Buscando cosillas por eBay me he encontrado con el dibujo original que ilustró el Mox Pearl de Alpha. Esta pieza de la historia de Magic está puesta en venta por la nada despreciable cifra de $225.000, eso sí, con un 10% de descuento que antes valía un cuarto de millón.

El vendedor en la descripción del producto nos cuenta una historia, quizás cierta quizás no, sobre Wizards recuperando estos poderosos artefactos…

You are bidding on an ORIGINAL piece of art created for the Wizards of the Coast collectable card game (CCG) Magic the Gathering.  This piece is truly one of a kind and is the actual painting commissioned by WOTC to illustrate the card.  This particular piece is probably the rarest of the rare as most of the POWER NINE original art has been repurchased by WOTC. Paintings from the Alpha release are rare enough but this is arguably the most unique collectable available for sale in the MtG universe. With the CARD itself selling for over $400 (and having thousands of those available) what is the UNIQUE painting worth? This art is professionally framed and includes a Collectors Edition Mox Pearl. The painted area measures approximately 5.5″ by 7″ and appears to be painted in acrylics (to the best of my estimation). Original card info can be found via this link: http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=34

I, at one time owned three of the Mox’s (The Pearl, Jet and Emerald) having tracked them down via the old Wizards Art Gallery in the mid 1990′s. Some two or three years later I sold two of them to an investor who then flipped them to Wizards of the Coast. The rumour, at the time was that WOTC had given a list of key art that they wanted to reacquire. Rumour also has it that most of the power 9 and many other key card art are now back in WOTC’s hands. I heard that they were trying to put together some sort of tourist venue and also wanted better control of the art on key pieces. I stupidly sold the other Moxes for $3000 – $5000 each (I actually also owned the Sapphire for one day, flipping it on it way back to WOTC). I was offered $10000 for this at one time as it was rumoured to be the last of the power 9 not reacquired and later $20,000 but wanted to keep at least one cool piece in my collection as a draw to exhibiting at conventions (I did a few big conventions in the late 90′s including Origons and more). On that end, this piece has TREMENDOUS publicity value as its sale (and/or exhibition) is NEWS WORTHY and will generate free publicity that will more than outweigh its cost. Understandibly my list price is untested for MtG art at the moment BUT I just can’t part with it unless I’m overwhelmed. This method was the least expensive way to “test” the market before I send it off to one off the fine art auction houses. I WILL however review all “reasonable” offers (all offers under $50,000 will be auto-declined, please don’t be offended) and listed it at this high price in order to do so.

I’ve been a collector of Magic art since the days of Alpha and currently have over 130 other originals in my collection (including Scrubland, Ice Age Icy Manipulator, Original Plains, Forest, Desert and other cool cards) .  MtG Art are still TREMENDOUSLY undervalued  IMHO especially when you consider the value of comic art and the fact that this game has a wide international appeal for over a dozen years and is illustrated by many renowned artists.  Buy now while they’re still a bargain.  A rare and unique investment for a fantasy art, comic art or CCG gaming enthusiast. Expect other MtG art prices to finally acheive or exceed comic art values once this sells.

El vendedor tiene en stock otros dibujos y bocetos originales un poco mas asequibles tales como el de la Scrubland (unos $36,000), una Llanura de Alpha (unos $5,300), … o ya si tu economía no termina llegar a esas cotas, un boceto de Grim Feast de Mirage por menos de 30€.

Actualización 10/10/2009:

Nos cuenta Dan Frazier que el Mox Pearl original fue hecho en “illustration board with a splattered acrylic background. The pearl was a xerox copy cut out and glued down with polymer. The pearl itself was tinted in oil and liquin” (mi nivel inglés técnico no me permite hacer una traducción fiable). Además nos cuenta como curiosidad está seguro de haber vendido el original por menos de 50 dolares.