i deny your reality and substitute my own.

Sounds like you sold a good combination of expensive Standard cards. Thragtusk may see some Modern play, but being a core set rare in event decks I think even that sale was a sound choice.

Fetch lands are expensive. You could probably have done a little better by picking up stuff like Abrupt Decay and Scars of Mirrodin Dual Lands, but at least Fetch Lands are immune from Modern Masters reprints. But they make me nervous – Wizards has shown us what they can do to the price of Modern lands (Shock Lands), and I don’t doubt for a second they will reprint Fetches somehow.

Huntmaster is a tough call because it’s a strong card in a weak set. I’d keep them if you plan on using them in Modern. If not, trading them away now probably isn’t terrible.

Griselbrand, you think? Hmmmm….isn’t it just a reanimator target though? I don’t remember Iona ever hitting $30 and she was the premier reanimation target for a while. Is it strictly because he’s from a 3rd set?

and Griselbrand. I think that card will be the most expensive card in Avacyn Restored down the line, Probably 30$.

I’m afraid of DKA boxes, primarily because I don’t think there are many eternal cards in the set that are worth pursuing. You’re absolutely right that the set was opened little (just look at Worldwake) but I have little desire in opening packs of this set from an EV standpoint. Huntmaster is the all-star. But Sorin is in a Duel Deck as is Lingering Souls, and Falkenrath Aristocrat is mostly a Standard card so far. So I don’t know what Eternal cards will support DKA moving forward.

It could end out paying huge, and I couldn’t fault you for buying these. I just feel like AVR is a safer bet because the set has already broken through to Legacy and Modern in a meaningful way. Plus, I may be a tiny bit biased because I’m an Angel collector. 🙂

Great comment, I like these builds because they challenge me to think deeper on these subjects. If we put our minds together we can identify the optimal strategy!

Thanks, this means so much to me! I love writing about Magic and I love finance – this is the best of both worlds. 🙂 I also enjoy all the discussion in the comments on my articles, so please feel free to voice your thoughts each week.

To tag on to that… I don’t dispute that AVR is a good buy. Lots of big cards in there, too, that are starting to see more Modern/Legacy play, along with a handful of legendary angels that the casuals love.

There are one or two writers i also read now and then…but his articles are the best ones by far

Interesting question. Perhaps WeQu can help us with this?

With regards to sealed booster boxes: obviously the baseline for the price of a booster box is the EV of the opened cards; however, boosters are more expensive than that, so there is also obviously a “sealed premium”. Has anyone done any analysis into the sealed premiums for different old sets, above and beyond the EVs of those sets? What I’d be very curious about is whether sets with a good draft reputation, like Ravnica and Rise of the Eldrazi, have a high sealed premium, or whether they just have the same premium everything else has and it’s all based on EV. This would indicate who’s BUYING old booster boxes: casual players? Drafters with nostalgia? Surely not people just looking for competitive singles.

Thank you 🙂 I always appreciate the feedback – let’s me know I’m writing about relevant things people enjoy.

Fair challenge. I love New Phyrexia too, and it’s probably not too late to buy a box to make a few bucks.

AVR has Restoration Angel, miracles, Cavern of Souls, probably a Planeswalker I’m forgetting, amazing EDH Angels…so I think there will be demand.

Oh, I see! So I should buy more boxes of AVR then? 🙂

Avacyn Restored will have Restoration Angel, possibly miracles, and a couple of casual pieces, buty so far I can’t imagine that it will have the same appeal after rotation.

Exactly what I was thinking when I read Mateusz’ comment.

Sure, just saying that there is likely little connection to new players if you use Force as a sample. If new players would be getting into Legacy you might see something like Flame Rift go up (not that that is happening, but that card would be more likely to show it, I’m sure there are better examples).

A big set means that more packs need to be cracked to have the same amount of certain rares/mythics in the market… So it might even be “better” than New Phyrexia?