General (TLA/TLE) Avatar: The Last Airbender Testing/Includes Thread

[shamizy]

Also picking up a copy of this guy:



Didn't really notice it on first scan through the set, but the bigger version of the owl is in the supplemental TLE product. I like having some version of big 5 mana flyers in my cube (just brought back Glorybringer for the first time in years) and the ability to tuck a problem permanent while also being a sizable threat + buddies is appealing as a stabilizing mid-game threat. There are niche interaction with something like Sensei's Divining Top or Oust to generate more Spirits, but I like this more as just a catch-all bounce option later in the game to turn the corner and start closing things out. I also like that this curves like off something like a T4 Teleportation Circle or can be a big tempo swing off a Soulherder trigger. A 4/4 is a sizeable threat in the air without being overwhelming and 6 power across 3 bodies is pretty big game.

Clean design and I think it'll play pretty well.

 

[MilesOfficial]

I just took it off my list after I was getting my pre-orders set and saw the price. I'll probably pick one up when it inevitably comes down, but it's a more marginal upgrade from Diviner of Mist than merits $15 at this time, especially without an in-person draft planned for the next two weeks. It lets me avoid the unique token, too, but yeah, I do like this card. It really feels worthwhile for 5 mana, a cost that these days I mostly prefer modal cards for.

 

[shamizy]

Fair, I usually try to keep to a budget with early pick-ups as well.

So much in the set drops, but there are definitely some good deals to be had on something like eBay if you can keep an eye out. I'm definitely going to be waiting on Badgermole Cub and Wan Shi Tong, Librarian with their obscene prices, but I did pick up full art foils of Mai, Scornful Striker and Zhao, The Moon Slayer last night at prices that looked about right to me. I don't think either of these will explode in price, but this method has definitely helped in the past purchasing things like Bristly Bill, Spine Sower or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse.

 

[MilesOfficial]

I'm fine spending $50-$100 on a new set for singles (a little more in this case, since we also have Jumpstart), and then I try to trade for the rest, but getting time to trade at a store is always getting harder for me. I really gotta just bite the bullet and spend a few hours sorting things to send in to CardKingdom or somewhere for store credit. I'm usually in a rush to swap out most of the hot newness, but I don't mind keeping in an old card for a draft or two to save $30 here or there.

It's also generally wise to pick up things that don't look like they're going to go down. I fear Badgermole Cub is too dynamic and good in too many formats, so even though most cards from a standard set have a really hard time staying over $30 for more than 2-3 months, I think it's going to be one of the exceptions. Traveling Chocobo is still $20 and it's not even half as useful in Commander, let alone other constructed formats.

Draft is up on Arena now! I've gone 4-3 twice, and my losses felt bad. It's a fast format, and you just need to stumble a little to lose. Interesting gameplay overall, though. I got Abandoned Air Temple my first draft and I won twice just by dropping it and my opponent just spent a moment looking through my creatures and realizing that I could just activate it every turn and a win was inevitable. I like that on a land from time to time. White seems to be too good relative to the other colors, but that's also a consequence of Allies being so synergistic.

 

[Seeker]

getting time to trade at a store is always getting harder for me. I really gotta just bite the bullet and spend a few hours sorting things to send in to CardKingdom or somewhere for store credit.

I don't know of anyone else who still does it, but SCG still has Ship+Sell where you just put all your unsorted stuff in a box, send it to them, and get paid.

Obviously the downside there is it's SCG, so lower buylist + higher sell price if they're still the way they used to be back when they had name recognition. CF used to offer a similar service, but now they have "Being Owned By eBay" instead.

(I don't use it because I have A Guy who provides the same service. If you want me to put you in touch with Todd From The Internet, I guess I can do that too.)

 

[shamizy]

I'm fine spending $50-$100 on a new set for singles (a little more in this case, since we also have Jumpstart), and then I try to trade for the rest, but getting time to trade at a store is always getting harder for me. I really gotta just bite the bullet and spend a few hours sorting things to send in to CardKingdom or somewhere for store credit. I'm usually in a rush to swap out most of the hot newness, but I don't mind keeping in an old card for a draft or two to save $30 here or there.

Highly recommend taking a Saturday afternoon to sort through piles of stuff for buylisting. I do it like twice a year and can often trade into some big stuff at the local shop near me via store credit (which is a decent sized online retailer as well). So many random cards that buylist for $5-7 really start building up over time alongside a bunch of older foils. I traded in dozens of cards earlier this week for store credit that I was able to pick up a NM Plateau and Tundra.

But yeah as far as spending for cube goes I'm in the same boat as you. Newer sets I'll take time picking up cards, but the vast majority of cards are pretty cheap nowadays with their foray into collector boosters and special versions to where it's way more affordable in paper. I've completed foiling out my cube as of a few years ago and nowadays I just search for the "best" version of certain older cards every now and then for an upgrade (where reasonable-ish).

 

[Nemo]

But yeah as far as spending for cube goes I'm in the same boat as you. Newer sets I'll take time picking up cards, but the vast majority of cards are pretty cheap nowadays with their foray into collector boosters and special versions to where it's way more affordable in paper.

Yeah, it's great how inexpensive most of the cards are now. It seems like I've blown more money on sleeves and boxes than I spend on cards lately.

 

[Seeker]

Yeah, it's great how inexpensive most of the cards are now. It seems like I've blown more money on sleeves and boxes than I spend on cards lately.

There's two effects: 1) random commander stuff is expensive forever (hi, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse / The Great Henge / etc) and 2) the existence of very fancy very rare treatments that require opening lots of product means a "normal" version of almost everything else is dirt cheap.

2 is great!
1 sucks but we can't really do anything about it because boxes always settle to an equilibrium price relative to their contents etc

e: to elaborate slightly more on 2, even Stormchaser's Talent, a 4-of in the best deck in Standard, was only $10 before it got banned. Remember that period between Arcbound Ravager and like, 2015 where that would have been absolutely inconceivable?

 

[Mown]

e: to elaborate slightly more on 2, even Stormchaser's Talent, a 4-of in the best deck in Standard, was only $10 before it got banned. Remember that period between Arcbound Ravager and like, 2015 where that would have been absolutely inconceivable?

That is probably also largely because most standard games happen online instead.