atlasofourtimes asked:Do you think we could ever strike a balance between collector worth and affordability for formats? (For newer, let’s say. Modern-era cards)
island-delver-go said:Modern-era cards are not truly an issue. They can and will be reprinted. Prices will be very high at times but I don’t see anything getting back to even $200 - the former high of Tarmogoyf. To be clear, $200 cards are not ideal and, I would argue, unhealthy but they are much more obtainable than a $2-3k Tabernacle.
A quick aside - treat masters and other reprint sets as a sale. Try to save up ahead of time and jump on the singles you want. Sadly I missed Horizon Canopy and Imperial Recruiter but I was saving for Savannahs. At the end of the day, I’m happy to have the Savannahs because the others will be reprinted for sure.
Back to the main topic, I would say that WOTC should be able to abolish the reserve list while maintaining collection value.
Exhibit A: City of Brass
This card was $60 until Kaladesh. Old School became more popular putting a strain on the AN original printing and it started going up in fits and starts before spiking hard and now it’s at least over $300. This card must be ultra rare, right?
Nope. It’s been reprinted into the ground or one would think. It sees fringe play in eternal formats at best and yet still commands a premium.
A quick thought experiment. All dual lands have sweet new art for Vintage Masters. They’ve also never been released in foil so even those who’ve foiled their legacy deck run non-foil lands. What would happen to the price of duals if these were released as masterpieces? Even if they were just mythic rares I would argue that all versions would increase with a reprint much like Tarmogoyf in MM2013. There’s a ton of latent demand for dual lands - modern players hoping to get into legacy, Cube and EDH players who want upgrades, or simply those who’ve been priced out by spikes.
It’s my assertion that Alpha, Beta and Unlimited cards would generally retain their value as a collectible despite a reasonable reprint.