It would also mean a lot to me if you checked out my new Office Hours: Teferi video, as RU-vid was not kind to it. I should have called it "Planeswalker Destroys Professor With Just Three Words!" which actually wouldn't be that far off. Give it a watch here if you haven't: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-piOOfI6qBo4.html
I watched it! Was a nice video! I like magic the gathering but with its unbelievably expensive prices I can't play the physical card game. I mostly play magic the gathering arena. Cheaper and I don't have to give up a arm and a leg to have fun!! Still I love your videos and think they're very honest and sincere!!
I watched the Teferi video yesterday as I was going through all your videos to see if any I had missed. It was very well done! As for this video, I would be... ok if packs were at most $9.99 for draft/set boosters, similar to Iconic/Masters 25/Eternal Masters sets but any higher is just way too damn high. I usually like to get a box of each set to crack open just for fun but I think I'm passing on this one cause the price is just too much.
That video made me go back and watch all of them. I am fairly new to RU-vid regular video watching. Before it was maybe 20 times a year I would be in RU-vid. That video I’ve shown to so many people. It’s gotten me watching all of them like Karn (my favorite) and Schrodingers box. So now I’m subscribed to like 8 people checking and commenting daily. You + Teferi did that for me. I hope you get unphased soon. It was a throwback to my first Tournament deck I won multiple decent sized tournaments with... my Phasing control/wipe deck back in visions/mirage. I’ve loved Teferi ever since. So thank you for that.
@@vichuang1480 it's happened to all hobbies like this. The huge influx of new customers has had them hacking up the price. The new players don't know any better and they can afford now for older players to not buy as much cause the new, bigger player base buys the products at whatever price marked. Video games are seeing the same shit sadly.
@@vichuang1480 gotta understand business, don't blame the company for the price spike. Blame the consumers who are paying these prices. If there was a decrease in sales then WotC would have to adjust said price spike. All in all blame is 50/50 you just gotta realize that it's not solely one party's fault.
@@Forged_Time I used to think this way until 2020, when corporations made record profits in this global crisis. Truth is corporations have gamed the system and will exploit human psychology for as much as they are able to. Though it's true that consumers aren't completely free of blame, I don't think 50/50 is accurate. More like 10/90.
This is pretty spot on. I'm also in the boat that I love what this brings, the potential it has to reduce the price of some cards, and the exciting design space they've managed to curate. I do not, however, love the ever increasing price of sealed product. Doubly so when you consider how many sets and products we're now being flooded with on a yearly basis.
Get ready for even more products next year as they try to cram universes beyond into the release schedule. I know some of them will be replacing other products, but if our only draft innovation is lord of the rings and our only $40 commander precons are Warhammer40k, there's going to be some very pissed players, and I can only imagine WotC will try to mitigate that with just more product.
Yeah, once they started charging more for the modern sets than the standard legal ones they whole "We don't consider the secondary market when making products" thing was fully exposed for the joke we all kinda knew it was all along. How do they justify the increased cost if not the value of singles? Does a box of Modern Horizons 2 really cost three times as much to produce than a box of Kaldheim? No, it doesn't. It costs exactly the same. Hell, it probably costs less since it has so many reprints that they don't have to design or play test. This practice is some of the worst disrespect a company has shown to it's customers that I've ever seen. Like EA levels.
I love how his videos that he makes it’s like watching a old school TV show and it’s perfect! Keep up the great work man! You should do some deck duels for fun!
With the amount of new "this isn't for you" products WotC has been releasing, I'm starting to believe that NO product they release IS for me. For once, I'd like to get the new cards, but the price of the product won't allow me. And then if there are cards, new cards, that I can't play with, there's no point in playing at all, this is not a F2P MMO, where there is pay to win economy, or it shouldn't be, in my poor opinion.
I've very rarely ever buy booster product because it's too expensive and not worth the gamble - but I can afford multiple modern decks. I really don't get this argument because if you don't buy booster product then the booster product was never for you in the first place.
Meanwhile I feel like people’s arguments are that we, the vocal, are in the minority. I think they’re wrong. I think a healthy population of players are in this boat together
@@StickyBombLauncher Sure, but then, an important part of playing MtG for me, that is Limited, has to be forsaken. I shouldn't be forced into buying singles to be able to play the game, and I shouldn't be locked out of an essencial part of MtG gaming experience, that is Limited formats, because I can't afford it. I understand what you're saying, and yet it doesn't feel any better to know that Wizards is actually locking me out of my favorite ways to play their game because "this product is not for me".
I quit playing at events and I play cube with my friends. Cards in the cube above €5 are proxied. I buy a few singles from time to time to treat myself. And I am still able to pay the rent. So...
At its current price, I'll barely be able to swing playing this at all. My sister and I are splitting a single bundle instead of the usual entire booster box for standard sets. I'm going to attend prerelease but between the bundle and that, that's like a quarter or third of my entire biweekly paycheck. And I need singles for commander, too! Especially cause I'm the guy that only plays squirrels and I have a lot of retooling and deckbuilding to do now. And I might want every alt of chatterfang, too.
Yep. I had to sell a 90 dolar card and i got lucky someone wanted that. With that and extra work i was able to get a draft booster box. But i will be skipping next set and limit myself to commander decks. I cannot even afford the singles.
I feel ya man, I'm lucky I make around 1100 a paycheck every 2 weeks, 1 of these boxes is almost 30% of a paycheck and I'm having trouble honestly justifying it to myself.
I've been playing Magic for almost ten years now, and ever since I started I had this hope of buying a box one day, but the price was always just barely out of my reach. But as I grew older and my purchasing power grew, so did the prices, especially on the sets I really want (as I don't play Standard), and I've yet to buy a box. At this rate, I don't think I ever will, and that's really upsetting. I can keep buying singles to keep my decks up to date, but I'd be giving Wizards a lot more money if the prices on sealed product weren't so ridiculous.
I don't like the price. However the great thing about magic is that if i never bought another card i'd still be able to sit at a table and play my Krenko edh deck
Its funny, buying booster boxes always seemed impossibly expensive to me as a child, couldn't imagine it. Now that I'm an adult that's still the case for the sets I'm most interested in.
I’ve been out of MTG for a couple years, and this video really hit the nail on the head for me. Seeing spoilers for this set really got me wanting to get back into the game, and modern especially. But seeing the pricing definitely discouraged my hopes of returning to the game in this new light, so to speak. I know that sets like theses, and especially one as well thought out and exciting as this one, are going to be more expensive than normal standard-rotating sets, but I’d agree that having a higher MSRP than the first Modern Horizons alienates players in my position even more than the first MH did. This is long and rambling, but goddamn, I miss MTG, and this set is super cool but I find it unlikely I can justify the price for it. (Also been a while since I’ve watched a TCC video, and glad to see the quality has remained tremendous!)
Youre right 100%. Too expensive, ill just print proxies and continue to play kitchen table magic. For the price of a box i can buy a new printer and print anything i want. No thankyou.
Check out mtggoldfish's new webcam/printer friendly proxy feature. It's a lot like WotC play test cards that are all text, but cleanly formatted with fairly large readable text. Also, there are a number of card printing companies that you can order proxies through to have nice high-quality card stock proxies made with, such as mythic black core.
@@necksuss5806 MPC is really cheap so... with one of my orders I spent less than a regular booster box and completed 5 commander decks ;) i only buy proxys now, otherwise i would have quit this gsme because of money a long time ago
All of their cardboard costs the same to print: this price point is nothing short of exploitative given the new-to-modern cards that are guaranteed to see play along with the bevvy of necessary reprints. Singles will be cheaper, sure... but if that's what they wanted to accomplish, it would be $4.99 a pack. I get they're a business, but it doesn't mean we need to be complacent with these tactics
You have not only given words to many thoughts I've had recently, but you've also masterfully deconstructed and elaborated upon them, laying them in front of me as if handing me a free ticket to your train of thought. This video has been thought provoking. Thank you, Professor.
The burnout is real, I've halted hard on purchasing cards lately, if the premo sets and power spikes keep coming the way they have been, I very well may be saying goodbye to MtG, which makes me extemely sad, but one person can only take so much abuse.
I sold out and kept only one edh deck because I can’t afford to keep up with the product and their ever increasing price points. I love magic, it has literally saved my life once, but I don’t love the direction wotc and hasbro are taking it
I seem to recall Wizards made this same mistake - pricing too many people out of the game, and it eventually started to the game's profits to falter. I feel like I'm watching the same thing over again, just 20ish years later.
@@dongliker I missed it myself, having played from 93-94 until maybe 97 and only picked it back up in 2019. Early 2000s, maybe? I learned about it when my brother got me back in.
Love this guy he’s awesome. 33 years old and new to magic. Super complicated with all these play styles and keywords etc etc but I love it. I’ve always been in love with the art since a kid but never got to play. When arena came out I jumped on it and never looked back. I mostly play arena because I have no one to play the real game with, but I still constantly buy cards in store lol thanks got the awesome videos man I’ve learned, and continue to learn, so much! What an absolutely beautiful game through and through. The art, the history, the lore... can’t get enough. Thanks again!
I am someone who has just recently taken an interest in Magic again, after not having played it for 20 years. I sold all my cards years ago, thinking I'd never play it again. Between what I've forgotten about the game and what as changed, I'm pretty much a newbie all over again. I have much to learn. You know what has brought me back? Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. Now, pen and paper D&D isn't' something I've played in 20 years either, but I still read the Forgotten Realm novels to this day. I love that world and those characters. I saw your video about how you are not fond of these crossover concepts into MtG... but I have to say, hearing about Forgotten Realms crossing over into a MtG set? That reignited an interest for me that I thought was long since dead. So much so that I did plunk down almost $500 in card pre-orders for that upcoming set. Is that crazy? Am I crazy for spending so much money on a game that I haven't touched in 20 years and that I have no real way of knowing if I'll even like again? I am lucky enough to live in a area that does have a game store (owned and operated by a childhood friend no less) but will I find other players that I enjoy playing with, being almost a new stranger to the game once again? I don't know. These are questions that run though my head. I am a collector at heart, of a great many things, so I know I will get much satisfaction from opening packs and trying to make a full collection of this particular series. But is that alone worth the cost I'm paying to dive in now? Am I even the sort person that WotC is trying to lure into the game? (If they merely want people to spend money on cards, then I guess the answer is 'yes.') Maybe I'm foolish, and spending my money unwisely based on nostalgia. But, in a way, I'm also investing on "hope." Hope that this Forgotten Realms set will bring back good old memories as well as lead to new ones. I know the results of that depend on far more factors than are contained within this set alone, but how does one put a value on such a investment? Perhaps this Horizons 2 set is like that for others. I don't know. That being said, I don't know how people can spend this kind of money on the game all the time. 😆
All the information is available at the click of a button. That's on you. WotC providing a plethora of special treatments is a good thing. It means more players get what they want.
I'm in a similar boat. I can afford to buy some, but I'm so tired of feeling obligated to buy ever more expensive cards especially considering the rate they are being released. The balance that I think I'm coming to is that I'll buy singles for new decks I'm brewing, but not upgrade existing decks I have. Those decks were fun last year and they'll be fun next year with or without these cards.
I just started finding joy in drafting. I am so excited to draft this... but I just can't justify the cost. I think you really summed up my feelings well here. Excitement coupled with disappointment in the cost.
Forgive my negativity, but every day I am more and more glad Magic is becoming a less important hobby for me. I love the game, but one can only deal with so much "bullplop" before they lose interest.
I totally feel this, but almost in an opposite way. I just recently started getting back into magic at the start of the year after pretty much taking a hiatus for 2020 and most of 19. There are so many other ways to enjoy Magic without having to deal with WotC's BS. Pauper, playing online through cockatrice or untapped (including custom magic cards and sets and cubes, which there are tons of and some really incredible designs), or just general kitchen table "play the cards you have and want to play". Too often people look at Standard, Modern, and Commander as the only ways to play and enjoy the game, and that they have to follow the "meta" to "keep up" with other players, when it really depends on who you play with and how, and what you enjoy out of the game.
The big online retail sellers here in Germany have the pre-orders for them at 180€ a box or 5,50€ a pack (Englisch), wich is around what he's said they should be.
@@stephan5574 The same thing happened with time spiral remastered. They were like a 180€ here as well, and now they are still like 200€. They just don't seem to have the same supply shortage and buy hype here in Germany.
@@JO11190 Hey fam, I hope you get some rest this weekend. Drink plenty of water, get some food if you haven't. When you're feeling better we can discuss how the price of Standard and the Economy of Magic Arena are NOT Budget-Friendly.
Here's an anecdote that I think helps crystalize what Prof's trying to say here: My LGS, which I've been making a point to buy product (both sealed and singles) from this entire pandemic is finally, finally going to take a shot at in-store play. They're going to kick off with multiple MH2 prereleases and I was genuinely excited...until I saw how much they were having to charge. $50. $50, for a prerelease. That's an inflated price of the Lorehold Commander Deck. That's a lightly played Scalding Tarn. I balked. I can't do it, I can't justify that kind of sink for a handful of packs and some games. I literally will not be able to bring myself to experience the MH2 environment, and it's translating into me also not being able to support my store. The bubble's gonna burst somewhere. Eventually, more players are gonna be like me, a lot I know already are. Eventually they won't be able to put cards or treatments in packs that continue justifying the cost for enough people, and I fear a lot of stores are gonna lose all their players first.
Funny thing is for $50 dollars (each) you and a friend could split a set box of Zendikar Rising (Comes with 2 box toppers so you each get a chance at a fetch) and draft between each other like 4 times. Or any other set box except time spiral. Maybe with some luck WotC will see sales drop off and lower the price. Might be wishful thinking but I would think it would go something like this: "O.K. well now that we have sold all that we are going to sell at $270 a box, drop the price to $250 until sales drop below x amount a week." So on and so forth to capture as much money as possible in the quickest amount of time.
well remember that's the pre-release price so it'll go down a good chuck once the set is released. don't believe any of the prices you're seeing now until then
My LGS has pre-release kits for $50, I feel that's a very fair price given the power level of the set (I couldn't afford to ever draft or play limited for Masters sets)
I have one that is doing it for $50 as well, but another just down the road is doing it for $65. I hate that they got rid of MSRP... $50 is perfectly reasonable as 6 packs from the cheapest draft box right now would cost ~$45.
5:35 This is exactly where my weird conflicting feelings came from when wizards started really recognizing commander. I was happy at first because commander is my favorite format as a more casual player, but after so many official commander releases it just... doesn't feel the same.
EDH is almost unrecognizable in style from when i first started in time spiral. Moving from casual to competitive probably hurt but so did WOTC designing for it
If im being honest, even regular prices for booster packs at $5 a pack are too much for what they are, the rising prices of MTG are why i literally cannot keep up and play the game anymore. Essentially MTG is only for wealthy people now, even with buying singles because any good card will range anywhere from $5-$40. Obviously im not in a great financial situation, but even when I was i felt normal prices were too high for what is essentially cardboard with pretty pictures on it. In a perfect world I would love MTG to be affordable and cheap enough for anyone to get into, but as it stands now I can only see prices rising on every type of product
Many Magic: the Gathering players ask the question: How high is papa Hasbro's price ceiling for modern sets? The answer is: as high as consumers will pay for them ⚔
I have a play group of friends who watch your channel. I've been playing mtg for the last 9 years, starting out in standard, modern ending to commander. Commander used to be our go to format but we've been doubting the price point for those competitive decks. A modern deck/commander deck cost me between 500-900$ CAD ( I live in Canada). MTG is an expensive game because of that, we started playing a custom budget format. It's basically brawl but with the deck list of legacy. Where the price dictates the meta rather than an actual ban list. I always love the way you advocate ''advice'' as a critic rather than preach truths or ''strictly better''. I feel the same way about the hobbies I love too. Budget, time and effort are resources not every one is willing to put into something they like equally. People who have all the above to dedicate themselves, sure thing if it makes them happy. But I like the idea of keeping an open mind on how our decisions affect our surroundings. They say Liberty ends where another begins. If your time or money investment is encroaching on other parts of your life in a bad way, it's a good indicator something should be changed.
I ordered an unlimited version of every fab set and I still had money left over for a nice dinner for my partner and I. It’s a good start to the collection and I just traveled to an event an hour away yesterday. Magic events outside commander have just stopped firing at the store close to me as people just are either being priced or banned out of the game. It’s a strange time.
Such a cool, fun set. Really want to live in the parallel universe where this was $120 per box and I bought six boxes of it, rather than this one where I'm going to buy zero.
@@chrisschweitzer5558 Buying zero both because it's a lot less value getting two boxes to draft, play sealed, etc vs five, and to avoid voting for future supplemental sets to all be 300+, yeah.
@@chrisschweitzer5558 principle, also since singles are worthless right now it's also a value proposition. I can afford a case at 300 but I'm not going to buy it regardless.
@@Tpainactual I can easily afford to buy “premium” sets. I agree with OP. Calling some stupid and poor just makes you look like a tool. Learn to form an actual counter argument.
Professor, please know I love your videos and efforts you put into them. Dont ever feel unappreciated and if ever down know it is temporary and we got your back home slice 🙂
I completely agree with everything! I was super hyped when I saw all these awesome cards, I mean Asmor has been on my short list for ages. But then that price.... I'm a college student and I barely have enough to go to normal drafts once or twice a month, I'm totally priced out of Modern Horizons aside from maybe just buying one pack as a treat. It's disappointing and I really wish that a set this awesome was one I would be able to play with.
The sweet spot is $4 a pack. Collector’s Boosters can be $10+. Let me attend prerelease and draft without having to sell a kidney to do so. I’ll just stick to buying singles for Pauper...
I'm likely going to the prerelease, as it is probably the most reasonably priced way to get packs, but most importantly, it is the first event my lgs will do sense before covid. Edit: also, my lgs has stated that they will keep the price of mh2 at 240 per box, and won't go higher, which I guess is good.
I'm super excited for this set for 1 card- the GW 2 drop that lets you draw cards and gain life by casting enchantments. Built a commander deck out of it, and it'll all be shipped together when the set releases.
I wish I could play this set, but this product is not for me... I just cant afford to play "new" magic or buy new products no more. And your right it would be a fantastic set... if I could pay to play it
Singles are surprisingly "affordable" in general depending on the format and how competitive/"meta" you're trying to be. Mana is stupidly expensive for a lot of staples, but others aren't quite so bad. It's the one positive side of all these expensive set and collector boosters; they're getting opened so much more looking for special treatments and foils that the general second-hand supply is higher than it used to be, even for many of the chase cards. Hopefully that'll translate into this set as well, but I think the initial price point is going to hinder a lot of sales on sealed product, while also having a lot of desirable cards and treatments.
As an avid paper modern player, I love the set. And I consider myself a lower end “whale”. I love the idea (not execution) of secret lairs, and have purchased them. I want to buy this set, I want to crack packs and draft. But this set is too expensive. A box being almost 3 times as much as normal, I don’t even want to think about collectors boosters. Hell, wanting to just grab a fat pack(which I think is a cool inclusion especially with the land art) is more than double the normal price. And for what, the chance at Fetches? The cost to value just isn’t equal. And most frustrating is that despite my frustration, I will inevitably buy into the set, and WOTC will most likely continue this trend.
I honestly was considering going to the pre-release for this set, as a "I'm fully vaxxed and things are [kind] of back to normal" celebration. I knew it was going to be more expensive than a regular pre-release, but I didn't think it would be *this* much more. I just can't justify the cost. At least Jumpstart is back on Arena.
Yes! Jumpstart! I just skipped pre-ordering MH2 in favor of catching up on Jumpstart, which seems to have leveled out in price and is available easily again - So I bought two boxes, culled out the chase cards for commander, and the rest I play with my kids. Couldn't be happier.
@@waysofsorting1198 dude Jumpstart was so incredibly kind to me. I keep arguing with myself about buying more. Every box I opened I have had incredible value (thanks Shepard, Tinybones, Bruvac, Craterhoof etc.) with several cards I think will steadily increase in value like the unicorn enchantment. At 100.00 a box right now it’s an incredible value. BTW has anyone talked about the odd card feel of Jumpstart? It’s got almost like a plastic feel to it.
@@clutchbleach2057 😂 oh don’t start with this nonsense. It doesn’t even pass the smell test. The entire world is fighting to get ahold of the vaccine. Studies from all over the Globe have gone into COVID-19, it’s impacts, and the treatments thereof. For your belief to be true the ENTIRE WORLD’s scientific community had to have some grand conspiracy to control small town Republicans in the United States. I have seen so many silly conspiracies passed around, yes like magic cards, and then get discarded for the next best conspiracy because confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance plays so heavily into this strange cultural identity of part of the US population. It makes no sense, period. Then I thank one person for their unselfish decision to vaccinate protecting their friends and loved ones over individual selfish dogmatic fear and someone has to come poke at my one kind comment. It’s simple really. Entire Global Science Community (aka scientific plurality) > Republican car mechanics, HVAC, construction works, and politicians. For some reason when it comes to science I go to the scientists, and when it comes to cars I’ll go to the car mechanic. It’s called staying in your lane and using critical thinking.
@@clutchbleach2057 also, it IS a vaccine focusing on RNA. All vaccines introduce your body to a whole, or partially inert version of the virus to code your body into fighting it. They ALL do that. That means they are all immuno boosters using inert viruses. That’s how they work 🤦♂️
Prof, if you don't mind me using the abbreviation as I'm well aware it's not the best way to write things. (I'm aware you were an English major if I am recalling correctly, if not then sorry.) You're a lot more then the deck box and sleeve "review guy" to the community in our minds. I'm glad at the very least you are enjoying modern horizons 2.
Every time a new set comes out I'm like maybe I should go back into paper magic. And then I remembered that a box of this is like, literally 1/3 my monthly paycheck.
Wow really refreshing to see you this happy! It does suck that it cost so much though I'm getting a box at a decent price but its still hurting the wallet.
I would honestly love if magic released 4 sets a year. A new set every 3 months alongside commander precons might allow for more time for competitive formats to settle.
It's interesting because over here in Germany I actually have stores that sell this set at the same price modern horizons 1 was sold at back then. So I preordered some boxes. 185€. So I totally understand your dismay and agree...even that price tag is kinda expensive. It could be 140€ and it would be absolutely awesome.
The thought this provokes in me is: At what point does WotC hit the breaking point where no one buys anymore? They priced me out a long time ago. Honestly, I don't care what's printed in the set, Professor, it's card board that costs more than a Nintendo Switch. There is no way anyone can justify that kind of cost. I've always felt the way WotC caters to resellers is the reason they had a falling out with the Pokemon Company back in the early 2000's. The business models of the two companies are vastly different; WotC is trying to craft a collector's item, while Nintendo's trying to build a game. No such thing as 'limited sets' in Pokemon; If you keep buying, Nintendo will keep printing. It's why any Pokemon card printed after 2003 has really low value: There's about a million copies of it. I know many here in the Magic community will bark at me for it, but you're wrong: MTG is not the largest TCG... Pokemon is; By a V E R Y large margin(83% market share). Because it's affordable. WotC is pricing MTG out of the market.
It's a shame to, I really like playing this game for the value of enjoyment. So, I might just wait for the game to crash, buy cards for decks to make, that I then might just play with a very few people or just play playtest games. I have done this before with LoTR TCG and those cards dropped completely out of the market. (Really hard to find a game.)
Something else you didn't mention (Small point), in addition to all the variations of Fetches, there's also pre-release kits for a non-standard set for the first time and people who won't be able to go in on boxes would be more likely to crack those kits - I think there will be a lot of cards from this set in circulation which is very good for us single buyers.
the price only favors the scalpers and the wealthy collectors who will sell higher in price to the greater fools. In my country you have to work 2 hours in order to buy a single booster of MH2. It sucks
@@Bigmackenzie I can see the fetches and cards like the sword going for a high price, but even they're like $50-ish. I assume (hopefully) he'll go down but...mah God.
Yeah, but imagine how much money the secondary market resellers are going to scam out of people. Think of the scalpers -er I mean "investors" of the game.
OK this is an important lesson to make...DON'T look at pricing during the prerelease price vacuum as a gauge for how much shit will cost. He's $100 because he's unobtainable and people think he'll be a chase card. Regardless of whether or not he's a chase card, shops cracking product open will increase supply and the steady trickle of people buying product will drop the price.
With all the openings I've seen of The Collector booster packs it's going to take about two to six cases to get all 15 variants the hardest ones are going to be the original frames I've only seen two of the original frames in The Collector packs
Hi Prof! yes, the set is very expensive, they could charge the same that the others, is just carboard printed, like you say. I buy the pre release at double the price of any pre release fo the current standard sets, but they gave us some extra packs (3 strixhaven) and also the promo packs that you can win by going to pre release events (we still are in a some level of quarantine and, also, I don't have any store that host an event in my city), so we have that, at least.
The ever increasing pricing and the proliferation of 'premium' product shows that Wizards increasingly tilts to the 'Collector' side of the collector card game format.
This reminds me of the housing market. Where everybody needs a house to live, so too does every magic player needs cards to play. Hasbro is just taking advantage of the market. They print magic sets at higher price points, which raises the price of singles. Then they sell singles to consumers through their Secret Lairs, which allows them to double dip in the market, and lets them meet the demand of market. That causes more people to stay with magic, because they can still play. Then they raise the prices again; all benefiting Hasbro. I'm waiting for people to take out a mortgage against their cards.
You professor is spot on!!! I went very heavy into Modern Horizon. I was proud of how many cases I cracked. The boxes from what I remembered in the beginning is about 150. A little less or more give and take. The unlimited printing of that helped a lot. But Modern Horizon 2 have better cards, sure, reprinting of fetches, sure. But even with these 2 exceptions the boxes should be from 200-225. But WOTC is being greedy and evil so that's that!!! Here's a list of my mythics in Modern Horizon. Modern Horizon: 21 Echo of Eons 19 Hexdrinker 21 Kess, Dissident Mage 1 foil 23 Morophon, the Boundless 20 Mox Tantalite 18 Ranger-Captain of Eos 25 Seasoned Pyromancer 22 Serra the Benevolent 15 Sword of Sinew and Steel 1 foil 17 Sword of Truth and Justice 20 The First Sliver 23 Unbound Flourishing 17 Urza, Lord High Artificer 15 Wrenn and Six 20 Yawgmoth, Thran Physician 51 Force of Negation 2 Foils P.S. I have still more mythics than these unaccounted for, lmfao.
If possible, I would ask around at other stores. My main store said they are doing pre-release at $65, but one a little further away is doing it for $50.