Verdant Catacombs and Fetchlands Exorbitant Price

Economics forum

Posted on Feb. 15, 2017, 1:18 a.m. by Profet93

Two questions...

  1. Why are fetchlands so expensive in general?
  2. Why the F*** is Verdant Catacombs over $60, especially when compared with other fetchlands. I just bought it (and other expensive cards) but I don't see how it's price tag is justified. Paying over $400 for Candelabra of Tawnos, no problem. $60 for a fetchland? Makes me cringe.

Femme_Fatale says... #2

Scalding Tarn.

Fetches are expensive because 75%+ of competitive decks needs them to function on a competitive level. The fetches that are more expensive are as such due to those colours seeing more competitive play than the others.

Further, the Zendikar fetches are more expensive than the KTK ones for two reasons: A) Zendikar is much older and was not opened as much as KTK was. B) KTK fetches are actually reprints.

February 15, 2017 2:01 a.m.

Profet93 says... #3

Femme_Fatale

So you're telling me that Black/Green and Blue/Red are more played in the competitive level than other colors? Is this over all formats or specific such as modern or EDH?

February 15, 2017 2:13 a.m.

enpc says... #4

Junk is a very common colour combination in modern, as is jund. And because they haven't had a recent printing (expeditions don't really count), the demand has driven the price up.

February 15, 2017 2:21 a.m.

EmblemMan says... #5

Your post is actually kind of funny. "I just bought these fetchlands but why are they so expensive"....well that is part of the reason. Part of the reason things like Tarmogoyf Liliana of the Veil and fetchlands fetch such a high price is because people are willing to pay the price for them. But the reason they are so high in the first place is because yes they have not been reprinted and the ones that are really high like Scalding Tarn and Verdant Catacombs are by far the most commonly played among all formats. Sure, the KTK ones are played but verdant, tarn, and Misty Rainforest are definitely the most common. And if you dont believe that look at Marsh Flats its from the same set as the others but fetches (pun intended) a price that is 20-30 dollars less than all the others and thats solely because it is just not that commonly played.

February 15, 2017 4:42 a.m.

Boza says... #6

With the creation of the Modern format and explosion of popularity, people and stores especially bought into fetches as the cornerstone of the format. The biggest Jump is post-Theros, where they jumped more than 100%, when modern was a pro-tour format.

However, when budgeting a deck, you do not need Zen fetches. KTK ones work just fine. For example, for a BG Rock deck, Verdant Catacombs are not a necessity. You can 2 gw and 2 br fetches from KTK for about the price of 1.5 catacombs. The only downside is you cant fetch a basic land of the color your fetch is not, ie Windswept Heath cannot fetch a Swamp. But outside of that situation, it works out the same.

February 15, 2017 9:03 a.m.

Profet93 says... #7

EmblemMan

Well I mean people can buy stuff regardless of the price if it helps the deck enough. You make good points though

Boza

I have never played modern before but what you're saying makes sense.

Thank you for your guys input

February 15, 2017 12:55 p.m.

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