So in general, I am going to be posting about Magic Trades, tournament results, and my thoughts on the game as a whole. I figure that having it all down will be nice. So, in terms of playing, I had the most explosive sealed pool ever at a GPT in Rochester, but lost in the finals after going 6-0. It happens, but I got a Huntmaster, a Geist of Saint Traft, a Stromkirk Noble, and some other good rares. Getting those rares and 18 packs for $30 is pretty sweet. Beyond that, I made a few deals to boost my collection in the past week. I don't have them all written down, but this is what I remember.
GAVE:4 Blinkmoth Nexus (MP condition) ($50)
GOT:1 Unlimited Plateau (SP condition) ($80)
Profit = $30
Thoughts: Overall, this was a great trade. It was before the PTQ, and the guy needed the Blinkmoths. They were a friend's, but I was able to just owe him 4 Nexus. I gained $30 in trade because the guy needed them for his deck and was willing to overpay. I got an unlimited dual, which are hard to come by, for some modern cards which should be easy to replace.
GAVE: 4 Foil Glacial Fortress ($40), 2 Inkmoth Nexus ($18), 2 Seachrome Coast ($40), and a Hero of Oxid Ridge ($4), Total = $102
GOT: 3 Polluted Delta (One French) ($135)
Profit= $33
Thoughts: This was another great deal. I got rid of the Fortresses and Seachromes at what I think will be their peak (if not really close), along with Inkmoths which are worth little because they were in an event deck. The Hero was a throw in. In reality, I converted 102 in standard for 135 in Legacy and finished my playset of Deltas.
GAVE: Gravecrawler ($8)
GOT: Lord of Atlantis ($4) and Mishra's Factory ($4)
Profit= $0
Thoughts: I really didn't gain anything on this trade, but I picked up a few Legacy staples for a standard card. If the gravecrawler goes up a few bucks, that is fine, as it will probably fluctuate a bit while the standard metagame corrects itself. I thought Lord was worth 5, and that I would grind a dollar on the trade, but it wasn't. I would imagine that I can trade both the Lord and the Factory for $5 each though if I want to.
GAVE: Foil Moorland Haunt ($8), foil Mana Leak ($6), foil Dissipate ($6), and Foil Divine Offering ($1) Total= $21
GOT: 2 Geralf's Messanger ($16), Gravecrawler ($8), and foil Stitched Drake ($1) Total= $25
Profit= $4
Thoughts: My price recollection was a little off on this one. I thought the Haunt was 10, the dissipate was 4, and the offering was 3. On the plus side, I was high on the cards he wanted. I got a couple bucks in this deal, which is always nice, since trading foils to people who want to pimp out their decks is a great way to get value in trading. I need to start acquiring more foils, because you can easily get value on them. The foil stitched drake seemed strange, but I thought it never hurts to ask for a little bit more.
GAVE: 2 Snapcaster Mage ($60), Arid Mesa ($10), and Bloodstained Mire ($15) Total= $85
GOT: 2 Sneak Attack ($50), 2 Stomping Grounds ($40), Godless Shrine ($20), Merit Lage Token ($8) Total= $118
Profit= $33
Thoughts: This was another one of those deals that shows the power of Snapcaster Mage. Flashback ability aside, that card's best power is getting value on Legacy staples. The guy put the Sneak Attacks at $18 each, and the Shock lands lower, so I was able to get some real value in the trade. Getting shock lands is helpful, though I plan on moving them soon for Legacy staples. Overall, great deal.
GAVE: 2 Gravecrawler ($16), Twilight Mire ($8), Massacre Wurm ($5), Total = $29
GOT: 2 Standstill ($12), 4 Thorn of Amethyst ($10), Lord of Atlantis ($4), Foil Lightning Helix ($13), Total= $39
Profit= $10
Thoughts: Originally I thought that the deal was pretty fair (He put the thorns and 1.50 each so I knew I could grind a couple bucks off it), but it turned out the foil Lightning Helix was 13, not the 5 he put it at. While the wurm and the gravecrawlers might go up a bit, getting $10 in value is really beneficial, since Modern is hot right now and a Foil Helix is pimp.
GAVE: 2 Foil Darkslick Shores ($50), 2 Foil Seachrome Coast ($50) Mox Opal ($22), Liliana of the Veil ($35) Elspeth Tirel ($20) and FTV Zuran Orb ($2) Total= $177
GOT: FBB Italian Bayou (SP) ($160), Foil Damnation ($40) Total= $200
Profit= $23
Thoughts= While lots of deals are cut and dry, this one was rather complex. While the Foil Seachromes and darkslicks are listed at $25 each on Starcity, they are worth more, I am assuming 30 on the Shores and 40 on the Coasts, which means I gave him an extra $40 there that doesn't show up in those numbers. At the same time, the damnation is probably around 50-60, which means that value wise we are about even. The fact that I got to move all standard cards (Liliana and Opal see some eternal play, but that is about it) for a FBB dual and a Modern/Legacy Foil is great. I might have been able to get more value on the foil lands, but it isn't worth my time to try and trade them for smaller stuff to trade again and again for top tier stuff when someone has the highest tier stuff and wants to trade them to me.
GAVE: Foil Negate ($1.50), Foil Flashfreeze ($1.50) Foil Daybreak Ranger ($4), Jin-Gitaxis, Etc ($7) 2 Japanese Phantasmal Image (X) 2 Japanese Surgical Extraction (X) Total= ($14+4X)
GOT: 3 Blinkmoth Nexus ($45), 2 Surgical Extraction (X-4), 2 Phantasmal Image (X-4) Total= $37+4X
Profit= $23
Thoughts=In reality, the guy wanted to pimp out his deck with foils and foreign cards, which I gladly helped with. I figure that the foreign cards were worth about $2 more than the English versions, so overall it worked out well for me and helped out someone from Rochester I see a lot.
GAVE: 2 Geralf's Messenger ($16), Diregraf Captain ($1.50), Loadstone Golem ($1)= Total $18.50
GOT: Watery Grave ($20), Foil Clifftop Retreat ($6) Total= $26
Profit= $7.50
Thoughts= This deal seemed rather easy, as he valued the Messengers at $10 (which they might jump to) and the Watery Grave at $15, so I knew I was getting some value. The Clifftop Retreat foil was great, since I can see these lands jumping in 6 months, and while trading for stuff for that far in the future seems crazy, if it ends up being 15+, I would really make a killing. I am not sleeping on the Innistrad lands.
GAVE: Foil Slagstorm ($10), Torchling ($.50), Foil Lingering Souls ($10), Godhead of Awe ($2), Watery Grave ($20), Temple Garden ($20), Crucible of Worlds ($25), Mangera of the Corondor ($1.5), Jace, Memory Adept ($15), Vesuva ($10), Time Stretch ($4), 2 Steam Vents ($50), Zur the Enchanter ($3) Total = $161 + $100 cash
GOT: Tropical Island ($100), 3 Scrubland ($195), Force of Will (MP) ($60) Total = $355
Profit = $96
Thoughts= This deal was pretty strange. He had duals, and these were pristine duals, very beautiful, to the point where I could see sending them to get graded. He put the trop at 80, the scrublands low, and the force really low. I was able to get within $100 in trade, but we couldn't get there. I gave him cash for the 2 remaining Scrublands and the balance on the Trop. While I am not a huge fan of spending money, I could easily sell the duals I bought to StarCity and make $10 if I wanted.
And now the Granddaddy of the them all
GAVE: 2 Chandra's Phoenix ($16), 4 Spikeshot Elder ($8), 2 Flameblast Dragon ($1), Reverberate ($1), Balefire Dragon ($2) 2 Kessig Wolf Run ($6) 2 Gavony Township ($4), 2 White Sun's Zenith ($2), Nissa Revane ($5) Norn's Annex ($1), Eldrazi Conscription ($3), 4 Genesis Wave ($6), 2 Fresh Meat ($1), 4 Grim Lavamancer ($14), 4 Past in Flames ($20), 4 Memoricide ($4), Praetor's Grasp ($0.50), 3 Dismember ($9), 4 Surgical Extraction ($28), Phyrexian Obliterator ($18), 2 Jace, Memory Adept ($30), Emrakul, etc ($15), Ulamog, etc. ($10), Elspeth Tirel ($20), 2 Defense of the Heart ($20), Runechanter's Pike ($1.5), Sorin, Lord of Innistrad ($35)
+ $100 cash
Total= 283 + 100 cash
GOT = Beta Tropical Island (Undetermined Condition) (Guessing $500)
Profit = $117
Thoughts= This was the most mentally straining trade I have ever made. I first had to get the card verified in Rochester, graded, and then had to come up with a price for it. He was brutal to trade with. I was hoping he'd take a bunch of Legacy staples worth $20-$50 each and get there easily, but he took pretty much all standard or casual, but had a story for every card. I thought I was going to go nuts. In the end, if you value the Trop at $500, I come out $117 on top. I did give $100 cash though, which I don't like to do, as I only really spend money on cards if they are at 60% of the StarCity value, so I would count the 100 a little higher. On the other hand, I traded a lot of junk cards and low, easy to replace standard cards for a Beta Trop. Huge win for me. In reality, I wanted to give him more, since it was a huge trade and I don't want any bad blood. If he regretted the trade, he could tell everyone at the store and people wouldn't want to trade with me, which can't happen to someone who wants to value trade. I will take it though. It is now the most valuable card in my collection. Honestly, I could see the dual going for upwards of $700, but that would be if I stuck it under a phone book for a few months to flatten out the bent in it. I felt great getting it, and couldn't be happier.
Overall Total in trade= +$376.50
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