Hey all, it’s Friday once again, and that means it’s time to take a look at the Cool Stuff We Bought This Week! For my last piece of 2018, I thought I’d take a look back at some of the year’s greatest hits. I started this series in August, and I thought it would be cool to reflect on the Top 5 cards that I’ve seen this year, including some cards I haven’t shared in this series before.
5. Beta Volcanic Island
There were a great many Magic cards I’d never have the chance to see normally, but working in the buylist department affords me the opportunity to see some sweet stuff. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I’m an Izzet mage through and through, and a Beta Volcanic is probably the most prized card I’d ever hope to own. This came to us the last week of August and is the first Beta Volcanic I’ve ever seen in person.
4b. Beta Black Lotus
Speaking of firsts, this is the first Black Lotus that came in during my time in buylist. Chris Rush is probably my favorite Old School artist in Magic, and this one bears his signature. While it was a little beat up, it was still very cool to see and handle an important piece of Magic’s history. At this time, our inventory was very lacking in power, and the only other piece of power I’d ever held was an Unlimited copy a friend had picked up in the last year. I’ve seen a few more Beta Lotus come in since then, but I’ll remember this one the most.
4a. Alpha Black Lotus
After the Beta Lotus came through, I was under the impression that I was never going to see a more expensive or rare card, but then this arrived only a few days after. This Alpha Lotus is still the only one I’ve ever seen, and it went out the door very shortly after we got it in.
3. Revised Booster Box
Going on the theme of rare and expensive, here’s a Revised Booster Box, in pretty good condition. I remember being shocked that such a thing could exist and that I was seeing it in-person.
2. PILES OF DUALS
Oh yeah, this one happened. In terms of dollar amount and sheer volume, this pile of Duals takes the cake. I’ve been lucky enough to have a few of these in my personal collection, but it was staggering to see a starter home’s value in cardboard on my desk.
1. Beta Lightning Bolt – Signed
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Chroberry piece without mentioning Lightning Bolt somewhere, and it claims the number one spot. Lightning Bolt, every time all the time. While not as expensive as the other cards on this list, it is still my favorite from the whole year. I’m hoping to pick this one up and add it to my artist signature collection soon!
This year was a whirlwind, and I’m thankful for all the opportunities to see some awesome stuff here at ABU Games. With only a few days left in the year, I’ll be taking that time to reflect, and cook up something new and exciting for you guys to take a look at!
That’s all for this year! Thanks for joining me on another weekly roundup of the Cool Stuff We Bought This Week. Join me next Friday to see more! As always, you can follow me on Twitter @chroberry or Instagram @chroberrymtg if you want to see extra goodies and spoilers for next week’s article. I hope you all have a great New Year. Peace!
