The springtime tradition of speculating on the year’s Masters set has begun! Eternal Masters releases on June 10th, sixteen days from now (Future readers, time until / elapsed from release will have to be calculated manually). Reprint news is trickling in at a card every hour or two, and excitement is building.
So what do we know about this set?
– MSRP is $9.99 USD / pack, or ~$12.99 CDN (At today’s 1.30 CDN/USD).
– A box contains 24 packs, so a box MSRP of $239.76 USD or ~$311.76 CDN.
– As a large set, it contains 15 Mythics, 53 Rares, 80 Uncommons, and 101 Commons.
– Only Wizards Play Network stores get it. (No mass market stores or general hobby shops)
– Each pack has a foil.
– They are reprinting Mana Crypt. Mana Crypt. Did not expect that one. It’s never been in a booster or had a rarity before!
Notice that I didn’t list how many boxes would be available. That’s no mistake; as of this time, every store in Edmonton is able to receive a release shipment of 8 to 32 boxes and a first wave shipment of 8 boxes. Distributors are not divulging any information on how additional boxes will be allocated.
From personal estimates of stores around the city, and assuming no extra allocation, there will be 300+ boxes (7200+ packs) of EMA in Edmonton on June 10th. For comparison, an Advanced Plus store in town usually has 80-240 boxes (2880 – 8640 packs) of a new expansion on release day. There are at least ten active stores in town. Also, no Walmart sources. We’re looking at a fifth or a tenth of usual set availability on day one of EMA, with no guarantees for restocks past the first wave.
So far, some shops have put some boxes up for presale. The Adventurer’s Guild has sold through their preorders at $315 CDN + tax. The Warp chain has boxes available for $370 +tax. Variant Edition has sold through part of their allocation at $330+tax. Red Claw Gaming has a few preorders at $370+tax.
Some of these prices seem high, but let’s look at trustworthy online shops:
– FacetoFace Games is sold out at $369.99 CDN.
– Gamekeeper.ca has 10 boxes remaining at $359.99 CDN.
– Starcitygames has 14 11 9 5 boxes remaining at $349.95 USD, ~$455 CDN.
– TCGPlayer lists their lowest preorder box at $310 USD, ~$403 CDN.
Oh dear. The American sources can’t ship across the border, but they’re already reaching above $400 CDN.
Set prices long term are going to depend upon restocks. If it’s like Modern Masters 2013, with one release wave and a small restock wave, boosters will be incredibly difficult to find for even three times MSRP. Modern Masters 2015, on the other hand, could still be bought from distributors (in small amounts) for two months after release, and you can still find it around the city for MSRP.
I’ll be working out Variant Edition’s preorder prices for this evening. Given the five seven calls I’ve fielded while writing this article, there is certainly interest in these boxes.
TL;DR There’s nowhere near enough EMA for everyone, given the current numbers. Prices are high. If we get reasonable restocks for a few weeks, prices will drop. I wish I had more information.
