By Brian Cooper |
Updated on January 14, 2024
MetaZoo Nightfall was released just 2-years ago, almost to the day of this post, which makes it a great time to revisit this set. A lot has happened in the trading card world lately, so let’s look at Nightfall and see if this expansion has failed, survived, or thrived.
Contents
Current Booster Box Prices
Over the last year, Nightfall Booster box prices have fallen quite a bit. A year ago, in October 2022, booster boxes were selling in the $135 range and were quite strong.
Since then, Nightfall Booster Boxes have slowly and steadily declined and are currently hovering in the mid-$60 range. Quite a massive shift in price from just a year ago.
If you’re buying by the case, Nightfall Boosters are even cheaper. In just the last week alone, one seller on eBay appeared to be liquidating their case inventory. The average price was $490 for a 12-box case, which is approximately $41 per box (before tax)!
This is a stunning drop in price for what was once a top-rated MetaZoo product. And with a print run of 50,000 booster boxes, MetaZoo Nightfall prices may stagnate until the inventory dries up. When that will happen is anyone’s guess.
Comparison to other MetaZoo Boxes
As you would expect, Booster Boxes were not the only Nightfall product to nose dive in the last year. Take a look at the year-ago prices on the rest of the product line below versus current sales:
| METAZOO PRODUCT | OCT 2022 PRICE | OCT 2023 PRICE | % DROP IN PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booster Box | $135.00 | $65.00 | -52% |
| SpellBook | $33.00 | $20.00 | -39% |
| Release Deck | $15.00 | $12.00 | -20% |
| Blister Pack | $9.00 | $5.00 | -44% |
| Elder Matlox Theme Deck | $11.50 | $9.00 | -22% |
| Flying Manta Ray Theme Deck | $20.00 | $18.00 | -10% |
| Reptoid Ruler Theme Deck | $29.00 | $22.00 | -24% |
| Stikini Owl Theme Deck | $22.00 | $16.00 | -27% |
| The Ghost Marshall Theme Deck | $15.00 | $9.00 | -40% |
It’s apparent that Nightfall has taken a severe beating across the board. Over the past year, the average percentage decrease in value across the Nightfall product line is approximately 30.89%.
The glaring standout of the group of products is the BOOSTER BOX, which experienced the highest depreciation of 52%!
And that only factored in the price drop in the last year. If you were to have purchased Nightfall back in January 2022, prices back then were closer to $230-250 per box. You would have taken a severe bath at that price!
Demand is also not there for this product right now. In September 2023, there were only 28 boxes sold on TCGPlayer. And in the first half of October 2023, only 5 boxes have been sold!
Some Details on What Happened to Nightfall this Past Year
Market Dynamics and Popularity
Supply and demand affect everything when it comes to the trading card market. But for Nightfall, the price decrease, as detailed above, could be attributed to various factors, including an oversupply of products, decreased demand, or both, to be honest.
There were 50,000 of each product printed by MetaZoo, which at the time seemed low considering the high demand for their products back in 2021-2022.
However, the economy changed quickly, affecting the entire market in late 2022 and 2023. This created low demand and a lack of discretionary income for the not-so-hot stuff. Nightfall was, unfortunately, a casualty of this lousy economy, and the amount of leftover product just sat there with meager sales.
As players continued to stay focused on the bigger games like Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Pokemon, the game of MetaZoo went flat. The popularity of any game fluctuates, but the lack of Demand for MetaZoo in the last year impacted the secondary market pretty hard, and that’s part of the reason why Nightfall has taken such a tremendous hit.
Now, that’s not to say the popularity of MetaZoo died. That is far from the truth, as the game was and continues to be a big player in the TCG market.
However, even a slight movement of money and eyes away from MetaZoo can affect prices because their following is still very small compared to the big guys like Magic: The Gathering. That lull in popularity absolutely played a role in prices tanking over the last year.
Why Have Prices Come Down So Much?
Nightfall’s long-term value is still questionable. The set is still very popular, and the Horror/Halloween theme is desirable to trading card collectors and players. The decrease in value over this last year might not be a significant concern if collectors still believe in the long-term collectible value of Nightfall singles and boxes.
It’s common for newly released trading card game sets to experience a market correction and price reduction after the initial hype subsides. With MetaZoo’s release schedule and seeing them release new sets every few months, the focus of money moved to the more recent sets being released (i.e., Wilderness, UFO, Seance, etc.)
This has been a trend in the entire market for the last few years. Whether it’s Magic, Pokemon, or MetaZoo, the NEW-SET-EVERY-THREE-MONTHS schedule can sometimes kill the prices of older products because the money shifts to the LATEST AND GREATEST set.
The good news is that products get bought up over time, and prices eventually start returning up. The big question is how long it will take for the market to absorb the remaining inventory of MetaZoo’s Nightfall set.
Only time will tell, and that’s why we track price trends and sold items here at Magic Card Investor. Those trends tell us a lot about where things might end up going.
SHORT Term Outlook
Investors looking for short-term gains might be concerned with the decrease in value. We certainly are here as well. Any product that takes such a massive hit in price as Nightfall has taken this past year has to be questioned.
Prices will most likely continue to be depressed for a while. That will be tough if you’re looking to invest and flip Nightfall booster boxes for a profit. The prices look attractive in the $ 50’s and $ 60’s, but there needs to be more demand right now to make a profit.
For COLLECTORS, this is a GREAT time! Nightfall booster boxes are entertaining to open, and you even get a chance at those GOD packs full of holos!
To have a lengthy opportunity to buy Nightfall at a fraction of what they were back in early 2022 is great for collectors. So, if you have some extra money and want a fun box to open, Nightfall boosters in the $60 range are the box to get!
LONG Term Outlook
For long-term MetaZoo or TCG investors, this could be an opportunity to buy at lower prices if you anticipate higher future values. Every investor dreams of buying 10 cases of a set at really low prices and killing it a few months or years later when prices storm back.
Could you do that here too, with Nightfall? Maybe, but it’s risky because it’s MetaZoo and NOT Magic: The Gathering, which has a very established track record.
You most likely won’t see Nightfall booster box prices climb back into the $ 200’s for a long time. So, think again if you’re dreaming of buying a hundred boxes for $50 each and flipping them for $200 next year. Dreaming about it is great, but reality says that it won’t happen.
Buying a case or two at a discounted price is NOT a bad deal if you have some extra money in the investment wallet. That eBay seller who liquidated his inventory of 12-box cases at around $490 indeed wanted to turn some dollars for whatever reason. But the buyers made a great deal and could hold those cases and make a decent profit. It could take a few years to reap decent gains on those cases, but it’s worth a shot.
So What’s the Final Word on Nightfall?
Although it’s never great to see prices tank so badly, Nightfall is not the only game or set to get hit this past year. Everything has tanked because this economy simply SUCKS. There’s no other way to put it.
Nightfall is a great set, and if you believed in it when booster boxes were selling for $200+ back in 2022, you should continue to believe in it now. If you purchased three boxes for $600 back then, you can buy ten more boxes now for the same price and dollar average your investment. Your average price per box would be $92….WAY better than $200, right?
If you’re interested in buying MetaZoo Nightfall, check out the links below (all are affiliate links..FYI.)
TCGPLAYER – BUY HERE!
EBAY – BUY HERE!
I hope you enjoyed this post, and remember to KEEP INVESTING IN METAZOO AND MAGIC! Take care and see you soon.
