An Alpha Edition Booster Box of Flesh and Blood: Welcome to Rathe realized a Buy-it-Now price of $1499.99 on eBay on November 2 from a seller located in Chicago, IL.

Flesh and Blood TCG is quickly becoming a highly-sought after product line after only entering U.S. distribution in February (see "'Flesh and Blood' TCG Enters U.S. Distribution"). Since then, the prices of the original Alpha Edition of Flesh and Blood: Welcome to Rathe Booster Boxes have been steadily climbing in value over the last month as the release of Unlimited Edition draws nearer (see "Legend Story Studios Adds 'Flesh and Blood' TCG Distribution Partners For Canada and Europe"). The frenzy to snap up sealed boxes of the Alpha Edition hit a fever pitch this week when boxes started routinely bidding up to about $1200, and then, one sold for $1499.99. This is a big jump for only a year's worth of product being circulated in the U.S.

Of course, this type of vertical secondary market trending begs the question "What exactly is going on here?"

The answer is just simply: supply, demand, and a very collectible TCG. Flesh and Blood Cold Foil singles, which are in high demand and short supply, have been consistently logging single card sales in the thousands, and not many of copies of these Alpha Edition cards are even coming out onto the U.S. secondary market. The most valuable card in the first set is a Cold Foil called Heart of Fyendal, which has logged three eBay sales in October from U.S. sellers of $3000 or more. It is followed in value by a few Cold Foil cards that sell for over $500, like Eye of Ophidia and Fyendal's Spring Tunic.

As far as the retail scene is concerned, Flesh and Blood TCG's secondary market trend is looking more and more like what happened with Magic: The Gathering circa 1994. In 1993, Magic: The Gathering arrived, but it wasn't until it was in distribution for about a year or two that the fan base really started to explode, which was indicated by its steadily increasing print runs from Legends through the Homelands set. Magic's initial fan base increase over that year can be accredited to a few factors, but primarily, it was a result of the game being in distribution for a while and ending up on more and more retailers' shelves.

Although the circumstances are little different in this Age of the Internet and the COVID-19 pandemic, the concept seems to be working out the same. As more and more players and collectors can get their hands on Flesh and Blood product through expanding distribution networks, the game's fan base will likely continue to increase globally (see "Legend Story Studios Adds 'Flesh and Blood' TCG Distribution Partners For Canada and Europe") .