At the end of the day its supply and demand. Why E cant just reprint all all rare* limited decks and release a real limited rare deck! They will in a perfect world! lol
Say what?
So, you're suggesting they reprint all rare limited decks and release a real limited rare deck? Wow, I can drive a fleet of semis through the holes in that logic...
If they just "reprint" it, it's no longer rare, is it? Nor is it all that limited, either.
They ALREADY have "real limited rare decks". Four of them in fact, of which only three are in the gift tiers - Black Ghost 1st Edition, Gold Arcane and Red Artifice, in order of release. The fourth, Ltd., was only made available over the holidays and the remaining stock - of which Marcus said there wasn't much left - would be given out as contest prizes.
Closest thing you'll ever find to a reprint is a second edition, like the Black Ghost. They've already said there will be no Red Artifice 2nd Edition (to preserve the value of the 1st edition). I'm sure the same logic would be applied to the Gold Arcane, which already exists in two other versions: black and white.
The only limited-edition deck they did that was a wholly-original idea was the Ltd. - and even that borrows elements from Artifice 2nd Ed.; they have standard faces and pips, but they use the same index font as the Artifice, and the back is an elegant, classy design with no fancy glyphs or cherubs riding bicycles.
But you chose what would make you happy, which in the end is what's really important, right? Otherwise, why buy special custom-made playing cards at all?
Wow, I guess I am wrong about the prices, although I have seen many sales of GA for 150 and BG1ed for 250... My bad lol. And for the lucite case, a friend of mine has one, the problem is that if they see hand prints on the glass, it will be worth less.
The prices fluctuate. At one point in history, a BG1E sold on eBay for $450. I'm guessing that was before they were made available as gifts for buying merchandise. Prices went down around the holidays because E was flooding the market with their rare decks through their holiday deals. In a little time, prices will climb back up - and probably go back down, and up, and down... But in the end, over longer periods, they'll become more scarce and more valuable. Decks get worn or destroyed; not all of them sit in the hands of collectors under glass.
I understand what he said, and I agree that it's not easy to sale 100$ deck.
Maybe just getting a gold arcane and a bg1st is easier than get 2 bg, sell one and buy one gold arcane.
But I don't think market will be flooded with the bg 1st, that won't happen.
Oh, I understand what he means. It is simpler his way, although it isn't worth as much. I don't, either, think the bg1ed will ever be worth much more since so many where printed, not too long ago, and these cards aren't EXCEPTIONAL.
Wow - Nathan, hold on a sec.
Only 5,000 of these decks were made, period. Not the smallest run, to be sure, but far from being a lot. Originally, they weren't even available as tier gifts - they were given by the company to celebrities, magicians and celebrity magicians (
). The only way to get one was to have it given to you by E - no amount of buying anything would do it. These decks are in the collections of some of the most famous magicians alive today because of this.
There's a certain cachet attached to ownership of one of these decks as a result of that initial campaign. It meant being one of the few, one of the best. Granted, that hasn't been true for a little while now, but the cachet remains nonetheless.
The design isn't exceptional - by today's standards. But when it was made, it was phenomenally popular - remember, it was before the market totally exploded in the last few years, and custom decks were still pretty few and far between. The deck has become more than simply a deck - it's a cultural artifact, that culture being magicians, cardists and collectors. When viewed with the proper perspective, they are indeed very exceptional.
Trust me, when the deck is no longer available from the source, you'll see the price going significantly higher than it is now. I'd predict that based on the info I've read, the deck will be either totally gone by year's end, or yanked from the gift tiers and granted only as contest prizes.
Have you ever seen a sought-after limited deck plummet that far in price AFTER they were no longer available from the manufacturer? It would only happen as it has in the past few months with the Ltd. deck, because the market got absolutely flooded with them in a very short time. Prices are down on BG1E now because of that same flood, as are Red Artifice and Gold Arcane.
