If you look at the prices of cards like
Dueling Value
One of the first things that come to mind when making the decision of buying staples is the thought: "Will they help me achieve a higher win ratio?" If you are struggling to win because your local metagame is full of high-tier decks and skillful players, you might be tempted to make the decision to invest in these cards because they are vital to your ability to win games. However, if the competitive environment is not as demanding, you may be able to delay the purchase until Konami gives us more affordable reprints. Staple cards are not limited to only main and side deck cards. Generic extra deck monsters can also be considered in the staple category such as
Konami gives us a couple of reprint sets throughout the year to allow players to obtain once expensive cards but sometimes it might be the case of either too little or too late.
Eventually we will get further reprints that make the above cards more affordable but by that time they probably will have transitioned into the "too late" territory as new cards will be reprinted that outperform them in their roles. Sometimes Konami has better timing though. Droplets and
Getting your hands on these cards is pretty unnecessary now though, as high-profile events have been on hold, but there are online sanctioned events that can tempt players into investing in staples to achieve better results.
Depreciation
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Let's address the elephant in the room. Konami always prints the best staples initially at the highest rarity possible before eventually—months or even more than a year later in some cases—reprinting them again to make them more affordable. While it is great to have a cheaper reprint of a card you need, it is dreadful to watch the expensive cards you already purchased crater in value.
However, what you get out of investing in expensive staples is playability. If you are someone who enters remote extravaganza events or plays locals with the aim of accumulating as many OTS packs as possible, then you are getting enough value out of these cards to justify the eventual decrease in value. On the flip side, when dueling on a more casual level, you might use the money that you would have spent on an expensive staple card to purchase a deck core—or two—instead. It all depends on your current needs.
Konami Knows We Need Certain Cards
Look at the most used hand traps as examples, which are considered staple cards. All the "Ghost Sisters" hand traps have received multiple reprints in different rarities—with the exception of
I hope Konami reconsiders its policy on reprinting cards so that more cards end up affordable more quickly. No one likes it when their wallet is hurting or when they cannot afford important cards that could help them win games. Eventually—when the pandemic is hopefully over—and events such as regionals and Nationals return, players will need every advantage they can get, and everyone will be very appreciative if they can do so without breaking the bank.
Would you rather wait for a reprint or do you prefer to get your staples right away? Are there any other factors that help you decide on whether or not to make this kind of purchase? Let me know in the comments down below!
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily Cardmarket.