Should I sell my Tabernacles?

[clavio]

I bought 3 tabernacles when they were a hell of a lot cheaper. I've heard from a few places that they should be banned due to their cost. Will their cost go down significantly if they do get banned? I kind of want to hang on to them if they're going to stay legal, as they are quite handy.

[Barook]

They are NOT going to be banned. Just because some people are bitching about the cost is not going to make Wizards ban the cards anymore.

[Nightmare]

As much as I think the policy should be adhered to, and reccommended they be banned in this week's Unlocking Legacy, I think it's unlikely that they will see banning. However, they probably won't go much higher than they are right now, and possibly could drop should banning actually occur - they see zero play in any other format. Now seems a safe time to sell.

[Afro]

No deck needs 3 Tabernacles, not even your blue deck John. Sell 2 of em and keep 1 in case you want to run a Stax variant or 43 Land.dec

[Maveric78f]

You should not sell them. You should give them to me.

More seriously, I think that Afro is right.

[Adan]

No deck needs 3 Tabernacles, not even your blue deck John. Sell 2 of em and keep 1 in case you want to run a Stax variant or 43 Land.dec

Agreed. Up to 2 Tabernacles can be sold, but keep 1 or 2 if you are going to play 43land. But if you play Eternal garden or any Lands.dec-variant that has tutorpower (Intuitions for example), then 1 is enough. But keep at least one for almighty Highlander.

[scrumdogg]

Hmmm...so seven might be too many? In that case anyone looking for Italian Tabernacles PM me & we'll discuss a mutually beneficial transaction... especially as it need not be cash, trade is always welcome. Remember though, Texas & Cape Cod, PM (it is a neat function that you too can master...) :cool:

[FoolofaTook]

I'd kind of like to add to all of the above that I don't know anybody who has sold their hard to get Magic cards and not regretted it somewhere down the road.

If you need to eat sell the cards. If you need to buy other new rare, hard to get cards and can't afford to any other way then sell the cards.

But please don't sell Tabernacles to buy Goyfs or Thoughtseize. Someday those cards will rotate out of Standard and their value will drop some but Tabernacle will be harder to buy then not easier and you know you're going to find a deck that could use four some day...

My regret cards are Black Lotus, Timetwister, Nether Void and my Juzams. All beat pretty badly when I let them go but impossible to reasonably replace now. And no, I wouldn't be playing the Juzams these days but they won me a lot of games and I should have retired them honorably to the binder instead of selling them like cattle.

[Tacosnape]

But please don't sell Tabernacles to buy Goyfs or Thoughtseize. Someday those cards will rotate out of Standard and their value will drop some but Tabernacle will be harder to buy then not easier and you know you're going to find a deck that could use four some day...

He's probably right. Standard is causing ridiculous boosts in prices of cards as of late. I quickly became certain of this when I saw $20 bills being exchanged for Mutavaults.

I doubt Tarmogoyf and Thoughtseize will fall -much-, given how nuts they are in Extended and Legacy, but when the time comes for them to get out of Standard, I expect Goyfs to be back in the $30 range and Seizes for about $15.

[scrumdogg]

We've also all seen cards plummet like a gut-shot pigeon for any number of reasons - including getting hit with the banhammer. I already have more than a playset of Goyf, converting Tabernacles into Goyfs simply opens me to a larger market as there are more people looking for Goyfs than Tabernacles. Ideally, I would find cards initially that I'm after instead like FBB duals & foil fetches, but those are less common as well. Tabernacle -> Goyf -> stuff I want or cash which -> stuff I want :cool: And I don't need seven, especially since my son really no longer plays.

[Michael Keller]

I would hang on to them, really. I mean, look at some of the cards that also have skyrocketed over the last several years. If a card is going up, cash out if you need the money. Even if by some miracle Tabernacle DOES get banned, it will still be worth 50-60 bucks (for an English - kind estimate). I'd hold on to see what happens. If a card is rising in price because of its scarcity, that's one thing. If a card is rising because it is overpowered, that's another. It may seem like an interchangeable thing, but it really isn't. Some cards are just harder to find than others, and, to be quite honest, Tabernacle was under-utilized for many years and people thought it sucked because it didn't tap for mana.

Well, neither did Bazaar of Baghdad...

[Obfuscate Freely]

I'd kind of like to add to all of the above that I don't know anybody who has sold their hard to get Magic cards and not regretted it somewhere down the road.
Generally, I agree with this, but I do wish I had sold my Time Vaults.

Tabernacle isn't going to get banned, though.

[Peter_Rotten]

I'd kind of like to add to all of the above that I don't know anybody who has sold their hard to get Magic cards and not regretted it somewhere down the road.

I sold my Drains, Bazaars, and Workshops - all for a mighty profit - and never regretted it.

However, I did regret selling some smaller stuff like Mox Diamonds.

[Michael Keller]

I've sold out 7 times before and only regretted it once. It's very liberating. You should think of it as - therapy.

[scrumdogg]

Don't get me wrong, I am definitely keeping a playset, especially since I run it in decks. But I sold my playset of Bazaars (my favorite card ever) after they got nuked in Legacy because A) funding my trip with my kids to my brothers wedding was more important than cardboard & B) I could never play them again in a tournament/format I cared about (and they were too damn valuable to keep as a casual card....). If Tabernacle gets nuked in Legacy (don't see it happening either) the English ones I will be keeping will still sell for more than I paid for them. But it seems an opportune time to get down to a playset.

[al the great]

Too bad you dont live in my area I'd buy one.

[TrialByFire]

Too bad you dont live in my area I'd buy one.

UPS and PayPal are your friends. :cool:

[clavio]

My name isn't John, but that's not relevant.

If they're not going to get banned then I'm going to want to hang on to them because they are good. However, if they are going to get banned I'd get rid of them because they would be worthless to me.

From what I gather from this thread tabernacle is not going to be banned March 1. They're price isn't going to go down much as long as they stay legal, I don't really need the money now, and I still use them.

[Ebinsugewa]

Man, sell Tabernacles as fast as humanly possible. Their cost is overinflated and can only go down. When 43 Lands got big, I can't see the price of the card ever getting bigger than that one time. It's one of those cards that its use will never justify its price for me. Drains and Bazaars and what have you are often the engine of a deck. Tabernacle will never be more than an annoying lock piece. I own two in English and will be selling them over spring break. Let me know if you want them.

[Zach Tartell]

Ebinsugewa is right, folks. I picked up three English ones the day that that German nationals thing went up on Star City for a combined total of $68 after shipping and such (I'm a thrifty mo-fo on ebay). I was a tool and traded my first one at like $35, sold my second to Cody Manion for $60, and just recently unloaded the third at $72.

It's not even in any really good decks, folks. Seriously.

[FoolofaTook]

Let me see, what is Tabernacle good for?

It's uncounterable removal after a turn 1 or 2 Empty The Warrens.

It makes Goblin tokens all go away uncounterably after SGC has landed, although GWC sometimes makes that moot.

It works as a sweeper with Armageddon, hold it in hand, geddon and if that goes off drop the Tabernacle.

It slows down mono-black, forcing them to choose between keeping their creatures alive and continuing to cast more or make you discard some.

It works in any mana-deprival deck, particularly ones that are creatureless themselves or use manlands.

Really, it has enough uses that not having at least a couple available hurts you in terms of the decks you can construct. Nothing else that has it's basic effect on the game is both free to play and uncounterable.

[scrumdogg]

The card has many uses and is enjoyable when you are prepared to play around while your opponent goes 'wait, can I read that?' I don't feel that the card has been explored nearly enough (one more reason it won't get banned - it hasn't hit the needed threshold of expensive + unavailable + level of use & success). Tabernacle's best days are yet to come.

According to MOTL, it averages $82-85 (usually $15-20 less for Italian in my experience). The last 2 weeks on Ebay have seen 1x Italian go for 59.99 + S/H & the English ones from $54.95 (from someone with zero feedback who doesn't accept Paypal...scam in the making...) to a high of over $110 with most sales ranging into high $70s to high $80s.

[dahcmai]

Falling out of favor seems the best reason if any to sell those. They are played in pretty specific builds and if you don't plan on making those I wouldn't bother keeping unless you really don't have something to buy in place of them. I tend to sit on older cards because I hate finding a use for them and realizing I sold all the ones I had. On the other hand I kind of regret not getting rid of my Resets when they were hot since I'm not much of a combo player and I'm sure that's the only use those will ever get.

[FoolofaTook]

The card has many uses and is enjoyable when you are prepared to play around while your opponent goes 'wait, can I read that?' I don't feel that the card has been explored nearly enough (one more reason it won't get banned - it hasn't hit the needed threshold of expensive + unavailable + level of use & success). Tabernacle's best days are yet to come.

Tabernacle's very basic effect if you read it is to give all creatures an upkeep of one. If you look at it as a spell and not a land, as 43 Lands does, then it's really quite a profound effect in play, hurting decks that want to play multiple creatures much more than decks that want to keep just one in play and rewarding decks with manlands and no creatures for their economy.

The downside is that if the opponent is creatureless or has manlands only then Tabernacle is a blank. It's possible that 4 Tabernacle and 4 Mox Diamond should be in every Legacy deck at this point. Certainly 2+ Tabernacle should probably be in every sideboard.

What's the worst thing that can happen to you if the opponent drops a mountain, drops Lackey and says go and your response is Tabernacle at Pendrall Vale, go?

[C.P.]

Tabernacle's very basic effect if you read it is to give all creatures an upkeep of one. If you look at it as a spell and not a land, as 43 Lands does, then it's really quite a profound effect in play, hurting decks that want to play multiple creatures much more than decks that want to keep just one in play and rewarding decks with manlands and no creatures for their economy.

The downside is that if the opponent is creatureless or has manlands only then Tabernacle is a blank. It's possible that 4 Tabernacle and 4 Mox Diamond should be in every Legacy deck at this point. Certainly 2+ Tabernacle should probably be in every sideboard.

What's the worst thing that can happen to you if the opponent drops a mountain, drops Lackey and says go and your response is Tabernacle at Pendrall Vale, go?

Pay the mana, Wasteland, swing?

[FoolofaTook]

Pay the mana, Wasteland, swing?

And you'd live against goblins if your turn 1 dual hit the graveyard that way?

My point is that Tabernacle is as good a solution to goblins as anything else running until turn 3, or 4+ if you take your Wasteland or Rishadan Port into account.

[Afro]

My name isn't John, but that's not relevant.

Hmmmm....mistaken Identity for sure. Thought this was John C's user name. Perhaps it is Joe B's?

My problem with you holding onto Tabernacle is don't think they can't ever go down and will always go up. Power seemed like it would never stop climbing but then it hit a ceiling and dropped $25-$50.

[Ebinsugewa]

Afro points out the key idea I was trying to describe. As someone who works with secondary market cards, I can tell you right now that Tabernacle is overinflated. I'm not sure if this will come back to bite me in the ass, but this card is currently in the hot period, not unlike Reset was. Due to scarcity the card will always be $35-40ish at the worst, but I can only see it going down from its current point. This is definitely not a hoard card or even a hold card, it's a sell.

[Afro]

Afro points out the key idea I was trying to describe. As someone who works with secondary market cards, I can tell you right now that Tabernacle is overinflated. I'm not sure if this will come back to bite me in the ass, but this card is currently in the hot period, not unlike Reset was. Due to scarcity the card will always be $35-40ish at the worst, but I can only see it going down from its current point. This is definitely not a hoard card or even a hold card, it's a sell.

I hear ya brother. The main reason Tabernacle, and power to some extent is so expensive is because of the dollars shitty value in the world market. When Europe and Asia have their fill of our older cards (Tabernacle in this case) the price will stall and then drop. Sure stores will continue to rape on them but auctions on Ebay and the like will drop. You can see what the Euro does to prices just by comparing auctions on ebay that ship internationally and those that don't. Just sold 4 foil wastes and got ~80 because I didn't ship out of the US and Canada. Saw 4 foil wastes go for like 130+ because of Europe. Why don't I sell to Europe then you ask? I'm fucking lazy. It is a dick to get packages to arrive to Italy and Spain, and Paypal always sides with the buyer if they know what they are doing.