I won't get into the debate over specific formats, except to make one general point: One real advantage to the increased number of playoff rounds is that it's become virtually impossible to have a dynasty anymore. I'm convinced that a major reason baseball lost its primacy over football by the 1960's is that the NFL had a much better understanding of the value of parity, as well of geographical balance.

The effects of those old biases are reflected even in today's sports culture: Every NFL fan watches the Super Bowl regardless of teams, but many baseball fans of historical "dynasty" teams refuse to watch the World Series if their team's not playing. Too many MLB fans suffer from the "dynasty disease."

These days, there are races for the Division titles, which is now much better than the wild card; and the doubling of wild-card spots keeps more teams in the chase. And finally, there's the race for home-field advantage even when championships are clinched. There's no such thing anymore as a team clinching early, and playing out its string in meaningless games. Suspense lasts right up to the end.

Regarding whether wild-card game items are rarer and worth more than DS or CS items: I understand the concept of economic "demand" as based on two basic factors: 1) How much a buyer is willing to pay (based on his interest level and on his resources, as well as accessibility to a market); 2) How much he has to pay, which is based on the relationship of supply to the resulting competition among sellers. If buyers have stronger interest in CS items and are thus willing to pay more, that fact may trump rarity in setting price.