Not a bad problem to have

So watching Pro Tour Theros in Dublin, and being on the other side of the world, and being a couple of months still away from home (and the opportunity to play paper). It hit me, I have no REAL idea what I'm going to get to play when I get back to Canada. I have a dilemma that maybe you can help me with. (Note: Thanks to @Mattystudios for keeping me from compulsively buying every card I want to play on a whim).

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If you look carefully at one of my previous articles, specifically my top 10 cards, you'll see that every colour of the pie is represented. I have the shell for UW control, I have some of the cards for RDW, I have some of the pieces for Green aggro, I have the shock lands to support almost every significant colour combination...and...I don't own any of the high yield planeswalkers.

Before I sound like every other player who is moaning about card prices and availability...I want to show you the other side of the coin. Right now, the field is so diverse, so rich in archetypes and flavour, that it almost doesn't matter which direction I go in. So I'm reasonably (@MattyStudios might disagree) content to hold back and wait for the time being. Paper speculators be damned, the more diverse the field, the greater the spread of demand and the more affordable the cards may become over time.

For someone in my position (not being able to physically play paper for a few more months) it means that it's less necessary to snatch up the cards I forecast are going to be in demand (For Instance: if I hadn't called Thundermaw Hellkite early, I never could have played UWR Tempo). When the meta moves forward and IF (big if) it remains so diverse the greater spread of desirable cards, SHOULD keep the demand for specific cards more under control. To me, and perhaps to WotC, when the field remains competitive and diverse we all win. More people can afford to play (and win) with different decks, and each deck has to prepare for the larger field of options, opponents, and strategies. Simply put, the greater the field diversity, the greater the chance that skilled play wins out over raw card power, while maintaining the lowest barrier to entry possible.

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I'm not a card speculator in the true nature of the term, I'm not looking to flip cards for profit. I try to forecast prices so I can actually play the game with the pieces that should be available to everyone. While rarity is great for making limited play special and truly giving you that "wow" feeling when you see a card hit the board, it really REALLY ruins the chance to play with all the cards in a set. When cards reach that level that they really only acquired with loads of money (And that money scales directly to rarity and power in standard), instead of merit (re: any MMO) or chance (such as boosters), it's only the richest (wo)man who wins at the expense of the greater field.

#WhatdeckshouldIplay
#Abolishmythic
#PTTHS

@Ricostravels