I didn’t get my hopes up on Iconic Masters. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but wow was I far from disappointed. Mana Drain, Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur, Ancestral Visions, Flusterstorm, and more! Wizards was not screwing around when they designed this set—it is full of juicy reprints that would make any eternal player drool.
Wizards has been stepping it up in a big way for eternal players the last couple years with more Modern Masters sets, reprints in Conspiracy 2, and Eternal Masters. Iconic Masters was Wizard’s way of bringing that commitment to a whole new level. Unfortunately there isn’t anything that Wizards can do to control the secondary market. I’m sure they wish they could, but in reality all they can do is reprint as much as they can. It looks like Wizards is taking that seriously, as they have been far from shy with reprints as of recent. Unfortunately for us when a card spikes, no matter what the reason, it rarely goes back down to its original price.
Iconic Masters has a strong chance of bringing some more love to Legacy for reasons other than reprints though. Playing with Iconic Masters in sealed and draft is exhilarating to say the least. Mana Drain, Channel plus Fireball—it’s a reminder of what Magic can be like, how much fun older cards are. Not many people have access to a way to play with older cards, but drafting this set, while expensive, will be much more affordable and accessible to people. It will also hopefully leave them with some great cards they can use to trade into playing more long term. Channel/Fireball isn’t a combo you get to really play in any format, but powerful Magic cards are like a drug—once you start you can’t walk away.
I’ve told the story of how I got into Magic many times. I was introduced to Legacy and EDH, then Modern, then Standard. It’s been so challenging for me to get into Standard because, once you get a taste of that kind of power, it’s hard to walk away. This is a great way to give people a taste of what the real power tastes like.
Back to the reprints though. It makes me hopeful—Modern Masters and Eternal Masters definitely helped bring people into the Eternal fold, and I’m hoping that Iconic Masters will do the same. Who knows? Maybe we will even see some new Vintage players (girl can dream). This set doesn’t drop for over a month but I strongly recommend playing it as soon as you get a chance. It’s a really fun set to draft if nothing else. Plus there is some pretty good value to make it worth your time. If you haven’t watched it already, Hipsters recorded and streamed a draft of Iconic Masters. If you missed our stream, we’ll be reposting it in the coming weeks. In the meantime, read up on the all the fun archetypes and get ready for a good time.
Kate hails from Worcester MA and also does a bit of Card Altering. Check her Stuff out on Facebook! She mainly plays legacy and modern though will occasionally find herself playing EDH.