Grading
Overall BGS 9.5 GEM MINT
This particular copy is graded a BGS 9.5b with the 9 subgrade on surface. Upon closer inspection, there do not appear to be any surface flaws on this card, making me think that the surface and centering grades should have been swapped here. The corners, edges and surface are incredibly clean and very deserving of the overall 9.5 grade. This particular card also features a generation 1 Mark Poole signature which I think is cleaner compared to his later signature shown below, evidence of the earlier grading serial number in the #6 series.
Rarity & Collectability
The Alpha Birds of Paradise is an extremely sought after, valuable and rare card to find in high grade. In fact there are only 5 copies of Alpha birds of paradise that have graded a BGS 9.5 and none in BGS 10 grade. Of those 5 copies, only 2 have quad subgrades as this card was notorious for having severe left to right centering issues. Furthermore, the high playability of this card meant that fewer copies survived in good condition.
Impressions & Artwork
As mentioned in the Tropical Island writeup, the artwork by Mark Poole was originally meant for the Tropical Island card but because of the prominence of the flying birds it was given its own card design instead. Although the green island in the background isn't my favorite land painting, the colors on the bird so sharply contrast with the color of the rest of the artwork it's hard not to focus directly on the crescent curvature of the wings in flight.
Another unique aspect of the Alpha printing is the misprinted “// Tap” text which was later removed in the Beta printing. The small details and nuances of the Alpha printing really tell a story which make these cards even more special and it’s hard to imagine that the cool factor of an Alpha Birds of Paradise being in the shadow of any newer printing of this card.
Usage & Gameplay
Birds of paradise is an extremely powerful and versatile card as can be read about in more detail here. It is my belief that this card had a lot to do with green's eventual color identity for future mana dorks such as Noble Hierarch. Imagine how different the game would be today if Mark Poole didn't have his artwork changed from Tropical Island!
Nostalgia
Everyone of my personal decks growing up featured Birds of Paradise. I did love the card, but I loved playing rainbow color decks more so that I could feature the strongest cards from each color. This eventually led me to include a playset of Birds for color fixing, as I traded my way up to a playset of Unlimited Birds of Paradise. In late Highschool as I was transitioning towards my new found hobby of cars, I decided to sell my entire magic collection through eBay including my beloved playset of 4. When I think back on the regret of selling my cards at that time, I primary think about two cards - my Unlimited Mox Pearl and Birds of Paradise. That's how much this card meant to me.
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