Another gold set with much more appealing gold rare cards has hit the market and has become an instant success overnight. At the time of writing this article, the twenty best-selling cards on Cardmarket are all cards from Maximum Gold. It is a very special set that has something for everyone!
Maximum Gold is entirely a reprint set. There are no new cards, but there are a lot of much-needed reprints and some new artworks in addition to the new gold rare look. Below I am dividing the cards into categories and will give an overview about each category.
Alternate Art
Everyone was surprised when received new art in the set. It was actually quite welcome as the new piece is great. But the card that truly wins the category of alternative artwork is . Although it just received a reprint in the 2020 Tin of Lost Memories that made it accessible to the player base, the new version is on whole new level. When you put together amazing art and competitive viability, you get a card that simply had to be the top seller on Cardmarket as of the time of writing.
Other popular cards received new artwork as well, such as and , which makes them appealing to both collectors and budget players. The same goes for . If the first reprint didn't make it accessible enough to budget players, then this one surely helps!
Meta-Related Reprints
Almost the entire Ghost Sisters line-up returns, including , , and . Each of them comes in both artworks. But the real items of interest here are the cards so many players are after. Let's start with and . N'tss sees play in Dogmatika decks and against them, while Herald is used in Nekroz decks and any decks that can make level four synchros … Never underestimate a negation coupled with banishing monsters that are sent to the graveyard.
More copies of are always welcome. Sadly, Impermanence may still be out of reach for budget players. Despite this being the card's fourth reprint, it still hovers around the €20 mark, though it is a fundamental staple in today's metagame. On the other hand, is much cheaper now and is a must-have for those who do not own it yet. received another printing here as well — with alternate art to boot — bringing the card's price finally down to the level of mass accessibility. A couple of Zoodiac reprints such as also try to make the deck more accessible now that we have to push the deck back to the top tables.
The biggest reprint out of the set however, is . Eldlich decks are very popular and can be mixed with different engines to make them stronger. With this reprint, a lot of players who wanted to play the deck but could not afford the price of Mister Expensive can now build it much cheaper. Hopefully they already bought the other cards for the deck because and spiked in price. Golden Lord is not exactly dirt cheap; however, it is a bargain compared to the price of the original printing. Its inclusion not only shows that Konami is following what players need, but also that they have a sense of humor turning Golden Lord into a gold rare. Well done, Konami!
Banlist-Related Reprints
Now let's move to the banlist section starting with . The card has been banned for ages and only went back to being limited in September. However, without a recent reprint, all versions of the card exploded in price. A reprint was surely going to bring some accessibility to the card as well as stability to its price, but I project that there will be another reprint soon if they do not reprint its newer counterpart, .
Next, we have . Just like Feather Duster, Rusty has been recently released from the banlist to promote the Phantom Knights archetype with the release of the new support in Phantom Rage. Although the card wasn't really expensive, an additional printing can help calm the market in case of any potential buyout if the strategy proves to be very successful.
and have also been impacted by the September 2020 banlist. Burning Abyss is finding new love when mixed with Phantom Knights. Meanwhile, Toad needed a reprint as it was quite pricey even when it was limited. Besides being used with the Frog engine, the card found its way into the extra decks of Prank-Kids, Nekroz, and any deck that can put two level-four Water monsters onto the field.
Other Much-Needed Reprints
The entire Barrier Statue line-up debuted in Cyberdark Impact in November 2006. Only and got reprints in OTS Tournament Pack 4 in April 2017, but Maximum Gold finally gives us new copies of , , and as well. And this is just as well, as players have been finding creative ways to include some Statues in their decks, especially now that is around to turbo them out.
Dragonmaids also got some love, bringing down the prices of and . is another great reprint as it's a generic monster for Cyberse-based decks. Also, finally dropped below the €1 threshold. A monster that can search any field spell is certainly a card that every player should have access to, especially with things like Numerons around.
Something that doesn't fit into any of the above category is the price of the gold rare and . For a couple of normal monsters reprinted for the umpteemth time, both cards are hovering around the €5 mark, which just shows how desirable these cards are. If you pull any, you might want to trade them for things that you actually need.
Missed Opportunities
While many of the set's inclusions are spot on, some other cards could have done with reprints. The list begins at more recent cards such as and and goes all the way to older cards such as , , and that one elusive reprint that will finally make a budget card.
What counts as a missed opportunity is of course a point of personal preference, as everyone has their own wish list. Overall, Maximum Gold is a very solid release that will age well. What cards did you pick up from the set and what cards do you wish were in the set? Let us know in the comments!
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily Cardmarket.
