"The Double Master Effect and the Ripples it leaves."

 "The Double Master Effect and the Ripples it leaves."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I have a love and hate relationship with my favorite game of Magic The Gathering. On one hand I am so heavily invested in it that I now have a total of 110 EDH decks. Working EDH decks. Decks that you can just get out of the 7 cases I carry around and play with them. 110 EDH decks. And several decks that are currently under development. And dozens more commanders waiting in the wings.

There is no doubt that I love this game but then again a part of me is beginning to hate it. And this is really heightened from when Double Masters came out. This is the set the that has a VIP Booster pack that is worth 100 bucks each. Translated to pesos that is 5000 each. On Alpha Investments Rudy opens 16 booster packs per opening which makes each video worth upwards of 80,000 pesos! Almost like a semester of Medical school in cost. And not like I have that kind of money just lying around. But a lot of the Patreons in Alpha Investment has. And so all I can do is join the ride and enjoy it.

In a set where you can win big but also lose big it sets an expectation in your mind about how pack openings would go. A 500 Dollar Force of Will Foil Showcase lights you up but then you get so used to the other less expensive cards in the set that a Chrome Mox or Mox Opal does not even get a reaction out of you.

So what started as me just enjoying seeing a Mana Crypt being opened or laughing at the Nth time someone gets a Goblin Guide/Expedition Map combo or Meddling Mage/Phyrexian Metamoprh(The lowest valued foil cards of the set) became something else.

The commons and uncommons no longer registered as they were opened. Those did not bring on a high even if some of them were things that I knew I could use(and with 110 EDH constantly needing updates believe me I could use them). Certain names would keep me interested like the cycle of swords or even the said Mana rocks( Mana Crypt , Mox Opal and Chrome Mox). All the rest become a blur and nothing from it excites me. And when Rudy opened 3 Force of wills in one session there was no way that other videos after that would ever compare. So I lost interest but watched anyway because it became a part of my routine.

So when the Double Masters Run ended and Rudy began opening other products like Jumpstart or even the Zendikar set boosters it seemed to lack that luster or that high that Double Masters provided. I had to step back because the over saturation was getting to me. I had to recalibrate my brain a little that the new things that were coming.There was something there that I could use to improve my decks or my game and it would be coming from all the slots of Commons.Uncommons. Rares and Mythics. And now those from "The LIST".

The effects of Double Masters are still here though and I wonder how magic can ever top this one. I won't be surprised if they will try though. The burn through your wallet era of magic is going to go on for awhile until most likely the players would just say to heck with this and not buy anything. Sooner for most but would likely never come for some.