Retro MTG Reviews -The Premium Deck Series of Magic: The Gathering

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The year was 2009. Original Zendikar had the MTG nation digging an adventure based plane, and also digging for buried treasure. Worldwake had not yet been released, and Standard players went about their lives, unaware of the horrors about to unfold.
And a brand new product from Wizards of the coast was released, a 60 card preconstructed theme deck of Legacy-legal cards, all foils or as Wizards of the Coast calls them, premium cards. It was the first of the very short lived Premium Deck Series, a product that lasted only three decks before going out with a whimper, discontinued due to a lack of interest and profitability. Head Magic Designer Mark Rosewater closing words on the series, which have become like words on the Premium Deck Series Tombstone were simply, "not enough of you loved it."
But I want to take a detailed look at the product, and see what it was all about. First and foremost, these decks had value. The sets retailed for $34.99, and for that price, provided players with quite a lot of value.
Not just because they contained all foil cards, but because they actually printed a very large selection of cards that saw play in Legacy, Modern, and Commander formats. In fact, each of the premium decks had a strong selection of cards for each of those formats.
I’m going to start at the end, with the last and, some say, the best of the premium deck series: Graveborn. Graveborn was released shortly after Innistrad, and out of the 60 foil cards, a whopping 7 of them were rares, and one was a mythic rare. Not just rares, but many cards that saw play and were in need of reprints, even at the common and uncommon level.
Two of the gems in Graveborn were actually uncommons, the cards Entomb and Cabal Therapy. At the time, these two cards alone were worth the MSRP of 34.99, and continue to be so even today, although Graveborn now goes for more than double its initial price tag.
All the cards were foil, printed in the modern card frame. Animate dead, Crosis the purger, and most excitingly Cabal Therapy each featured new artwork.
Many of the cards of Graveborn are played in Legacy Reanimator, Entomb being the biggest, but also Reanimate, Exhume, Polluted Delta, Inkwell Leviathan, while of course the coveted Cabal Therapy is played in Legacy dredge and quite a few vintage decks as well.
A small added bonus is that the Premium Decks each had very special set symbols, instead of an abstract design like most sets, they had more recognizable symbols, graveborn for example have a distinct skull which not only appears on each card but is also on the included spindown. The Fire & Lightning and Slivers Premium Deck, which I’ll talk more about in a moment, had designs of a classic Sliver and Ball of Flames.
Music Courtesy Of:
"Pinball Spring" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons...
"The Other Side of the Door" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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"Darkest Child" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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"Air Prelude" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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"The Builder" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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[@pablocastilla1176]

We need you to work for WotC.

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

+Pablo Castilla No thanks.

[@Tevo_]

+Tolarian Community College You don't have a say.

[@guftders]

+Tolarian Community College why wouldn't you work for WotC? I think you'd be an amazing asset to their company :)

[@sankethbhaskar4236]

That escalated quickly

[@midn8588]

While watching, I thought that, but if he doesn't want to, let him keep doing what he's doing. they have probably already tried, but he could at least be a part of their playtesting group or advising group.

[@KarlosMorale]

i dont care about the foil aspect, but I really think WotC should get together with some pro's and release reasonably priced entry level decks for Modern at least.

[@MarioLozanoMendivil]

+Pixel Populi I thought they would release another modern event deck just like the last one when they announced MM2, it would've been good to have one of those with a MM set so you can upgrade with the MM cards, that'd work for wizards.

[@guftders]

+Mario Lozano from the previous time scales, it seems they are alternating between modern masters and the modern event deck, so if there is a modern event deck this year, the announcement should come pretty soon (between now and May) As for release, probably much later on this year. Who knows what it could be? My guess is something that's tier 2, like WB tokens is. So I would be very surprised if the deck was affinity or jund or UR Twin. I'm hoping for Grixis control :3

[@MarioLozanoMendivil]

Guftders Kalisere It must be something you can upgrade and with cards that won't exceed the msrp by a lot, grixis control would make the deck really expensive or really innefective

[@aylipaolucci9412]

+Guftders Kalisere It wouldn't surprise me if it was a Bx Eldrazi deck, but Burn would also be pretty sweet!

[@MarioLozanoMendivil]

Camden Paolucci Bx Eldrazi would make sense, it has lots of cards from bfz, its kinda cheap, upgradable, etc. but the cards are so recent that it would feel like a waste when you could reprint more hard to get cards

[@spizzerspunk]

I remember going down to the local game store when I was 10 or 11 and having my Grandmother buy me the Slivers premium deck. It was awesome! I still have it to this day, it's kind of a memento to me for my Grandmother who died a few years ago.

[@FactMan8]

That deck is worth a pretty penny now.

[@melakiesimrak2758]

Premium Pauper deck series? Hell yeah!!!

[@blanklotus3476]

+Melakie Simrak Hell no! That'll take up space for a goblin guide reprint

[@melakiesimrak2758]

BlankLotus How so?

[@stevewalsh7973]

+Melakie Simrak Seems like an oxymoron when you think about it.

[@KreuzDrache]

+Melakie Simrak Give this person a raise.

[@erik19borgnia]

+Melakie Simrak TOTALLY YES!!!!

[@mrjanemba]

My friends and I absolutely adored the Premium deck series! Between the fact that they were foil reprints of cards we always wanted and the fact that they all catered to styles we enjoyed, myself and two of my closest friends ended up getting one of the 3 decks that catered to our needs. What we found was that in purchasing them, however, was that even against each other, the decks had vastly different power potentials and would go off in ways that had a rock paper scissors like effect. Slivers could outrace Graveborn but couldn't shake off the rapid fury of Fire and Lightning, which in turn would burn out too quickly to take on what was Graveborn's surprising ability to underclock itself and go from being an aggro to mid range deck. Eventually all the decks got deconstructed and would become pieces of other decks we wanted to play. My friend Andrew turned his Sliver deck into his dream EDH deck, which he still plays to this day. Walter took apart the deck and consistently uses pieces of it to slowly, continuously tinker with reanimation legacy play, and I used my deck create a Radha EDH deck, which later turned into a Kresh, the Bloodbraided deck. Premium Decks were fun, and were a lot more affordable than most people expected them to be (except slivers. that was...honestly, my friends and I had an easier time finding and purchasing Goblins vs Elves than we did Slivers). If they ever made a comeback, either as you described how they should be made or the way they were, I'd be very happy.

[@KainiusTheGreat]

This product is sorely missed by me. I remember purchasing 2 Fire & Lightning with hopes of picking up 2 more...This product should make a comeback.

[@bobjoefred777]

I feel like you are preaching to the choir Professor. I don't think there is a single constructed player that wouldn't want Wizards to sell a product like you described. You come up with these great ideas, but I feel like you are shouting into the wind as Wizards ignores you and focuses on standard and limited. I don't know what more we can do to get well made, valuable pre-constructed decks. The current pre-cons are only worth it for new players and barely at that. No one I know (13 y/os at my LGS included) buys those pre-con decks. But they must sell enough of them because they keep printing more I sincerely hope wizards takes some of the advice you give and changes the quality of their supplemental products.

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

+bobjoefred777 I actually believe Wizards is very good at listening, both to me and to their customers. The problem, in my opinion, is one of action: they hear what we have to say, but they disagree and just keep doing what they are doing. Not always, but often.

[@dejener8]

+Tolarian Community College It may not even be WotC, just their Hasbro corporate overlords.

[@mtgcasuals6686]

There is that element.

[@moephileo63]

+Tolarian Community College I also try to keep in mind that any idea that is shouted by the magic community does take at least 2 years to be put in to effect. if you look at that time table they have been somewhat consistent in their actions. shock land reprint - modern new commander decks - 2011/2013 standard net decking and oppressive decks - faster rotation (this was actually a very quick response to the Theros/RTR format but pure two block paradigm sets still took 2 years to develop)

[@rafawillians7712]

+bobjoefred777 Every single friend would for sure buy all that products for sure.

[@openboosters]

I would love your idea, I wouldn't mind a modern preconstructed that could I just pick up and take to tournament even if it doesn't win.

[@MiikKasuu]

Modern event deck?

[@lawrencealcantara]

+lambomk123 if they wern't so hard to find AND so expensive XD

[@WilhelmScreamer]

+Seigi “No” Tenshi it is pretty available and affordable on Amazon

[@lawrencealcantara]

sadly, Amazon doesn't ship to my country :c what i have are two slivers though, but i want a graveborn xD

[@hisokamorow3611]

@@lawrencealcantara hey, I am a bit late now, but if you live in Europe you can check our cardmarket, they sell the modern event deck still for a reasonable price in my opinion

[@LexMane]

I would pay 35 bucks for a modern merfolk foil deck with 4 foil aether vials :V

[@kuru-chan6644]

With the style of these it would probably only have 1. Still worth it though

[@jadedflames]

+TheAnimator999 Heck, let's go crazy! I'd go as high as 40!

[@cronotosaur2881]

+Chandler Walpole 40 aether vials!? That is crazy.

[@boazmalakoff6518]

+Cronotosaur H. $40

[@Chocomint_Queen]

+Boaz Malakoff $40 for 40 Æther Vials? Sold!

[@LapahnYT]

Hello Professor, what do you think about Hamsters?

[@Kamikaz3Badger]

+Cute Hamster When they work together, it's much better...

[@thedreadreaver4132]

They should try again with the Premium Decks, the first thing I bought was the Fire and Lightning.

[@Firevine]

I wish I had picked these up. They were all DIRT cheap at the big box stores. I remember them as low as $17 and change. I never did get them because I don't like foils. Now, I see the prices of some of the cards and I kick myself.

[@karawapo]

+Firevine I feel your pain. Actually got Graveborn from my wife as a present but had to swap it at my FLGS for other stuff I wanted because I don't like foils.

[@MrDenimLP]

this is the first time I've ever heard of someone not liking foils.

[@Spaghettaboutit]

MrDenimLP I don't generally like foils either...their colors are often darker or muted on the foil versions...they suffer from foil curl...I'd much rather have alt art.

[@cadencemayberry2431]

Premium Deck Series: Vintage MUD if only

[@Enragedguy24]

+Torik Redguard There would be ppl buying it as soon ss it got packaged. Hell, I'd book a flight and take a few days off to buy into such a deck.

[@dejener8]

+Ian Mayberry Wasteland totally goes into an uncommon slot right?

[@Enragedguy24]

+Jen PW No, no, no, no, no! It will be a common, so I can play loam pox in pauper with tilling treefolk :D

[@brianwise5850]

I'm going with diamond in the rough. like you I bought the slivers deck and used it as my base for a commander deck, mind you I had been lucky and bought two of them and originally built a sliver deck for casual hate...(as most sliver decks tend to be)...what I would like to see is a bit of a cross between duel decks and these premium decks. I wouldn't even mind paying a bit more if they did two things. good card selection and interesting themes. like one of my favorite duel decks angels vs demons. this was a great deck base and was fun to boot, but they don't build duel decks like this anymore...

[@ericw1049]

+Brian Wise I agree, Wizards needs to let go and go nuts with a duel deck. I never got Angels vs Demons but I had Elves vs Goblins and that was a ton of fun. What we really need is for Wizards to stop using them to sell cards in the next block and just make some decks that are fun for casual play.

[@Tsusday]

+Ambiguity Knights vs Dragon was something too, gosh the Knights had a stronk mana pool XD

[@brianwise5850]

I have been thinking of a unique cube I want to eventually build sometime in the future. elf vs goblin vs zombie vs merfolk vs soldiers. I think that would be an interesting build...and this all came about by the thought of some of those good duel decks like elf vs goblin.

[@federicobiondi431]

+Tsukushi Ikeda you have a really cute taihou picture

[@Tsusday]

Thx!

[@jordancali8881]

I truly wish they still made these. The value!

[@VAunderlineI]

Entomb was a rare from odyssey, come on professor

[@dk55717]

"Not enough of you loved it" that's almost a little depressing...

[@N7xVoss]

I know this is an old video, but I'm going to comment anyone, I think this product had potential. But with that being said I think Wizards didn't want to deal with trying to change it. So they just cut it off.

[@larrybobinski7156]

An all foil budget level modern legal deck for less than 50$? Yes please!

[@irwanfaizal9558]

Owh, you're so young back then 🤣😂

[@tristanblaze1]

Premium deck series: Casual Stasis!! The best casual deck to play!

[@aylipaolucci9412]

"Stasis" and "Casual" shouldn't be in the same sentence, you fiend!

[@tristanblaze1]

Camden Paolucci Its casual torture. Back in my day we played all night grinders with Stasis! You kids these days with your Planeswalkers, Hula hoops, Pacman, and foils. 20 forests, 20 elves, and 20 wurms! Now thats real magic!!

[@aylipaolucci9412]

Real Magic is turn one Stip Mine/Crucible Lock, with the Tabernacle in play.

[@tristanblaze1]

With an opener of: Black Lotus, Mox Emerald, Strip Mine, Crucible, Fastbond, Tabernacle after your mulligan of course!

[@aylipaolucci9412]

Scry: Sees Ancestral Recall

[@Teifling]

3 years later, I'm watching this video lol. I own the first two PDS decks and hope to snag up Graveborn at some point, if only to complete the collection. If memory serves, the article discussing Premium Deck Series: Slivers explained that the packaging and the idea of an all foil deck were the initial movers for the product and the designers went from there. Slivers was picked because they are a fan favorite with many cards out of print with a high demand and that Slivers were unlikely to ever appear in the product they were using for reprints; Duel Decks. This might have been true for Fire & Lightning and Graveborn as well. While you couldn't expect PDS Slivers to be a legacy Meathooks or Countersliver out of the box, it's printing boosted the number of Crystalline Slivers, Hibernation Slivers, Winged Slivers and Muscle Slivers on the market (with added bling). Same with monored burn, with some of the reprints either have been used in Legacy burn or nostalgically harkened back to Sligh decks. Graveborn provided many cards useable for the basis of a Reanimator deck

[@prn_Melatonin]

My modern mono red cost less than $20 and still went 3-0.

[@muhr143]

I came back to magic at the end of dragon maze and i remember going to my local shop, saying things like : what's a planeswalker? In hindsight, when they handed me the fire & lightning box, they must've been happy to get rid of the shelf space it was using. But frankly, it made me interested in magic again and was so much fun. I could get back to playing magic without having to bust my head against all the new rules i didn't understand. I'd love to see some new premium sets like these again.

[@disruption13]

Loved Graveborn, would like to see more of these.

[@JoshBrown18]

The graveborn is the base for my legacy deck now, is an awesome product.

[@ZakanaHachihaCBC]

To be fair, Modern wasn't a thing when the first 2 PDS came out, with Modern becoming a thing as the Scars block was finishing in New Phyrixia. If the PDS was to continue, now with Modern being a format, the way the PDS could go would be to make them as half a Legacy and half a Modern deck of the same archetype, that way you can buy one and then proceed to build either a Legacy version or a Modern version of the deck. It just didn't come out at a good time and suffered because of it, and it's discontinuation lead to the mess that was Commanders Arsenal, were you would snap buy it at its MSRP of 74.99$, which was unlikely as it was such low print, it was being sold for over 100$, if at all. Some stores I visited after the release had a copy for display while the other 1-3 copies stayed in a back room, none of them for sale and just building Valium.

[@_Grimblewedge_]

I definitely think Wizards should try it again, maybe making it Modern-specific? It's hard to say, though, seeing how badly they faffed their last attempt at a Modern deck product and how crummy their foil sets have been lately. I know for sure I'd like to see more stuff like Planechase and Archenemy. Love the video, Prof. And as usual, you got styles for miles. Them's some bad threads you're rockin!

[@Black7apex23]

These premium decks are somewhat similar to today's event decks. they should TOTALLY start doing the series again(except NOT FOIL!)

[@littlehill12]

As someone who bought 4 of each upon release at the local games store, because the owner sold a box (with 4 of the decks inside) for $120, I was extremely happy with the sets. But I stripped them for parts for legacy, EDH, modern, pauper, and even vintage! I think something along these lines would be well served for the current magic community but with budget buy-ins to various formats, switching it up year to year. Heck, a premium eldrazi deck could buy people into standard, modern, and legacy at the moment

[@TornadoCreator]

I'm genuinely annoyed that I missed out on these decks. They look like particularly interesting decks and amongst my casual gaming circles they'd probably do quite well. We play "simplified modern". Most of my decks are modern legal, but most of the people I play with don't know or care about the formats and ban lists, so we keep it extremely simple; our only rule is "All cards must have the modern style boarder"; this keeps the clearly ridiculously powerful stuff of legacy/vintage from ruining the game, and it means we have a "blue" that isn't unfairly punished as 'Dig Through Time', 'Mental Misstep' and 'Treasure Cruise' are all fair game... The interesting part is, all these cards would be fair game in my groups, because they're all printed with modern style boarders. It makes for an interesting and unique pseudo-format that basically doesn't exist outside of my group of 7 players, but we have fun with it.

[@Fruity_Boba]

Hey Professor! it'd be awesome if you made a video about a red/blue commander deck!

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

+Anthony Lee Will add it to the list! Any specific commander in mind, or just interested in Izzet?

[@Fruity_Boba]

I would really love a counterburn deck! I started playing magic when Return to Ravnica was released and just love the Red/Blue combo! Thanks for considering!

[@TheMotleyratt]

+Anthony Lee i would like that to

[@MOSTLYxTOAST]

+Tolarian Community College (If we can add white, Zedruu would be awesome)

[@fireemblemistrash75]

Grave born and Slivers were my first mtg pre-made decks. I loved them so much during my noob years of magic; I could not be beat by the people in my magic group who had mucho stronger decks. Damn me if I would ever dare to take them apart. Wizards should really consider creating more of these, any type of pre-constructed deck they have been making lately are as weak as the creature type "Leech". Event decks hardly have any value, even the new BFZ one is still a joke.

[@PeponeNRC]

I would love to have premium decks back again,but only with modern and standard card.

[@MrHawkshadow]

Love your videos! Can you do a video reviewing the Homarid creature type from Fallen Empires and possibly other fantastic creature types from Magic's history??? :)

[@mtgpugs1891]

That ending was straight out of PBS

[@KingGameReview]

These came out during the years I took a break from Magic. I definitely would have bought the Slivers one.

[@IronsightV2]

I would say that from a collector's standpoint, today, these are a diamond in the rough. Sealed prices are CRAZY...but if you purchase the singles from the sets you can easily get them for 10-20$ a deck. In fact, that's what I did. I found the Fire & Lightning box online for .40 cents, then purchased all of the foil singles for about 15 bucks on tcg. I did, however, manage to get super lucky. One of my LGS' had like 2 or 3 used complete Sliver decks, but still wanted like 70$. My friend sold me his (In damn near perfect condition, without the die) for TEN BUCKS. So I was super stoked on that. I'm left searching for a Graveborn box now to complete my set.

[@peniasd]

As you said, the major problem was that the decks weren's really playable in any format. The main difference with the duels decks or clash packs that also can't really be played in any other format is that they can play between the two decks. A pauper premium series would be really really nice.

[@afterglow-podcast]

I bought Fire and Lighting for 40 last year mostly because I wanted a budget burn deck. Its workable, but needs upgrades to be sure to be more lethal.

[@CrimsonFox36]

i feel i am the same way in terms of skill with these decks. by which i mean, i'm better than my friends, but not good enough to compete in tournaments. i feel like I'm perpetually stuck in that inbetweeny stage of skill progression.

[@snowcoveredplainswalker442]

Why replace this with Commander product when they could combine them? Ha ha come on, who wouldn't love a "Premium Commander Deck"? It could MSRP at $49.99 and it would FLY off the shelves, I guarantee it, anyone else wish they'd do this?

[@liberkhaos5978]

Definitely a diamond in the rough. Something meant to put more staples in circulations is a great idea. But marketing and poor decisions is what drove the product to it's inevitable extinction.

[@TheThanimal]

hmmmm. . . This video boggles my mind as I thought I remember buying PDS Slivers at walmart on clearance for $20.00. . . How did I get so lucky if it was under printed. . . at any rate, I feel like it was a product that was before it's time. Printing a sort of Legacy event deck wasn't thought of and Modern wasn't a big thing yet. Just as Wizards waited to start printing precon Commander decks to make sure it would be appreciated, Wizards wants to make sure they aren't investing into a passing format. Imagine if they printed a 5 deck block of Tiny Leaders decks a year or so ago. Those would be clogging the shelves of our LGS as we speak.

[@cdphenix9007]

I find the idea of these decks to be like coal, seen as nothing compared to other minerals, but under the right circumstances it could be an impure diamond.

[@michaelmolzan3001]

My third deck ever was fire and lightning. I love the spin-down so much. I think the premium decks were excellent.

[@jakelennon9752]

I bought a few of these when they first came out (2009), but at that time the modern format didn't exist (came about near the end of 2011). The closest we had was extended which was another rotating format and would not fill such a "buy in" niche. I do think that if they tried this again with the format idea in mind, wizards might have more success.

[@FusterIsBased]

I got the Fire and Lightning deck, and I eventually turned it into a Legacy burn deck after some extensive changes. It kind of is a good starting point for one and it kind of isn't at the same time, since it only has one of the creatures you need (lavamancer) and you also have to playset Fireblast, Chain Lightning, and Price of Progress. Not to mention all the other burn staples the deck doesn't come with that you need to add. The only thing that is guaranteed is your lightning bolt playset, basic lands, and one-ofs of some staples. That said, they should definitely bring back the series.

[@TheRealSpellstar]

I bought the Premium Deck: Fire and Lightning deck a while back, and I still have it together to this day, it makes a great casual deck for our playgroup, for both experienced and beginner players I gave it to one friend who was new to magic, and it really got him into the game and made him fall in love with aggro

[@CABROWN]

I got a Graveborn deck in one of those random plastic boxes they sell at Target two years ago. I still use a ton of stuff out of it.

[@knz3eee]

I feel like it would have been great if you had given some insight into the financial value of picking these decks up now, as sealed products. Like you have before with other stuff. However, interesting video none the less! :)

[@SigTheSauceMan]

So... Fire & Lightning was actually one of my first two MTG decks ever. My late uncle had apparently been into Yu-Gi-Oh! and MTG (though he had only taught me how to play Yu-Gi-Oh! before his death). After he died, I got his stuff, which included (by my estimations) about 4,000+ MTG cards as old as Unlimited Edition (but a TON from Torrent and Invasion). Anyways, those sat unorganized in a binder until recently (I've sorted and bindered 720 cards so far). So around 2011 (freshman year of high school), I had reunited with my best friend that I had originally known between 3rd and 5th grade, who had moved away. We originally played Yu-Gi-Oh! (and continued to for a while after reuniting), but one day when he came over, we went to Walmart and looked at the cards. We saw Magic: The Gathering, a card game we weren't yet familiar with that looked like Yu-Gi-Oh!, but cooler (way nicer art and card frames, and cleaner foil). So I got that, and then my friend and I both got a Core Set 2011 Intro Pack. I chose the Red/Blue and he chose the Black/Green. We played for quite some time, going up to the Innistrad block before I stopped playing and went back to Yu-Gi-Oh! (I returned to MTG during the Return to Innistrad block, but really got back into it with Amonkhet, playing through Hour of Devastation until I got mad at not having enough money to keep up. I finally most recently returned to MTG with Core Set 2021. I just ordered the M21 Chandra deck, some sleeves, and Showcase Mountains. I had also gotten Commander Anthology Vol.1 when it came out. I missed Vol.2, unfortunately.

[@BarbeChenue]

The Modern format didn't exist in 2009. It was launched in 2011 and replaced "Extended": «The format was introduced as a non-sanctioned Magic Online format in May, 19, 2011. And subsequently officially codified on August 12, 2011, when the format of Pro Tour Philadelphia was changed from Extended to Modern.» (mtgsalvation.gamepedia.com/Modern) Only the last deck of the Premium series, Graveborn, was launched after Modern was christened (November 2011).

[@MrAdamshaggy]

I believe they came out at the wrong time modern is huge now and if they came out now we be buying them by the truck load

[@ranga6160]

THESE ARE AMAZING THINGS FILLED WITH AMAZING PIECES FOR SOME GREAT DECKS... people need to buy these for modern deck parts and hold onto the other stuff tho trade, sell, or make new decks with... i personally wish they would have kept making these but i do also wish they were based on play in a single format each time. Also... Professor you are amazing

[@Aardcore]

I should've never stopped collecting M:TG when I did during the time Graveborn, and especially, SLIVERS came out. $34.99 back in 2009... ten years later, you'd be lucky to find even the Slivers deck at 150, 175-180 more realistically, and well into 300-500 dollars for people looking to gain the opportunity on others by flipping them. I would have easily bought up 10 of these in a single purchase if I knew it existed then.

[@thewerlak]

Modern didn't even exist as a format when these were released so I doubt that was part of the design thought process. We have seen a modern event deck though. Which, while not a competitive deck, did provide a good starting point with many modern staples. I hope we see more of those in the future.

[@Nah_Bohdi]

Fire and Lightning is about $90-$100. Slivers is about $200. WOW....

[@shocknaw4146]

like you said, with some work it would have been an amazing product. I would have LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED that sliver deck

[@Polishbojo]

Mmm... good times. I really enjoyed the 2009-2013 years of magic. It was getting powerful, had some interesting standard strats but wasn’t overly complicated with morphing, double sided cards, etc... it was also the time my Eldrazi Polymorph deck was legal in standard, and I pulled Emrucool the Aeons Torn from a booster. I still have it and run it in a casual Urza deck. But that polymorph blue green control deck was fierce

[@ryanwraight5630]

MTGO has premium decks that are starters to Legacy. If wizards printed a premium deck ever 2 or so years that printed some of the non-reserve list cards they could be great launching points into some of the better formats. Here is a though experiment: Vintage Dredge in paper costs (as of 06/01/16 using MTGgoldfish pricing) 2,976.32 dollars. 2,685.24 of that is the four bazaars. Now other then 4 Bazaars and 4 Undiscovered Paradise the rest of the deck is not on the reserve list. Wizards could (in theory) release a premium deck that is 8 cards shy of being a competitive vintage deck.

[@johnavis2545]

Ah.... Honestly, they all look outstanding. I can't help but to feel greed and envy when I look upon them, but alas, I had not started playing magic until Return to Ravnica... Sigh.... tis most saddening... Ah the things I've missed.....

[@werewolfdude776]

So what should I get, fire and lighting or graveborn?

[@moephileo63]

I LOVED THE PREMIUM DECK SERIES but, much like yourself,most of the cards have been relegated to my commander decks as the lack of format restrictions made it hard to play anywhere. I do believe allowing it to rotate and highlight different formats, would be an excellent way to introduce the many ways players enjoy the game of magic (pauper would likely be the greatest, Imagine a foil daze drawing players to the format).

[@Chocomint_Queen]

Premium Deck Series: Slivers was the first purchase I ever made on my credit card. And the second. And the third. And easily my favourite(s). It was November 2009, I was 19, and I hadn't had time for Magic since Conflux; not too long a hiatus, but enough that I was itching! I was at college, new at adulting, and since I had a job, I figured I should apply for a credit card. The day that card came in, I decided to hit the town, just a little, in celebration. I walked into my local card store, and asked what was good in Magic these days. Sonny showed me a brand new product, first in its lineup, just came in, the Premium Deck: Slivers. I loved Slivers, and I didn't hesitate an instant. I bought the deck, some "fancy" sleeves, and a "nice" deckbox (both by UltraPro, of course. I didn't know better back then.) I took the deck to the Tim Hortons down the road, to parakeet it (parakeeting is like goldfishing, but the "enemy" has a 1/1 indestructible [the Cage] and a 3/3 flier [the Bird] that follow certain rules; I prefer it to goldfishing mostly because it's just what I've always done), and by sheer coincidence, an old Magic friend showed up about five minutes in. He pulled out his Extended deck, and proceeded to have his ass handed to him multiple times in a row. He asked where I'd gotten this sweet deck, and when I told him it was a new product, he asked to borrow some money to get one of his own. Of course, as a teen with a new credit card, I took the opportunity to look cool by charging it, and we spend another hour or so playing the mirror match (Slivers are more interesting when abilities cross the field! Down with new Slivers!) when another group of old Magic friends wander by. There was a lot of "ugh slivers are for noobs/such a cheap tribe/so stupid" and such, but one of them's eyes light right up when we tell him it's a precon, and he too asks if I can lend him the money, and, well, see above. Those were the only decks we played, straight through Christmas, January, and well into February, which was both a blessing and a curse; we knew we were all right at the same power level, so we were running on 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% good old fashioned heart-of-the-cards, but, well, there wasn't really any room for creative deckbuilding, and we couldn't really play any other decks with them because they were too strong for our budget. (Pretty much exactly as you said, Professor) Come my birthday, late February I picked up excessive quantities of some sweet, sweet Worldwake, and we packed the Slivers away and moved on. I believe the other two've sold their decks off for parts, since and one's even dropped out of Magic entirely, but mine's still safe, sealed in its shitty UltraPro deckbox, wrapped in its shitty UltraPro sleeves, awaiting the day I again need the power of a deck that's too weak for Legacy, but not legal in Modern. Sometimes I take it out and look at it, think about using the parts for other decks, but it feels wrong. It was a single, monolithic purchase, and thus should it stay. A Sliver is nothing without his Hive, after all. I do still use the spindown, though. Much like the Professor regularly uses the Graveborn and Fire and Lightning dice, my usual life counter is my Sliver die, my FTV:20 die, and my blue Beatdown Box die. No, I've never needed all three, but they're my favourites, I couldn't pick just two.

[@chulumpthebigmoneywizard851]

1:03 wait, wizards of the coast sold FOIL LEGACY STAPLES, and not enough people bought them? Who cares about black lotuses, when I get a time machine, I'm going to 2009 to buy these.

[@Teifling]

I agree that the PDS decks were built more like Duel Decks in that they played to their theme, but outside of that didn't fit anywhere. Being a semi-collector of Wizards promo deck products I didn't see this as an issue but I definitely see where you're coming from. I know that Fire & Lightning and Graveborn were built with powerful tournament archetypes in mind (Mono-Red or Sligh and Reanimator) While Slivers was kind of their experiment to the idea. This is a funny reversal to the Duel Decks where Elves vs Goblins was intended as an introduction to Extended, and then from there they focused on the theme and not formats. I personally don't care much for foil cards, but I ended up with Slivers as a Christmas gift and F&L as a birthday gift. Because of this, I'm hoping to one day snag up Graveborn just to finish out the set. I had wondered what the fourth would have been if the product hadn't been discontinued. I had dreamed up an Equipment based deck (White Red) show casing Stoneforge Mystic, Leonin Shikari, Kemba and a who's-who of rare Equipment with the rest being a good equipment based effects, artifact fetch etc...

[@Danielsworlds]

If i remember right the premium decks were the only product that came with a code for magic online as well making is 2 times the value.

[@Broolex]

The PDS should become a Commander product. No other Magic format cares as much as EDH about blinging. Plus it is a major letdown to not have some of the classic Commandes, such as Damia, in foil. This is a constant complaint in Commander forums and subreddits. Fusing the Premium Deck Series with the annual Commander product sounds like a major marketing opportunity for WotC. Heck, they could do a limited all foil version of all Commander decks every year, for a higher MSRP. I am sure that they would be extremely successful.

[@ClampEEGEE]

Wow, I just watched your Sliver Commander video yesterday, and I started wondering if that's how you started it when I saw all the foils! They really should revive this series, but instead make it a yearly thing for Modern/Legacy/Pauper/etc. An all foil deck is such a neat idea for MtG, shame they kind of fumbled these by making them non-modern playable and not Legacy Viable.

[@miragenite1]

Picked up Slivers first. Loved it so much personally but eventually friends refused to play the deck. Got the other two later on in various ways, Fire and Lightning secondhand from a friend for 20 dollars and Graveborn I basically traded all the bits and pieces from multiple friends as I fell for the Sphinx so quickly I experienced whiplash. And especially those d20. I'm only missing the Fire and Lightning one.

[@johnvoorhees3441]

When the premium deck series initially came out, modern was not a supported format. In fact modern didn't come out as a format until about 2 years after these were printed. However, no one was actually playing extended in 2009-10, so these were basically DOA because STD players didn't want them and they didn't have the oomph vintage/legacy players would want.

[@Flumpor]

I only want the regular decks to be better, I don't need a premium Deck. Right now there is no value buying any of the 5 pre-constructed decks released with each set. They are weak, not monetary viable, and in many cases only serve to be played against each other leaving you with a pile of junk. In the past they often times were stepping stones for cheap Tier 2 Decks and had some cards of value (Umezawas Jitte as an extreme example) Getting into magic is hard anyway, these beginner products shouldn't be ripping beginners off, especially when I see how Yugioh, the other big paper card game manages their starter Decks. They only release 2-3 Decks a year with one "duel deck" that is very cheap and specifically designed to introduce you to the game, but let's say I would be interested in Legacy. I could buy 3 of the new Deck they released and play legacy. seriously it's one of the best decks in the game and all it costs you is 30 bucks for the decks, 25 for staple cards and 120 if you want to upgrade from a defensive to an offensive style, which is only a bit better and not really worth the 120 at locals. back to magic, what if instead of making 5 random decks for Zendikar, they made an Allies Deck with 4 Ally Encampments and for Oath of the Gatewatch they made an Eldrazi Deck? Wouldn't that be more fun then 5 products nobody cares about and can't really be upgraded?

[@TheWadapan]

I first got into Magic around the time of Scars of Mirrodin (still my favourite block to this day) and I think I saw the PDS: Slivers on Amazon for like £20. I bought it pretty much on the pitch of 'all the creatures giving each other stuff', seeing a deck made of Myr Galvanisers (the core of my main deck at the time, a white Myr deck). It turned out to be one of the best purchases I've ever made. At the time it was a 'gold standard' within my playgroup - if a deck beat the Sliver deck, it was a big deal. I didn't play with it much but people always found it an interesting challenge. A year later, I too saw the deck in new light as half a commander deck. Mine's nothing noteworthy - just took out all the doubles of cards and added some of the better M14, M15 and Legacy slivers, and a couple of changelings and good five-colour rares I had lying around (bringer of the blue dawn and Soul of Ravnica specifically). It's my best Commander deck, and the one I enjoy using the most, even if the foil on the cards has become a little bent over time.

[@benjaminsantiagosstuff]

They should rerelease this maybe sans foils or with less expensive packaging. Personally, I find almost wotc packaging a bit...."baroque". I think Rosewater's quote is deceptive, it should be "you didn't love it enough, relative what we spent on it and needed to make back up"

[@rafawillians7712]

Again, I can't agree enough. Great video. Wizards really SHOULD create a new product for Modern reprints ASAP.

[@mattm7798]

From the sound of it, it was trying to please too many people. I really like your idea of a rotating set. Especially when a particular format needs some shaking up, releasing a format quality(even if budget) deck would be awesome. Can you imagine if they printed a Jeskai Black Premium Deck Series for standard...keep in mind WOTC doesn't make a dime from those $60 Jaces so it has little incentive to keep his price high. As someone who will likely eventually split time between Modern and Standard(standard only right now),having a Modern viable pre constructed deck would be awesome, especially since WOTC again makes almost no money if I were to go out right now and put together a Modern deck. Even if you have to replace a couple cards to make the deck fit the meta better, having the base would be great marketing.

[@TheStephenation]

Personally, I'm not really a fan of foils. I buy most Magic products that come out, but I've never spent a penny on PDS or FtV, and the whole all-foil thing is at least part of the reason for that. I did get Commander's Arsenal, but come on, that thing is awesome. Your description of the direction that this concept could have gone does sound appealing, but it also sounds more like the Modern Event Deck than it does the Premium Deck Series. I mean, we're never going to get "Legacy Event Deck" and if we did, it would probably suck anyway, but we can dream. "Aimless" is pretty apt for a product that is essentially "deck filled with shiny reprints fitting a theme." I don't think that there's really a niche for an improved version of PDS that wouldn't be better filled by an improved version of one of the other products.

[@andregomes8869]

Also, I have a kinda wierd question: why doesnt WOTC just reprint all those expensive cards? Make them promos off of some products and make it all cheaper. Many of my friends simply don't play MTG since if you want to be competitive or even near competitive, you need to pay a lot of cash to even get near it. Also, I've noticed a lot of people don't play vintage to not damage their SUPER expensive P9 set or whatever and because of that, the format is practically only for overly rich people. Where are the reprints? Vintage Masters perhaps? Make it a lot cheaper? I'd love to see those kinds of formats get a lot more love from WOTC :c

[@tmcdon]

I would hope WOTC listens to reviews like this. I don't believe releasing a premium Modern format deck would inspire me to play Modern, but I would certainly shell out cash for it to cannibalize for my Commander decks! :D They really do, however, need to address the quality on their "premium cards."

[@LoathsomeWhiner]

I want sliver deck to start and build my own sliver commnder deck...

[@williamthewinner]

I would love if they brought back stuff like that. Me and my friends got into EDH with the 2013 Commander release. That was when I started collecting cards actively again. With every EDH deck I build, I see cards that was either in those premium decks or in like Planechase decks. Some of those cards are really expensive and with premium decks, they might lower the prices and reprint cards that really need reprints.

[@WickedDeceptionBand]

I agree with some of your sentiment on these decks being formatless. However, with Graveborn I played against quite a few competitive legacy decks(not in tournaments, at the kitchen table) and performed respectively well. So much so to the point where my play group refused to let me play the deck. Lol. And that was out of the box. Would I play in a legacy tournament with it? Not without modification, but it would be very minor. Because, like all magic, the nut draw opening hand and consistent draws for turn, this deck firing on all of it's cylinders performs fairly well.

[@TheRealSarceus]

My guess is that WotC realized they could make more money by printing stuff like Modern Masters. Given that they are supposedly developing cards 3-4 years ahead, this makes sense. The idea of taking an already functional deck with tons of signature pieces for any given format is a good one. It would be a boon to modern and legacy players worldwide. But, somehow I doubt that Wizards will ever try to change the fact that a stack of cardboard can cost $1000. They care too much about the market; something that the majority of players could not care less about.

[@ShadowcasterZero]

I loved these decks. I bought 2 fire and lightning decks on clearance at a big box store, which gave me plenty to make a modern burn deck with enough left over to make legacy burn, swapping in fireblasts. I still have a sealed Graveborn, and I picked that up at a bargain as well. I love your idea to make these decks again for modern or legacy. There's still 4 more colors to go, 5 if you count colorless. A PDS Tron deck would fly off the shelves, as well as a modern merfolk or green elves. Maybe if they had 75 cards, with a 60 card modern deck and a 15 card SB for legacy with some much needed reprints, I would fall in love again.

[@StarkMaximum]

Premium Deck Series was a great idea that unfortunately sputtered out, and I completely understand why. I'm actually a little shocked that there was absolutely no mention of the major problem so many others have accused the decks of, and that's that the unique foiling process used for PDS often caused the decks to come out pre-curled to an almost ridiculous degree. That said, when these decks came out, the one that interested me as an aggressive red player was Fire and Lightning, and I bought two of them just on the principle of wanting more fancy red burn cards. Fast forward to today, and I've found those decks again and realized that I'm actually well on my way to building a Legacy burn deck thanks to those Chain Lightnings and Prices of Progress! And just think, when I was a younger, more Standard-focused Magic player, I was just buying these for the fancy Lightning Bolts and Reverberates!

[@RaunienTheFirst]

I love your idea, and WOTC needs to get on that. Entry-level all foil decks for various formats? Take my money! It would be another opportunity for much-needed reprints of certain cards, and who doesn't love something you can just pick up and play?

[@liv4themoments]

You have to remember that at the time, Modern really wasn't a super popular format. It wasn't played at official tournaments, and was more of a casual format like EDH was. So Wizards just made these to help people get a START on building a Legacy deck

[@palaguin]

Here's another problem I see. If you don't care about Slivers, you aren't buying a Sliver deck. If you don't care about reanimator strategies, you're not buying Graveborn. Plus, I think WotC puts too much stock in the idea of things being all-foil being something people will pay high-dollar for. There are people who do, but not as many as to be viable.

[@EloquentTroll]

I think the commander product is sort of filling the role intended for the original product. It gives them a platform for reprints to eternal formats (with the added option of adding new toys like true-name nemesis), and new art for the same. As you stated the sliver premium deck is a big chunk of a sliver commander deck, That probably was their tip off. It's very possible that someone already watching the commander scene saw some number of players, maybe even one, buy and convert the product setting off the lightbulbs. The similar MSRP and the time gap might be related. The product revamp you described sounds close enough to what an event deck theoretically is that it would create new issues. Also the Vault is an all premium product, and it also has unique expansion symbols and a matching spindown, and they give no impression of being a deck in any format (though I have argued that since most of them have 15 cards they should be able to be counted as booster for pick-a-pack draft for particularly generous souls, and just disallow FTV:20). Not to say that they shouldn't be on the lookout for a way to use some new version the product, but it sits in this awkward position between event decks, commander decks, and FTV, unless they can find a new less confused niche for it (one that doesn't involve "format homelessness"). Personally I would prefer they put that effort into Planechase, Archenemy, or Conspiracy successors, but that's more a matter of taste.

[@twarnold14]

Once again, an amazing idea that managers, who are paid to think of amazing ideas, did not have. Rotating spot light on different formats is great! As you noted in your last Q&A, that is surely one of the reasons Magic has been able to survive for so long. Foil or not, that is a great idea! Support modern with a modern deck when MM is not being printed. Give a 6th commander deck that's colorless or 5 color so it doesn't have to be in a cycle of decks. Officially support pauper with its own deck. The list goes on and on. I often wonder what a cube builder series would be like. Not a deck builder's toolkit, but things designed for cubes. I'm imagining small collections centered around a theme or tribe or card type (like FtV without the price and collector's value), and a variety of them printed that you would only need to buy the pieces you want. Essentially you are selling cornerstones for cube. But I have my doubts about the whole thing.

I just hope the modern event deck survives and just becomes a tit bit better product. They don't need to print a t1 deck. But somewhat close to. So you can bring it to an event and play and win a few games. With cards that brings value to new and established players. And allso that is upgradeable. This is just an example. Infect with the lands and creatures. And maybee a few alternatives to what "could" be playables in infect. Like proliferate spells. So they might get noble hirarcs later or maybee they find an alternative way to play infect. I kinda felt that the last one was like that. But it did not make a T1 into a t2 or t3 of any sorts. It came with a T2 deck nerfed down to a T3. And i feel to justify they can make cheaper ones like burn, infect, affinity into modern event decks with a little lackluster of some cards. This way i feel they make a product people actually want to buy, people who own the biggest cards don't feel like they lose to much value and new players get to play and experience how you can brew and make things better. I really hope Wizzards make Modern event deck 2016 into a GREAT product!!

[@PenThoPlayer]

As someone who owned Fire and Lightning and Slivers, I have to say this was fun, but I tore the Slivers deck apart pretty quickly. I still have the Fire and Lightning deck exactly as it was.

[@grouchomarx1008]

I too came back from a long hiatus (I stopped around Mirrodin and came back in Innestrad). I was floored that Wizards would even make such a thing. It almost encouraged purchase and de-construction! While it was nice getting these pieces in foil, it represented nothing balanced outside its own bubble. I too saw that from the Bell Tower! Sometimes you have to wonder if they even play the game themselves before hitting the "go" switch. *Le Sigh*

[@aylipaolucci9412]

A Canadian Highlander PDS would violate the Reserved List. Perhaps a Mono Green Elves deck? Oh crap now I want to buy into Highlander again!

[@itachi-wg3gu]

I have a Graveborn deck and it was fun. My friends hated it because it was alot of reading and just to OP. But the art on the cards are amazing, I’ll just look through the deck and take it all in.

[@stanmilkowski3550]

100% believe it was a diamond in the rough and a precursor to what became the first modern event deck in B/W tokens - minus the foiling. I would love to see this treatment to future decks like you mentioned. Instead of "From the Vault" they could instead do these. Highlight a deck archetype from various formats - Modern, Legacy, Commander, or Pauper. Pauper especially could be a fun way to get more copies of cards in low print supply back in circulation and a way to keep the MSRP low. The "From the Vault" products are nice and all, but they just don't feel all that exciting nor impactful anymore. It is unfortunate that the "Premium" decks could not be played against anything else like you mentioned. I had just come back to magic from a hiatus myself when "Fire & Lightning" had first been released. I didn't buy one because it was so unique. Even when I would ask the store owners should I buy this they said, "No," because of all the reasons you mentioned. Ironically, the store owners admitted to me they wanted me to buy it as they struggled to sell it - period. However, they felt it would be a disservice to me as a returning player to invest that money in cards I couldn't use at the store's fnm or constructed events they held. They were very honest about it in that they thought the cards were great. It was just that as someone restarting in standard at the time it was not the biggest bang for your buck that say a deck builders toolkit was. Which was less money, standard viable for the next 9 months, and even provided a sealed environment of sorts. Since the "Premium Series" wasn't really standard, extended, nor legacy they couldn't sell it. Modern was at least a couple years away and the only real draw for me as a new player would have been if I played it casually. There were a couple standard legal cards, but not enough to really warrant a purchase for standard at the time. The local play group only cared about standard and EDH. That too, Commander, was only known as EDH and not an officially suppported by wizards format yet. It was the only other constructed format to play locally and wasn't well defined for newer intersted players. Some of these issues have since been resolved with better introducory sets and definitions as to what Modern is than say how old extended was defined. 2009 was just a very different time for magic when these existed. Not having a specific format dedicated to play these out of the box in really hurt them. I really think this would be a fun way to get people interested in pauper and a great way for wizards to enter into supporting it as an official format in both paper and online. There is no right answer - I just want to see the supplemental products succeed. Similarly as an aside, I am hoping and would welcome another installment of Archenemy and Planechase. They too however fall victim to this "not really defined for any format" syndrome. They are incredibly fun, just a shame that the precon decks aren't really any specific format legal. I would rather for those they release small packs of additional planes or archenemy schemes ONLY. No precon decks to go with them. Just more planes or more schemes. Since the planes and schemes are not really used within the 60, 75, or 100 cards to your decks these do not need to accompany necessarily a precon deck. Advertise them as a way to spice up your favorite casual groups events. They could even be used in draft or sealed.

[@dullestpenguin4151]

I agree with this video 100%. WotC often misses the mark when it comes to their pre-constructed releases. The decks seem to often be shells that can later be upgraded by the player as the professor says. This is not an awful concept, putting desirable cards back into the market for certain formats and thus lowering the cost of those cards. The problem, in my opinion as well, is that all such products should allow players introduction into a format. As a way of getting more players into competitive mtg WotC could consider a once a year standard and modern pre-constructed product. It seems foolish that they focus so much attention on a yearly product of EDH decks for a casual format where deckbuilding should be more encouraged, and do nothing of quality pre-constructed for formats where most competitive players play netdecks anyway. I feel they tried to do this with the Orzhov Modern event deck a few years back but failed. A young player asked me if I thought he should buy it to get into modern and I had to say no. The cards he would have to purchase afterwards to make the deck viable would have ran him probably 3x what he paid for the deck and it would still not be tier 1. The decks themselves could be just outside tier 1, but solid enough to play against tier1and hope to win. Right now they could print a standard Warriors decks (minus Gideons due to cost) or the Allies deck. Put around a $30 price tag on it and you are playing standard. Modern is harder because of the lands, however decks like 8 rack, mono-green aggro, and other mono-colored decks are possible. Again they would not be tier-1, but would be competitive. You might say "well the player could just buy up the cards to play those decks on their own", however we are talking about a product for new players whose interest in the game is not fully developed.

[@Crisis941]

Professor are you me? I love using my Fire and Lightning and Graveborn lifecounters. I loved these decks. Helped me get into EDH back in the day.

[@lordgiblets7585]

I remember getting an Urza's Destiny booster once, which was the first set to have foils. Funny thing, on the back of the packaging, while it did call them premium cards, it also referred to them as having a "foil" (yes, they used quotes) finish. I would say that calling them foils is almost technically and officially correct.