Considering Masters Edition Cards For Long Term Investment in MtGO


It is clear that WoTC have a long-term growth plan for MtGO. When there is a long-term growth plan in the economy you work within it allows you to plan accordingly.

WoTC have (non-explicitly) signalled their intention to release each of the post-6th Edition expansion sets beyond 6th Edition.

WoTC have also given no signal as to whether they will ever release the Alpha, Beta, Unlimited or Revised sets.

This means we can predict the rise and fall of certain card prices along the way.

The only complication to this are the various releases of the three Masters Edition sets, ME1, ME2 and ME3. Each of these sets included various high-value cards that will inevitably rise and fall on the release of each of the older sets.

There are as follows:

ME1:

* Hymn to Tourach (originally a Fallen Empires common)
* Pox (originally an 5ed and Ice Age rare)
* Force of Will (originally an Alliances uncommon)
* Sylvan Library (originally a 4ed and 5ed rare)
* Winter Orb (originally a 1ed to 5ed rare)

ME2:

* Necropotence (originally a 5ed and Ice Age rare)
* Imperial Seal (originally a Portal - Three Kingdoms rare)
* Mana Crypt
* Badlands (originally a 1ed to 3ed rare)
* Savannah (originally a 1ed to 3ed rare)
* Taiga (originally a 1ed to 3ed rare)
* Tundra (originally a 1ed to 3ed rare)
* Underground Sea (originally a 1ed to 3ed rare)

ME3:

* Mind Twist (originally a 1ed to 3ed rare)
* Mana Drain (originally a Legends uncommon)
* Land Tax (originally a Legends uncommon)
* Bayou (originally a 1ed to 3ed rare)
* Bazaar of Baghdad (originally a Arabian Nights uncommon)
* Plateau (originally a 1ed to 3ed rare)
* Scrubland (originally a 1ed to 3ed rare)
* The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale (originally a Legends rare)
* Tropical Island (originally a 1ed to 3ed rare)
* VOlcanic Island (originally a 1ed to 3ed rare)

Some things to note:

* Each and every one of these is legal in Classic Constructed at MtGO, although several are restricted.
* A few of these cards have been 'bumped' from Uncommon to Rare within the ME sets.
* Each of these cards are considered 'high value' in paper magic, with tournament quality decks built around them at some point.
* Many of the cards come from the earliest days of paper magic. This means it may be some time until their respective sets are released online.

What you should expect:

* As the player base grows on MtGO the demand for these cards will grow. If WoTC continue to apply consistent pressure on increasing the player base inflation online will undoubtedly occur.
* As the ME packs continue to reduce in the marketplace, the price of the respective cards of that set will increase in value.
* When ME3 no longer continues to be sold in the MtGO store the prices will spike, then drop, then steadily increase.
* As subsequent sets come 'online' the cards will see a depreciation in value. How much will depend upon their original rarity. For instance, if Legends is released you may see a dramatic drop in the price of Mana Drain, but a small but noticible drop in The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale. The big one to watch will be the price of Force of Will.
* As sets are released, certain deck types (such as SmokeStack) will become viable in Classic as cards become available. This will increase the price of associated cards from the ME sets.

What this points towards are three key things:

* If you want to build a good MtGO inventory, now is the right time to do so, starting with the cards that were originally rares above, especially the rare lands. These will only go up over time.
* Purchasing the 'originally uncommon' cards is where the most risk and reward will be. The value of these cards will eventually bottom out. The skill will be in knowing when and still making money from them in the short term.
* Paying careful attention to the WoTC set release schedule will bring the biggest advantage in predicting the future rise and fall of these cards.