CE a good option for a casual player?

[Ninja_Bob]

I've never been to official tourney and I don't intend to.  I've recently sold a bunch of stuff in a MMORPG and been wondering if I should get some of the P9 I always wanted.

Does anyone here use Collector's Edition cards?

It basically comes down to me either buying the entire Power9 Collector's Edition or use that money (and more) to get an Unlimited Black Lotus.  With prices the way they are, I don't know if I want to spend that kind of cash.  (And knowing me, once I got one of them, I'd HAVE to get the other 8.)

Good choice?

[Philatio]

I've never been to official tourney and I don't intend to.  I've recently sold a bunch of stuff in a MMORPG and been wondering if I should get some of the P9 I always wanted.

Does anyone here to Collector's Edition cards?

It basically comes down to me either buying the entire Power9 Collector's Edition or use that money (and more) to get an Unlimited Black Lotus.  With prices the way they are, I don't know if I want to spend that kind of cash.  (And knowing me, once I got one of them, I'd HAVE to get the other 8.)

Good choice?

It depends; if you want to view it as an investment, I'd get the real stuff.  I bought a bunch of power a few years ago (after Vintage started booming, I am sad to admit), a fair bit of it Beta, and I sold it for what I payed for it maybe 3 years later.  I could have made some money if I E-bayed it seperately - prices had crept up by then, but with some hefty medical bills looming, it was better for me to sell it at cost to a friend for some quick cash.  Plus I got to attend Vintage tourneys with uber-pimped decks for a few years essentially for free.  Good deal.

As far as CE goes, it's cheaper than real power, but not inexpensive.  As an investment it probably isn't as good.  If you want it for casual play, there are cheaper options, ranging from your printer to places that sell professional quality proxies with alternate art (gamingect.com used to have some nice ones but now they are sold out).  I don't think it is worth it to shell out for CE for either tourney or casual play, since they are essentially interchangable with paper proxies anyhow in either case.

[Ninja_Bob]

I see your point, but CE cards definitely have their own value to them, and I don't remember ever seeing their value go down.  They almost definitely won't see comparable increases in price to the real versions, but at worst I'll be able to make my money back + extra, if I decide to sell.

No?

[Dr. Teeth]

You'd have a much harder time finding someone to sell them to than you would with real power. If I were you i'd make some fancy proxies and be done with it (since you're not going to attend tourneys). CE power isn't much more than that anyway.

[Cross]

Buying power, unless you get really good prices, is not exactly a great investment.

[chrissss]

Ce cards indeed have some value, but their value is greatly dependant on their condition. much more so than other cards. the square boarders of the CE cards make them more fragile, and this is annoying for CE cards. I own 4 myself, just to play with, because they look nice, and I dont damage my real cards. A BB Demonic tutor from CE looks nice, and its a lot cheaper than a bete DT.

On ebay I have seen the CE p9 cards go from 30 $ to 150$. I dont know if you can get a Black Lotus for that if you sell them though. Good luck anyways.

[Nomad]

Does anyone here use Collector's Edition cards?

It basically comes down to me either buying the entire Power9 Collector's Edition or use that money (and more) to get an Unlimited Black Lotus.  With prices the way they are, I don't know if I want to spend that kind of cash.  (And knowing me, once I got one of them, I'd HAVE to get the other 8.)

Good choice?

As far as I'm concerned CE is the shit.  It gives you GENUINE MAGIC CARDS that are the business end of basically every deck, and it's cheap. 

But not every tournament is run by me.

Ray and I had a brief discussion recently about it, where he made a pretty valid case that it was feasible to see from the wear patterns on sleeves that the card was square bordered or not.  This didn't go into such details as trimming the corners and the like, so isn't defining.  And there's always the gay SCG policy of making people play with extra lands that confuse by not dying to Boil or the like.

At the end of the day, CE is good if you get a good price for it.  At the same time, real power is great - if you get a good price for it...

[MarkPharaoh]

CE for casual play is awesome...like half my Gauntlet of Might deck is CE and cost so little compared to if I A/B everything in the deck instead.

[Tin_Mox5831]

I think it's a great investment. I'm thinking about buying a set myself. I'd totally cut my corners though. That way, I can take my deck with CE Power and then have my trade binder with my Alpha Power, just to invoke my opponents' wrath even more than I already do!

Later,
Dave

[Summit]

If you really intend to play casually a good printer is much more cost effective and will look about the same in quality.  Go for the real stuff or don't get any at all.

[Upinthe]

If you can find someone that you can trade with to get CE cards then go for it. I wouldn't spend any money buying them though.

[Ephraim]

If you really intend to play casually a good printer is much more cost effective and will look about the same in quality.  Go for the real stuff or don't get any at all.

This is how I feel about it.  Most casual play groups, in my experience, do not have access to many powerful, expensive, old cards.  People around here get all goggle-eyed when I play a dual land.  If some of the people in your play group do have some Power and are playing it casually, then I'd say you're justified in writing "Time Walk" on a Plains and using that.  I already have slight issues with the way that competitive Vintage has such a high price tag.  I'd be very upset if playing casually had the same problem.  (In other words, if your casual play group is trying to make you either pony up for real (or CE) Power or play at a disadvantage, I'd say you need to protest.)

If nobody in your play group actually has Power, you might try convincing them to play without it for a change.  It might be a nice change of pace.  I have the most fun playing hard with poor decks.  (Fully or nearly optimized, but with totally substandard themes/goals.)

[forests failed you]

I hear CE cards make fine bookmarks, but are good for little else.