Lotus to Lotus

Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 12:14 pm

Hi while searching for some freaking magic stuff I happend to find a Italian unique thing, don't remember it beeing on the Library and did not find it witht the search funkition:
this is the information given in italian I translated it for you guys:

"crated by the DCI (hasbro Italy- Division Wizards) in 2003 to commemorate the 10th aniversay the Lotus to Lotus represents a unique piece in the confused world of collectable cardgames.

Under Seal/ Sealed, by the Company of the Author (resp, marketing of Hasbro Italy) and by the responsible of the Organized game of Wotc, the Lotus to Lotus contains inside the cards which have made the history of MTG, the card game created by a american mathematic. "

he found it a a comic show in italy and says it is a unique piece of art, that looks like it was made espacialy for him, as he was looking for something to put in his room next to some originaly used in the LOTR film Sword he accouiered sometime befor.

PS: another interestin thing he writes on his homepage:
if Wotc makes seald old Prodoct torunaments or whatever , the boosters and starters are not from a remaining supply they have, but that they buy them from TnT and pay them with Foil cards.

PPS: Enjoy the Lotus to Lotus!!

Member Joined: 04 Aug 2003 Posts: 593 Location: CT

The part that interest me is that he seems to have 5 lotuses in very nice condition and is willing to just jam them into the side of the frame like that!

Moderator Joined: 02 Aug 2003 Posts: 3040 Location: Paris

l0qii wrote:

The part that interest me is that he seems to have 5 lotuses in very nice condition and is willing to just jam them into the side of the frame like that!

Hi Tim
Out of the 5 Lotuses...2 are C.E and I.C.E and the Beta and Unlimited are Signed...So,he can jam them easily wink

Member Joined: 10 Aug 2003 Posts: 1804 Location: Ithaca NY

was this post really necessary? I got drool on my keyboard. happy

and yes, it's 'drool'...sicko....

Member Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 96

Actually 6 lotuses. Looks like the ones in the poster are actual cards that have corner mounts. Look at the reflection of the corners of the lower cards. Youll see what look like mounts.

Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:06 pm

From a player's point of view it's quite interesting too.

I remember Mageta the Lion being considered one of the best Prophecy cards as the set came out (better than Avatar of Woe ?) and Firestorm in Weatherlight (instead of Null Rod ?) etc. etc. happy

Member Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 55

ende, that's the first thing I thought of, as well.

Man, Hammer was AMAZING in type 2 at the time.

Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 6:37 pm

Yeah, I have to wonder how exactly these cards were picked and what they're meant to represent.

Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:15 pm

I guess it'd be very interesting for some of us old-timers out there to post what the top cards from all sets seemed to be when these were first released (or pre-released in the sense that spoilers were made public). Here are some curiosities I remember (of course I'm referring to Rome - Italy where I always lived and played). wink

Alpha / Beta / Unlimited : well yes, I guess the P9 were the clearest winners right from the start. Word of Command was extremely popular in Italy as well as Forcefield and Cyclopean Tomb. These cards would fetch MUCH more than Dual lands for example (well, the latter were available in FBB and English Revised after all). Consecrate Land was much more popular than other uncommons like Psionic Blast, because it was cool to enchant Library of Alexandria with it and save it from Strip Mines.

Arabian Nights: Library of Alexandria, Juzam Djinn, Ehrnam Djinn (before chronicles), Ali from Cairo and strangely Jihad were considered the best cards. Sharahzad and Bazaar of Baghdad could be traded for with a couple of WB Wrath of Gods.

Antiquities: Strip Mines and Mishra's Factories were very valuable until Chronicles (and Renaissance in Italy) were released. Candelabra of Tawnos, Tawnos's Coffin and Argivian Archaelogist were also expensive. Mishra's Workshop was maybe the tenth most expensive card in the set (well, this remained true until it was unrestricted).

Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:20 pm

Legends: nothing very strange here. Moat, the Abyss, Nether Void, Mirror Universe and the Elder Dragons were popular. Mana Drain was too, but not as expensive as it is now (it was less expensive than Moat for a long time in Italy, for example). Chains of Mephistopheles was not considered a lot.

The Dark: Ball Lightning, Tormod's Crypt and especially Preacher were popular at the start. Witch Hunter was also quite tradeable.

Fallen Empires: Hymn to Tourach soon became a staple. Many players here liked Derelor, River Merfolk and Goblin Was Drums too, as well as the rare "accumulator" lands. Order of the Ebon Hand was very strong since it resisted to Swords to Plowshares.

Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:23 pm

Ice Age: the five painlands looked good from the start. Stormbind was very popular as well as Necropotence. Incinerate was a valuable common. Also, may liked Energy Storm. Brainstorm was not as popular as it is now.

Alliances: Kjeldoran Outpost, Lake of the Dead and Exile is what I remember. Force of Will took a LONG time to fetch high prices here in Italy.

Homelands: this set appeared weak from the start. The only very good card was Autumn Willow, and Merchant Scroll and Dry Spell were also popular.

Member Joined: 04 Aug 2003 Posts: 593 Location: CT

ende73 wrote:

Alpha / Beta / Unlimited : well yes, I guess the P9 were the clearest winners right from the start.

That was not at all true here until well into Unlimited. Moxen were the "land wannabe's" and Lotus was one some good.

In Legends, Rabid Wombat, Carrion Ants and Killer Bees were all hot hot hot until they were reprinted.

Lord of the Pit and Force of Nature were some of the biggest winners in Revised after all the really good cards were removed, worth twice what dual lands were going for.

Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:27 pm

Mirage: Hammer of Bogardan was correctly mentioned as the most amazing card at the start. People also like Celestial Dawn (I never grasped why) abd Grinning Totem. Mystical Tutor was a normal card.

Visions: Vampiric Tutor was soon considered the best card. City of Solitude was also a good choice, as well as Properity and Undiscovered Paradise and, later, Rainbow Efreet.

Weatherlight: Abeyance was the best card. I can't remember Firestorm being very popular around here, and Null Rod took ages to become a popular card. Well of Knowledge was appreciated in land-destruction decks, which were much more played in those times.

Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:29 pm

I'll stop here for the moment to hear other members, and also because this exercise is less interesting for more recent sets.

Please note I deliberately compiled these lists quickly and off my head, without looking at the set lists or binders, so maybe I failed to list some obvious stuff.

Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:37 pm

l0qii wrote:

ende73 wrote:

Alpha / Beta / Unlimited : well yes, I guess the P9 were the clearest winners right from the start.

That was not at all true here until well into Unlimited. Moxen were the "land wannabe's" and Lotus was one some good.

In Legends, Rabid Wombat, Carrion Ants and Killer Bees were all hot hot hot until they were reprinted.

Lord of the Pit and Force of Nature were some of the biggest winners in Revised after all the really good cards were removed, worth twice what dual lands were going for.

Interesting. In Italy actually we only saw and came to know Magic well into Unlimited, so Black Lotus was already the most expensive card ($60 is the first price I recall).

I forgot Killer Bees and Carrion Ants (very popular here too), while nobody cared about Rabid Wombat here for some reason. Whirling Dervish was another popular card I forgot to mention.

And yes, Revised saw Force of Nature and Lord of the Pit as good cards, but much more so Royal Assassin and even Northern Paladin as well as Shivan Dragon. Fork became amazingly popular for about 2 months here and could be traded for 4 Dual lands at its top.

It's cool to note these differences between Italy and the US.

Remember at the time arbitrage techniques to exploit varying prices (i.e. selling cards the USA valued a lot and buying cards the USA valued lowly but italians highly, thus levelling prices) were almost impossible since Ebay didn't exist and online purchases were blocked by the simple fact the first diffused Internet connections appeard in Italy towards the end of 1996.