Airdropped Beta Legendary Summoners

The five Kickstarter Beta Legendary Summoners were airdropped in February 2019 halfway through the beta pack edition. Unlike the majority of beta cards, the airdropped summoners were not included in the Alpha edition. At a cost of five mana, these were the first legendary summoners for the standard splinters and the first summoners to include multiple buffs or debuffs. At their release, some players were concerned that these summoners were overpowered, but in the past two years the game has increased the match mana cap to 99 and released a set of seven mana untamed legendary summoners. While they may no longer be the most powerful summoners in the game, they should continue to see high demand due to their print scarcity.

Print Count

The beta summoner airdrop was applied to all previously purchased beta packs. Because reward packs were excluded and the airdropped cards were divided over a larger total of potential legendaries, these summoners have a low overall print total.

To date, the beta legendary summoners have the following bcx print rates excluding burned cards:

Summoner	Standard Foil	Gold Foil
Prince Rennyn	2,559	81
Valnamor	2,660	77
Plado Emberstorm	2,564	71
The Peakrider	2,535	75
Crypt Mancer	2,591	73

With only 43,290 or roughly 5% of beta packs still to be opened, each beta legendary summoner could see an additional 175 standard foil cards printed. At an average of 2,775 print per summoner, the ceiling potential for maxed standard foil would be around 252 cards.

In comparison, the dragon legendary summoner Selenia Sky, which was included in the beta edition at initial release, currently has a beta print of 3,513 standard and 99 golds. After all beta packs are opened, the estimated potential for maxed beta standard Selenia would be 335. Additionally, Selenia Sky was included in the Alpha edition with a existing print of 1,704 standard and 41 gold cards.

While Selenia Sky remains a powerful legendary summoner for 3 mana, the total number of maxed cards for alpha and beta combined will be more than double the beta airdropped legendaries.

The untamed airdropped legendary summoners will also far exceed the betas though their final totals are more difficult to estimate given the rarity of the final airdrops are unknown. Using one legendary summoner from each edition as an example, the following print totals can be estimated.

Summoner	Standard Foil Print Estimate	Maxed Ceiling Estimate
Plado Emberstorm	2,750	250
Selenia Alpha+Beta	5,400	550
Mimosa Nightshade	4,950	450

Valuation

In the potential print scenario above, it is clear that for Diamond and Champion players requiring max summoners, the beta legendaries will be difficult and expensive to acquire. While beta legendary summoner prices fell drastically in July due to heavy supply and selling pressure, the prices have rebounded in the past month and are now closer to their standard average. Market supply is now very thin for these summoners.

Summoner	Lowest per BCX Price	Total BCX Listed
Prince Rennyn	$19	76
Valnamor	$22	158
Plado Emberstorm	$18	48
The Peakrider	$15	85
Crypt Mancer	$15	71

While future editions will continue to roll out cards with new abilities, it is hard to dismiss the airdropped beta legendary summoners with their low print rates, multiple buffs and debuffs, and versatile five mana cost. As the Plado Emberstorm example below demonstrates, these legendary summoners will continue to see play with top players.

https://twitter.com/SplinterlandsG/status/1320926737941803009?s=20

- SplinterlandsG