Guilds of Ravnica Mythic

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Today may be a rather special day as the Guilds of Ravnica Mythic Edition had been released for sale on the online Hasbro Toy Shop.  This is the new foil Masterpiece series vehicle for Guilds of Ravnica.  Prior distribution was originally within randomly inserted boosters.  The package specifically is a handsome looking draft-sized booster box containing a total of 24 booster packs of Guilds of Ravnica.  Out of the 24 packs, 8 will be the special Mythic Edition packs, which will be clearly marked as to which of the special Planeswalker cards is contained for that pack.

This experimental product, produced in a limited quantity, was posted online today (October 3, 2018) for $249.99, or, should you live in Canada like us, approximately $380 which addresses the current tariff, provincial sales tax and of course, the exchange rate ( $1 USD = $0.78 CD ).  At the time of posting, there was a short delay and some reports of issues processing orders through the Hasbro Toy Shop page.

There was at the time of announcement which provided the details and pricing some negative feedback from the Magic: the Gathering community, which generally centered upon the limiting exclusivity of the product along the lines of geographic availability and pricing.  There were a few posts from Mark Rosewater in addition to a more formal communication posted to the Daily MTG website (linked here).

Each of the boxes is to have one of all 8 Masterpiece Planeswalker cards (along with a corresponding token or emblem if applicable ) :
• Elspeth, Knight-Errant
• Liliana, the Last Hope
• Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast
• Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
• Ral, Izzet Viceroy
• Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
• Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
• Vraska, Golgari Queen


Although we feel that some of the more serious Magic: the Gathering fans may draft the box, the lion's share of the product is likely to be picked up by collectors.  All of this is fine as MTG is both an amazing card game, but also must be noted that this is indeed a collectible card game.  Wizards of the Coast has never had a packaged product in this price range before, but we will certainly not fault them in producing such should customers be willing to pay.

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MTG Commander Anthology

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Happy Monday MTG Peeps,

Just a quick note about the Commander 2017 spoiler last week on Thursday.  It appears that the original poster of those Magic: the Gathering leaks, 'turn1thoughtseize', had deleted their instagram account.  Our thoughts are as they had always been - we do not condone leaks / spoilers and would of course never post them - but - if the MTG community is already talking about them, we'll wait 12 hours and then talk about 'em too.

Anywhoos, we do have some more Commander News - this time, from the article linked here on the Wizards of the Coast site, which had previewed the contents of the Commander Anthology product being released soon on June 9th, 2017.

Four decks previously printed in the Commander series, and collected in a deluxe package.  For a suggested retail price of $165, this product includes four specialized life counters (these are awesome by-the-way!), required tokens, and all cards included in the following original decks:

Heavenly Inferno, foil - Kaalia of the Vast

Kaalia of the Vast alone holds the forces of Angels, Dragons, and Demons within the palm of her hand. Watch her toss each bone-crushing creature onto the battlefield with merciless glee while your horrified enemies are sliced, diced, and then deep-fried.

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Evasive Maneuvers, foil Derevi, Empyrial Tactician

Derevi, Empyrial Tactician wants dominion over every aspect of the battlefield.  this commander's tactical expertise confounds her enemies as she undermines their plans with her cunning strategies.

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Guided by Nature, foil Freyalise, Llanowar’s Fury

This was the set, which for first time Wizards of the Coast designed and crafted a Planeswalkers to be Commanders. Freyalise, Llanowar’s Fury protects the forest and the elves who dwell there, and they protect her in return.  She can summon legions of loyal elves to her side and unleash the full might of the natural world upon her enemies. 

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Plunder the Graves, foil Meren of Clan Nel Toth


The primary theme of the deck is graveyard recursion, and the secondary themes are sacrificing permanents and +1/+1 counters. Meren draws power from death itself, so the sooner her minions fall, the faster they rise again to fight her battles.

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The MTG Collector

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

As it is Friday, we suggest you make plans to make it down to your local gaming store and get into a Friday Night Magic event.  We'll be at OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario to take a stab at an updated list the play group has been having some serious fun with recently - Green / White Hardened Scales.  Unfortunately, this list still does not have the best mana yet - namely Canopy Vista from Battle for Zendikar or Windswept Heath from Khans of Tarkir, but we did finally get two Undergrowth Champion in a recent trade.  If, you the reader did want to help out our group, you could always pop by out Wish List on CoolStuff Inc., and for that, we could work out a deal by giving you some air time / visibility on our MTG Realm online assets.

Anywhoos,  As we were saying, we were looking for a proper mana base and connected with another gamer in the area who was willing to talk about a trade - this fella was looking, among other things for a 'High Tide'.  We then remembered we did have a promo card from an IDS comic we had picked up in 2013 for which we forked out $5 for.

Doing the due diligence, we find out that this promo had shot up to just over $12 which was to our benefit in this particular trade.  Long story shortened, we nail down the details but also checked out the local stores to replace our comic book as it belongs to a completed set.  We were a bit shocked that we could get is ordered in for us for about $25.  We realise that we might be able to pick it up for less expense in the States perhaps be thought it too much fuss.  Suffice to say, we backed out of the trade deal.

We really do not consider ourselves collectors - sure we are happy to collect FNM / Release / Game Day promos to switch out 'normal' printings in our decks but we don't actively seek to acquire rare printings.  The one and only time we did feel like a collector was with our MTG comic books - picked each and every one up, admired the cover art and promo card and did not crack the shrink wrap.  This is not characteristic of our group - if you buy something, enjoy your purchase instead of having it sit on a shelf (and not even on display).  We now feel we can imagine how some collectors feel when they realise that their $5 purchase in now worth $25.
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FTV Angels Full Spoiler

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Magic: the Gathering fans are certain to be happy to learn that WotC staffer Trick Jarret delivered the full list of all the Angels to see print in the upcoming From the Vault product on the mothersite today.

From the Vault: Angels is the eight and latestest product installment for the 'From the Vault' series. It is expected to be released on 21 August, 2015, with an MSRP of $34.99, but one should expect this price to be significantly more as players and collectors scramble to secure a copy.

This particular set contains 15 famous (and infamous Angels), all of which are printed using the Magic 2015 style card frame. Each card has been printed using a foil process unique to the From the Vault series with five cards featuring new art. 
Akroma, Angel of Fury (new art)
Akroma, Angel of Wrath
Archangel of Strife
Aurelia, the Warleader
Avacyn, Angel of Hope
Baneslayer Angel
Entreat the Angels
Exalted Angel (new art)
Iona, Shield of Emeria (new art)
Iridescent Angel (new art)
Jenara, Asura of War
Lightning Angel
Platinum Angel
Serra Angel (new art)
Tariel, Reckoner of Souls

Contents:
• 15 premium foil cards, including 5 with new art.
• An exclusive Spindown life counter.
• A collector's guide.

Appearing in the skies above the fiercest battles, Angels are known throughout the Multiverse for their awesome power and terrible fury. This limited-edition box set contains fifteen Magic: The Gathering cards featuring a host of the most formidable winged warriors to ever grace the game.
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Magic Origins SDCC Promo

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Happy Monday (again) MTG peeps,

This is our second article today - to catch our earlier one covering off all the new Magic Origins previews out today, hop on over to here.   This, our second article is our particular interest to Magic: the Gathering players who may be attending this year's San Diego Comic-Con 2015, running July 9th to the 12th.  SDCC is typically when we have a panel from Wizards of the Coast addressing several upcoming products, foremost of which is the next block - this being Battle for Zendikar.  In past years, WotC has also released an SDCC Exclusive in the form of an alternate 'black on black' set of the core set Planeswalkers.


Here's the 4.1.1. for this year's SDCC exclusive from IO9 -

At San Diego Comic-Con 2015 the Hasbro ToyShop offered a limited edition collection of double-faced planeswalkers cards from Magic Origins (the last core set) for sale. The five cards were presented with unique "black-on-black" illustrated by Wayne Reynolds.  This year’s SDCC Planeswalker set also includes a book exploring the backstories of the five planeswalkers featured in this summer’s Magic Origins expansion: Chandra, Jace, Nissa, Gideon, and Liliana. This is expected to be selling at $120.
a
Check it out !

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Tumblr Tuesday

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

We hope all had a great weekend, and to our cousins to the south, a pleasant memorial day weekend.  The big ticket event this weekend was of course Modern Masters 2015 release.  If you took in a local event or played in one of the large grand prix events, chances are much fun was had.

Anywhoos, for today's post, we wanted to catch up with our sister site, MTG Realm on Tumblr, so strap in and let's go -
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Photoset May 26, 2015 72 notes

Magic: the Gathering - Ugin Cosplay
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon cosplay at Anime North 2015.


Absolutely wonderful work by Cat Ward - moar pics here.
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Photoset May 23, 2015 243 notes

Magic: the Gathering - SCG Playmat


Most MTG players already know that popular (and much meme’d) card and card art Tasigur, the Golden Fang illustrated by Chris Rahn.  What you may not know is that StarCityGames has another witty playmat which parodies that former Sultai Khan.  Check out the awesome kitteh illustration from ALRadeck for the StarCityGames Open Series.  Say meow to Tasipurr the Golden Paw which I’ve understood is to be available during SCG Season Three to event participants.
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Photoset May 23, 2015 52 notes

Magic: the Gathering - CF Ranked
The Power Rankings on Channel Fireball has always been a fairly accurate representation of what is on the tables at my local Friday Night Magic event.


Interesting comments on Den Protector which I think is spot on.  Not to gush here but I liked the card when it first came out and picked these up when it was going for under $2.  Now these fetch around the $10 mark.   : )
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Photoset May 20, 2015 242 notes

Magic: the Gathering - Jewels
Wizards of the Coast produced these very limited (non-precious) pendants back in 2007 after the iconic Moxes (or moxen) and called it the Jewels Series which consisted of one boxed set of the following -
* Mox Jet Necklace
* Mox Pearl Necklace
* Mox Ruby Necklace
* Mox Emerald Necklace
* Mox Sapphire Necklace


If you have this complete still-in-the-box set, collecting dust on your shelf, you can sell it for approximately $600+ today.
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Photoset May 16, 2015 131 notes

Magic: the Gathering - Cardboard Clad

This is Jose Raul Megias Iglesias.

He is the big cheese at gaming store El bazar de Iglesias in Granada, Spain.


He literally breathes, sweats, and wears MTG cards (and duel decks!) and is most relaxed in direct contact with them.  
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FTV : Angels

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Here in Ontario, it's Family Day, which for us included a breakfast at Cora's, some movies, and a bunch of Magic: the Gathering games.  Lovely.

Aywhoos, Some exciting news over on the mothersite - this announcement -

From the Vault: Angels

Appearing in the skies above the fiercest battles, Angels are known throughout the Multiverse for their awesome power and terrible fury. This limited-edition box set contains fifteen Magic: The Gathering cards featuring a host of the most formidable winged warriors to ever grace the game.

Content and Details

• Fifteen premium foil cards, including five with new art.
 
•  An exclusive Spindown™ life counter.

•   A collector's guide.
 
•  Each card has been printed using a foil process unique to the From the Vault series.
 
•  From the Vault: Angels will be available worldwide in English only, and will have an extremely limited print run.
 
•  All cards are black bordered and tournament legal. This means that these cards are legal for use in any tournaments where the original printings are still legal.

Product Concept and Development: Gavin Verhey and Jeremy Jarvis, with contributions from Mark Purvis

Release Date: August 21, 2015

MSRP: $34.99 

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Some pretty slick art previewed as well.  So, if you don't know, From the Vault is a series of box sets, released on an annual basis in late August. Each box set contains 15 tournament-legal, black-bordered, holographic foil cards with a common theme. Some of these cards feature novel alternate artwork.

Previous From the Vaults sets.

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FTV Annihilation Follow-Up

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

We wanted to follow-up yesterday's post on the soon to be released From the Vault: Annihilation product from Wizards of the Coast which has stirred up some excitement from Magic: the Gathering players and collectors.  We want to take you back, waaay back about 3 months ago on 30th April when MTG Realm first posted about a rumour circulating about FTV: Annihilation.  It all started with a post on Reddit from 'thegreatpablo' who had indicated he had received from a friend two images of the back of the product box.  Here's the image (joined) now -

Essentially the back of the box provides an image of all the cards / contents along with a flavour text blurb.  Shortly after the post, the MTG fan community for a variety of reasons had decried that the image was disingenuous.  MTG Realm provided cautionary remarks on the original post and immediately updated the post after the general consensus of fake was passed . . . the humour of it was - it wasn't.

All the card images shown on the back of the original image proved true when WotC staffer previewed the product in yesterday's post on the mothersite -  

From the Vault: Annihilation CARDS
• Armageddon (new art)
• Burning of Xinye• Cataclysm (new art)
• Child of Alara
• Decree of Annihilation
• Firespout (new art)
• Fracturing Gust
• Living Death (new art)
• Martial Coup
• Rolling Earthquake
• Smokestack (new art)
• Terminus
• Upheavel
• Virtue's Ruin
• Wrath of God (new art)  

 

This FTV set looks good - MTG Mint Card has carried singles from previous From the Vault sets and hopefully may do with this one.
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FTV Annihilation Decklist

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Today over on the mothersite, WotC staffer Gavin Verhey provided the full decklist from From the Vault: Annihilation.  From the Vault is a series of box sets (a total of seven so far), released on an annual basis in late August. Each box set contains 15 tournament-legal, black-bordered, holographic foil cards with a common theme. A number of of these cards have alternate artwork and are often highly sought-after by Magic: the Gathering players and collectors. 

It is expected to have a suggested retail price of $35 but we have serious doubts that many players will be able to pick up this product at that price.  If you already have these singles from an online retailer like MTG Mint Card, then you're good to go, unless that is you are after the alternate art - we might pop over to our local games store, OMG! Games here in Barrie Ontario and hope they've not sold out.  Here's the full 4.1.1. from the official announcement back in February -

Contents and Details
• 15 Premium foil cards, including 6 with new art.
• An exclusive Spindown™ life counter.
• A collector's guide.
• Each card has been printed using a foil process unique to the From the Vault series.
• From the Vault: Annihilation will be available world-wide in English only, and will have an extremely limited print run.
• All cards are black bordered and tournament legal. This means that these cards are legal for use in any tournaments where the original printings are still legal.

Flavour
Harness the savage power of fifteen of the most brutal Magic cards ever unleashed. These limited-edition, black-bordered superweapons are legal in many tournament formats. Sweep the battlefield clean with this powerful arsenal and blast the opposition into oblivion.

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From the Vault: Annihilation CARDS

• Armageddon (new art)
• Burning of Xinye
• Cataclysm (new art)
• Child of Alara
• Decree of Annihilation
• Firespout (new art)
• Fracturing Gust
• Living Death (new art)
• Martial Coup
• Rolling Earthquake
• Smokestack (new art)
• Terminus
• Upheavel
• Virtue's Ruin
• Wrath of God (new art)

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The Collection

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Being Magic: the Gathering players, most of us have some sort of collector's streak within us.  Whether we are driven to collect every Charging Badger (Born of the Gods) we come across or the spindown life counter of every MTG set, there is a certain satisfaction to acquire and add to that collection.  Some common collections players often start on is assembling at least one of each set, every variant artwork for an individual card, or every Planeswalker ever printed - the only limiting factors may be the budget, the available time put into acquisitions / organisation and the rarity of the item wanted to collect.  In the past, we've ordered extra singles from MTG Mint Card based partially on card art or to complete a particular design cycle, but due to lack of funds (which equals lack of fun) here at MTG Realm, we restrict ourselves to just a few collection 'kinks' - namely, every new IDW MTG comic which we maintain sealed and a Fat Pack for each set which is put to use in storing our card collection as shown below. 

Admittedly not very rare or exotic.  Beyond cards, there are numerous MTG-related items to collect, like rare figurines, pins, playmats, or apparel (like the offerings over at MTG Merch).

 

A recent post by  vatechguy (Adam Richards) over on Reddit gave us a N3rdgasm over his collection which was varied, rare, and very well presented in a display cabinet.

Stunningly beautiful.

Pins, special sealed product, promotional items - this collection is lovely.  We are torn that some of the sealed product is still sealed and not enjoyed being played but at the same time we would totally do this provided we had a second sealed product to rip open and game with.

Anywhoos - drop a comment in below - What sort of Magic: the Gathering collection do you have, or would you have if you could?

Anywhoos - make sure to stay tuned to daily posts this week and most definitely tune in for official Journey to Nyx previews start up on the mothersite next week (Monday 7th April 2014).
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