IT IS IMPORTANT to note that Magic is a collectible card game, and as with all collectibles, prices are constantly in flux. Although this book is as accurate as I could make it at the time, Magic: The Gathering is an ever-evohdng economy with hundreds of thousands of moving pieces. This book will give you a fantastic oven iew of which cards have value, and their value relative to other cards. With that said, I cannot stress enough that if you are actively looking to price your cards for immediate sale/purchase, please visit a website like StaFCityGames.com to get accurate up-to・the-minute card pricing. You can also always e-mail me at [email protected], and I will do my best to answer your questions! (Hey 一 if you spent the money to buy this book, the least I can do is spend a few minutes answering your e-mail!). There are a number of factors that contribute to the value of a Magic card, both major and minor. Major Factors Playability/Demand・ First and foremost, Magic is a game. With all things being equal, the cards that have the most use within the game have the most value. There are over 17,000 unique Magic cards, with around 1.000 new cards being added annually. The more play a card sees, the more demand there will be on that card, which will in turn raise its value. There are several official formats sanctioned bv Wizards of the Coast for •* Magic play. These formats restrict the card pool available to play in any given format. Constructed formats are designed to let you play with cards you already own. Sealed formats have you playing with a limited card pool based on the contents of sealed packs. The Constructed formats drive the value of cards on the seconclaiy market. The most played and popular formats are as follows: • Standard - 6o-card deck. No more than four copies of any unique card (Basic Lands excepted). You may use cards from the last two years* worth of major set releases. With the fall (September/October) release, the sets from the oldest year fall off. So, as of this book, the sets you could currently use for Standard are Kaladesh, Aether Revolt, Ainonkhet, Hour of Devastation, Ixalan, Rivals of Ixalan, Dominaria, and Core 2019. When the next fall set comes out, Kaladesh/Aether Revolt and Ainonkhet/ H our of Devastation will no longer be Standard legal! • Modern 一 60-card deck. No more than 4 copies of any unique card (Basic Lands excepted). You can use cards that are from major set releases from 8th Edition or later. This is when a new card frame debuted, making it easy to distinguish which sets fall on which side of this rule, as illustrated with the two Flooded Strand cards on the next page. • Legacy 一 60-card deck. No more than 4 copies of any unique card (Basic Lands excepted). All sets are legal, but there is a list of cards which are outright banned in the format. • Vintage - 6o card deck. No more than 4 copies of any unique card (Basic Lands excepted). All sets are legal, but there are two lists. Like Legacy, some cards are outright banned. Other cards are restricted, meaning you can have one copy of each in your deck, such as Ancestral Recall from the 2nd Edition. • Commander - loo card deck. No more than 1 copy of any unique card (Basic Lands excepted). All sets are legal, but there is a list of cards which are outright banned in the format. Please send email to [email protected] if you have any questions.