The BEST Stronghold Booster Box EVER FILMED on YouTube 

I am the Daniel, and I received the cards. Wonderful condition, already sent out for grading! Glad you all enjoyed the video :)

18:36 "mox diamond, slight play"

I love Rudy passing over Hermit Druid like it isn't totally broken lol

No clickbait here. Legit best stronghold box. Not even done watching yet.

Rudy is so funny guy. It's like having burning dumpsters outside his house, regarding MTG drama and problems, but he is happily sitting in his warm and cosy house, enjoying the box openings. This is somewhat hilarious, but at the same time - not all people has to get involved in drama and I'm glad (in a way), that Rudy stays Rudy.

I wish someone would talk about me the way Rudy talks about his cards

Love that reaction to hermit druid *reads one of the most broken cards ever* ......meh

before I watch let me guess what rudys gonna say. wow look at the art they would never print this now. wow that's a great rare idk about prices about this set. look at this packaging mam they dont make it anymore like this . wow the smell so good.

End of 2022; nothing WoTC tries to pawn off as special even comes close to this. What a phenomenal opening.

I actually opened a box on release. When the video started I went and got my set out, oh the memories. I remembered just how Amazing my box was, little did I know I was about to see another double Queen, double Mox box. Hitting those doubles was what got me addicted to mtg. Was down right amazing to see it again 23 years later, the feels!!

Personally, I think this is around the absolutely best era of Magic art. Just the right combination of realistic, grim-dark and fantasy. I think the earlier art was a bit too all over the place and overall not very high quality. And we all know the many shortcomings of the newer art. I think this era strikes a perfect balance.

Wow what a box. Loved those old cards. I still have some in a binder at the back of my magic cupboard- feeling nostalgic to break it out again and flip the pages like a long lost family photo album. Thanks for posting Rudy- rock on dude!!

Stronghold is released in early spring 1998. Ahh, I still remember those days..

The best part of this, all past, and all subsequent old box opening videos are Rudy's reaction to the awesome artwork, I share the same reaction. Killer pulls here!

The art from back then is so so sooo much better than the homogeneous art we have today.

This box blew my mind. That's crazy. I opened two boxes back in the day and only pulled one diamond and one queen and one stronghold. Insane box, congrats!!

"We're gona have a fun, relaxing old-school video today... ... Oahhh, Oh my god! Whooohooo!"

Damn rudy, i still don't know how i found your channel but it prompted me to dig out old cards i havent seen in 20+ years, beta, the dark, empire, 4th ed, iceage.... I'm blown away just how much it's evolved over the years! anyway, really enjoy your vids mate! def sub to your channel.

I love these old school box openings

Slivers looked better back then. Now they're too "human" looking. Slivers are Love. Slivers are Life.

Gotta love the Professor intro lol.

FINALLY getting back into the good stuff. More vintage box openings please? Maybe even an Urza's Saga box opening.....

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Started playing around this time. Sickest stronghold box ever!

So much Ron Spencer! Best illustrator. So much chaos in the drawing! Love the colors and the details!

Amazing box! Love Stonghold artwork! Congrats to the lucky owner of those cards!

I love the old artwork. They make the pop.

I started back in Tempest so I very well remember Stronghold. Thanks for the memories!

Good to have a chance watching the oldy booster box opening. I wish I could see some Urza’s Saga epic opening very soon 😁😁

The opening caught me a little off guard, as I got to it from autoplay right after one of the Prof's videos

It's so awesome to hear Rudy excited out of his mind. :D

2021 comment here: how is it possible the patron wasn't happy? This box more than paid for itself back in 2017, and 3+ years later, it's insane.

"What was it like back in the 90's, during the Stronghold, Exodus, Weatherlight, Mirage, Visions era? Did everyone complain like today?" I got into MtG during the Ice Age/Chronicles era, and bought booster boxes and individual packs from my LGS up through Nemesis. I loved the Legends reprints in Chronicles and felt good enough about Ice Age to preorder a box of Homelands. That was such a stinker I gave away most of my cards and almost quit. Alliances and Mirage revived my interest, though I remember everyone at the time hated Cummulative Upkeep and Echo. Phasing and Shadow were controversial as well, lots of folks were tired of all the strings attached to the few good creatures that weren't hobbled by excessive mana costs. As for Stronghold, I opened a Sliver Queen as well, but I couldn't find anyone who wanted to buy it. I don't recall major hype around Mox Diamond, but in those days Revised Dual Lands were still widely available for around $20. The lack of distinguishing Rare and Uncommon set symbols really made it difficult to spot collectible cards. Information was mainly communicated via MtG magazines, there were very few online sources of data. Many of today's most sought-after cards from that era were largely overlooked at the time. Urza's Saga was the real blockbuster that blew open the moldy crypt that Magic had descended into. In the wake of that powerhouse, Mercadian Masques and Nemesis felt like uninspiring steps backward. WotC were pushing Standard exclusively, and unlike the years-long Ice Age era, were retiring cards faster than ever to make room for the new sets. To my eyes, it looked like the Urza block's days were numbered, so I checked out, figuring I had seen the game's best.

aww man I love you. You hit me right in the nostalgia Rudy.

i havn't played in so long i started playing magic in around ice age, brings back alot of memories

What a trip down memory lane. The card felt different, The smell was different, of course the artwork was incredible. And yeah it would be nice to see the cool artwork on the box covers again but we know that’s never gonna happen. Thanks for the memories🌮

I can definitely smell it. Stronghold/Tempest is when I started. Gooood memories. Spike Feeder, Wall of Blossoms and original Shock bring me back.

Thanks for the video. This is my first time on your channel. I myself started in MTG in like Iceage and ended around Mirage. I still buy some packs just to see how the art looks but i'm not really a big player or collector anymore. But what i do just buy the digital games and play online. Very casual and for fun. I do miss opening packs though :d

Loved playing during this era. Ensnaring bridge was my fav card for a long time, especially paired with the rack

Man that brings me back. I was only 8 when this set came out, I couldn't understand a word of what these cards said, but damn straight, I played the shit out of those Skeleton Scavengers!

this brought me way back. thanks Rudy and congrats Daniel!

So 2022 Rudy asked me to go back and watch some of the older financial videos, but instead... I thought I would go back to one of the first videos I ever watched. Around the time MTGA was launched in Beta, my brother recommended your channel to me and I've been watching all the videos since. While I'm no longer a MTG cardboard collector, I still love to play... but its mostly online. Still... I appreciate your flavor of humor, and your perspective on life, and being grateful, and not being a miserable curmudgeon. So this is my best guess timestamp of when I jumped on the Alpha Investments train and it's been a wild ride. Thank you.

HOLY FLIPPIN TACOS! ! ! Rudy - you weren't kidding. This is the BEST box opening of Stronghold I've ever seen! Thanks for the opening, good sir!

God I love Stronghold, so much nostalgia. I remember cracking packs back in the day and buying a couple of the preconstructed decks. I wish I had opened a Mox Diamond but I did snag a couple Ensnaring Bridges and Dream Halls. Unfortunately I think I traded them, along with a couple Gaea's Cradles and Sneak Attacks....oh the infinite amount of regret...:( Great video Rudy!

My first pack of Stronghold back when it came out had a Sliver Queen and definitely pushed me to build a Sliver deck. Still have all those cards. Great memories.

Mirage-Visions-Weatherlight & Tempest-Stronghold-Exodus then urzas block and then mirrodin block. The good Ole days!

I made a list of the value of the cards in the box Box value Pack 1 Intruder alarm (r) = 7.8 Pack 2 Flowstone mauler (R) = - Pack 3 Burgeoning (R )4.43 Pack 4 Primal Rage ( U) =1.37 Mindwarper (R)- Pack 5 Mindwarper (r)- Pack 6 Primal Rage ( U) =1.37 Skeleton Scavengers (R )- Pack 7 Wall of souls ( U ) -1 Rolling stones ( R) - Pack 8 Mortuary (r ) - Pack 9 Verdant touch (r )- Pack 10 Portcullis (r ) - Pack 11 Ruination (r) -3.85 Pack 12 Sliver queen (r )- 39 Pack 13 Volraths laboratory (r )- Pack 14 Burgeoning (R )4.43 Pack 15 Sliver queen (r )- 39 Pack 16 Horn of greed (r) -2.10 Pack 17 Thalkos deceiver (r)-7.11 Pack 18 Crystalline sliver (u)- 2.94 Evacuation (r) 1.70 Pack 19 Invasion plans (r)- Pack 20 Dream halls (r )-8.32 Pack 21 Constant mists (u) 3.44 Strong hold assassin (r )- Pack 22 Wall of souls ( U ) -1 Rolling stones ( R) - Pack 23 Strong hold assassin (r )- Pack 24 Mox diamond (r) 144.5 Pack 25 Constant mists (u) 3.44 Hidden retreat- Pack 26 Primal Rage ( U) =1.37 Hermit Druid (r )= 3.14 Pack 27 Mox diamond (r) 144.5 Pack 28 Awakening (r ) 3 Pack 29 Spitting Hydra (r )- Pack 30 Warrior angel (r)- Pack 31 Intruder alarm (r) = 7.8 Pack 32 Shard phoenix ( R)- Pack 33 Sword of the Chosen (r )- Pack 34 Dream halls (r )-8.32 Pack 35 Pursuit of Knowledge (r )- Pack 36 Spitting Hydra (r )- Card value=444.93 retail value of box is between $496.66 and $662.50 so whoever bought this box lost between $51.73 and 217.57 I guess this is why you're supposed to buy boxes and sit on them rather than open them yourself two mox diamonds and he still couldn't break even. all prices are TCG player market prices and are accurate to the time I posted this comment. I only counted cards worth 1 dollar or more. Also, I dint factor in the value of the mox diamonds after grading. If my hero creepy Rudy reads this comment I want him to know that my dream is to one day have a taco as floppy as his. P.S #greenscreen

I loved the Stronghold set, what really got me into discard decks and some other play styles

As of right now, the Sliver Queens, the Dream Halls, and the Mox Diamonds alone - just those 6 cards - top out at $890. That's crazy, what a great box. Too bad you didn't get any Ensnaring Bridges or Volrath's Strongholds, too :)

This title is just missing the *EMOTIONAL* tag. And the arrows pointing to the booster box with the text that says NO WAY. Also make sure to put a pic with your hand on your neck like it's sore or it's not legit. Love you Rudy!

I love Rudy’s reactions on older sets. It makes me warm in my floppy taco

i remember counter/pheonix back in the day. fun deck and good

I remember my two boxes I bought back in 97, both boxes had two mox diamonds and two sliver queens. Blew my mind!!!

This was the first year I started playing. I bought so many packs of Stronghold as a kid! Wish I could smell these.

Wow, watching this brought back memories of borrowing Mercadian Masques/Nemesis books from the library back in the day

I bought so many boxes of this block. Loved the lore and the broken gameplay.

16:14 Rudy is so moved by the quality of the cards that he almost begins to cry :D

I've been cracking packs since 97-98 myself. Started with Saga, but was busting whatever the store had. Mirage, visions, weatherlight, tempest, stronghold, exodus, fallen empires, homelands, alliances, italian legends and ice age. Man, those were the days.

those were the years that i was introduce to play MTG, back in 97, I remember getting one of those lotus petal, people are hyped about that card back then. Man I'm freaking old lol

Great video Rudy. Fantastic box

Takes me back. I may recall seeing people play with unlimited and al lthe legends, arabian nights, antiquities, and revised. I may have had osme of those, but I really got into mtg with fallen empires, 4th edition, and ice age. Chronicles helped to fill in the gaps , and I got into homelands, mirages, visions, portal, and 5th. But nothing prepared me for the storylines that erupted with weatherlight>tempest, stronghold, and exodus. I got a few character cards from those sets ( gerrard and volrath, greven il vec) as well as Volraths stronghold, his dungeon, but this vid made me happy srolling down memory lane of those good ol days, when the cards smelled so good. That new car, new comic, new girlfriend smell. Cant beat it. Great pulls in the vid RUDY! ^,;,^

I remember when Stronghold first came out. I got 3 Mox Diamonds out of 3 consecutive packs. Tempest block was always my favorite block, even though Urza block is a close second. Great cards

Rudy acting like Hermit Druid isn't that good when it's completely broken.

Nice job with the exciting box Rudy. Amazing pulls. Duplicate city.

That was SICK only Rudy can opena box that good. Only thing missing was a volrath stronghold and I have a mint condition one with the printer marks in the picture 🔥

What a nostalgia trip! Still my favorite set in MtG. Still think it has the best art work of any set!

OMG, this brings back awesome memories!!! I LOVE IT!!!

Omg this is around when I started the first time. I don’t remember many, but I do remember the stronghold icon and I just recognized the card with the blindfold on it. I feel like I must have had no idea what I was doing.

Rebecca Guay has great artwork. What an insane box!

These days, this is an amazing box. Back when stronghold dropped, this was considered a problem. There were pack sorting issues, having boxes with 2-3 copies of multiple rares was normal for stronghold. When that rare is Mox Diamond, Ensnaring Bridge, or Sliver Queen, this is amazing. However, when those rares were Flowstone Mauler, Carnassid, or Mindwarper... then it's a big fat box of suck.

The nostalgia! I will never forget cracking that Sliver Queen and ignoring the Volrath's stronghold in the other pack I bought. Also double mindwarper was not uncommon, ran into that numerous times back in the day... I have like 6 of those dudes.

Man, that opening was nuts!!

I started playing when Weatherlight came out(and stopped around Apocalypse, at least on paper), this is my nostalgia era.

This video was so nice to watch. Hearing you so awestruck

Man this brought back some memories...ty Rudy.

two years later, they brought back slivers. creepy rudy nailed it

That's pretty amazing of a box, I remember I opened a box of unlimited - back in the day and all the uncommons were rare and the rare was an uncommon . . . a god pack/box as we called it I've never seen one for Magic since then, but I have for a few other games. The guy Daniel, who got this box, that's an amazing box - also Rudy, you missed a few dupes :P

Still watching this after more than a year of filming. By far best box opening hairy arms with 16 thumbs.

Superb Professor impression!

Watching this video in 2020.. Outstanding! No words! 18:30 BEAUTIFUL

Very Cool, I started in Portal, this block was right around then. Stronghold is great. The art was insane back then. I remember years later people were freaking about pokemon and the devil or something, I was sitting there with dark rit's and other crazy cards like these in my backpack. Mindwarper was always an old favorite of mine, 90's playable.

17:13 and 18:35 for all those new players to Magic the Gathering playing along at home 10:58 and 12:22 well would you look at that the history of magic is priceless

Loved the booster openings of such nostalgic set, but man did Rudy clean his throat each 10 seconds..lol

Rudy: "Bring back slivers" Modern Horizons: "Alright."

This was my era of Magic. Most of my cards were from Stronghold. I had Dream Halls and I still have Ruination. Never found Mox Diamond or Sliver Queen...

Sick pulls man..i enjoyed watching and it wasn't even my box

It’s amazing how I wasn’t into magic when the older art was out (I sadly only recently got into it) but this art makes me nostalgic for things I never even had. The art is absolutely beautiful and God that print quality!! What’s your favorite arts from MTG guys I’d love to know! I love the Egyptian theme of HoD

Man I miss hand painted artwork. All the computer drawn stuff today is just horrible to look at.

"Oh..... shit we did it!" "Oh shit no way! Another...." Hahahaha love Rudy

Bro, that was a god box of Stronghold boosters!!!!!! I've only seen One box that had both Mox and queen in it back in the day, they were kinda like rare of rares back then. Nice!!!!

I'm flabbergasted at how much Rudy's green screen skills have improved.

As of May 13th, 2020. Median Stronghold Booster Box Rounded Down: = $1,500 Box Value (Rare Only): = $861.90 Net Loss: = $628.10 Really cool video though. Those old cards have something magical about them. Wizards need to go back to the old printing process, nice sharp colors

i like how you can hear the smile on rudy while squeezing the first queen pull

this is The BEST of the Old days!! ....I bought a lot of these BOXs

Loved opening those sets

Just wanted to reaffirm that I can definitely smell the cards. That is some serious psychological imprinting!

18:30 had me laughing so hard good shit love the reaction

As somebody who opened CASES of Stronghold, this box occured about twice per case of 6 boxes. Remember that at 36 packs and fewer rares than the larger set of the block, that how sorting went

Question to all you Experts: I really like the artwork of some of those cards. I do not intend to play the game, but rather consider to collect some of those foil design cards. Now, I am very new but realised there are so many cards. I want to follow some kind of strategy. How or where may I get an overview of what kind of foil design cards are out there? Do not really want to start cracking packs but focus maybe on a certain branch of design. Not sure yet, but they look so nice. Any suggestions?

One of the stores I go to a fair bit still had some stronghold boosters they were charging a fair bit for them and surprisingly not many sold, I bought 3 and got two sliver queens still have them today was so happy

I remember the text before release: Step into the Darkness in March 1997 🤗