Commander 2014 Card Image Gallery

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
People are already preordering all five decks even though they haven't really been revealed yet. I'm holding off. I think it's just that people are sore about last year, which was pretty understandable. We don't know which, if any of these decks will stupidly skyrocket in value, but some people don't want to take that risk. Last year, the "Mind Seize" deck almost instantly became impossible to find for less than double MSRP. Meanwhile, "Nature of the Beast" is probably still sitting on shelves for $40 or whatever.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
The cards that cause the problem were, in order, True-Name Nemesis, Toxic Deluge, and Baleful Strix. The first two of those were brand new cards. They weren't (and aren't) legal in most Constructed tournament formats, but Legacy and Vintage are now "Eternal" formats and are exceptions. Baleful Strix had actually already been printed in one of the Planechase products, but those were obscure enough that the uncommon was worth a few bucks on its own. When a card is printed in a regular set and turns out to be useful in Legacy or Vintage, the competitive players in those formats tend to have pretty easy access to the card, as it's being printed in a set that is for the entire Magic community, and Legacy/Vintage tournament players are a small fraction of that group. If the card is also in demand in Standard, then it becomes more valuable on the secondary market. The problem with products like Commander 2013 is that they consist solely of sealed decks, so if any brand new cards become Legacy or Vintage staples, and even if players think that those cards might become staples, then the only way to actually get those cards is from the preconstructed decks. If you were a Legacy player and you wanted a playset of True-Name Nemesis for your deck, that would require four of the "Mind Seize" deck being opened and the desired card being pulled out. Many players who bought these decks kept them intact (I personally have all five of the original 2011 Commander decks and all five of the Commander 2013 decks, and the only one that isn't intact is the "Counterpunch" deck, as a couple of cards from it are in Helcomb County Municipal Lake Dredge Appraisal). So there was very constrained supply for cards that were in very high demand at the time.

Fortunately, this couldn't happen with Conspiracy, since the set came in booster packs and not preconstructed decks.
 
T

Terentius

Guest
Yeah, my friend got the 2013 UBR from an inside connection just before it came out, and I only saw the UGW and RGW on store shelves. Also, one of the 2011 decks had the first reprint of Rhystic Study since Prophecy, and that card is $15+ and pretty hard to find.

Also, these new cards and reprints look awesome!
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Yeah, my friend got the 2013 UBR from an inside connection just before it came out, and I only saw the UGW and RGW on store shelves.
Yep, same ones I've primarily seen on store shelves. Neither one is particularly bad, but they just aren't as impressive as the other three, for various reasons. The WUB one, though, is easily my favorite.

Also, one of the 2011 decks had the first reprint of Rhystic Study since Prophecy, and that card is $15+ and pretty hard to find.
You're thinking of the 2012 Commander's Arsenal product. That was the year after they did the original Commander preconstructed decks, and they thought it would be a good idea to change it up by releasing a sealed product that didn't contain actual decks, but just reprints and oversized reprints. It was produced in smaller quantities than most Magic products and didn't generate much interest. I didn't even realize that it existed until nearly a year afterward when someone played Dragonlair Spider and I didn't recognize it. Because Commander's Arsenal is weird and the supply was so limited, the secondary market prices on cards from it are inflated. Rhystic Study from Prophecy can actually be had for a few dollars. I know it's odd that the original is actually worth less in this case, but it's just because Commander's Arsenal is weird.

Also, these new cards and reprints look awesome!
Yeah, now that the full decklists are spoiled, I'm impressed. I was turned off initially because the first card they revealed was Teferi, who is looking like one of the worst blue planeswalkers ever. But it really went uphill from there.
 

Mooseman

Isengar Tussle
I got a gift certificate from KJ, from his wedding and I was pondering buying a one of these commander decks.
From the spoilers, which one seems the best, in play, resale value and/or pure coolness?
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Resale value: Built from Scratch.
Play: Either Built from Scratch or Forged in Stone depending on your style.
Coolness: I think there's a case to be made for Guided by Nature, but I'll look into it more once I have the actual decks...

Basically, Built from Scratch is the Mind Seize of this batch, although it isn't quite as extreme as last year. It's still too early to tell for sure, but online vendors are already selling it for more than the others, so if you can get it for MSRP, I'd jump on that.
 
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