Comment by __loam
2 months ago
This is something that's pretty well known in the magic the gathering community. Some of us who trade in older cards to play certain formats have jeweler's loupes to check this stuff.
2 months ago
This is something that's pretty well known in the magic the gathering community. Some of us who trade in older cards to play certain formats have jeweler's loupes to check this stuff.
Pardon the naiveté: I understand the value of authenticity for collectors, but if it's just to play certain formats, what's the problem with a print?
Basically none in practice, but there are some hybrid collector-players who like the idea of building decks from their collection as opposed from all decks, and bristle at the idea of someone else not doing that. (And of course the collectors and WoTC themselves like to push for it because it makes them money: WoTC officially pretends that the secondary market doesn't exist but their actions make no sense if they aren't crafting their ~~loot boxes~~ booster sets with the idea of rare and valuable cards driving a lot of the demand).
(I personally think that if you want to force everyone to pay for product, play sealed or draft. Then everyone's on an even playing field budget wise, and it's more interesting than just net-decking. I'm sympathetic to the fact that WoTC needs to make money, I'm not sympathetic to their approach of chasing whales and making large chunks of the game basically inaccessible by their definition of 'legitimate play')
Isn't mtg basically pay to win because of this?
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Organized Play official events require authentic cards, but nobody is stopping people from using a printer for kitchen-table style games.
Personally, having used printed paper inserted over top of a real card, I'd rather stick with real cards. Otherwise, I'd just go digital in this day and age.
You can buy mid-quality proxies on Chinese sites for about $0.30/card that feel accurate and typically are only distinguishable from real ones on fairly close inspection.
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Are judges at tournaments pulling out loupes and inspecting cards?
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I believe official tournaments don't allow any form of proxy?
you don't want it causing a complication with prize money or etc if you try to play in a regional tournament and get dqed by this I assume
> I believe official tournaments don't allow any form of proxy?
It doesn't solve the problem, but I thought I saw something about tournaments allowing proxies for a card that's present but in unplayable condition.
9 replies →
> I believe official tournaments don't allow any form of proxy?
Is there a legitimate reason not to, or is it just a money grab?
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When it comes to playing the game between friends outside official tournaments, you are basically correct (though some use cost as a power level limiter).
When it comes to trading, you don’t want to accidentally pay a premium for something you won’t be able to resell. Lots of players view trading as, more or less, leasing cards. Valuable cards typically have fairly stable prices (though there are notable exceptions). Buy for a dollar sell for somewhere between 0.75 and 1.25.
You wouldn't want to pay a premium for a reproduction.
Indeed - proxy cards have their place, but everyone involved should know that’s what they are.
Original print runs will score higher resale values, especially for something rare like unreleased Pokemon trading cards made during play testing.
Reproductions can be fine, but anyone can do them on the cheap.
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