Comments on: Insider: Unwinding Some Positions

By: Tyler

Tyler — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 21:51:29 +0000

I've been thinking about the state of Legacy a lot lately. While it's undoubtedly my favorite format, there are only so many times I can happily hast Force of Will into a Daze or allow a SfM to resolve without removal in hand and still have an ounce of excitement. On top of that, LED dredge can now easily mill 60 cards in one turn without being disrupted, which makes for an incredibly boring G1.

On top of that, Modern seems to really be hitting home. I would also place all my bets on seeing reprints of all the shock lands very shortly. I would jump off of all of those IMMEDIATELY after the season ends.

Beyond that, however, I still feel like the real duals are safe bets. Maybe that's just me and I am thinking about them the same way I used to the housing market…

By: Sigmund Ausfresser

Sigmund Ausfresser — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:45:41 +0000

I have asked myself the same exact question. But instead of looking to sell my Underground Seas, I frequently wonder if I should sell my entire set of 40 Dual Lands. I play Legacy so infrequently now, and with a newborn at home, the likelihood of me having the time to make it to a distant Legacy event seems low. The money could be better served either as cash for further speculation, a few pieces of power, or something altogether non-MTG (a family vacation perhaps?).

Key question: five years from now, can I still sell my 40 dual lands for over $2,000? If the answer is likely no, then I should bail now because I know I won't have $2,000 of fun with these cards.

By: Scudder

Scudder — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:21:43 +0000

I was sitting across the table from you when you sold the Seas to Kelly at $85 apiece, and at the time, I thought you were nuts, but thinking back it seems like the correct choice. I make a point of not holding onto (or chasing after) dual lands right now, as they seem to have peaked, meaning there's very little money to be made unless you can get them at insane low prices (which most people are simply not willing to do). I have my playset of Seas that are in Reanimator, and a single Plateau I picked up on the cheap at GP Indy (35 seemed very reasonable), but beyond that I own zero dual lands.

However, I actually disagree with your sentiments about Legacy right now. For a time the format seemed boring; you played NO RUG or Show & Tell, or you simply didn't top 8 in a major event. However, recently more interesting decks have been making their way into the top tiers. After the banning of Mental Misstep, suddenly High Tide is seeing decent amounts of play, and Enchantress is apparently a thing again. Every now and then, Dredge succeeds in winning something big. I think the format is suddenly more interesting than it has been in some time. That said, if top 8 lists start consisting of 8 Maverick decks, I'll begin to agree with your sentiments.

By: @Chosler88

@Chosler88 — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:43:07 +0000

I personally wouldn't have sold Seas because it's simply a card I want to own and have (for instance, I traded into some this weekend), but it's hard to blame you for doing so from a financial perspective.
And I completely agree with you about the path Legacy is on. It's crazy to think we needed Burn to shake things up to even give the unfair decks a chance to make an appearance again.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:12:10 +0000

I have to agree with your sentiments about Legacy. The format hasn't had the allure it's has in the past because… I'm not sure, really. It seems like a lot of things- R&D printing ridiculous Blue spells, lack of willingness to experiment with the B&R list, the Reserve list tightening, the boring, cyclical nature of the format, and it's absolute lack of any sense of "brokenness" for an Eternal format. Playing Duals and casting Swords doesn't feel broken. It doesn't feel exciting.

I think you made the right point in getting rid of the U. Seas. You don't use them. If they aren't generating any fun they might as well turn a profit.