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Magic: the Gathering Celebrates 30 Year Anniversary By Selling $1,000 Boosters (vice.com) 70

Posted by BeauHD from the this-ain't-it dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: Popular collectible card game Magic: The Gathering is celebrating its 30th anniversary by releasing packs of cards that cost $999. It's called Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary Edition and will contain some cards that haven't been reprinted in decades, all with their original art. Nine hundred ninety-nine dollars will buy a collector four sealed booster packs. "Each pack contains 15 cards, 13 cards in the modern frame -- 1 rare, 3 uncommons, 7 commons, and 2 basic lands -- plus one basic land in the retro frame, one additional retro frame card, and a token," according to Magic's website.

These cards are purely collector's items. They're not tournament legal and have different backing than the original cards. It's also a limited edition print run. Magic publisher Wizards of the Coast hasn't said how big that run will be, just that it's limited and that card shops will receive a limited supply with the bulk of the cards being sold online. The set includes reprints of cards, some of which haven't been reprinted in decades, including the Power Nine, nine powerful cards from the early sets that include the iconic Black Lotus and Ancestral Recall. These were some of the earliest cards to be restricted from tournament play because they were overpowered; they were eventually discontinued. A Black Lotus sold at auction in 2021 for $511,000. This new limited edition Black Lotus won't likely reach those lofty pricing heights. Again, these cards can't be used in tournament play and are only meant to be a collector's item. Customers will be buying packs in sets of four for $999, so they're paying $250 for a booster pack they can only ever display and never play with. The community is upset.
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Magic: the Gathering Celebrates 30 Year Anniversary By Selling $1,000 Boosters More

Magic: the Gathering Celebrates 30 Year Anniversary By Selling $1,000 Boosters

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  • So what's $1000 to a Magic fan? (Score:5, Funny)

    by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Thursday October 06, 2022 @11:49PM (#62945691)

    If you're that into the game, it's not as if you've been spending money on stuff like dates anyway...

  • Expensive proxy cards (Score:3)

    by Stomper_Stoddard ( 930896 ) on Thursday October 06, 2022 @11:52PM (#62945699) Journal
    A lot of people are going to fall for this, WotC is going to sell out of them very fast and in 4 or 5 years more than a few people are going to be wishing they dropped the $1000 because the secondary market price will be more like $3000. The sad part of this is you can go to a place like mtg-print.com and they will print you 4 copies of all 295 Alpha Edition cards for something like $900.

    • Re:Expensive proxy cards (Score:4, Insightful)

      by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Friday October 07, 2022 @12:42AM (#62945761)
      I don't think it's that people are falling for it. This is praying on OCD and neurodivergent people. What does suits call whales.

      I understand why those giant statues they make of Pop culture icons are expensive. They're incredibly expensive to tool up and manufacture with extremely limited runs. But this is literally just some cardboard and existing card art. It's absolutely infuriating.

      And the worst thing is don't get away with it. Partially because people invest so much of themselves into the game that it's easy to screw over those people and partially because it preys on people with various forms of mental illness.

      I don't follow this magic scene so I don't know if wizards does this a lot but I know that I used to know casual magic gamers who said the game was fine at a very low buy-in. Seeing stuff like this makes me wonder if the company is gone off the deep end recently or if they've been like this and I just hadn't noticed.

      • Re:Expensive proxy cards (Score:4, Interesting)

        by stephanruby ( 542433 ) on Friday October 07, 2022 @01:51AM (#62945813)

        By your logic, everybody is mentally ill.

        Because Nike shoes shouldn't cost more than $20.

        A Gucci bag shouldn't cost more $200 (I don't care if it was handmade, the workers are getting peanuts).

        And 95% of the US population shouldn't have a car, or a minivan, that cost more than $40,000.

        • Calling it mental illness is definitely incorrect, but I think it's accurate to say much of the population is poor at making cost/benefit analyses to make good investments. There's a reason they say rich people are often the most frugal.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

            Well, of course the population makes poor choices. I mean, why should someone buy a Ferrari or Lamborghini when a Toyota Corolla is a much more sensible vehicle to get around in (in almost every way - other than raw speed - super cars tend to have terrible visibility and make driving much harder than it can be)?

            Why do people buy books, when their local library likely has it on the shelf?

            We can go on forever.

            Though, the real thing is really the hype. Hasbro needs money, and they're creating this mystique abo

          • No this is pretty well researched. And I don't mean in psychological studies that are hard to reproduce I mean by actual Neuro scientists.. their brains don't process the happy chemicals correctly. Their entire classes of drugs meant to treat it. Psychological therapy exists to and is helpful and necessary. Or understanding of the brain is still extremely primitive and the drugs we have are roughly equivalent to leeches scientifically.

            • No this is pretty well researched. And I don't mean in psychological studies that are hard to reproduce I mean by actual Neuro scientists.. their brains don't process the happy chemicals correctly. Their entire classes of drugs meant to treat it. Psychological therapy exists to and is helpful and necessary. Or understanding of the brain is still extremely primitive and the drugs we have are roughly equivalent to leeches scientifically.

              Let's give you a little dose of reality: You're not a neuroscientist, so stop pretending that reading a few articles about it on the verge makes you an expert.

              I mentioned earlier that I'm neurodivergent and OCD, two things you claimed make people buy stuff like this. Guess what? They make me do the opposite. I actually horde money, even when my income crap I still horded money. I do it to a point where it's actually a bit pathological. This probably comes from experiences with spending that I had as a kid,

        • By your logic, everybody is mentally ill.

          Because Nike shoes shouldn't cost more than $20.

          A Gucci bag shouldn't cost more $200 (I don't care if it was handmade, the workers are getting peanuts).

          And 95% of the US population shouldn't have a car, or a minivan, that cost more than $40,000.

          Why are you saying all that like it is wrong or something?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by skam240 ( 789197 )

          Nope. None of those are a game that draws players in.

          • When (non-millionaire and non-famous) high schoolers are spending $500 on a pair of shoes, or $600-$2,000 on a Gucci bag.

            Yes, it is a game! It's just not one you've been thinking about.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by skam240 ( 789197 )

              Well for starters, I don't at all believe what you describe is common. After that, sure, there are idiots who will waste money on all sorts of things. That doesnt mean Magic isnt a massive money pit masquerading as a game.

        • There's a difference between selling a handful of pieces of cardboard or $1,000 and a Veblen good like a Gucci bag or expensive sneakers. Not that I am a fan of Veblen goods but as stupid as they are there is a rationality to them in the sense that you're trying to impress other people. Nobody is impressed by somebody spending $1,000 on 9 or 10 magic the gathering cards. Pretty sure no woman is going to sleep with you and you're not going to be able to get customers to be impressed by your level of success

        • Found the corporate shill. /s

          The ONLY reasons shoes, diamonds, Rolex Watches, etc. cost $$$+ in the 21th century is greed, ego, manipulation, propaganda and insecurity.

          "We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like." -- Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

          I would highly recommend the documentary Century of Self [youtube.com] since you seem clueless about how greed is a cancer that destroys everything.

        • But you could actually wear the shoes if you wanted. These cards aren't playable due to the backing being different, they're purely for collecting.

      • I don't think it's that people are falling for it. This is praying on OCD and neurodivergent people. What does suits call whales.

        No. Whales are rich people who spend money for nothing, they are typically referred to only in digital purchases. There are plenty of people who collect things who aren't OCD or neurodivergent. Collectors exist.

        • There's a fuzzy line between hobbies and mental illnesses
        • This is objectively false. We know this because blizzard told us that. The Diablo mobile game is making tens of millions of dollars a day off of a handful of players. It's simply not possible there is that many people able to drop five or 10K on a game without noticing it.

          And that's just one example of corporations taking advantage of nerds. It's really weird to see corporations taking advantage of us and a bunch of you running to the defense just for the sake of being contrarian I think. Or maybe you j

          • Not sure what part of my post you think is false when you're absolutely agreeing with me. People shovelling money to Blizzard are "rich people who spend money for nothing". They get nothing physical in return. They have a different stat or a better ability to play a virtual game.

            Blizzard's Pay to Win bullshit (very much targeting Whales and the mentally ill) is not the same a someone collecting MTG cards.

      • Just thought I'd clear that up.

        Yes, to pay $1000 for a pack of cards you need to be a sucker (or a very canny investor) but most high functioning autistics - who I assume you're refering to - are not suckers.

        • That's because neurodivergent doesn't necessarily mean autistic. OCD and depression are what they're going after. As we learn more about how the human brain works we discover more problems with it. Problems that marketers are exploiting
          • I'm not neurodivergent or autistic, but I have no kids and disposable income. Is it too much to pay? Of course, but I have the means to do it and I and want to. Sometimes healthy people just like quirky things. Buying stuff like this is kind of the reason I've worked so hard over the decades.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by uolamer ( 957159 )

        I quit Magic about two years ago as their predatory practices started interfering with the game too much. They are selling 4 packs for $999. These cards are not legal in any format and most stores will not let you use them in games. They are "collector items" I guess. A funny thing is the card pool in these packs include a lot of cards that would be worth nothing even they were real.

        In the last few years they seem to be on a quest to suck as much money out of their product as they can, at the expense of the

      • I don't think it's that people are falling for it. This is praying on OCD and neurodivergent people.

        Bullshit. I'm both of these things, and I don't buy stuff like this. There are multiple reasons why somebody might buy stuff like this. One reason could be nothing other than they're a big MtG fan, which a is perfectly healthy thing.

        What does suits call whales.

        No, that's what they call people who have a lot of money but don't spend it wisely, and it's typically only used for people who gamble. In fact, it sounds like you read a book or an article somewhere about gambling and decided "oh, that means people who buy expensive collectors

    • You can print out your own cards, hell go all Calvinball if you want to.

      If you are a M-TG fan, you know the rules so you can make your own content. Of course, tournaments will most likely not accept your printed deck.

      • RTFA. The tournament won't accept these very expensive authorized reprints either (because it would tank the "value" of the older cards)! From the perspective of legitimate tournament play, there is no difference.

        In fact, you would even have better luck sneaking in the "pirate" copies, since at least they might not have intentionally-added distinguishing marks indicating that they are reprints!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by fazig ( 2909523 )
      From what I understand from my own MtG times, tournament legality means a lot to the players as well as collectors.
      None of these re-prints are legal in official tournaments. Likewise the "proxies" that mtg-print.com is providing are not legal in official tournaments if you can't prove that you own the equivalent original card. Proxy cards are now and then used to protect the original card from physically wearing down during use. But if went to an official tournament with only proxies and no proof of owning

  • I don't play MTG (know nothing about it, in fact), and this is a serious question.

    Why is this game not totally a blockchain thing?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I don't play MTG (know nothing about it, in fact), and this is a serious question.
      Why is this game not totally a blockchain thing?

      For the same reason that everything that existed between 2010 and thousands of years ago isn't a blockchain thing...

      Because it didn't exist and is the wrong answer to practically any problem.

      WotC intentionally keeps tight and close control over cards sold online, and does so with the proper tool, a database. Outside of their closed system, it doesn't matter one whit which online cards you "own", so a centrally controlled database is the perfect solution.

      For physical cards, just like with anything real, pos

      • I wish there was a M-TG card that could erase the whole blockchain idea from the entite world.
        .
        Yeah blockchain can be very useful in theory, but so much bullshit blew up so fast from it, overshadowing the legitimate use cases for this tech, that it's obvious the human race isn't ready to handle blockchain.

        (Highly unlikely but..) Yeah, someine could've invented radio a few hundered years before the very late 19th/early 20th century but quickly shelved the whole thing because of the way people reacted

      • Regarding the online cards, their strict control probably is more to do with business logic than some random hate of Blockchain. If they own the database, they can limit (or profit off) the resale market. Same as Steam and every other platform. If Blockchain was good for large, entrenched platforms then Blockchain would be everywhere.
    • Because the physical collectibles are a huge part of it. It's like stamp collecting but nerdier and somehow more expensive..

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Arethan ( 223197 )

      Never heard of mtgox, eh?

    • I was totally expecting that these would be NFTs and not primitive hard copies.

    • - M-TG existed long before there was any thing called a "blockchain"
      - printed cards have a real hard time being compatable with blockchains
      - Remember Pokemon game cards? It's a bit like that but predates them by quite a few years.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by _merlin ( 160982 )

        Remember Pokemon game cards? It's a bit like that but predates them by quite a few years.

        Pokemon TCG was first published in October 1996, only three years after Magic: TG was released in 1993. I wouldn't call it "quite a few years" - they both date to the mid '90s. Both still seem to have healthy followings, too.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by DrXym ( 126579 )
      It's probably one of the few situations where something might actually work on the blockchain - for trading & matches the digital cards can actually be verified and just as importantly, plenty of adolescence-suspended dumbshits ready to pay $$$ for packs of them.

  • So, after 30 years, they are still keeping their promise of 'reserved list' (per release format)?

    One can respect that but in that case, the price is totally crazy. Who would pay that much to get a copy of Black Lotus or Ancestrall that isn't even legal for tournament play? Collectors' reprints can found at much cheaper prices. Silly prices are the stuff of tournament-legal cards.

    • I can one up them with my Super Duper and lovingly crafted Snorlax card! A nice crossover indeed and M-TG players will tremble at the mear mention of this god card!

    • The Power 9 are legal but restricted in a specific format.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by JMZero ( 449047 )

        No - he means that these new copies aren't legal at all. Which they aren't.

        If they were printing new "legal" copies of Black Lotus, that'd be breaking the "reserve list" promise. And the $250 price would make at least a bit more sense.

  • This shit is either gambling or high stakes gambling.
    Not a "game".
    If it's "deepest pockets wins", they can go eat a dick for money.

    • It's actually more like a combination of strategy, fast thinking, luck and jedi mind tricks.

      Of course you could say, all these also apply to poker - so it's probably not surprising that an infamous ex-pro MtG player, Mike Long, especially notorious for his blatant mind tricks and repeated cheating, later became a professional gambler.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Chas ( 5144 )

        Except in poker, you're not allowed to pull a limited card nobody else has out of your ass for an auto-"I Win".

        • Aside from a couple of game-breaking early cards (from before they had proper development and playtesting in place), those "auto-win" cards tend to be highly situational. I.e., you win easily IF your opponent uses a certain deck and play style. That's the strategy part of the game. Predict what your toughest opponents are likely to play and construct your deck to beat those specific decks with fairly high percentage. Make the wrong prediction, and you're more likely to lose than win. Of course some cards t

  • No magic in NFTs? (Score:4, Funny)

    by thesjaakspoiler ( 4782965 ) on Friday October 07, 2022 @12:21AM (#62945731)

    I spent my life savings, my kids college money and my foodstamps on a picture of a badly drawn bored looking monkey picking his nose.
    Well, at least the right to call myself the owner. I don't even have the original picture.
    One day I will be able to sell it for millions.
    Or my Facebook friend said so.

    • I spent my life savings, my kids college money and my foodstamps on a picture of a badly drawn bored looking monkey picking his nose....

      Oh, you mean you paid a fortune for...Orcish Conscriptshttps://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=2642
      https://gatherer.wizards.com/p... [wizards.com]

      Hate to tell ya, you got gypped. You can easily find a near mint copy for less than a buck. And it's a pretty bad card anyway.

      (But yes, it's better value for money than those silly NFT apes though.)

    • NFTs will be worthless in a flash, when the 21st century Tulip Mania crashes to an end.

      A M-TG card can wind up being worth thousands if it's a particularly rare card, because there tends to be value in original physical objects.

  • I don't understand people who get upset about things existing, whether it's these or updated Playstation games. Don't want it? Don't buy it! (I won't be!)

    • My favorite: "They ruined my childhood!".

        Yeah some wanker nade some psychotic, murdering version of some childhood favorite cartoon character. But he didn't withdraw the original cartoon from circulation, nor did he go back in time and insert his corrupted character into the show you were watching. People flake out over the stupidest of things

  • "Pssst.. Hey Bud! I got a superhit which will blow your mind and give you a high that you never had before. But it's gonna cost you a grand."

  • You'd have to be as thick as a breezeblock with rich parents to buy one of these.

  • revealing (Score:3)

    by argStyopa ( 232550 ) on Friday October 07, 2022 @08:04AM (#62946283) Journal

    Some organizations, when they hit a mile stone, do things like offer their products for a discount, or even their original price.

    Selling vastly overpriced card packs that the buyer can't even play with is a little more on-brand here, though.

  • Money game (Score:3)

    by skam240 ( 789197 ) on Friday October 07, 2022 @09:01AM (#62946397)

    Money game charges completely unreasonable sum for it's little pieces of cardboard. Amazing!

    Outside of the affluent I don't know why anyone plays this game anymore. It always degrades into a money spending contest as one can always gain an advantage in any social circle by spending just a bit more.

    • Bits representing a computer game cost almost nothing to duplicate. Manufacturing these cards at least costs a few cents. Any numerator seems unfair with the denominator is nearly zero.

  • More proof mankind is long overdue for an extinction event.....

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