BLACK FOIL Splinterlands Cards?! Comparisons to Magic the Gathering!

The word is out.
There's a new foil in town...

BLACK FOIL!

(Note: YouTube video on this topic is available at the bottom of this blog)

What is it and what does it do?

Little is known about the elusive "Black Foil", and what we DO know, is speculative at best!

We first heard the news drop on an episode of @coldbeetrootsoup that you can watch here. They had a great interview with BLAZE! (I'd tag him if I knew his handle on HIVE!) (edit: @blazekos)

So what do we know?

We know they will be available in CONCLAVE ARCANA.
We know they will be MAX LEVEL.
We know they will be SERIALIZED.
We know they will be FOIL.
BLACK FOIL.

Aside from that, we're in the dark! (In the black?)

Comparing BLACK FOIL to Magic the Gathering Cards

Before @splinterlands, I was a Magic the Gathering card player. I still am, it's just not a primary focus anymore since all my friends are adults now and we have very little time to get together. I played Magic ARENA, but felt like I was wasting my money since you were paying for digital cards with no means to actually "own" them.

As such, I remember a time before SPL when BLACK FOILS were actually introduced in Magic!

BEHOLD!!!

The 2013 SDCC (San Diego Comic Con) BLACK FOIL Planeswalkers set!

Let's look at them in detail so that we can bask in the glory of their darkness!

Do you like this art style?
They certainly POP!

Serialized Cards!?

We know that BLACK foil will be serialized, and there are serialized cards in Magic the Gathering!

We do NOT know how many of each BLACK foil will be available, nor if there will be a "set number" of them printed, or if it will based on an odds percentage.

IF BLACK foils are based on a SET NUMBER of cards, and they are not all opened by the time packs start running low, that will create a HUGE incentive to open packs and hunt for the remaining foils at the end of the print run.

IF BLACK foils are based on a really low odd, you could end up with MANY of one card, and NONE of another, which would cause price fluctuations based on print runs.

Both ways have their benefits and detractions!

Take a look at these Magic the Gathering serialized cards. In this example, the print run of each was pre-determined to be 500 of each:

Note the prices are all over $100. These cards in their NON-Serialized version (for the most part) are worth 1% of the serialized versions. You can see how pulling one of these rare and numbered cards effects their value vs their "plain" counterparts!

Different serial NUMBERS will also hold different VALUES.
The value of number 1 or 69 mint will have more value than a number 17 because of the desirability, uniqueness, and novelty of the number.

The One Ring

I would be remiss to talk about serialized cards and not mention "The One Ring" from Magic the Gathering. It was a serialized card with a 1/1 printing that sold to none other than POST MALONE for around 2 MILLION dollars.

Do you think we can get there with BLACK foil??
Check out this pic of "The One Ring".

How will it stack up to BLACK foils?

Reward Bonus!?

We don't know if BLACK foil will have a reward multiplier, but we can assume that they will.
If GOLD foil is a 10% multiplier, will BLACK foil be 20%?
Can you use BLACK foil in GOLD foil tournaments?

I don't see them REDUCING the rewards or functionality of BLACK foil when compared to GOLD foil, quite the opposite. I assume playable in "foil" tournaments, as well as an increased reward, to REALLY make these desirable and collectible. Maybe even a land boost for good measure?

BLACK Foil For The Win!

I hope you enjoyed that comparison with Magic the Gathering, and how Black Foil may overlap with them.

With the introduction of Black foil, and the opportunity to continue to create new and exciting cards for Conclave Arcana, who knows what's next on the horizon for SPL! It is safe to assume that expensive and desirable promotions will drive pack sales, reducing the number burned, and benefitting both SPL as well as the DAO.

BLACK foils are an excellent step to sell more packs and drive player interest in Conclave Arcana.

I'm excited to see what other surprises they have in store for us!

THANKS for reading, and I'll see you around Praetoria!
Psilence

If you'd like to watch a YouTube video where I discuss this topic at length, you can see my video here: