That looks pretty good and I conveniently already have the bulk of those cards, so I guess it's time to take it for a test run :). One thing that's annoying though is it's called "steel stompy" but there's no darksteel colossus.
Why is there no Champion of the Parish or Mother of Runes? This looks more like standard or modern than legacy. Merfolk decks can usually do what humans do - boost each other - but better because they have more mana-cheap cards to boost everything by +1/+1 or can be unblockable, and they have counter spells and can splash for whatever spot removal they want. If your mana base is already 5 colors, there's already better decks that can run 5 colors.
If bolt became Standard legal again it would jump in price to probably about a $5 card. But you are right, its been reprinted like 5 or 6 times in Standard legal sets. Most of those sets being large print runs and the card being a common.
If it somehow suddenly only became standard without being reprinted, which rarely happens if ever, you'd be right. But if it was standard, that would likely mean it would be reprinted as a common or uncommon which would lower the price. This concept of supply and demand I am using to explain the market is pretty common, price memory doesn't actually exist, it's really all just the number of copies there are vs how much people want it. Like I said, you can try to sell a card for some insanely high price that you think it's worth in a flooded market when no one cares about your opinion, but you will find you'll never make a sale until you lower the price, and most people would rather make at least some money than take a piece of cardboard with them to the grave.
For example, someone might have bought some signed Bill Cosby souvenir for $1000 around 8 year ago, and then they might try to sell it today. But nowadays, even though that individual would try to sell it for $1000 because their opinion is that it's worth $1000, no one would actually be willing to buy it for that price, someone would maybe consider buying it for like $80 as part of a more general collection that captures the overall history of television or the series, and that's because most people now found out he's more or less a monster and don't want anything to do with him. So, the demand for Bill Cosby products is greatly lowered to shift the value of the souvenir to $80 regardless of that seller's opinion that they should get $1000 for it.
This might seem arbitrary due to the emotional aspect, but it is still rationally consistent. People buy such products for the entertainment or a feeling of contentment from possessing them. If they find out their former idol is a monster, then that same product no longer provides the satisfaction that it use to, and therefore its economic utility (or its ability to entertain and stimulate contentment) is much lower, which means the product has less value to people.
I like how they use the word "generous" as if it actually applies, when the reality is WoTC has a monopoly on the card game industry that is measurably detrimental to the world economy. The game is simply a means of entertainment, these flimsy pieces of cardboard marginally cost like 4 cents to produce, maybe 10 before shipping in bulk, at most and shipping would probably boost it. WoTC could always print any and all artwork they want at any time they want, but instead of making the game about allowing people to build the creative decks they want, they made it solely about taking as much money from people as they can get away with. All someone needs to do is create a card game of similar to greater complexity with the same universally appealing style of artwork except sell the cards for $1-$2 a piece. Half the people who see it who are familiar with magic will resist, but gradually over time come over to it as friends or people they know choose it over the vastly more expensive magic, and the hardcore fans will fight for some sentimental integrity aspect for the game, but overall will gradually stop participating in the game altogether. Wizards will gradually and appropriately go bankrupt if they do not adapt by lowering their prices, then and people will get what they want. And if the new company does the same, old magic card concepts can be revived, it's not like someone removed them from the game. The only barrier of this is investment money, only a game designer or mathematician with a sufficiently large reputation would be able to garner the loans or investors to fund the $500,000-$1,500,000 or so startup costs that it would take to create a company that would start competing with WoTC, assuming that the company only starts locally. A kickstarter fund wouldn't work because publicly revealing the plans would allow WoTC to legally prepare much too well in advance to immediately sue the new company for alleged infringement on intellectual property rights and/or create counter marketing measures with their vast array of elite lawyers. At a certain point in the future though, it won't matter. WoTC will have grown too big and own too many different games and ideas, the only hope would be if the Federal Trade Commission stepped in after it could be shown WoTC is abusing its monopoly.
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If it somehow suddenly only became standard without being reprinted, which rarely happens if ever, you'd be right. But if it was standard, that would likely mean it would be reprinted as a common or uncommon which would lower the price. This concept of supply and demand I am using to explain the market is pretty common, price memory doesn't actually exist, it's really all just the number of copies there are vs how much people want it. Like I said, you can try to sell a card for some insanely high price that you think it's worth in a flooded market when no one cares about your opinion, but you will find you'll never make a sale until you lower the price, and most people would rather make at least some money than take a piece of cardboard with them to the grave.
For example, someone might have bought some signed Bill Cosby souvenir for $1000 around 8 year ago, and then they might try to sell it today. But nowadays, even though that individual would try to sell it for $1000 because their opinion is that it's worth $1000, no one would actually be willing to buy it for that price, someone would maybe consider buying it for like $80 as part of a more general collection that captures the overall history of television or the series, and that's because most people now found out he's more or less a monster and don't want anything to do with him. So, the demand for Bill Cosby products is greatly lowered to shift the value of the souvenir to $80 regardless of that seller's opinion that they should get $1000 for it.
This might seem arbitrary due to the emotional aspect, but it is still rationally consistent. People buy such products for the entertainment or a feeling of contentment from possessing them. If they find out their former idol is a monster, then that same product no longer provides the satisfaction that it use to, and therefore its economic utility (or its ability to entertain and stimulate contentment) is much lower, which means the product has less value to people.
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