Korean vs Japanese and the future of pimping decks

[Fossil4182]

I wanted to get a feel from some people who pimp out their decks concerning the impending release of Korean language sets. It would seem that Japanese has been the standard for a long time concerning what is "pimp". However, the Korean version of older cards tend to sell for a lot more when compared against other languages. With the release of Korean sets starting next month, what impact will this have on pimping decks?

[jjflipped]

Old korean was HARD to find relative to other printings.

New Korean cards are going to be cool for people that like the language, but wont mesh as well with the rest of the jap foil cards that they are playing.

my $0.02

[death]

Korean > Japanese when it comes to 5th ed. - Urza's Saga due to lower print run and when Korean was discontinued after that they became more sought after.

Japanese text always looked better than Korean so Japanese will always be my first choice when it comes to foreign foils.

[GGoober]

Japanese text always looked better than Korean so Japanese will always be my first choice when it comes to foreign foils.

So not true. :P It is more like since Korean were not available in foils, it's harder to consistently have a pimp'd Korean AND FOIL deck if you're going for one. Personally, this makes my choice easier since I will just go for non-foil koreans for consistency, especially me hating the new-bordered looks of foils anyway.

[Grymer]

Imo japanese looks way better :)

[jamesh]

since there are virtually zero Korean magic players, this whole thing seems to be done for pimps
but it's not the essential coolness of the Korean language, but rather it's rarity, that makes it pimp
since these cards won't be particularly rare as far as i know, they won't be particularly pimp either

[Koby]

So not true. :P It is more like since Korean were not available in foils, it's harder to consistently have a pimp'd Korean AND FOIL deck if you're going for one. Personally, this makes my choice easier since I will just go for non-foil koreans for consistency, especially me hating the new-bordered looks of foils anyway.

I could agree with these sentiments. I have no intention of going foil Korean even though there are means to now. It's all part in due to earlier Korean cards being unavailable in foil. Mixing is a big no-no.

I just wish there was a way to get Korean Lodestone Golems so I could complete Vintage Stax with Korean...

[bfeingersh]

From what I've heard, Korean will be a smaller print run and limited to Asian retailers. So it will be slightly harder to get in the states.

For me it's all preference though. I like T-Chinese more than most people.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

I actually think Korean script looks way better myself.

[death]

Has anyone noticed that Korean text from different cycles do not even match in appearance?

Magic Arcana: Magic in Korean (http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg%2Fdaily%2Farcana%2F782)

For example, Visions Korean text look different from 5th-Urza Block which are thinner, now the M12 Korean looks kinda off too in bolder text while I prefer thinner ones from 5th ed. This printing inconsistency threw me off.

[Koby]

Has anyone noticed that Korean text from different cycles do not even match in appearance?


Yes -

4th and Visions had the bold text,
5th-Saga had the thinner text.

The new printing looks to be somewhere in the middle.

[wmagzoo7]

If all the sets were printed in Korean I would play with that instead of Japanese; however, Japanese has been printed in more sets and therefore gets the nod because I like my cards all Japanese unless it is Antiquities/ABU.

[dahcmai]

I'm still trying to figure out why people need other people to tell them what's considered cool looking.

[GGoober]

I don't like the old 4E Korean Text (Visions set as well). The newer post 5E and Tempest sets are more blockish (I'm Asian but I don't know what's the English word to describe the font) and those are my favorites. It always bothered me that the 5E is in the more visually pleasing font (at least to me), but they are WB :( So I usually end up getting both WB 5E and BB 4E of the same card to sleeve them around decks. 5E WB is rarer than 4E BB and for me, I would put the 5E WB as more pimp than 4E BB, due to rarity and visual looks (but those are all subjective :P).

I was a little saddened the new Korean font resembles more like 4E than post 5E. But I'm definitely happy my Solidarity deck is all Korean now outside of Flusterstorm, Fetches, Remand and FoW :D

Just need a Korean Hibernation now :/

[socialite]

From what I've heard, Korean will be a smaller print run and limited to Asian retailers. So it will be slightly harder to get in the states.

Correct.

Korean M12 is going to be very hard to find considering the print run will be far behind Japanese and other languages in volume thus much more rare.

[kusumoto]

I vote for Russian.

Can I do that?

[Bryant Cook]

Aside from aesthetics, you can't Korean out a deck.

[Solaran_X]

Aside from aesthetics, you can't Korean out a deck.
You can't 100% foreign-out any deck that uses cards only printed in ABU, Antiquities, or Arabian Nights. And certain cards from The Dark and Fallen Empires are English-only since they weren't printed in that foreign-language version of Chronicles (BB, printed in most non-English languages that Magic is printed in today, had selected cards from Arabian Nights, Antiquities, and The Dark).

[GGoober]

Which is why BCook plays TES i.e. 100% Japanizable (aside from it being a tier 1 deck that he created) :P

[The Treefolk Master]

Russian beats the s*** out of any other language in my opinion.

I think the rareness of Korean is what makes it so expensive right now. Its rareness also make the card look more shocking. Once Korean is widely in print, people will get more used to it, so it wont be as chased for. I do think that it will be on the same level as Japanese. Planeswalkers in korean will probably look siiiick.

[Bryant Cook]

Which is why BCook plays TES i.e. 100% Japanizable (aside from it being a tier 1 deck that he created) :P

My duals aren't but everything else is.

Solaran_X - Obviously.

[Solaran_X]

My duals aren't but everything else is.

Solaran_X - Obviously.
Well...you COULD get FBB or Unlimited duals and get them altered into Japanese (and the borders painted by the altering artist). I saw some UN Tundras converted to Japanese at GP: Pittsburgh (it was nice to just be able to ride a bus down the street a few miles to get to the GP instead of driving hundreds of miles to get there for once) and they were hot.

[Tha Gunslinga]

My buddy Soly has Japanese Duals, Drains, Forces, Demonic, Sol Ring, and now P9. It's pretty hot.

[Solaran_X]

My buddy Soly has Japanese Duals, Drains, Forces, Demonic, Sol Ring, and now P9. It's pretty hot.
Any chance of pictures? I'm planning on getting my stuff altered to Japanese as well, and would be nice to have an idea of what they'll end up looking like.

[socialite]

Any chance of pictures? I'm planning on getting my stuff altered to Japanese as well, and would be nice to have an idea of what they'll end up looking like.

http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=38431.210

Bottom. Mana Drains and Merchant Scroll are somewhere in that thread as well.

[Solaran_X]

http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=38431.210

Bottom. Mana Drains and Merchant Scroll are somewhere in that thread as well.

How about pictures of the Japanese Power?

[Dark Ritual]

You could have cards koreanized if that's even a word.

Personally I vastly prefer korean. Russian comes in second for me but its so hard to find russian cards in the states. Also love german. Japanese is cool and all but seemingly EVERYONE has japanese cards/foils so I don't care too much about japanese due to me seeing it a lot more than korean, russian, or any other language other than english for that matter.

Korean >>>> Japanese at least in my eyes. Korean foils are going to be sweetness; if only they had done this for zendikar, foil korean fetchlands would have been sweet guess I have to settle for japanese and other languages for the fetchlands.

I just love how korean text looks though. It's a pretty language IMO, better than japanese at least.

[Koby]

I heard some rumors that Korean will have a low print run and be limited to Asian retailers. If this is so, how do people in the USA and Europe plan on picking these badboys up?

[GGoober]

Kideys and livers.

I have no clue, but I guess paying for overpriced korean cards on Ebay might be a method, or knowing contacts that can help you get Korean cards.

Will M12 be in Korean someday? I think I read it somewhere. In all honesty, I think Russian is even harder to find than old Korean, and hence should be the new pimp standard. I just hope Korean won't go the way of Japanese.

[GGoober]

Kideys and livers.

I have no clue, but I guess paying for overpriced korean cards on Ebay might be a method, or knowing contacts that can help you get Korean cards.

Will M12 be in Korean someday? I think I read it somewhere. In all honesty, I think Russian is even harder to find than old Korean, and hence should be the new pimp standard. I just hope Korean won't go the way of Japanese.

[oRen]

In all honesty, I think Russian is even harder to find than old Korean, and hence should be the new pimp standard.
This is incredibly dependent on the edition of the card and therefore slightly dumb to state it in a that general way.

Also altering cards to Japanese is something I could never get. Every single card is seriously spoilt in my eyes.


Do whatever you think is right and do not give a crap on other peoples opinions. /thread

[GGoober]

At this initial influx of the first few Korean cards on Ebay, I think I am truly fearful on my $$ spending for the future :/

There is no doubt that at this point, Korean cards are much harder to acquire than Jap. I think the lowest boxes go for are ~$200. I don't think the singles are worth buying at this point and you could probably get more value just opening a box if you can get boxes cheaper than $200.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MTG-KOREAN-FOIL-M12-PHANTASMAL-IMAGE-MINT-RARER-THAN-JAPANESE-/320779665749?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aaff54155#ht_909wt_906

You outta be out of your mind to pay that for a Phantasmal Image foil IMO :P If it was a Korean Brainstorm/Daze/Stifle foil maybe :P

[socialite]

At this initial influx of the first few Korean cards on Ebay, I think I am truly fearful on my $$ spending for the future :/

There is no doubt that at this point, Korean cards are much harder to acquire than Jap. I think the lowest boxes go for are ~$200. I don't think the singles are worth buying at this point and you could probably get more value just opening a box if you can get boxes cheaper than $200.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MTG-KOREAN-FOIL-M12-PHANTASMAL-IMAGE-MINT-RARER-THAN-JAPANESE-/320779665749?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aaff54155#ht_909wt_906

You outta be out of your mind to pay that for a Phantasmal Image foil IMO :P If it was a Korean Brainstorm/Daze/Stifle foil maybe :P

The problem with eBay is the sellers. There are quite a few overseas sellers who have been posting Korean items on eBay for years now. A great example is Tingxuan. It's common knowledge that the guy does not grade properly, overcharges by a boat load, and has slow shipping. As a Korean collector would I ever buy cards from Tingxuan with a straight face? No. Unfortunately there people who go and look at those auctions and think that's an acceptable prices to charge so it really messes up the secondary market.

There's a Korean Foil Ponder from M12 up right now and I'm pretty sure it's going to sell for way more than it should. Korean M12s print run will be smaller than English or other language print runs because they started printing months late. However you have to realize that this set is going to be opened in droves for the next year. Prices up now are not reflective of what the cards will and should actually cost. In addition you have to take note that depending on the seller the reason why boxes are 200.00 and not 90.00 is not because it's "rare" it's because shipping from Korea costs a ton and they include that and eBay fees in the price.

Shit gives me a headache. It's sad to see Korean go the way of overpriced not so rare Foil Japanese.

[GGoober]

Yeah Ertai, I think I've only ever bought 2 cards from tingxuan (StP@$26 and something else), both in desperation of finishing playsets instead of just waiting it out :P He and the Singapore sellers always price the cards $10-$20 above 'true' market value (true in the sense that you can wait on auctions to end at those prices if the card ever becomes available).

I agree 100% that the Korean situation could very well turn into Jap foil. There is nothing wrong with a card being priced high due to supply/demand but this whole issue with Jap foils manifests itself more in the newer cards/sets. When a new set/cards are released, Jap foil prices are immediately high, and never really creep down. It's just that the market has been forced into some sort of price ceiling/flooring when it comes to 'pimp'.

You can't really measure what is pimp these days with just $$$. I think that's why a lot of people have moved away from Jap foils, and I'm worried that Korean cards will follow that trend as well. I personally just want Korean cards because I like looking at them and playing with them, but I'm not as dedicated as others in fully pimping a deck when the prices are unreasonably high (unreasonable in a sense that it is not reflective of true market conditions). However, one could say that the market condition and prices make sense because the demand is way high (hype) and there are still people willing to pay at that price.