[ericcholis]

Actually, Magic is one of the only games that never lost popularity. Being part of the industry, I've seen a few dozen games that were billed as the "next game to kill Magic". All of them have faded into obscurity.

Blizzard had a Trading Card Game for quite some time, first produced by Upper Deck and later by Cryptozoic. It was popular for a time, mostly due to in-game redemptions for World of Warcraft. It has been set aside for their online game; Hearthstone.

In the case of this item, it's become more like a baseball collectible; a part of the history of the game. Also, these items pop up from time to time, but the market for such an expensive card is very limited.

My company recently had a full set of Alpha in excellent condition. We listed it for auction and it failed to meet reserve. We are likely to break it up for the individual cards.