After rising to outrageous highs last month, MTG Spider-Man cards are in free-fall. Preorders on collector booster boxes were up to $1,000 in mid-August, but now that the set has been fully revealed, they're selling for just $680. Can anything catch these collector boxes in their fall without causing a fatal neck injury?
Really this is just the market correcting itself, because Spider-Man CBBs were getting ridiculously pricey for a set far from launch. The likely explanation for that is the performance of Final Fantasy boxes. Those shot up in price after launch and are still selling for as much as $1,200. And since Spider-Man has an enormous, devoted fanbase just like Final Fantasy, it makes sense that collectors were expecting to see similar results.
There are a number of reasons the boxes don't seem to be performing as well anymore, but one probable cause is that Spider-Man has turned out to be quite a lackluster set. Fans aren't enamored with the new designs, and online enthusiasm is low. Many seem to agree that - whether it's the lack of Commander precons or the fact this was once intended to be a much smaller MTG set - Spider-Man just feels weird. It may also not help that New York city doesn't feel like a great Magic setting.
The question is will the prices keep dropping? As much as Magic: The Gathering players like to fantasize about scalpers being left holding the bag, there's every chance that - just like with Final Fantasy - the Spider-Man boxes will go up again after launch. Right now it's hard to guess what the demand will be like after launch. Will Spider-Man fans go crazy for these cards, or do they have enough collectibles already to be getting on with?
We'll have to wait a few months to be able to say for sure, but it's definitely been interesting, as an uninvolved bystander who was never going to spend hundreds of dollars on a box of cards, watching the prices see-saw up and down.
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