MTG: Guy pulls an Alpha Black Lotus from sealed booster pack

[BrokenVisage]

I miss the idea of playing this game but that's more a reflection of my feeling towards that time of my life in general. Late HS / early college. (mid 90s)

Some of us made a lot of money on that game. Specifically making some correct guesses when it came to what was being brought back in the Chronicles set and what was being removed from 3rd edition. Let's just say I traded a number of original set Legends for a ton of dual lands. Once Chronicles came out the value of the Legends plummeted. The Dual lands were removed from the main set with 4th edition and their value sky rocketed. I was selling sets of duals for $400 a pop on IRC.

Just went back and looked at the old Arabian Nights set. So many great cards there. Haven't seen those in years... Nostalgia!

http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/S...visual&action=advanced&set=["Arabian+Nights"]

But since this is about the Black Lotus...

Why is the Black Lotus banned? Why were some other cards banned?

Any Land + Black Lotus + Juzam Djinn on first turn basically says it all.

Swamp, Mox, Dark Ritual, Juzam first-turn worked pretty good too. I loved combo decks, stuff that made my opponent furious. The Necropotence/Illusions of Grandeur/Donate deck was so much fun to play.

Lotus was banned because it was just too powerful, same as Time Walk and Ancestral Recall probably. When I played they were just restricted in Type 1, but no one even played Type 1 and that was 10+ years ago.

 

[mugs]

So a company invents a card game, prints a 1000 all-too-powerful cards and now they're somehow worth 30k each? Fools and their money...

Well, the game is played by millions of people and generates over $300 million per year in revenue.

You could say the same about old baseball cards. As long as Magic continues to be a popular game, the old, rare cards will be extremely valuable.

 

[Sonikku]

Guy sounds like he's experiencing his first post op orgasm pulling that card.

 

[waggy]

Waggy how much did you sell them for?

nowhere near $30k damn.

While i had all the cards from the power nine set in beta and unlimited. but i sold them like 18 years ago


shit. i still have a few box's that had my tournament decks in them.

 

[shabby]

You could say the same about old baseball cards. As long as Magic continues to be a popular game, the old, rare cards will be extremely valuable.

A black lotus doesn't have any skill, a baseball player does.

 

[Newbian]

A black lotus doesn't have any skill, a baseball player does.

The lotus has a use in gameplay while the baseball card has none as they are only to be looked at.

 

[waggy]

A black lotus doesn't have any skill, a baseball player does.

what does that have to do with it?

 

[Possessed Freak]

what does that have to do with it?

Clearly, the skill in the player is transferred to the card. Magical powers!

 

[shabby]

what does that have to do with it?

The value of the baseball card is based on the players skill, how can you put a value on a mtg card simply because it was printed the least amount of times?

 

[AdamK47]

The value of the baseball card is based on the players skill, how can you put a value on a mtg card simply because it was printed the least amount of times?

The Black Lotus has skill. Far more than any baseball player.

 

[Ichinisan]

The Black Lotus has skill. Far more than any baseball player.

I think you meant to say "card" instead of "player."

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Guy sounds like he's experiencing his first post op orgasm pulling that card.

Need more info. :hmm:

 

[Ns1]

The value of the baseball card is based on the players skill, how can you put a value on a mtg card simply because it was printed the least amount of times?

The value of a card is determined by the rarity dude. Do you even know how this shit works?

 

[lyssword]

nerd

 

[waggy]

The value of the baseball card is based on the players skill, how can you put a value on a mtg card simply because it was printed the least amount of times?

no. a baseball card's value is not based on the players skill. while the players skill has a reason for the value it is not the only reason to value it.

Of course part of the value of that MTG is based on the rarity. The cards power and rarity is what make the value. it's a rare card and was very powerful.

 

[gorcorps]

A black lotus doesn't have any skill, a baseball player does.

Doesn't matter, for quite some time now baseball cards were made to be collected and nothing more. Especially these days, baseball cards in good condition are not that rare because they're treated as collectables from the get-go.

These cards were made for a game, and a game that certainly couldn't have been forseen to be so popular this long after release. So to get a rare card printed during a time when the game was new and nobody had a clue the game would be popular is special. I certainly wouldn't pay for it as a collectible, but knowing how card games are treated I understand why having good condition old cards is so special.

Keeping a baseball card in good condition is easy, you never use them

 

[mugs]

The value of the baseball card is based on the players skill, how can you put a value on a mtg card simply because it was printed the least amount of times?

No, the value of a baseball card is based on rarity and desirability. You don't think Honus Wagner was the greatest baseball player who ever lived, right? You don't think players from the 50s were better than players from today just because their cards are worth more, right? Skill is a factor because it affects desirability, but rarity is certainly a factor in baseball card value.

It's no different from the Black Lotus. It's desirable because it's an extremely powerful card. That drives some of its value. The limited supply also adds significant value.

You know what's really stupid? Magic players who pay a premium for miscut cards. They look like shit and have no utility above a properly cut card. Players value those specifically because they're rare, and that drives their price above a properly cut card.

Also foreign language cards. Magic players pay more for them so they can "customize" their deck. Some languages are worth more than others.

 

[AdamK47]

I think you meant to say "card" instead of "player."

Nope.

 

[Ichinisan]

Nope.

Seriously? "A baseball player has no skill?"

 

[AdamK47]

No, the Black Lotus has more skill.

 

[Torn Mind]

On the other hand he probably hasn't seen real life vagina since he came out of one.... I'll take years and years of vagina over the chance of coming upon some rare MTG card any day but that's just me.

He can buy some escorts'...ahem... services with that money.

And you don't know anything about his ability to score. Being a nerd does not reduce one's ability to reel in the ladies. That depends on personality.

 

[HumblePie]

Besides that, when I played people would almost exclusively put their deck cards in shaded sleeves that would hide the alpha corners. And believe it or not I knew a high-level DCI dork judge who actually did play with the power 9 (everything but Timetwister I think) in one of his decks. It was some convoluted look-at-me-make-infinity-mana-and-millstone-you-to-death show-off deck that of course would be banned in any format but dudes like him don't care.

That might have been me at one point But I did have time twister. Oh the days of the first turn wins were so fun against noobs to the game.

 

[datalink7]

He can buy some escorts'...ahem... services with that money.

And you don't know anything about his ability to score. Being a nerd does not reduce one's ability to reel in the ladies. That depends on personality.

I bet Vin Diesel doesn't have any trouble in that department, and he's a huge nerd.