mythic) rare foil by virtue of being the first foil run of the card so I could compensate from the lost quantity with pretty much the best quality, which shows the variance within the box is also heavily tilted and without the top 3 pulls this box could have easily been a disaster.
Just throwing this in despite already knowing it's going to be pointless "disclaimer": Somebody out there is going to interpret me pointing out the "flaws" of my box as rubbing salt on other after bragging, but at this point of having lucked out I don't think anything I say will really change the mindset of those who intent to see it that way to begin with (and it's partially true anyway - human nature dictates I would want to boast of a good box anyway).
EDIT: Spelling
mythics Tarmogolf
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Sigard, Host of Herons
Lots of decent rares notables
Daybreak Coronet
Gaddock Teeg (foil)
vexing devil
talrand, sky summoner
fauna Shaman
Noble Hierarch
Throught the breach
Reveilark
All is Dust
Eldrazi Conscripttion
Disrupting Shoal
Phyrexian Tower
Urbog, tomb of Yawmoth
Ancient Tomb
Maelstrom PulseSpoils of the Valt
Celestial Colonnade (foil)
A lot of playable cards that may go up in value in 5 years once the markets readjust. Before the releases the card value would have been close to retail price. Over all I think my box was ok, I made value back but others in my LGS definitely did not, it felt hit or miss.
Mythics: Tarmogoyf, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, Cavern of Souls (foil)
Rares: Eldrazi Conscription, Containment Priest, Daybreak Coronet, Sublime Archangel, Back to Basics, Disrupting Shoal, Glen Elendra Archmage, Magus of the Bazaar (foil), Talrand, Sky Summoner, Visions of Beyond, Spoils of the Vault, Through the Breach, Vexing Devil, Fauna Shaman, Golgari Grave-Troll, Noble Hierarch, Pattern of Rebirth, Woodfall Primus, Maelstrom Pulse, Lavaclaw Reaches, Phyrexian Tower, Raging Ravine, Thespian's Stage (foil), Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 mythics (one foil), 2 additional foil rares. This one was fantastic, maybe my best box of the bunch.
Mythics: Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, Platinum Emperion
Rares: All Is Dust, 2x Eldrazi Conscription (1 foil), Daybreak Coronet, Reveillark, Reya Dawnbringer, Sublime Archangel, Dig Through Time, Glen Elendra Archmage, Talrand, Sky Summoner, Demonic Tutor, Spoils of the Vault, Fauna Shaman, Noble Hierarch, Gamble, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Maelstrom Pulse, Sovereigns of Lost Alara, Celestial Colonnade, Lavaclaw Reaches, Raging Ravine, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 mediocre mythics, one bad foil rare. This one was brutal--would have been hard to follow the first box, but at this point with 12 duplicate rares (!) from the previous one, needless to say I was just hoping to see anything different from the other two boxes (excepting the Hierarch of course).
Mythics: Snapcaster Mage, Liliana of the Veil, Karakas (foil)--extremely happy with all of those!
Rares: All Is Dust, Eldrazi Conscription, Containment Priest, Wall of Reverence, Back to Basics, 2x Dig Through Time (1 foil), Magus of the Bazaar, Talrand, Sky Summoner, Demonic Tutor, Entomb (foil), Goryo's Vengeance, Reanimate, Spoils of the Vault, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Seize the Day, Vexing Devil, Life from the Loam, Pattern of Rebirth, Engineered Explosives, Ancient Tomb, Flagstones of Trokair, Phyrexian Tower, Stirring Wildwood
3 mythics (one foil), two other foil rares. At this point I was just hoping to see no more Talrands and Eldrazi Conscriptions ever again, but I still liked this box quite a lot. The duplicates are a little out of hand here with one box to go.
Mythics: Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Temporal Manipulation, Platinum Emperion, Dark Depths(was not expecting that many!)
Rares: All Is Dust, Eldrazi Conscription (foil)(table flip), Containment Priest, Reveillark, Disrupting Shoal, Visions of Beyond, Bridge from Below, Reanimate, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Noble Hierarch, Nourishing Shoal, Gamble, Seismic Assault, Seize the Day, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Sovereigns of Lost Alara, Fulminator Mage, Engineered Explosives, Celestial Colonnade, Desolate Lighthouse, Thespian's Stage
4 mythics (!), one trash duplicate foil rare. It pains me to think about what might have been if those Conscriptions strewn about this case had been something actually decent This box definitely had the most poor quality rares of any of the four, but the mythic count props it up (in my mind) above my second box which was atrocious.
Fun notes from these boxes: Both packs that contained Seize the Day as the rare also had a foil rare or mythic. Also, the Flagstones of Trokair came in the same pack as the foil Karakas (go go white lands!) All Is Dust was in the very last pack of two of the boxes (I open left to right by column).
Here's hoping that nobody gets as many duplicates as I did (unless you need them for a deck or they are Noble Hierarch) :).
It looks like the japanese printers are way better at sorting out cards than the cheaper ones in Texas. I honestly don't see them doing another set like this again at this price point. The issue with printing cards like this is that it makes the cards market value too much of a decision factor in deck building and ownership, which makes the masters sets glorified scratch off tickets. If the boxes were 120 msrp, the prices would go down substantially and people wouldn't really care as much if they picked up something like Eldrazi Conscription instead of hitting that mythic bomb Liliana of the Veil.
I mean, the cards in the box I opened definitely didn't add up to market value of the box, but that isn't really the point. The only thing people want are cards that actually see play in constructed, which is what this set actually delivered for once. That's a miracle considering how the company bulks up their sets to 200+ cards with nothing but chaff filler.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Box topper: Karakas
Mythics:
Lili
Vengevine
Leovold
Cavern
Rares:
Eldrazi Conscription
Reya Dawnbringer
Wall of Reverence
Back to Basics x2 (x1 foil)
Dig Through Time
Magus of the Bazaar
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Bridge From Below
Demonic Tutor
Reanimate
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Seize the Day
Life from the Loam
Pattern of Rebirth
Engineered Explosives
Phyrexian Altar
Desolate Lighthouse
Flagstones of Trokair
Lavaclaw Reaches
Stirring Wildwood
Cool foils:
Fecundity
Countersquall
I have had the Marit Lage token sitting in my binder since the Cold Snap Release Tournament July of 2006. I will now finally be able to use it!
Stores on Thursday were so hyped when opening boxes. Prices are like 1/4-1/10 what they were before on so many cards.
Currently Playing:
Standard:
Nothing, the format Bores me!
Legacy:
RBurn (Made on the Cheap!)R
RGBelcherRG
WSoldier StompyW
BReanimatorB
EDH:
BUGRWSliver OverlordWRGUB
BGeth, Lord of the VaultB
Got 3 mythics, Balefire Dragon, Mikaeus and Emrakul.
I've seen lots of box openings on youtube and people seem to get 2-3 foil rares, I got 1, a golgari grave troll.
For rares, of the cards over $10 on mtg goldfish I got 4 of the 14 including a Noble, Colonnade and EE which was reasonable. However of the dud rares (under $2) I got:
Talrand, Sky Summoner (worst one)
Desolate Lighthouse (second worst)
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Reveillark
Spoils of the Vault
Seismic Assault
Seize the Day
Squee, Goblin Nabob
Sublime Archangel
Pattern of Rebirth
Woodfall Primus
I ***** you not, there are 23 rares under $2 and I got 11 of them.
So it all came down to the box topper. STIRRING WILDWOOD YES! Such a joke. What's even worse is my masters 25 booster box had a foil mythic, a tree of redemption. After that ***** show I was sure I was due a good box this time but no. I said to myself after masters 25 that I wouldn't buy another masters product but UMA looked so tasty that I got sucked in and now I deeply regret it. This truly is the last booster box I ever buy from wizards.
Edit: Run the numbers and the rares/mythics/topper total $215 TCG Mid, even counting the foils/uncommons I didn't even get what I spent back, and wizards charged a $300 RRP for this crap? This box should have been $150.
Spirits
Where are you getting your information? 16 of 20 mythics and 14 of 53 rares are worth the price of a pack ($11) or more as of this moment.
Signature courtesy of Rivenor and Miraculous Recovery
EDH Altered Cards by Galspanic (Seriously, this guy's awesome.)
My Pauper Cube
Tapped-Out Simulator
My Trade Thread
-Decks-
Commander:
GWR Rith, the Awakener RWG
U Kami of the Crescent Moon U (Flagship Deck)
BW Teysa, Orzhov Scion WB
Under Construction:
UBR Crosis, the Purger RBU
Cube:
WUBRGX Pauper XGRBUW
The card stop and printing is pretty good compared to past Master sets except for the first one. The foil effect is barely noticeable which is a pity. Otherwise, it's on the right track in terms of quality.
I opened a box too. I got 2 mythics and 3 foil rares. I managed to open almost all the bad rares possible, but mythics, foils, and, topper saved the box.
Topper: Mana Vault
Mythics: Snapcaster and Karn
Foil Rares: Through the Breach, Noble Hierarch, and Phyrexian Altar.
Packs only cost $11 at outliers. Market price is over $12 and in stores it's often closer to $15. 22 of 73 mythics/rares are worth the cost of a pack. 36 of 73 (half) are under $5.
Packs should have been MSRP $10 for this set.
I'm glad it's dropping prices, but it could have done it for much less money. We are basically paying for the manipulation of the secondary and they know it.
Currently Playing:
Standard:
Nothing, the format Bores me!
Legacy:
RBurn (Made on the Cheap!)R
RGBelcherRG
WSoldier StompyW
BReanimatorB
EDH:
BUGRWSliver OverlordWRGUB
BGeth, Lord of the VaultB
No offense but if he isn't making enough to piss away 300 US on a box he shouldnt be buying sealed product to just open. Its always going to AVERAGE losing money, thats just obvious (otherwise ppl would open until its not profitable anymore)
Im expecting to lose 100 when i open my box but itll be fun because i have the money and i like to gamble.
And the post right above mine is the same deal.
IF YOU CAN't AFFORD TO LOSE $500 INSTANTLY DON'T BOTHER.
My net worth changes $1000+ on any given day but thats investing. You don't hear me WHINING about it daily.
So if a box estimate value without big hit foils is already above what you pay for them, it will be a "guaranteed" profit given you can sell the cards that make up your estimate value for that money.
If you just buy 1 or 2 , its randomness involved.
As this set has an even bigger range of cards value the hit or miss is even bigger.
----
So if you have not crazy amounts of money buying just the cards you really need is the way to go.
Otherwise its more often feel bad than anything else.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮