Alternate full-art lands: WHY?!
General forum
Posted on April 14, 2015, 12:31 a.m. by hammerhead300
(Caution: RANT AHEAD)
So I was looking at full art lands just to kill time, and I came across someone selling altered full art lands on eBay for $21.00 for a set of 1 land apiece. For those not wanting to click the link, they're full art lands with anime girls superimposed over the original artwork. I'm hoping that these were originally just cheap core set lands and not the actual Zendikar full art lands, but even so, I can't help but wonder why anyone would pay $4.20 per card for lands that A) I personally find tasteless, and B) most likely would be strictly forbidden from being used in any DCI-sanctioned tournament? If scantily-clad anime girls are your thing that's fine, but seriously, who in their right mind would pay twice as much as you'd have to pay to get a hold of a set of 5 genuine full-art lands to get modified cards with the anime girls randomly plastered over the beautiful artwork from the original lands? Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I really don't understand why people are buying those.
thebatman19 says... #4
edh man. its all about pimping out your deck. and i would put lands like this in my deck. but not for that price. not a chance.
April 14, 2015 12:34 a.m.
vampirelazarus says... #5
I personally think that the whole "anime girl" thing is a bit... dumb.
However, I would buy a guru basic land at the drop of a hat, if I had the money for it.
April 14, 2015 12:38 a.m.
asasinater13 says... #6
honestly I would say magic should be kept free from anything relating to sexual innuendos in decks, however much it's a specific sexual innuendo you enjoy. Unless your playgroup is all alright with it, I would avoid it.
Also that price is ridiculous. I wouldn't pay that for any altered basic land, I mean I'm pretty cheap and don't pay more than I have to for cards, but I can't see myself wanting that. I feel like full art is classee, or alters you enjoy, but doing both just feels excessive.
April 14, 2015 12:39 a.m.
vampirelazarus says... #7
I dont have a problem with the innuendo thing, its more of the... overdone and stupid thing that does it for me :P
April 14, 2015 12:40 a.m.
hammerhead300 says... #8
I figure if you really want to have big-booty anime girls on your proxy cards, why not make them yourself for nowhere even near that price? I've tinkered around with making proxies just for tokens, and it's not hard by any means. Not that I'd want big-booty anime girls on my proxy cards in the first place...
April 14, 2015 12:43 a.m.
I can understand the price if they were hand painted but not like this.
April 14, 2015 12:46 a.m.
asasinater13 says... #10
I like my game free from innuendos, while I don't care enough that I would comment or make a point about it playing with someone, I wouldn't enjoy or appreciate it. There also runs the risk of making other people in the play area uncomfortable, for a variety of possible reasons. Honestly if you feel that adding sexually assuming images makes your deck look better I'm not sure I want that play experience. It's entirely unnecessary and I think you need to wonder why you're choosing to use something sexual to make your deck look good, rather than an art less likely to make others uncomfortable.
April 14, 2015 12:47 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #11
From the description: Note These ARE NOT acrylic painted anime images. They are foil commons that have been reprinted on.
I was about to say that they were $2 cards that had been painted at a rather high quality. Then I noticed that and umm yeah the price seems a bit steep.
April 14, 2015 12:52 a.m.
asasinater13 Wizards of the coast obviously shares your feelings as that type of alter is one of the grounds for not excepting an altered card in a dci run tournament.
April 14, 2015 1:01 a.m.
asasinater13 says... #13
Wizards of the coast is correct to try to make its entire audience comfortable with the environment they're in. Is it a bad thing to want that?
April 14, 2015 1:05 a.m.
JakeHarlow says... #14
I'm not really into the anime art. I'm all for pimping out EDH decks. I don't personally prefer to have my cards altered in any way, but I'll go for custom sleeves, special deck boxes, and rare/exclusive promo cards when possible. Sometimes, though, you have the Willy Wonka factor and just enjoy an "all regular" deck. No foils, basic printings, vanilla sleeves.
April 14, 2015 1:10 a.m.
ZooGambler says... #15
I hate seeing this type of thing to be honest. I think this type of thing is what gives card games/players a bad rap. Keep your sexual appetites, whatever they may be, private. There's no need to flash things like these around your LGS where children go to play Magic, in private with your play group that doesn't mind it, sure but not in public please. It's supposed to be family friendly.
I'm not saying you can't be into this type of thing, or you shouldn't spend your money the way you want to, just remember that unwanted visual stimulus can be just as uncomfortable/intrusive as unwanted physical stimulus.
April 14, 2015 1:15 a.m.
asasinater13 says... #16
I personally prefer jung park basics, and can't justify biting the full arts when I could spend the money getting cards that are better for my deck functionally.
I love seeing altered cards though, and people's pumped out decks. I just can't get behind any alter that makes anyone uncomfortable. If they're what you enjoy play them but have unaltered, or more appropriately altered back ups in case someone type playing with isn't comfortable with what you have. Especially for basic lands that doesn't seem to be asking too much.
April 14, 2015 1:15 a.m.
slovakattack says... #19
That's not the terrifying part.
The terrifying part is the "17 watching."
April 14, 2015 1:35 a.m.
asasinater13 says... #20
Also true. On the subject of this thread, that price for what's being offered is ridiculous. Granted for many 5 color commander decks that's all the bahia you need in one set, for anything else you're buying 3 to 5 sets for two or three of the basics? Who actually uses the same number of each basic? Not me. This is bad from a quality, quantity, and content standpoint.
April 14, 2015 1:38 a.m.
If they were foiled cortana's(halo), I would pick them up
April 14, 2015 2:10 a.m.
PepsiAddicted says... #23
Even worse than this are the poorly drawn pokemon ive seen on many altered cards lately. Good way to destroy a card :/
April 14, 2015 4:16 a.m.
Foil full art Zen lands run about $10 to $30 apiece at a TCG LOW depending on the art.
This guy is actually losing money if he's selling in sets of five.
This reminds me of that guy on Tumblr who was churning out alter after badly painter alter of Liliana of the Veil as various other characters in what looked like crayola colors. It's like an $80 card.
Why must people have so much money and waste it on such unworthy pursuits?
April 14, 2015 5:09 a.m.
Well, I wouldn't exactly call alters an unworthy pursuit. In the end, who are we to judge the hobbies of others anyways. I'm sure there are plenty of people who look at us spending on cardboard and cringe.
April 14, 2015 5:19 a.m.
Responding to the OP: I don't really see why these cards are a problem. If you're not buying them and if you're not playing with people that do have them, what difference does it make? The cards nor the people who made them didn't do a thing to bother you. If you don't like it, just close the tab and move on.
April 14, 2015 6:08 a.m.
TheDevicer True, I have nothing against people who want to alter their cards to images that I don't necessarily like, it's their property after all. The guy I was talking about bothered me simply because of the sheer number of them he was doing. He seemed to be doing at least one a week, and I'm pretty sure he had like 50 already. And since they were all done one after another they all looked really hastily painted. At what point does it go from, "You're changing something that's yours because you like what you're changing it into, and fuck everyone else's opinion." to, "You're starting to artificially drive up the price of the card because you want to buy up every copy in existence and doodle all over them." ?
April 14, 2015 6:28 a.m.
Dalektable says... #28
I think the scantily clad anime girls plastered as altars over random MTG cards is tasteless at best, It gives the game a bad name when people have stuff like this. I can't and won't support this specifically. I love altars, but this is...ugh.
April 14, 2015 8:43 a.m.
hammerhead300 says... #29
bigguy99, I didn't start this thread to rouse the torch-and-pitchfork-wielding mob, it's simply something I, personally, find ridiculous (and hell, for that matter, I'm not even asking everyone to agree with me on that). If people are buying/using them, that's their prerogative, but it just doesn't make sense to me that people are paying that kind of money for cards that they could easily make themselves, especially when there are so many cards you could buy for that same amount of money that would make your deck more competitive.
April 14, 2015 9:03 a.m.
From the seller's page: "They are foil commons that have been reprinted on."
he's not wasting money on converting actual zendikar lands and he's not driving up the price of EVERY foil common.
April 14, 2015 9:53 a.m.
@sonnet666 Don't worry he didn't use real foil full art Zendikar lands. In the description it says "You are bidding on the altered lands listed above which are hand crafted. As you can see in the picture these cards have the original Magic the Gathering backs. These cards are altered foil MTG commons that have been turned into Alternate art lands.", or in other words these are random foil commons that they're erasing and then printing the Zendikar land image (with the superimposed anime girls) over the blank card. So technically, they're not even real alters or even real cards. They're actually printing fake cards and selling them off as foil Zendikar lands.
April 14, 2015 9:54 a.m.
Yeah, I figured that out upon closer inspection. And so long as people are clear about what they are I'm really not bothered by foil proxies. The bit about driving up prices was in reference to that other case I mentioned involving Liliana of the Veil. (Which, as an already desired mythic rare, is much more vulnerable to artificial price inflation.)
April 14, 2015 10:07 a.m.
Anime is trash.
But in all seriousness doing this kind of thing is tasteless. I get alters to make something stand out, but think of what people will think of you if you whip that out at a tournament. You'll look like an autistic jackass honesly. This: http://luka.zabkar.net/wp-content/uploads/MTG.Vengevine.Altered.jpg (stupid html link isn't working idk) is an example of a badass alter. Not anime girls.
April 14, 2015 10:22 a.m.
hammerhead300 says... #35
That's pretty much how I feel about it, vishnarg. I've seen so many talented artists create alternate artwork cards that are actually relevant to the game. If I had an EDH deck I wanted to pimp out, I'd much rather do it with cards like that alternate-art Vengevine.
April 14, 2015 10:28 a.m.
ZooGambler says... #36
It's so weird because art is subjective. To some this is a masterpiece, to me it's trash, to others it's tasteless. I can say I think it's garb-o but in reality the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To what extent can we label something and call that a truth?
I just ask that these be used respectfully and that you take other people into consideration before you even use them. It's not just the person you are playing against but everyone in the store as well. A glance is all it takes to make someone feel uncomfortable, I have a feeling women would also be offended at something like this.
April 14, 2015 10:37 a.m.
Serendipitous_Hummingbird says... #37
I hate the hyper-sexualization in MTG. Granted, it is much less common in magic than it used to and is far more progressive than the rest of its type, but still. The art of Lingering Souls does not need that much cleavage. Half of mirrodin cards are sexed up and don't even get me started on Fire Elemental.
I try to avoid using hyper sexualized cards. Art is important. What art you use says a lot about who you are. It's why I don't use Harold McNeil's art. But again, the art you use says a lot about who you are. And who I am does not condone the objectification of women's bodies.
Sometimes the sexualized aspects are justified. In the case of Liliana of the Veil it works because that is an aspect of her character. But Wild Nacatl? Really? you would need double sided tape to keep those things from popping out. And it is necessary. As someone who has had female cats his whole life, including one who died of breast cancer, I can tell you that that is not what cats look like.
As a male, I personally find the hyper sexualized aspects of nonsexual cards to be insulting. Is that the kind of thing you think I want? Is a sketch of grossly distended cleavage something that you think of when you think of me as a magic player? Because I find that offensive.
And I can only image how women feel when they see engorged parts of their own bodies stapled onto animals.
Okay, rant is on hold because I have to go to class and it's on the other side of campus but I will come back to this.
April 14, 2015 10:38 a.m.
@Serendipitous_Hummingbird would you believe me if I told you I never even noticed the spirit on Lingering Souls was female?
April 14, 2015 11:01 a.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #40
The ONLY time I'm okay with a full-art card, and I think this goes for most EDH gamers out there, is when its your commander and its done WELL. like, REALLY WELL.
April 14, 2015 11:07 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #41
I used to be a 15 year old nerd so I understand the appeal of random anime chicks. You just have to hope the people who want this stuff will grow out of it one day, like I eventually did.
It makes me feel like a goon sometimes when I'm matched up against someone using alters / sleeves / a playmat with stuff like this, because it starts making me think about things like "Am I really here associating myself with this kind of person on a Friday night? I am too old for this nonsense." But hey, it's a free country, there's no accounting for taste, and all that jazz. If I ever get truly offended then it's super easy to just tell a judge and let them make a call on it.
April 14, 2015 1:23 p.m.
Rhadamanthus, exactly. When I see that it generally turns me off from the community at the tournament. I just want to play 2-3 hard fought games, maybe crack a few jokes, and be on my merry way. Nobody else wants to see anime chicks in your hand or on your fedora. If that's what you want, stay home and watch some trash - whoops I mean anime.
April 14, 2015 1:31 p.m.
ZooGambler says... #43
Can't knock all animes, there are some good ones. I just don't like the sexualized, sex-driven ones. Gives things a bad rap. To be honest, anime and magic are generally clumped together by the general public.
April 14, 2015 1:33 p.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #44
Rhadamanthus I'm note- not disclosing age for cetain reasons, so I know what you're trying to say, but we weren't/aren't all like that. I was/am still bothered by it, just b/c its like.... why? it looks takey, you look like a creep, hell.... just play vanguard, why don't yah?
Not quite sure what I was trying to say here...
April 14, 2015 1:33 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #46
Encouraging people to not sexuality their card game is kind of important. Magic is a family game. People should not be playing with sexually assuming imagesin public. I don't know why you want to have sexually assuming images in a game you're playing with other people, keep your sexual or pornographic preferences out of your public and social interactions. Especially with a family oriented game. I don't know why it is necessary to tell people they shouldn't be making their family oriented game have not safe for work art.
This is still away from the point of this forum Though. I vote we agree to disagree, and if we want the discussion on sexual images in magic we make a separate thread for that discussion instead of taking over this one.
April 14, 2015 1:42 p.m.
These are pretty tame to others I've seen. Granted the others I've seen where hand painted.
April 14, 2015 1:43 p.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #48
asasinater13 it may be a family game, but I mean... jesus.
standard: spend $200 on land
modern: get locked out of games half the time.
legacy/ vintage: take out a mortgage
EDH: either have a nice, happy game or.... the OTHER option.
What I'm trying to say is, It can be sexualized, just not in public. Its like porn, it isnt WRONG to watch it, but it isnt allowed in public.
speaking of which, I gotta start a new thread on... stuff. :3
April 14, 2015 1:47 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #49
I want to refrain from discussing it more here, not the right place. If anyone wants to more make a new thread and tag me in a comment, I'll gladly join in
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #2
April 14, 2015 12:33 a.m.