I started playing MTG last 2005, I was 10/11 years old back then. My mom bought me this black/blue precon deck from Mirrodin. I played with it with my friends and I was so happy, unfortunately I couldn't keep up with getting the new cards as new sets were released because I didn't have the means to buy'em as a kid. Now, I dove right back in to MTG and bought a few set boosters from Brother's war and a bundle from Streets of new Capenna. I also got a phantom premonition EDH as it is the most common format at my LGS. I just pre-ordered a collector's box and a set booster box for Phyrexia. I'm getting those new cards, worth it or not. I really miss the sweet smell of fresh cards when you crack open a booster pack.
That is an amazing story - My MTG journey has actually been quite similar. I played CONSTANTLY at an LGS but didn't have the financial means to buy a single box let alone boxes. Now that I am a bit older and life is a bit more stable I find myself happy to continue to engage with MTG in new ways and its fun to crack some plastic every now and again and chase down those shiny rectangles ;) after you crack 'em, be sure to let me know how it goes!
same deck and similar age. Mirrodin was CRAZY and that deck was heavy on Affinity for Artifacts. Called "Bait and Bludgeon" if you wanna search it for nostalgia. The box-art card, insect looking Broodstar, looked cool but was pretty worthless in game
I started playing magic in fall of last year and so far I’ve enjoyed draft the most so I’ve been building my collection that way. Now I’m starting to branch into constructed so I’m looking to start building decks for pauper and modern
Not buying the company line of secret lair is mtgs collectible item. This company has not proven to know what the customer wants (exhibit A) Magic 30. I have cut back BIG time in this era of over print for collecting reasons and am waiting for a couple months on releases for inevitable price drops then scooping up select products.
You are better than I. I hate myself for getting so many SLD, but most of the time, it's the cheapest way for me to access some cards. I'm new, so I don't have copies of most of the staples for my favorite formats.
I played MTG in the 90's, but I didn't own cards myself. I always been into D&D and computer RPG and my friend said that WotC released D&D sets in MTG. So as huge fan of old Baldur's Gate games I started collecting "master set" of Battle for Baldur's Gate. It's still first month of my journey, but I'm overspending. I bought 2 draft boxes, 1 set box and 3 collector boxes during sale. Total value of my pulls is higher than these boxes prices combined. I bought Vault X binders and I'm completing Battle for Baldur's Gate set. Every card in every version and every variant - regular nonfoil/foil, etended art nonfoil/foil, borderless nonfoil/foil, showcase nonfoil/foil, commander decks too. First month of collecting and I'm missing some ancient dragons and few mythics or rares, but It's allready looking pretty good. Next month I will buy commander precon decks set and then probably go for missing singles. It's huge set, but seeing so many familiar characters, spells and creatures from D&D and computer games based on D&D is just awesome. I like this as my new hobby. After Battle for Baldur's Gate I will go and complete Adventures in the Forgotten Realms and then Lords of the Ring, Jurassic World and Fallout. I will try to slow down and stop overspending my savings by setting a monthly budget. I wish I could find some people to play MTG again, but I'm basicaly live at the province and I deleted facebook account so it's hard to find a group of players. I guess I will test MTG Arena for now. Lots has changed since 90's in terms of keywords and gameplay formats.
I love your perspective on draft box collecting. I started playing in 94, collecting in 05, selling in 10 to save my home, collecting in 17. I love wotc's new treatments and the collector box ideas but they priced me out. Now I collect individual cheap cards from the past for nostalgia sake. Their is so many ways to collect magic! I don't play because of time constraints but I love the game, the art, and the hunt for cards I'm looking for at a reasonable price for my budget.
I collect one of each Draft, Set, and Collector sealed box, and then only open packs for draft and sealed events. Otherwise, I buy the singles I want and the odd commander precon.
The buy singles sentiment has never been more important than this day and age! One of each is interesting - I think that could be a fun way to re-live releases in the future!
Here’s the deal… three things factor into all collectibles: quality, rarity, and demand. You want all three to be maxed out in your favor. Secret lair, although its quality is good and rarity seem to hit the right mix, demand isn’t there. At least not at the time of writing this. That is why I won’t spend my money on it. Not enough juice from the squeeze.
Josh liking the content! Who needs those MTZBWY guys eh? You have to look at the fact that LGSs are not locked out of secret lair and they actually can provide some of the highest margin products in their stores. Let's look at some of the benefits from and LGS perspective: 1. LGS does not have to interact with a diatributor and there is no guessing with allocations. They are not forced to buy product they do not want in the process either (shitty but common practice). 2. Historically (though with relatively limited data) most secret lairs are known to increase in value by 100% post launch. Near 50% margin items are rare in LGSs. 3. They are super tiny and take up very little storage or shelf space. Real estate is a consideration in an business with inventory. 4. They are also super cheap to mail out as they are practically self contained in their own mailers. 5. They can always be split for resale of single cards. The chaff make fun giveaways for store tournaments and the most valuable are extremely liquid. Yes they do take some spend out of the magic economy but they do provide many benefits as a product.
You make some good points but It does feel weird to have WotC in the secondary market from time to time. Also you gotta love the MTZBWY bozos! They remind me how right I am about most things 😜😜😜
I still collect sealed, sets, playsets, and random MTG I like. However most of my efforts have been collecting 90's MTG. I'm not a fan of secrets lair.
Wish I still had my cards from 1995... enjoyed playing the game, baffled by what some of those cards sell for. Looks like I need to get what's left out of storage and see what's what.
Oooh that sounds like a pretty exciting adventure and never too late to start a NEW collection! When you find your stuff pop by and let me know how it goes! ❤️
collector boxes are not really what they say they are to me. the chase for schematic and foil shattered glass transformer cards is way over the top. they made them too rare. it is another lost legends situation if you ask me. i'm done man. i'm not buying any more sealed MTG until Hasbro decides to make actual good products. my new year's resolution is to buy 0 sealed product from MTG.
I think many feel the same as you do as far as mtg spend - I totally get it. I think the serialized cards were much better than the lost legends as even the worst ones felt collectible and were something rare. A legends common opened didn’t feel as special. I got that one wrong - I thought it would.
I got wilds of eldrain and the lost caverns of ixalan also one lotr box. Should I store them for years to come or open them up tey my luck on the pulls
Only YOU can make that decision - don't let anyone persuade you in one way or another when it comes to your boxes! I will add - I do not collect to try and hope value goes up over the years. I do it because seeing the collection makes me happy and I think one day I could always either crack the packs or draft the sets and re-live that time in magic. I hope you enjoy
@@HometownTcg idk how to play i got them for birthdays or Xmas gifts since they know I’m into Pokémon but they got me magic lol how do I know if I got rare cards you got a video on how to identify cards
I'm just a sealed collector. As I said in your other video, will completely skip pre-ordering collector boxes and will consider ordering a few months after release only. I like the idea of draft boxes because there is at least a much higher floor in them for the most part. So, may shift more of my spending to those. I do still buy Secret Lairs but I don't spend as much and I'm more selective about what I buy. Overall, I'll likely spend less on sealed Magic than I did last year and shift more of those funds over to Pokemon, FaB, and Weiss.
@@HometownTcg Just for future resale one day for the most part. Sad to admit but I don't even know how to play Magic. LOL I should take the time one day to learn. But, I do at least love the art. And same with the other TCGs I collect sealed. I have to love the art or I won't buy.
Buying select things to start the year, drafting dominaria remastered and maybe buying a few packs. Gonna get a compleated bundle for Phyrexia. And going all in on the LoTR set they release this year.
Secret lair is a non-product for me. Not a care in the world for it. Now barely being able to afford set booster boxes i’m switching to strictly singles and the occasional Collector or set booster pack but yea wont be bulk buying anymore prices are out of control. It’s a rich mans game now
I assume you would be opening every secret lair product that you purchase this year. As part of this experiment. If so, I'd vote that I don't really want to see you waste your money like that. Since I believe the SL's are only investable as a sealed product. And not as singles to flip. Because I think sealed investing will never die. Products may appreciate value more slowly in down times. But it will still be something worth investing in, if you have the time to sit on it. So instead of SL, I say but sealed products.
If you opened them all on camera, it would definitely make for fun videos. Although I think bad boy gaming does that already. But maybe not for every secret lair. But to keep in theme, you could open them, and then look back at the financials of your previous SL that you opened already. Especially since Louie was talking about selling sl in his store. Interesting conversations on the podcast that way too
I enjoy building the display almost as much as the collection. I’m debating taking a more minimalist approach in the future but for now, stack em high!
To collect something does not mean it has to have monetary value. So yes you can still collect MTG in whatever form you want. What MTG shouldn't be is an investment.
NOPE! Abandon ship, WOTC deserves to die. Find other games to play. Community should never support any company that is publicly traded on the stock market. They don't serve the fans, 100% they want nothing more than to milk you for your money. I'll play MTG Arena free to play, for the foreseeable future, but looking for the next best thing from a company that actually deserves my money.
I think many of us fans feel the same way you do. Imo it’s more important now than ever to be careful how we spend our money so we can protect ourselves
