It’s been a while since I did a Magic the Gathering article. Truth be told, I’m not sure I will continue producing them as the audience on Steemit is quite small. I am getting less interested in the cards as writing becomes a more predominant part of what I do.
Should I continue writing Magic the Gathering posts that feature more on the financial aspect, or is it just not that interesting to you as readers? Please give me some feedback.
I have had FOUR booster packs of Dragons of Tarkir sitting on my shelf for at least TWO years now. I generally don’t ‘crack packs’ as it really is a form of gambling if you look at it from a financial perspective. You could gain, but you will likely lose.
This expansion was released in March 2015 and like all newer sets, is not really considered valuable. However this was before the days of the ‘lottery cards’ and the subsequent dilatation of the sets that were to follow. There are some valuable cards within as you can see below.
I have a 50% chance of pulling a Mythic rare from 4 packs. If you gauge a sealed booster at a value of $3, then getting a Mythic over $3 will pay for that one pack.
With only 53% of the 15 mythics being above $3 in value there’s no guarantee of a ROI even if I do pull one. A Sarkhan Unbroken or Dragonlord Dromoka will go a long way in showing me some return.
Source: https://www.mtgstocks.com/sets/247
Of course, the Rare’s are much worse with only 4 of the 54 Rare cards having a value over $3, but a Collected Company or Kolaghan’s Command will pay for the lot!
Interesting that 2 of the Rare cards have more value than ANY of the Mythics in the set.
Collected Company is used in a ton of competition decks and is currently a single printing, while Kolaghan’s Command is used in all three competitive formats, Modern, Legacy and Vintage.
So let’s get around to the unwrapping:
Pack 1: Rare: Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit, value $0.90, Significant Uncommons: Draconic Roar, value $0.40, Significant Commons: None
Verdict: Not so bad, Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit is used in Zoo, Draconic Roar is a popular casual card, but not used in any know decks. Loss: $1.70
Pack 2: Rare: Zurgo Bellstriker, value $0.59, Significant Uncommons: None, Significant Commons: None.
Verdict: Not so good, Zurgo Bellstriker is used in Zoo, not quite a bulk rare. Loss: $2.41
Pack 3: Rare: Dragon Tempest, value $0.99, Significant Uncommons: None, Significant Commons: None. I got a foil in this one so added it to the picture.
Verdict: Not so good, Dragon Tempest is not used in any established decks but is a casual favourite. Loss: $1.99.
Pack 4: Rare: Hidden Dragonslayer, value $0.49, Significant Uncommons: None, Significant Commons: None.
Verdict: Bad, Hidden Dragonslayer is almost a bulk rare and not used in any established decks. Loss: $2.51.
All I all, quite terrible pulls I would say. Not one card above $1 is BAD! At least I didn't get any true bulk rares, these are rare cards valued below $0.40 (my opinion).
I would say Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit is the best rare of the FOUR simply because it has more potential being in a usable deck, but being legendary hinders her somewhat. The same goes for Zurgo Bellstriker as he is also legendary.
Only a single desirable Uncommon and not even a single Impact Tremors which is a Common card with a value of $1.35.
That’s it until next time. All photographs were taken by myself unless tagged.
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