Was It Worth It To Buy The Angels Secret Lair Commander Deck? | A Magic: The Gathering...Thing

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[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Head to keeps.com/tolarian to get a special offer!

[@robertwilliams8454]

No worries Prof. My original opinion was that Commander was long ,plodding ,and with lots of cards I normally wouldn't give a second look at. That said, watching your channel has expanded my thinking ALOT! I've even taken on the project of building the sliver swarm pre conn from Commander Masters via the singles market.

[@gamertrojan4038]

Out of curiosity, what was your first char in BG3? A wizard by any chance?

[@TheREALIzludez]

they never are worth it.

[@mdc31337]

If the Warhammer 40k commander decks can have all new art, a secret lair costing $149 could also have had all new art.

[@WafflePrince]

and the standard version is like a third of the price

[@mitchellgalle2703]

Instead of complaining don’t buy it. It’s a great secret lair!!

[@mdc31337]

@@mitchellgalle2703 I'll do both, thank you.

[@josephwebster2319]

@@mitchellgalle2703 oh no, people want the expensive product to be expensive for a reason. the absolute and total horror, i want my 150 dollar secret lair deck to be worth the 150 dollars. how terrible of me, wanting to get my moneys worth out of a card game I enjoy and love to play. You sound like one of those fucks that said the same thing about commander masters too, aren't you

[@style0vertalent191]

Well, we can complain and also not buy it. 😘@@mitchellgalle2703

[@Quietshow]

You are right, don't rush your videos. Your integrity is what keeps me coming back. Also, angels are my favorite!

[@mtgcatfish5993]

These need to come with a real deck box and sleeves.

[@MrBluetoniq]

At least a deckbox that will fit sleeved cards. I hate how all the precons come with a box that's almost big enough to hold a single sleeved deck or just the deck but not the tokens. Instead I end up having to go out and buy a cheap deckbox on top of any precon I buy. It can't be that much harder to make a box that fits. I doubt that anyone at wotc thinks customers are putting the cards inside the box without sleeves. They just don't care.

[@bathcrone]

they'd probably use that as an excuse to raise the price another $50

[@insekki]

Seriously how much is it to ask for sleeves and a box. At this price.

[@JustinWedekind]

They should bring back the old deck boxes.

[@neutralggesports]

This one actually fits the entire deck in single sleeves. I actually use it as my deck box for this deck.

[@MADDROBB]

A couple of notes. I bought this deck and played it, I love it. The art treatment by Scott M. Fischer is incredible. I wish he would have done the art for every card or at least all the Token creatures. As for the hard stock commander cards, I used those to do the meld ability so I didn’t have to take Bruna and Gisela out of their sleeves.

[@marshallprose7556]

This is how I feel. I also feel like the deck is SIGNIFICANTLY better than other precons I’ve played. Sure the value of the cards in total dropped to 220, but they fell because of the reprint. This deck would have cost 300 without the reprinted cards

[@Typher_]

yeah ive been really enjoying it too

[@mattiasbystedt1332]

It's better than an Ur-Dragon deck I built myself, loaded with expensive dragons and lands. I think this is agood product compared to the Commander Masters preconds. Glad I didn't buy any of them and got this instead.

[@MADDROBB]

@@mattiasbystedt1332 the only Master Commander deck I bought was the Planeswalkers party. I did make my own Sliver deck based off of Gravemother and I want some of the Eldrazi cards, but I completely understand. They were just way too expensive

[@thejedibug698]

I collect angels as a tribe so this was absolutely one of the most epic things I've bought this year. Also you're right this plays very nicely out of the box.

[@docterfantazmo]

*Prof:* "No, Teferi isn't a Planeswalker anymore." *Teferi:* "Hey!?" *Gideon:* "At least you're alive..."

[@sashalittledemon6766]

My boi Kytheon... At least he got to ride a colossal demon on his way out.

[@ancom14]

Shuffle Up & Play honestly played a big role in getting me back into MTG and EDH. It's a fun series, and I really like that I keep looking forward to new episodes. The coinflip deck episode was a lot of fun, and I hope the series keeps doing well. :)

[@Stickerbox]

For anyone curious, it looks like 3rd party market places have this for sale at about $215 at the moment. So pretty similar to the value all the singles add up to currently, according to this video!

[@Zer0San1ty]

Charging that much for a deck that doesnt have Avacyn. Ugh, and i still want it haha

[@dudemetslagroom8065]

on cardtrader for 219... I'm the one person that's trying to sell it for 160. i just want my goddamned money back (and even then i'd probably lose out cuzz of post costs)

[@gremblorthesackgoblin7953]

​@@dudemetslagroom8065I dont see that listing? Did you actually get it off ypur hands?

[@XxGrimdazexX]

Scalpers are barely human and should be ignored and avoided like the plague. Wait a month and the prices on all these cards will drop under 200 for the deck (the SLD art included) just like it did with the cute to brute deck.

[@nicholasredfearn1274]

I got it....replaced half of it with upgrades.....I have regrets

[@Axnjxn55]

The cardboard for the meld pieces is actually pretty nice. It’s not an outstanding addition for most precons, but it’s nice that this one helps prevent needing to unsleeve some cards when they flip

[@painandpyro]

When Prof was complaining at 6:20 about the kistchy names, I was LITERALLY in the middle of complaining about the same thing (just talking to myself outloud at my desk like a crazy person) - so don't call yourself a "boomer," I kinda agree! 😄 If I buy my "limited edition angel enthusiast" product, the only writing on the packaging better be a bunch of charcters in a mystical, mock-foreign script, underneath of which is a small translation that's something like: "The Holy hand of the Heavens doth descend to administer an all-scouring justice" or something like that, not meta humor from the intern who still likes Rick and Morty

[@bonaface]

thank you!! terminal online nature of the designers has polluted the flavor of mtg.

[@Neem0il]

Lol, “meta humor from the intern who still likes Rick and Morty” goes hard

[@acclrator]

100% on the secret lair basic lands. I’d totally buy a set of something if I got 10 of each, or for $10 for 10, let me pick the land type so I can order the ones I want.

[@rookt31893]

1. I love this video 2. People being angry at you for when these videos come out is silly. Even if the product isn't available, it still serves a measure of potential value and quality control of future Secret Lair Commander decks. I got it because Thune and Nyx were part of my hobby time when I first got into MTG.

[@mackinzie]

When you tell the people from the comments "this is my show, I'm going to do it how I want." Then just plug your friends who do the thing the people are asking for. I appreciate this style of content creation. It's not often you see people plugging their friends like this on youtube.

[@whalesequence]

I remember that old board game video. I'll say this, you can get Wingspan, Earth, and Viticulture for the same price as this commander deck, really puts it into perspective when especially Wingspan and Earth have hundreds of cards each.

[@Huckleberry_Sid]

Love the Shuffle Up and Play series! They're always so much fun to watch. And oh my... did the ramble about 5 lands costing $40 hit home. I grabbed this deck as a gift for a friend who is big on Angels, and since they were offering two Bros War collector boosters if you spent $200 was looking at maybe adding something for myself as a little treat to get those and add to the gift. Holy moly, I don't think I've ever walked away from an upsell as fast as I did that one.

[@Mushroomhaus0001]

This deck is actually really good and fun if you like Angels. Scott M. Fischer's art is some of my favorite, and the one thing not mentioned is that the tokens have some art by him, too. But they're just tokens. But it's still overpriced at $150. At $100 it'd be an absolute BANGER of a deck. I actually love this deck. There's also an alternate art foil Sigarda's Aid by Scott in there too, which ups the value slightly as it's about a $15 card in the alternate treatment (and imo will only go up, because it's beautiful). I'd been meaning to do an angels deck for a while, and so I played with this basic deck for a few games. Using Giada as the commander it's okay and decent, but using the face commander it's slow and grindy and not very strong. As much as I love this deck, I had way more fun playing Baldur's Gate for half the cost :)

[@LazarusIsBackBaby]

I proxied & upgraded the deck & use Giada as commander, and it's very strong. Monocolor, lots of discounts, and built-in tribal ramp = turn 4 windmill slam Serra's Emissary, it rules.

[@heademptyonlybun881]

I’ve only gotten one game in with it ((most friend pods exist at a much lower interaction level than I do so it would be unfair to step in with an entire deck of flying)) but even when hoping to hit the Meld and missing it was fun.

[@MadJGuitar]

@@LazarusIsBackBaby How many cards you have changed from original list?

[@dyslexichitman]

I'm a 40k player who saw the Universe Beyond as a gateway to dip my toes back into magic, and I absolutely agree with your initial thoughts; the product name is outrageous, and yes, all the commander decks should come with a more 'premium' life wheel, hell they should be making it go OVER 40 total to help returning/new players like me!

[@ryaninzana5640]

Thanks for years of amazing MTG content. The community loves the care and thought you put into each of your videos. Quality takes time. No apologies are needed, Prof! Release the videos when they meet your high standards and not a moment sooner!

[@TheT8or]

Im so glad I got mine. I absolutely love the art in this deck

[@cn-hd2xj]

I am still new to this game but a big reason I've gotten into it is being able to parse out what products I want through your videos as well as see the passion so many people have for this game which includes critique loving something should never be the same as being blind to its faults

[@danollerenshaw8410]

I bought this deck (I never buy SLs) and I have to say it plays really nicely out of the box - especially if you run Giada as the commander. The Scott M. Fischer art are some of the most beautiful MTG cards I've ever seen.

[@ToxicAtom]

I love your unfiltered, candid videos. It just sounds much more real.

[@JustSomeSkin]

Regardless of value I'm just glad they shipped so quickly

[@yokoyokome5281]

Yeah I was very luck to buy it.

[@MrOtokka]

​@@yokoyokome5281why are you lucky? You purchased a product. That's it. FOMO does not make it less so. It should be a privilege for a company to make a product worth your money, not for you to have the privilege of buying a product.

[@__-be1gk]

"At least he didn't leave a mark when he hit me this time"

[@Zondac]

That’s coping hard. They literally did something fucked up and bad and now you’re praising them for not doing that, and that this time they only made it an expensive and low value product

[@provolonepop]

Thats the way to thing, consumer!

[@chris-m1g5r]

I actually kind of like what they did with the foil in the deck. I would have preferred it all to be foil, but all of the angels and plains are foil except for Giada because she is trying to hide that she's an angel. it's flavorful at least.

[@arcadianmasque184]

I really appreciate these chill videos. Nice down to earth chat. ❤

[@TheRealSAFN]

I just cannot believe the WHOLE deck wasnt foil! Also, it was not sold out almost immediately. I bought mine 1 week after and it was still avaialble when I got mine in the mail

[@reviewmirror591]

It was available almost a month. So very long time for this type of secret lair deck.

[@LoonieMoonie777]

Don't rush your videos. I love the quality and all the things you do since I was 12.

[@jessegordon6375]

I've been playing with this deck quite a lot over the last week and can say that it is quite fun. I LOVE the art on the new alt-art cards. I've also played with Giada as the commander which was a lot quicker, though you lost out on some of the life-gain synergy.

[@jayster426]

I want the professor to make 1 special commander deck each year...let it be expensive...but I"d love to see him make 1

[@Hurricane1990]

For real, that’s what secret lair decks should be. Release a really special deck once a year. Make it have lots of cool art, foils, proper mana base, the works….and let it be some ludicrous amount like $200 or so. If you make the product worth it and don’t ram secret lairs down our throat, it would feel special and it would move quickly.

[@Hoxxed]

Its interesting what you say about cost. A friend of mine recently purchased Gloomhaven for ~100 pounds. And we've played that once a week for the past 8 months and are nowhere near done. 100 pounds is also what I *was* spending each month on singles for my commander decks - and seeing the value you get from something like GH really put that into perspective.

[@NazoPureChaos]

Yeah, Gloomhaven's fantastic! Never regretted spending $150 for mine; the variability is just so unique and genre-defining

[@sean21209]

As a fellow english teacher seeing Prof confidently work through the math for the basics and still get it wrong hit too close to home 😂

[@RainbowMarc]

In Europe I wanted to buy the SL Angel Deck bundle, but about two days till the end of that summer drop they sold out. But the angel deck on its own was available till the very end and I got that in the end. I already have a lot of angels, so I almost thought I could create a deck like this on my own. But it is really nice to have this as start that I can upgrade and I LOVE the new angel art, so in the end I was glad I was able to get it almost on the last day!

[@razielkasimer760]

Im loving this off the cuff rant/candid talk while he does this sleeving xD ❤

[@SeanORiley720]

Never change your process and your quality of content creation to try to rush out content at lower quality. You can never lower your standards to try to keep up with this ridiculous amount of product release. We all would much rather have you continue to be a trusted thorough source for magic. It’s clearly going to get insane over the next 3 years. I’d almost encourage a full length video on your process “behind the scenes” content creation and your process. It would be both informative for us to do independent analysis and informative on how time consuming and difficult your quality content creation takes.

[@curunir471]

Thanks for sending me over to Elder Dragon Social Club! I own 30+ sleeved up precons for just that kind of experience and it's nice to see a channel that caters to that.

[@JadamH]

Fun fact: if you place the 4 different art printings on the Urza plains in this deck next to each other, it makes a continuous landscape

[@malakimphoros2164]

Panorama lands used to be a more common, appearing in Lorwyn, Scars of Mirrodin and Kamigawa ( not sure which one)

[@quayo90]

I noticed that and it made me with they made them full art. It would have looked so much cleaner and made even the basic plains feel a bit more special

[@TheJadeFist]

That used to be a thing they did all the time.

[@barrytdrake]

Thank you, Professor. I appreciate your unfiltered, honest comments. (And I agree with a lot of your points!)

[@PerryTheOneArmLegend]

I've honestly been having a lot of fun with this deck. I switched the commander around to be Giada, Font of Hope instead of Gisela or Bruna. Even won a couple of my friday night pods with it without many modifications. Love the new art in it too.

[@fate3071]

I only use bruna and gisela because my playgroup allows me to use them as partners. Otherwise I'd use giada too

[@PerryTheOneArmLegend]

@@fate3071 oh that sounds really cool. Though I can imagine getting both out at the same time to meld being hard to do. I've yet to do it successfully in my pods.

[@fate3071]

@PerryTheOneArmLegend that's exactly why my friends let me use them as partners. It's already hard enough to meld them, and if the one I'm not using as Commander gets exiled then I will never meld them that game

[@PerryTheOneArmLegend]

@@fate3071 yeah that's fair. How long does it take for you to ramp them out?

[@fate3071]

@@PerryTheOneArmLegend I haven't played many games with this deck yet, but I used to have them in the 99 of a different deck that I played all the time

[@gamingfortheweekend5490]

This is by far my favourite of all your videos that I've watched. (I've watched many and the bar is high.) Hearing you just talk directly, no bullshit in casual relaxed way about the game we love is fantastic.

[@joshuaworthington6376]

I got one and I use the 2 drop angel as a commander that give you when a angel comes into the battlefield it gets a counter on it and I have won 9 out of 10 commanders games I’ve played with it I say it was worth it no alterations as is it is a great deck design and wins games

[@n8w00d8]

Giada, font of hope is the creature you're refering to

[@NicolaiJoer]

Never stop making videos! Your knowledge and honesty is unparalleled!

[@konata8657]

no avacyn or akroma in an angel deck for 150. failure

[@NyxTheScary]

That would mean Wizards would print value in a premium product. So that just wont do/s I agree this list is asssss

[@konata8657]

@NyxTheScary akroma isn't even value tho. she's a bulk rare but she's one of the most iconic angels in all of magic. I could understand not putting avacyn cause of value but no excuse for akroma

[@NyxTheScary]

@@konata8657 i got Akroma and Avacan confused lmao.

[@Suhrvivor]

Also, they put Giada in the 99 when it's the best Commander for the deck, a premium angel deck should have her as the general.

[@mkol1998]

You did great with your non-scripted parts Prof. Don't feel like commenting, but a deserved bump to the vid, and a bump to the Prof.

[@blazingtorchic3178]

Personally I was very happy with the deck because I've always wanted a angel tribal deck also mine came with 2 sigardas aid

[@Chocolate83Bunny]

Nice machine error, you got a bonus chicken tendie

[@corruptpixel8441]

I love this video being more chill and discussing other topics using this deck a base to those topics, Thanks prof

[@keeyancorbitt1]

Can I just say that I love when prof goes off script like this? Makes me laugh as much as normal videos.

[@Boyzby]

I don't play Magic, never have (but I have been interested), and I subscribed just because of how genuine and respectable you seem. You're a professional, in a field where people's lives are dictated by things like algorithms and fads. I don't need all that noise. Also, the perspective of Baldur's Gate 3 being $60 is pretty mind-bending. The amount of effort with planning, programming, testing, voice acting, music, QA, etc. a game goes through is so much higher than that $150 box.

[@perpa8031]

I appreciate how the prof promotes Keeps in a positive way and isn't trying to make you feel bad about your appearance in order to buy into the product

[@allict]

Hair loss treatments have pitched themselves that way for decades, there was even an MST3K bit about it in the 90s. It's no different than razor or makeup brands calling themselves body positive.

[@OcultaManu]

I love you brother man. Thank you for your time and energy.

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

My pleasure

[@TheDragan505]

It is kind of sad that you didn’t spend more time discussing the artwork. The whole reason to buy this deck was for the artwork, in my mind. The images took me back to earlier days of Magic.

[@drakegrandx5914]

I mean, are you talking about the 5 single new artwork out of 100 cards of a 150$ deck? Prof did talk about how the art looked cool and nice, but you can't make a selling point out of that once the price tag is so high. Do really just buy singles at that point.

[@DM-Oz]

It is a beautiful artwork. Court of Grace specially may be my favorite, with that flavor text too. "For a time, she was Radiant"

[@IllFated44]

Prof- proceeds to mention two of my favorite BANGERS I've seen from shuffle up and play, saying how not that many people have watched them. They definitely need to watch them but it's their loss. Definitely some of my favorite prof content. Well that and a lot of the interactions with post Malone when they play

[@peeporiot9948]

I love this secret lair so much. Between the new artwork, the nice touch with the lands, and even his artwork on the tokens its easily the best secret lair commander deck they've done. I LOVE IT 🥰

[@garrett1433]

I do too! First secret lair purchase and it plays pretty well!!!! :)

[@somedude5254]

Calling it the best secret lair precon when it's only the third one they have done isn't saying much lol

[@RageAgainstTheTards]

​@somedude5254 there is 3 total secret lair decks.

[@somedude5254]

@RageAgainstTheTards you are right, thank you! I forgot about the Cute to Brute one, but even then my point still stands with only 3

[@peeporiot9948]

​@@somedude5254I see your point, but I honestly think it'll be hard to beat this deck. Out of the deck it holds it's own against other really good decks. I played it against the heads I win deck and I stomped it.

[@nyxboi427]

You know what is a unironically good product for commander players? Those $45 dollar mystery Commander boxes that Wal-mart sells. $45ish bucks you get a deck box, sleeves, and a commander deck. $45 bucks and you can shuffle up and play right away with your commander playing friends. Plus its has the mystery element that packs have, so you could pull a expensive precon from like 2014 or just a neo kamigawi precon, either way you get your money's worth

[@xpumpernickelx2260]

I didn't buy the deck but I was hoping you would put out a video talking about it. I feel like you didn't really talk about the deck at all except the prices at the beginning. Although I agreed with your opinions during the sleeving, I just wish there was more of an actual review. Talking about the art, the positives, the negatives, the panoramic lands, cards you would change. Your true thoughts on this product. Although I agree the price was too much this didn't feel like a review to me.

[@keldone3186]

a review would be usless because the deck is not on the market anymore at the time the video is released. that was his point at the beginning

[@Onattamato]

For me it was the alt-art Commander's Plate, plus being angels that made me want to buy the deck. I like the hard stock placeholders, I usually use them in place of the pringled commanders.

[@JuanoSoccerMan]

I haven't watched the video yet, but I have to share it was definitely worth it for me! Angels are my favorite tribe, art is gorgeous and I've had a 100% win rate with it in my last 2 commander nights!

[@JadamH]

No upgrades? I upgraded mine but I’m not sure the people I’ve played with were considerate enough to play something more of this precon’s power level with me, even upgraded, after I told them what I was playing lol.

[@end3rpappy143]

Thank you for doing this video :) Very Informative. I love the sleeves. Very adorable

[@marusfox2759]

Love the video, No need to apologize for a delayed video. I would rather the video be delayed and enjoy a high quality video then a rushed low quality one. :3 So no worries about the delay.

[@kaszael]

I'm pretty sure this one didn't sell out immediately like the DFC one. It was still up for sale at least 2 weeks after release. Yes, it eventually sold out but compared to the DFC deck not lasting 3 days, this was available much longer.

[@Fireblade9650]

i was also confused when prof said it sold out immediately. i bought it early but still saw it available for sale weeks after i bought it

[@lotsofxsosand1s]

Yeah I don’t know when it sold out but I know it was still in stock when the following secret lair released, so it was at minimum available Aug 10 - August 29. While it should be up longer than 2.5 weeks, it wasn’t sold out immediately. I know it doesn’t change anything about the product but I think the accuracy is important to not instigate FOMO impulse buying for future secret lair commander decks.

[@DeWillpower]

woah! already ten years? that's amazing! i started playing magic around 1 year later but i never noticed your channel was "new"

[@edgyman-fk]

I have a separate box for double sided cards so that I can use proxies in my deck and swap to the double sided once they've been played. So I use the real cards from this deck in the library and swap to the thick stock if they meld. So there is some use for them for me at least. :D

[@PrimordialKitten]

I'm very glad that you're not rushing videos for things like this. No one should feel pressured to make content just because something is likely going to sell out very quickly.

[@bavarianwolf3806]

i bought it and upgrade it with some cards like Enlighten Tutor, land tax and smothering tithe. Also added Throne of eldraine, Urzas Saga, Akromas will. But heavly recommend to switch the commander to Giada. Way stronger.

[@DreamDaddie]

Honestly the reason I actually bought this deck was because I was planning a Mono White Angel commander anyway. With a good amount of tweaking I got the deck I wanted

[@anime-game-bro]

Enjoyed this video more than the usual stuff quite a bit!

[@heathharris2545]

I have to ask, if WotC approached you and asked you to design a Secret Lair, no restrictions, anything you want, what would the look like? And how much would it cost?

[@JeharrelsonYT]

😅😮😊

[@nootnoot338]

On a different note, I've always appreciated the way prof does ad reads for products relating to appearance and social stigma.

[@schrottinator]

I bought it, I played it and I love it. I'll keep it as is or maybe add some upgrades to it. Edit: It's still possible to buy it in europe. I bought it myself just a view days ago.

[@Zondac]

Who do you run as the commander?

[@schrottinator]

@@Zondac I chose Gisela as the commander to have the meld ready. Bruna is more of a conditional spell, that I don't want to cast just for the meld. Giada, which is also in the deck, might be a better option due to her mana ability. But I like Gisela more because she plays very well with the lifegain theme of the deck.

[@Zondac]

@@schrottinator I already run a deck that's very very close to this (with cosmic elixir and a few other key items as the deck struggles a bit with drawing), and I haven't really been that successful in getting the melds, basically just puts a much bigger target on a 2-for-1 in my pod at least, my deck also struggles with protecting it... Giada or even Lyra I feel would run a bit smoother, if the lifegain is a core part of your win con with the angel of destiny and whatnot... It's fun to play, but I just can't make it be anything more than "And here's another Timmy spell!"

[@schrottinator]

@@Zondac I don't really care that much for the meld. Having a four drop that can reliably deliver the 4 life, as 3 and 4 are important thresholds, is more important to me. The meld is more of a nice to have and I wouldn't want to waste Bruna's cast trigger just to meld. This deck is meant for a long game. Commanders like Giada and Lyra make the deck faster and more consistent and with that far smoother. I also think that Giada would be the "right" choice. I only play Gisela out of preference. The life gain is only a subtheme and while I won with an Angel of Destiny wearing a Commander's Plate, i think Angel of Destiny is more of a fun gimmick. The real threat comes from the token creation. The deck has a lot of room for improvement and I'm sure I gradually will upgrade it, but it's fun to play and unlike the "Cute to Brute"-deck it functions as a deck and can win as long as your are willing to commit yourself to long and grindy games. Personally I would prefer some more interaction and protection. Also it takes some time to setup your boardstate and a surprising amount of planning to not end up playing one splashy spell per turn and then sitting there for a turn cycle with an empty hand. I also often wished to have an Evolving Wilds or Terramorphic Expanse to shuffle/thin my deck after scrying. I also pick prefer to play the deck in pods that are lower in power level.

[@Zondac]

@@schrottinator Seems we got pretty similar reads on the deck then actually, I just wanted to hear if anyone had a different opinion about it in case I had missed something obvious! Thanks man

[@zealcrux]

I'm just jealous of how easy Prof makes double sleeving look

[@fate3071]

For real. I have over 100 double Sleeved decks and holy crap I'm still not great at it lol

[@zealcrux]

Honestly! I always have to have two other cards near me to sandwich in the card I'm sleeving lol @@fate3071

[@MTGUnpacked]

Enjoyed hearing your unscripted thoughts on this! The Baldur's Gate 3 comparison makes you think. You can get hundreds of hours of gameplay out of that vs how much gameplay for this? I know the market for RPGs like BG3 completely dwarfs how much this angel deck was likely to sell, but it just seems like lately Wizards is constantly pushing the limits for how much they can charge for everything rather than how much value they can cram in (as Larian did for BG3). But I guess since this deck sold-out, they probably figure everything is fine🤷‍♂️

[@reviewmirror591]

Well all money you spend on a computer game is lost. When you have played this deck till you are bored with it you can even sell it for a profit, that to me is money wisely spent.

[@MTGUnpacked]

@@reviewmirror591 Remember the good old days when you could re-sell a computer game?

[@LithmusEarth]

I want to talk about precons a bit. I came into magic as an adult after a 15 year hiatus in 2014 fall with khans of tarkir. I am some one who only buys singles, and double sleeves everything. I've been watching you since about then. I want to talk about precons for commander. I bought a mono green one in 2015 after it had gone on sale for being a year old, and I used to upgrade my Tiny Leaders deck of Omnath. After that, I just bought one about a month ago here in 2023. I just made a black-white party matters deck and the precon looked to have most of the pieces, I was willing to pay 40$ for like 40 cards that would work. I also didn't build it with mutavault or black market connections in mind, but once i bought it they were nice upgrades to my deck. I'm a very budget kind of guy. I've looked at precons for years, but, again if I'm only going to use like 5 cards out of it, I should just buy those singles. So commander precons for me are very cool, but if I just make my own decks, they always seem underwhelming. I guess I'd love to hear more discussion on that. I have a different opinion on the standard of yesteryear and pioneer of today, buying those decks to play in those formats means a little different, and purchasing happens more often there.

[@TokenBG]

I use the thick collectible cardstock as stand-ins for the double faced cards. So when I meld I pull those out instead of needing to pull the sleeve out and flip the card. I think, regarding the timing of the video, for something like this where the decklist is posted around the time of release, or even before, is it possible to do maybe even a short with "Here's the price, here's the value at announcement. Here's the grade" followed by a more robust video like this one afterwards? That way people get the information and, I assume as I've never done video production, that the release can be very quick. People care about the art, but I think a lot of people are just looking for the financial value and go to a source they trust with a very known unbias opinion towards MTG products.

[@neutralggesports]

I think the problem with that is the specifc costs of the alternate art cards won't be set until a little after release, so whatever Prof releases at the time of release will in no way reflect a good assessment, unless you only take the value of regular art cards, which is definitely a different value altogether.

[@TokenBG]

I understand that, but how often is the Alternate Art card lower value than the regular art? So if we know, at the very least, that the value of the CARDS are good then we can believe the value of the deck only goes up from there.

[@plkangus]

I use the two hard cardboard commander cards for the melded commander, so I don't have to unsleeve the regular cards or proxy them for convenience. I appreciate the review even if later than you would like, because your insight is valuable even after I have bought the item, when deciding how to upgrade and whatnot. Have a spectacular autumn!

[@creatureris]

I appreciate your attitude to your sponsorships.

[@bingus2464]

It plays better than it looks, I've made a few minor upgrades, under 15 dollars in terms of money spent. So far I've won 5 out of 6 games agaisnt fairly powerful decks. The game play is in the sweet spot of having powerful pieces but not being the most threatening guy at the table so your board isnt a priority to deal with (until it's too late)

[@samuelgreen2443]

Damn Prof, hang in there! I’m new to Magic and your videos (including that Shuffle Up and Play) have really got me hooked. It’s possible that people like me, who don’t know how things used to be, may be the suckers propping up these business practices. Thanks to you though, I’m buying singles and only one precon after my first (and that’s coz I love faeries and wanna be Dimir). So you’re saving me money, I’m less of a shill, and I’m loving the game! Thanks dude

[@rachelewilloughby25]

This video was tough to watch. Let me preface by saying that I *loved* this deck. I cried when I opened the box. The Professor is where I go to get a grounded but enthusiastic take on what's coming out rn. Instead what I just watched was a nearly 40m spiral the state of MTG today with occasional sarcastic asides about the Angel deck in front of him. The Professor seems a little burnt out and it seemed to go against the his general tendency to let people enjoy things. It's a basically good deck and sucks that he couldn't come up with a single nice thing to say.

[@marshallprose7556]

Yeah it really is a solid deck list. I was shocked by his reaction to this. Especially considering how much more consistent it is than heads I win tails you lose

[@XxAmyers93xX]

I loved your shuffle up and play where you played heads i win tails you lose, it inspired me to go and get the deck, You ROCK!!! keep doing what your doing!

[@oliverrose1643]

Thanks for making another one of these! I loved the Heads I Win, Tails You Lose video with all of its unscripted glory. I would personally love to watch a series of you just sharing your opinions while sleeving decks.

[@corykeaton3126]

I love whenever the Prof brings up the premium deck series as it was on of my favorite supplemental products in the mid times of the game.

[@dbedford007]

I definitely come to your channel "because I like you and how you do things". Keep up the good work!

[@emanuelbutler2315]

Hey there. I’ve been watching your videos since 2015(?) the first thing I remember seeing was “is it worth it to buy a BFZ fat pack”. I’ve taken multiple brakes since then but always kept up with your videos. I got to ‘meet’ you (like 15 seconds) at SCGCON Charlotte NC. Your channel has always been something I’ve looked forward to watching and listening to. Thank you so much for always maintaining quality content. I appreciate you and everything you do for the MTG community

[@AussieLE]

Your video with Heads I Win Tails you lose is actually the first one that I watched of yours 😅 The deck looked fun enough that it's gotten me back into magic, so thank you for that

[@OtherworldlyOdd]

I really love the casual style of this video. Feels really down to earth.

[@insekki]

Really enjoyed hearing your thoughts here Prof. Great stuff as always.

[@deadlysock5875]

The freeform videos are fantastic! Thank you, Brian. We appreciate you!

[@Typher_]

got mine like a month ago, loving it, just added avacyn and a few other staples like akromas will

[@kardosdarkforge73]

Love these videos, where we get to hear your thoughts on things!

[@JCfromJohto]

The fact that you're dressed up dapper and proper really shows how much you care about this. Oh yeah also very cool video, great stuff

[@GreenStag94]

Thank you for another informative video! Appreciate the honesty and integrity as always, you're the best Prof!

[@CJW0056]

My first time listening to you off script, it was refreshing and funny, the old man yelling at clouds energy works well.

[@bohmfalk]

As someone who just got back into the game and just started playing EDH and just happened to be in the middle of making an Angels and Vampires deck, this was perfect for filling out a large portion of my new deck with some really good Angels and some other cards (Commander’s Plate, Nykthos land)

[@JamesypantsXD]

Hey mate! Thanks for the video! Honestly, your videos are informative and helpful, I’m newer to magic, only started playing with the lord of the rings and since then have been diving deep. Your videos have helped tremendously in my purchase of products and understanding of the game and the mechanics Thank you heaps :)

[@marcup1584]

Hey Prof, just gotta say I loved this video and just hearing your thoughts on different things as you just sat there and sleeved cards! Keep it up man!

[@Petalene]

Than you for this video. I’d been building an angel deck prior to this coming out and I so decided to pull the trigger on this. Now I’m trying to figure out how to integrate what I have with all the new cards. I’m feeling overwhelmed so I’m watching videos about the deck.

[@nosrin1988]

I'll just say that I watch your videos because you seem like a person with great integrity and I like hearing what you have to say, even if I only agree with you 95% or more of the time. I've said it before but I consider you to be an important pillar of the community and I appreciate what you do!

[@alexscott8799]

I would 100% listen to the Tolarian Community College Podcast where you just talk about magic off the cuff, the state of the game and what you've been up to and what you've enjoyed playing. Legit can we please make this a thing

[@Pintyhet]

Funny enough it was your channel that led me to LRR and got me back into magic after a hiatus.

[@lokifeyson]

love the rants and just real talk, thanks :)

[@dustinfurby4995]

Man I appreciate your honesty and I hope you are able to stay as honest as possible in every video like this Love your content thank you ☺️