With Unfinity’s spoiler season well underway, Magic is looking weirder than ever. With Clowns, Robots, and Acorn cards aplenty, MTG’s latest Un-set looks like a true carnival of fun. While there is plenty to look forward to, excitement about the dramatic changes being made to Magic isn’t universal. Instead, many players have already voiced their concerns about potentially overpowered and confusing Eternal legal cards. Thankfully for concerned players, Unfinity’s dubiously Eternal legal cards aren’t the only reason to be excited about the set. Alongside all the wacky bombs, Unfinity is also overhauling The List in a big way.
A Un- Usual Twist
Typically, The List in Magic: the Gathering can be an excellent source of value for players when opening Set Boosters. For Unfinity, however, Wizards decided to do away with the usual List to replace it with something special. Namely, a throwback to Magic’s Un-sets of old. For better or worse, this special edition of The List dramatical cuts down the number of available cards from 300 to just 60. These 60 cards, however, are still well worth being excited about since the cards in this specially curated list are all traditional foils.
While only appearing in Collector Boosters, Unfinity’s version of The List is no less alluring than its predecessors. Admittedly, the value of The List’s latest incarnation is somewhat of an unknown. However, value isn’t everything in MTG. While The List’s cards may not be worth a lot, it’s nonetheless packed with beloved cards such as Richard Garfield, Ph.D.. Alongside returning classics, Unfinity’s List also gives many past Un-Set cards a foil treatment for the first time. This includes casual Commander favorites Surgeon General Commander and Sword of Dungeons & Dragons.
A Missed Opportunity
While there are players eagerly awaiting foil Un-Set cards to spice up their cubes, not everyone is so excited. This is thanks to the extra shiny foil reprints unsurprisingly still being silver-bordered. Given that Unfinity has introduced Acorn cards, Wizards of the Coast had a perfect opportunity to make some changes. As we’ve noted in the past, many Un-Set cards have the potential to be Eternal legal. Wizards of the Coast even know this themselves, as Un-Set cards have been functionally reprinted in the past. The Cheese Stands Alone was printed as Barren Glory for instance.
Despite knowing that “many cards found in previous Un- sets were perfectly suitable (and even later became) black-border cards as part of a typical Magic release,” Unfinity’s List isn’t changing anything. This is in spite of Wizards themselves stating that Sword of Dungeons & Dragons could easily be Eternal legal. While this may be the most sensible choice, this ultimately feels like a missed opportunity. After all, following the announcement of Acorn cards, players have feverishly been requesting many silver-bordered cards get black-bordered treatments.
As the vehicle for “Universes Within” cards, The List presented the perfect opportunity for these reprints and legality changes. Contrary to player expectations, however, Wizards of the Coast is far from making any changes. Recently, Magic’s Lead Designer, Mark Rosewater, revealed that when it comes to changing the legality of past cards, they “haven’t had that conversation yet.” Ultimately, this means Un-Set fans may be waiting until Magic’s next Un-Set to get their desired reprints.
V A L U E
While there’s plenty of excitement surrounding Unfinity’s version of The List, investors may be disappointed by the value on offer. While they have their fans, Un-Set cards, outside of the lands, typically aren’t worth much since they’re not tournament legal. Foil Un-Set cards, however, are an entirely different story. For instance, the Sword of Dungeons & Dragons’s foil variant currently sells for around $35. This is over 17 times the card’s nonfoil price. While it’s not available in The List, City of Ass is an even more expensive Un-Set foil, retailing for around $800!!
With foil prices that are 10-20 times higher than the nonfoil versions, there’s undoubtedly a demand for shiny Un-set cards. The List for Unfinity, however, may be about to change that. First and foremost, the prices for many of The List’s cards are entirely unknown. Since this is the first time many of the cards are seeing a foil treatment, consumer demand is currently unknown. Additionally, the availability of these cards may seriously compromise their value since a card from The List is guaranteed in every Collector Booster. With players expected to open Collector Boosters en masse for Galaxy Foils, this may lead to a surplus of The List’s cards flooding the market.
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