We are living in a weird world.

I started playing Magic when sets like The Dark and Legends were being released.

There are cards that were bulk rares at the time that have been spiking in the last few years, and it's not because of a testament to their true value. It's not because they break some amazing combo or recently printed card in order to justify the price spike.

Cards like Grave Robbers, Nameless Race, and Eternal Flame just aren't . . .  good. They weren't good then, and they ain't good now. They are horrible cards.

To be fair to Wizards of the Coast, they have shown an appreciation and understanding of the secondary market when it comes to reprints. Many expensive and pricey cards haven't been reprinted as a rare or mythic in a Standard format, or a mass printed Commander deck. Other than the occasional judge promo, a card like Imperial Seal that's worth hundreds of dollars hasn't been added as a rare or mythic in a Masters set.

For example, Library of Alexandria is on the Reserve List as it was eligible due to the rarity rules of the List at the time (normally uncommons would not have made it).

In fact, this is a perfect example of what the Reserve List is doing.

Consider these Lands:

The Tabernacle is reserved, and from a later set with more printings, but was rare vs. the Library's uncommon status. The Lib is clearly the more iconic and powerful card.

But the price?

Library is $700 at the cheapest heavily played copy I could find in a store currently for sale. Tabernacle is $2800 heavily played. Think the Reserve List might have something to do with that? I certainly do! These two forces of land-based nature are clearly powerhouses.

So, the point here is simple. The List works, for the purposes of protecting the value of some cards.

But even if the Reserve List were done away with tomorrow, there are some cards out there that I absolutely feel would not be reprinted. Take the Tabernacle as a good example. Think about the feel bad. If I have a card that I spent $1500 on a year or two ago, and I invested that money, because the company said they wouldn't print any more ever, and then the price rises to $3100 for its condition, and then they announce the removal of the Reserve List tomorrow, and by the end of the week we see that it's going to be a mythic rare in Eternal Masters 2, I think that would be the worst feel bad moment ever. Right?

Because a lot of these cards have such a big price memory, they aren't likely to headline new sets anyways. They are still unlikely to be reprinted in any knowable form.

However, I'd love to see casual favorites like Sliver Queen or Deranged Hermit and similar cards get another print, even solely as a Masters mythic or entry in a future Masterpieces set. But there are some cards that either have gone past the point of no return or which add no real value . . . 

So, given that, these are the ten cards (or sets of cards) that I would never want to see reprinted, even if the Reserve List were done for.

10. Drop of Honey

Ah yes, Drop of Honey. This card looks like it'd be a fun and crazy casual card on the line of Eureka, but it's actually found its way into Eternal formats as well, and the relative scarcity of any card from the first few years of the game has hit this card hard. Want to buy one used? Great! You'll only be out $750. That makes it pricier than most of these powerful Reserved List cards. It has just crossed the line and reprinting it would have serious economic costs attached that would be hard to stomach.

9. Mirror Universe

Much like #4 above, this card's cachet value is in the past. The stories that Mirror Universe told are unquestionably good. But that was a different era. Would most players want a 6-mana artifact that can only be used in your upkeep to sacrifice and swap life totals with someone else? Something they saw coming? Ever since Mirror Universe gave us this ability, we've had others get printed since. It's also, based on condition or printing, in the range of $300 to $400 dollars, with a few copies going for more or less. Even if the Reserved List were removed, it's pricey, and the card's iconic history certainly isn't something that still holds today. Just let it go.

8. The Abyss

I hate that this card is here. I adore The Abyss. It's a fun and powerful card that works well. It's a very strong and useful anti-creature tool that will shut stuff down in a very useful way. It's effect is on-going, and you can build around it with artifact creatures or things you can't target (like Protection from Black) or indestructible stuff that can't be destroyed at all. You can also make your Celestial Colonnade or something a dork and swing later after this has triggered. It's strong in an interesting way. I think it's a great card. But the simple fact is that The Abyss has crossed the line. When a heavily played copy is hitting at least $1500, it's not going to get reprinted. That's just how it is.

Sorry. At least other cards like Moat are cheaper. For now . . . 

7. Bazaar of Baghdad

The Bazaar is a triple threat for never printing again, and it would have to overcome all three to see print again, even if the Reserve List were done away with.

6. Mishra's Workshop

Mishra's Workshop is just not a fair card. It's arguably more broken than Tabernacle or Library, and its power multiplies with the more you have in your deck. If you can afford the expensive four set of these (They are $1300+ for heavily played versions) then you can have the best chance of drawing one or four as well as the chance for a dreaded double-Workshop hand. Its power is just unreasonably good and dark. Given the absolute high price of this card compared with the overwhelming power it brings to bear, Mishra's Workshop would be a poor choice as an entry in the next Masterpiece series or judge's foil. In good faith, you wouldn't want to reprint the Workshop.

5. Chaos Orb

How is a card that is banned in every format it's legal in, and unreliable like this, worth more than $500 played for it's cheap Unlimited version? I mean, the Alpha version? Well, duh, that's obvious, of course it would be worth this cost. But the ugly white-bordered one? Wow. The result is a card that I doubt would get reprinted, as it both is banned and worth a ton of cash. It's not as if anyone is dying for Chaos Orbs for the sideboard of their Legacy Soul Sisters deck or their next Vintage Magic Night at the local game store. It's even banned in Commander. You can't even (legally) pick one up for playing there. So, where would you play it, and what would be the value in reprinting it? I mean, it's just restricted in Five Color! But that's about it.

4. Juzam Djinn

The problem with the value in Juzam is that it's really only valuable with old-school players and has this iconic class. There is no way to reprint it that wouldn't make it a bulk rare, just like Plague Sliver. There is nothing you could do to Juzam Djinn to make it work with reprinting. In a modern context, it's just too weak to matter. Like the once-iconic Balduvian Horde, it would have to be given a lower commonality like uncommon. Just let this iconic guy lie. You can easily find him for a smooth 1k on the market, so there's nothing to really do here.

3. The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

You saw my reasons above. Its price has gone past the point of no return. It's so far past the line that it's now a dot on the horizon.

2. The Original Dual Lands

I know that this would disappoint a lot of people. But these are hundreds of dollars apiece, you typically have to invest in multiples for them to really matter, and there are plenty of other options out there. A beat-up copy of Underground Sea is in the mid-300s. If they were reprinted, I know that the Alpha/Beta printings would lose little value, but the Revised ones? They are probably going to drop to a very low amount virtually overnight with any sort of removal of the Reserve List coupled with the announcement of more dual lands getting printed somewhere. I doubt the latter happens.

1. The Power Nine

Nope. We all know that it's not going to happen. I mean seriously.

And there we go! I hope that you enjoyed this little trek through things that are either past their time or too pricey to reprint these days. Even if the Reserve List were done away with, these are just not printable from where I am sitting anymore.

What did you think? Anything in here that you think, despite the heavy financial cost to people, should still be reprinted? Anything I missed? Thanks for reading!