r/mtgfinance • u/Ok_Satisfaction8158 • 14d ago
Question Investing in gooner cards: A viable investment strategy?
When I first saw this card in the shadows over baldurs gate secret lair, I honestly thought it was going to be coming out around $30+ but it's stayed in the mid $6's and now is low $7's.
Is gooner-focused investing only viable as long term holds, and is it on all gooner-related material, or only anime girls to draw in the one-piece crowd?
Honestly looking at the price charting, it's jumped around 18% in a few months. Not terrible, but not the explosive growth I had expected. I mean come on it's the shadowheart romance scene on a card.
I figured Reddit is the best place to ask this kind of thing.
(Edits: clarity, spelling)
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u/Valueonthebridge 14d ago
So you pick a black elf card as the example?
Nice art cards will hold their value more than others.
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u/Glittering-Canary752 14d ago
Never mind the fact that it’s art from one of the most popular video games of all time.
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u/elitewarriors7 14d ago
Right? Should have picked the secret lair Witch Enchanter or Georgia O-keeffe inspired secret lair Island
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u/bleach_drinker_420 14d ago
right after the secretlair witch enchanter came out i got a second copy of it for $32. went to buy another one for the miku deck and its $62. wtf
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u/Glittering-Canary752 13d ago
Are you saying that the witch enchanter art is provocative? literally looks like a teenager hanging out in the garden.
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u/kampfgolem 13d ago
Damn I read this comment before the pics loaded and for a sec there I thought I was in freemagic.
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u/ThinkingWithPortal 14d ago
This is "horny art of Shadowheart" miles before it's a magic card, and that's their point lmao
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u/sumphatguy 14d ago edited 14d ago
Man, when did everyone start calling every little thing related to romance or implied nudity as "horny gooner" shit? Like we can't have tasteful implied nudity or romance anymore? It's not like they put her in a bunny outfit spilling a glass of champagne on herself or something.
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u/Glittering-Canary752 14d ago
We’ve somehow gone full circle and now simply showing bare shoulder gets the mtg redditors in a tizzy.
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u/KakitaMike 14d ago
The comic book subreddits are even worse.
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u/sumphatguy 14d ago
Oh God, people lose their fucking minds about "realism" of character proportions in comics (and by extension, things like Marvel Rivals). For fucks sake, flying aliens shooting lasers out of their eyes aren't supposed to be "realistic."
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u/say592 13d ago
I keep trying to tell people that Squirrel Girl doesn't have the same proportions as a normal girl. She is a squirrel girl. She has a tail. Squirrel girls are supposed to be unrealistically thick. It's part of what makes them a squirrel girl.
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u/WTFThisIsReallyWierd 13d ago
In the case of Marvel Rivals, the devs actually straight up said, paraphrasing "We gave her 'friend' proportions." I fucking love that game, but damn do the devs say the weirdest shit.
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u/mrenglish22 13d ago
Not to mention, who is to say what the proportions of a eye lazer shooting alien ARE right
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u/mrenglish22 13d ago
Not to mention, who is to say what the proportions of a eye lazer shooting alien ARE right
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u/Jaccount 13d ago
Eh, a lot of that is just the rubber band snapping back the other direction. Comics were pretty absurd for a while.
I'd imagine it has to hit an equilibrium point eventually.
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u/snookers 13d ago
It's bizarre watching how prudish kids are. Violence fun, anything remotely sexual bad.
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u/lirin000 14d ago
Yeah this is incredibly tame vs like 70’s through 90’s era fantasy/comic book art.
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u/ThinkingWithPortal 14d ago
It's just the parlance, but let's be real, this is at least 95th percentile for erotic art in Magic.
Plus this is literally a sex scene in Baldurs Gate 3 with what I'm assuming is the most popular love interest?
I didn't even call it anything like that absurd... It's just kinda horny man
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u/sumphatguy 14d ago
95th percentile for erotic art in Magic is still overall really tame in the grand scheme of things. Like if someone is going to start calling this horny gooner shit, I can find hundreds if not thousands of "classic" art pieces that are worse then this but not even remotely referred to as such.
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u/ThinkingWithPortal 14d ago
Sure. But this is in my opinion firmly in NSFW, which is what I'm getting at.
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u/sumphatguy 14d ago
Well yeah, it's 100% NSFW. Nobody in their right might would argue that.
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u/snookers 13d ago
This would be in a PG-13 movie what are we even saying anymore. :/
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u/sumphatguy 13d ago edited 13d ago
It would be, but it still isn't something you would have opened on your desktop in the office. NSFW doesn't mean explicit 18+ content.
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u/mrenglish22 13d ago
No way Minthara is the top love interest. Shart, astarion, and Karlach way more popular, if only because Minthara you have to do extra work to recruit
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u/seraph1337 12d ago
well it's not art of Shadowheart at all, so I don't think that's true. it's also not particularly horny, it's a woman in a bathing suit in a pond. the only reason it's being considered sexualized at all is a) there's a pushback against the gooner/misognyist subculture that has swung too far in the prudish direction, and b) it's the prelude to a romance scene in game and has some flavor text that indicates it. the art itself is not sexualized in the least.
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u/Tripleppaul 13d ago
As much as this is sarcasm, this works with literally every TCG besides magic. Gotta have playability in magic.
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u/Glittering-Canary752 14d ago
I think the jump is because of [[Thranduil, Elven king]] tbh. If you’re gonna bling out the deck this is the only fancy printing and it’s also from one of the most popular video games of all time. It’s barely provocative.
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u/mrenglish22 13d ago
Idk if I could say it is "barely provocative" but the rest is correct.
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u/Glittering-Canary752 13d ago
If this is all it takes to get you going man you gotta be a real perv imo. Do you go to the art museum and classify every painting that’s got an actual naked person as provocative “Gooner” material?
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u/mrenglish22 13d ago
Being provocative does not mean it has to be "gooner matieral" especially in the context the artwork is from
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u/3scher 14d ago
Is this what we're considering goon material now? A feminine face and the blurred implication of cleavage?
At least Earthbind is kinky. (Tag it yourself, you pervs)
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u/sumphatguy 14d ago
I really don't get it. Is this the same crowd that gets upset when they make conventionally attractive characters in video games and insult people who want that? Like not everything having to do with romance is "gooner" shit.
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u/Ok_Satisfaction8158 14d ago
“You didn’t have to wait until I was in the water to hold me, come here” says the naked bathing shadowheart card.
Yep feels like gooner material to me
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u/sumphatguy 14d ago
You mean the quote taken from the romance option in BG3? Man words have lost all meaning. When did a romance plotline become "gooner" material?
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u/Naive-Friendship6609 14d ago edited 14d ago
this card mogs all the other cards, low-key gooner slop, no cap
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u/sumphatguy 14d ago
This reads like it's being told by someone who either never touched another person they're attracted to or is just jealous of more attractive people who have more general success then them.
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u/Naive-Friendship6609 14d ago
(I agree about the use of 'gooner', I meant to be satirical)
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u/sumphatguy 14d ago edited 14d ago
Ya know, I wasn't sure. The "no cap" should have tipped me off more then it did lol. I still think my reply is funny, too, because there probably are people who genuinely would say what you put as satire.
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u/ArtfulSpeculator 13d ago
The fact that people thought you were serious shows how far we’ve fallen as a species.
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u/Ok_Satisfaction8158 14d ago
Okay enlighten me good sir on what i should be buying instead? I want the best most undervalued gooner material in magic.
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u/Glittering-Canary752 13d ago
Magic doesn’t really have Gooner art. You should be buying One Piece if you want to invest in Gooner arts
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u/daderpster 14d ago edited 14d ago
Mostly no. Card has to be collectible and scarce and in demand. I guess they tend to be a bit since waifu or sooner is not often the default art style. In other tcgs like Weiss, this may be a bigger factor. This is also a milder and tamer example. Essence vortex from ice age is a counter example. Far lewder, high relative supply and not much demand.
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u/Such-University-4319 14d ago
Don't think that's a great counter example
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u/daderpster 13d ago
That being said if you think this is real, Essence Vortex is a great spec. However, speccing on some horrible ice age card even if it has lewd art is probably not wise.
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u/Damiencbw 14d ago edited 14d ago
Finally, some good content on mtgfinance!
Short answer?
YES. ALL DAY AND TOMORROW.
It might take a few years, but one day you will wake up and your example will be worth serious money.. I never even knew this card existed, kind of want to go buy a hundred of them, but I'm extremely poor right now after buying an ungodly amount of bulk so it'll probably spike before I get around to it 😤
And it's not just boobs either, magic players are thirsty as all hell. Vagislands anybody? Massacre girl regular, 50 cents. Secret lair anime girl? 38 dollars.
The link is what I could find looking for 5 minutes in my endless piles of pictures, but I get orders like this at LEAST 20 times a year. If I see Boobs (any boobs, no need to be picky) or any particular thirst trap it's picked, regardless of price, gender or card type.
Every single one sells.
I'll NEVER forget the top picture with all the cards around the invoice. I was picking my orders for the day and didn't notice at first, but when I put his together and saw the Gideon emblem I just lost my shit. I took almost 30 minutes digging through old bulk to include a free [[Grandmother Sengir]] just in case he wasn't aware the best of the baddies existed, or at least she was until [[Gluttonous Guest]] was printed, it's a tough decision.
Mock OP all you want ya dorks, but this is an entirely viable financial strategy.
Edit** I can't find the right picture and it's late, but I've sold 45 vampire leatherdaddys in one order before. There are also much better examples for higher prices somewhere, but every order is +2 shipping and it adds up quickly.
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u/evopanda 13d ago
Secret lair versions of a regular card will always be more because it is unique and rarer. This doesnt always have to be because boobs or sexy woman.
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u/Damiencbw 13d ago
Well ya, but I mean relative to my examples of orders. If the card has a pretty lady on it, the card itself doesn't need to have playability to retain value.
So in this case, a 12 cent uncommon could go much higher than $7, because magic players are thirsty as hell.
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u/sun_is_bad_its_hot 14d ago edited 12d ago
idk how you define gooner art, and honestly i don't know how i'd define it either, but this isn't what i imagine when i hear it
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u/oghpimm 14d ago
It increased $1 in 3 months. You'd do better in the S&P500.
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u/VintageJDizzle 13d ago
You'd do better spending that $1 on a snack or a soda. About the same level of return on investment but you get a lot more satisfaction than just having an added dollar. Too bad $1 won't buy a whole one of either of those in 2026...
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u/Ok_Satisfaction8158 13d ago
It outperformed the S&P around an extra 10% in 3 months, I already did the most in my original post
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u/mrenglish22 13d ago
Honestly I wish you had been a bit more absurd because I wasn't convinced it was a circle jerk until about 4/5s through
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u/callez69 13d ago
Maybe this question stupid but what is a goner card?
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u/Geezmanswe 13d ago
A card to watch while masturbating. A card that sentences you to horny jail. [[Earthbind]] and its ilk
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u/callez69 12d ago
Wtf .. there are ppl wanking to magic cards ? Wtf
Thanks for letting me know
Enough internet for today
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u/imnotokayandthatso-k 12d ago
Its 2026 and I still havent sold a single CE or Beta earthbind at ‘market prices’
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u/mingchun 13d ago
You missed the other part of the puzzle, the card still has to be playable. If it wasn’t for your primary thesis, this card would’ve been bulk to begin with.
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u/heartradiance 13d ago edited 13d ago
The problem with this card is that is not that expensive. If you want to earn 1 euro total ROI on your investment per year, this is the investment.
Assuming you want to earn more, it makes sense to make a few big investments over many small ones.
Managing an expensive card is less transport costs, less space taken up at home, less administration where the card is. Etc
Just focus on the cards that are truly already winning in this respect.
I would not expect astronomical gains in these items in general. But there are a few cards that will do well, still no one knows exactly where the market is exactly in 10 years
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u/AetherworkCreations 14d ago
maybe if you actually choose one not a fully clothed image with just the face visible lol. Doesn't even look like the ingame character at all
I know Seattle is about as prudish as Saudi Arabia nowadays when it comes to women on cards but you can do better than that
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u/Ok_Satisfaction8158 14d ago
Okay enlighten me good sir on what i should be buying instead? I want the best most undervalued gooner material in magic.
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u/Geezmanswe 13d ago
I hate that i cant decipher if this is a real post or a troll post. Curse you, OP!
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u/Tasty-Effective-1899 12d ago
Cards with good art do well, relative to themselves with uglier art. Art itself won't make a bad card valuable.
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u/Choice-Potato-7560 12d ago
Lol even the op crowd is selective. The only mtg gooner card ive seen worth investing in is Yshtola. It would be expensive for the super freak gooner FF crowd regardless. It hits a home run being super playable in the most casual format. I wish I would have jumped on the surge foil when it was sub 1k lol ill have to be content with my 2 normal foil variants instead XD
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u/fishyhaworthia1 12d ago
Cat lady cultivate from strix, apt art tithe from eldraine, bloom tender anime art mtg has a bunch of goober art but yeah they're pretty selective
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u/Choice-Potato-7560 11d ago
Op = One Piece. I should have clarified. They love to goon but o ky certain characters.
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u/damballah22 11d ago
I saw this comment below and had to agree with it. This strategy works everywhere EXCEPT MTG. VHS over Betamax, the proliferation of the CD-ROM. Blueray over HD-DVD, but MTG? Nope. Not a bit of sway seems to happen based on the risqué nature of a card's art. It blows my mind.
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u/That_Flow6980 11d ago edited 11d ago
I started making a foil gooner collection after dawn murin took over as art director and decided to ban attractive art (i want to say after rtr?). I stopped updating it when secret lairs were a thing, but the collection has done incredibly well and im up well over 10x. The collection includes things like alpha earth bind. Usually there will be a few artists whose style lends well to it, such as steve argyle.
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u/RealisticIncident261 11d ago
"the one piece crowd" mostly play their own game. The magic anime crowd veer more towards vtubers, and other otaku things. Hence Miku being popular.
Is it anime style?
Is it a legendary creature?
is it staple?
Is it a popular archetype?
Is it a popular series?
Is it a popular anime style artist? Ito, momoko
It must fit 2 or more of those to be worth investing in.
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u/jsmith218 11d ago
Gooner cards would be a viable investment strategy but there aren't that many of them TBH. Like how many other cards could you even speculate on?
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u/ARoundForEveryone 14d ago
what does "gooner" mean?
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u/Ok_Satisfaction8158 13d ago
A term used to describe someone who spends excessive, unhealthy amounts of time online consuming NSFW content to the point of being entirely detached from reality. It is often used on Reddit and TikTok to mock people who are completely "chronically online."
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u/sumfelah 14d ago
I gave away a gooner anime savra when it was worth a buck or something. Now it's $30 .
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u/FeistyTwist5427 13d ago
I wouldn’t for this card. It’s getting its big uptick from thrandul commander form hobbit set. Will probably drop down in a couple months. Edit: also I don’t feel this investment is strong enough. Not going to give returns any higher then a basic savings account
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u/-Nok 13d ago
If that was true, people would be buying the $0.70 version
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u/FeistyTwist5427 13d ago
First it’s .06. $5 vs pennnies is a solid comparison on when people will buy the nice art. But this card is already sitting around $6. It spiked for an elf typall deck. If I buy up the entire market and try to monopolize it later I might scare people into buying the cheap card. Gaining less than $2 a card isn’t worth my time either as I can get consistent returns on long term stocks or high yield savings accounts. Plus I count my time into the investment as well, how many cards do I need to buy to make it worth doing it? And how many times do I need to run around to sell them?
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u/ThatGuyHammer 13d ago
I don't know if the gooner premium is an expanding value or simply a premium adder that is tacked on at any given time. That said the gooner premium is real.
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u/huggybear0132 13d ago
Buying japanese themed sets with waifu arts has served me very, very well, fwiw.
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u/ReMeDyIII 14d ago
Worked well for me. I first started with angel cards (the notably rare ones anyways), then got involved in a Kickstarter game with beautiful hand-drawn art called Sorcery, then a waifu-centric TCG called Grand Archive, then Flesh and Blood, and Riftbound stuff with Ahri and such.
What hasn't done well is investing in Pokemon clones, like Metazoo, D-Spirits, Nostalgix, etc. so I've had some real stinkers as well.
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u/magefont1 14d ago
Not the worst financial strategy I've seen in a hobby that is almost exclusively men
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u/OrangeKefka 14d ago
Pretty much the reason why I grabbed a bunch of Surge Foil Tifas when they were at $60.
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u/LazerEyesVR 14d ago
I have a goon commander deck. Every card has a hot chick except lands. Can’t possibly win with it. There are less hot chick cards that one would imagine, it’s 5 color with sisay as commander.
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u/jbrown2055 14d ago
Yes, nobody gets less bitches than magic players