Difference between Online Prices and Paper Prices
Online Magic forum
Posted on March 8, 2014, 12:46 a.m. by JWiley129
I'm currently building Modern Storm and went online to build it on MTGO since it's usually cheaper. Then I noticed that Past in Flames , a $6 card in paper, is $25 on MTGO. Has anyone else noticed such drastic changes in price between online and paper magic?
Storm is popular on Magic online. It's not popular on paper.
March 8, 2014 1:36 a.m.
unholycookies says... #4
$25? Damn.......I got mine for 12....And here I was thinking, maybe I should've just waited it out.
March 8, 2014 4:37 a.m.
Usually mythics are hit harder online in price then in paper. Sphinxs rev, jace, architect, heck WORLDSPINE Wurm are examples of mythics more expensive online then on paper. Availability isn't the same for online cards. Take Lions Eye Diamond for example. 70-90 in paper, 180 in some places online.
March 8, 2014 8:13 a.m.
On the other end of the spectrum, a lot of cards are way cheaper online. For example fetches are only 16-25 or so online
March 8, 2014 8:38 a.m.
kintighd - I know right? I built Vorel and his Merry Counters online (minus planeswalkers) for $30, while in paper it has to be around $100 (minus planeswalkers). But the nearly 400% jump in price for Past in Flames just surprised me.
March 8, 2014 8:45 a.m.
No, that's not how it goes. Paper cards are not guaranteed to follow suite of the online prices. MTGO has it's on economy. Cards are valued differently since there are more and different ways to play. simple.
March 9, 2014 8:17 a.m.
unholycookies says... #9
@jcris25 I'm not sure if you're on something.... But MTGO is still magic.....So how are there different ways to play?
Are you talking about how people are willing to use decks that are hard to keep track of so you don't see them often in paper magic? I mean I will admit MTGO keeps track of everything for me when I play storm, which makes it easier to play than paper.
There's also the problem of people gambling with cards. I mean I bet everyone sees it. They buy cards in hopes of a price spike.
March 10, 2014 12:39 a.m.
KnightFire says... #10
MTGO is kind of like one community - everyone plays everyone else, deck trends move very quickly through it.
Paper magic is more heavily influenced by the local meta game in a particular area, and it is much slower to change.
March 10, 2014 6:12 a.m.
Plus, Modo supports more formats. You can always find a game or even a tournament (via daily events) for formats like Legacy or Pauper, but you may not have anyone playing those formats for miles on paper.
Past in Flames is actually a good example of this. It's a key card in several Storm variants in Legacy, while being played in Modern. On paper, the number of people playing a deck like Legacy ANT is far less than online. Hence, it's a $25 card online, and only $1~$8 on paper.
Cloud of Faeries is probably the best example. Less than $1 on paper, but $7 online because of Pauper.
Unforgivn_II says... #2
Uh, usually that means that the paper one will soon follow.
jumps to tcgplayer immediately
At least, thats how its been in the past. That's how my friend was able to make 150 bucks off a bunch of Master of Waves . The question is if its a recent spike or if it happened a couple weeks ago from the protour. If it happened today, INVEST. If not, then its probably from the influx of people wanting to try the deck out. Mtgo is typically cheaper, and where people go to test before buying the paper cards.
March 8, 2014 1:03 a.m.