So today was a rather productive day for me in terms of trading. I was able to negotiate a trade over the last week with someone, where I would give him 4 Snapcasters, 4 Cavern of Souls, and 2 Temporal Masteries and would get 4 Force of Wills (in mint condition). The problem is that I didn't own any caverns or masteries. I was able to gradually pick up a mastery and a cavern, but really turned it on towards the end of FNM to get the other caverns. It is really important to pinpoint the people who will allow you to trade up cards, because that seems to be the biggest key to trading (though it took me a long time to learn that). So I still need to get him 1 cavern and 1 mastery, but that should not be too hard to acquire, since I was rather aggressive in terms of trading this week and did a lot of trading up. I got another Elspeth, Knight Errant for a stack of smaller cards, and was also able to move a lot of the Scars block stuff that I wanted to get rid of. I ended up moving a Jitte in the process of my trading, as well as 4 Stoneforge Mystics, but it was important to get those Forces.
I opted to go to the other card store after FNM finished, since someone I knew was hard up for cash and wanted to sell some stuff. I was able to get a Jace, the Mind Sculptor (60), 5 Foil Zendikar lands (50), a Flooded Strand (40) and a Bloodstained Mire (20) for $105, which was a pretty sweet deal. I was also able to trade him some random cards for the High Tide deck to get a Vindicate, a Foil Delver, a Grim Monolith, and a Stoneforge Mystic. I then seemed to really go into trading mode, picking up a Wooded Foothills, an Arid Mesa, a Knight of the Reliquary, and some card worth 10 for some smaller stuff (I managed to move 1 of the Aether Vials with "Zektar Shrine" written on it for full value), and got rid of some lightning helixes, which seems like a good idea with the Return to Ravnica speculation. I was then able to trade with the random people there, and moved the playset of Seachromes for a lot of smaller stuff (I didn't know Seachromes were down to 12 so I really made a killing) and got some good profit on each of them. I picked up an Entreat the Angels for a Death Baron and a Platinum Angel (I knew Death Baron was valuable to casual players, and I am glad I finally met one). I ended up selling 6 packs of Avacyn Restored for $20, which was pretty good, since they were prize packs, and in reality, out of the 53 rares you can open, 39 are bulk rares that I will end up buying off people for .10 each. It seems like selling them for 3 for $10 is a great deal, and even if someone opens a money card from time to time, in the long run it is insane profits. Not opening lots of packs is a little problematic in terms of refilling the binder, since that Force of Will trade is going to take $170 in value out of my binder (the Snapcasters were not in my trade binder), so in the long run, my ability to trade might be hampered by the fact that I don't have a lot of the new cards. This is where trading well and drafting well fill in the holes. Being able to take 5+ rares in a draft fills up the binder for trades, and winning packs allows me to draft during the week for free. Drafting during the week is something that a few people have recently started, and it is rather nice. Playing for picks instead of a prize pack means that on any given draft I can be playing for a top card, and in general, the top 2-4 get something rather good. Since I generally open poorly, this gives me the chance to play well and get some money cards.
So the kid who randomly has all of the old and insanely expensive cards told me today that he has a Mana Drain. I need to have it. He texted me a list of cards he wants, and I think that this is how the deal is going to go down.
I get:
1 Mana Drain (Guessing SP condition, worth 130), going to try to value at 110
He gets:
$5 he owes me for FNM last week, going to value at 10 trade
Karrthas, Tyrant of Jund (6)
4 Lotus Petals (14), going to value at 20
Nirkana Revanent (8)
Foil Godsire (7), going to value at 10
Foil It That Betrays (10), don't have on me, but will try and move it
4 Pathrazer of Ulamog (1), going to value at 4
2 Entomb (36), though I might hold on to them and see if he finds smaller stuff, if so, it would be around 35 dollars in random cards, or $20 cash.
I'm not really sure which it will be, but I am hoping that he takes a pile of smaller stuff so my binders don't show any signs of depletion. If I am able to make that trade, it would be great, and I would really be able to make great improvements in my collection this weekend. Overall getting a Mana Drain and a playset of Forces would really put me in a good position in terms of trading at bigger events, since I have 10 Force of Will now, and moving a Mana Drain should be a cakewalk. I don't really know what else this kid has that is worth anything, but for now I am going to continue hope that he brings in more and more insanely hard to find cards and is willing to trade them to me for smaller things and small amounts of cash.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Chain Reactions
So today I ended up trading for a Tropical Island. I was not planning on it, so it all just sort of happened organically. Someone ended up owing me $80 in trade (long story, but he couldn't tell the difference between Alpha and Beta), and I ended up getting a Huntmaster and bunch of random cards to even up. So I have a Huntmaster. I have been trying to get rid of 4 Phyrexian Obliterators, so I was able to find someone to take them all. I got a Foil Huntmaster, then a stack of smaller 3-5 dollar cards (While I don't really like trading down, I would rather get an Avacyn, 3 Bloodline Keepers, a Past In Flames, and some Innistrad lands right now to move). So I took the Foil Huntmaster and traded it for 2 regular huntmasters. I then took 3 Huntmasters, packaged it with an Elesh Norn and a Razorverge Thicket, and turned it into a Tropical Island (SP condition). It was a very successful day.
It seems like today was just a strong trading day for me. I moved 2 Champion of the Parish (12) and 2 Hellrider (8) for a DD Elspeth (20), which moves value from standard cards to a Modern and sometimes Legacy playable card. The only cards that I really feel pressure to move before rotation are 4 Seachrome Coasts. They are 15 each now, so if I could try and get rid of them, even for some random standard cards from Innistrad block, they would be ideal. I also ended up buying $40 worth of bulk rares, which should help fill in random cards from the new set. Hopefully I can continue gradually trading a couple random cards here and there, though in reality I could just go and sell some of them to StarCity for profit, as some are not bulk. It seems like things are really just going well, though I am not really moving the junk rares as much as I would like. I think that the problem is that they are trading well, but the fact that I have so many of them means that my piles of random rares get bigger despite the fact that I am trading them away as fast as possible. I am hoping that going to some bigger events will help in my trading. It seems like my focus on trading up has been productive today. All of my trades resulting in higher value cards except the Phyrexian Obliterator one, which resulted in a pile of easily tradable cards. 400 more bulk rares should help fill in random empty slots in my binder.
I ordered a box of 100 new binder sheets so that I can redo my Legacy/Modern binder, and it has not arrived yet. The plan is to try and judge some SCG events and an occasional Grand Prix when they are in the area, and use that to allow me to trade with a lot more people. While it will help with the grinding, it should really allow me to meet different people who might have duals or other top tier cards to trade for. That is enough incentive to try and get as much firepower as possible to get more and more dual lands. I am not sure how many I have now (need to do a recount), but I think that I might be approaching 70. I think that I am going to focus primarily on trading up as much as possible in the next few months. I feel like I have a huge supply of small value cards ($1-5) and that I should work on picking up the valuable Innistrad and Dark Ascension cards now, but should try to use the hotness of Avacyn Restored to get some big eternal cards. Hopefully I am able to make a few trades tomorrow when I am drafting, but I would like to just open a valuable card and win some packs.
It seems like today was just a strong trading day for me. I moved 2 Champion of the Parish (12) and 2 Hellrider (8) for a DD Elspeth (20), which moves value from standard cards to a Modern and sometimes Legacy playable card. The only cards that I really feel pressure to move before rotation are 4 Seachrome Coasts. They are 15 each now, so if I could try and get rid of them, even for some random standard cards from Innistrad block, they would be ideal. I also ended up buying $40 worth of bulk rares, which should help fill in random cards from the new set. Hopefully I can continue gradually trading a couple random cards here and there, though in reality I could just go and sell some of them to StarCity for profit, as some are not bulk. It seems like things are really just going well, though I am not really moving the junk rares as much as I would like. I think that the problem is that they are trading well, but the fact that I have so many of them means that my piles of random rares get bigger despite the fact that I am trading them away as fast as possible. I am hoping that going to some bigger events will help in my trading. It seems like my focus on trading up has been productive today. All of my trades resulting in higher value cards except the Phyrexian Obliterator one, which resulted in a pile of easily tradable cards. 400 more bulk rares should help fill in random empty slots in my binder.
I ordered a box of 100 new binder sheets so that I can redo my Legacy/Modern binder, and it has not arrived yet. The plan is to try and judge some SCG events and an occasional Grand Prix when they are in the area, and use that to allow me to trade with a lot more people. While it will help with the grinding, it should really allow me to meet different people who might have duals or other top tier cards to trade for. That is enough incentive to try and get as much firepower as possible to get more and more dual lands. I am not sure how many I have now (need to do a recount), but I think that I might be approaching 70. I think that I am going to focus primarily on trading up as much as possible in the next few months. I feel like I have a huge supply of small value cards ($1-5) and that I should work on picking up the valuable Innistrad and Dark Ascension cards now, but should try to use the hotness of Avacyn Restored to get some big eternal cards. Hopefully I am able to make a few trades tomorrow when I am drafting, but I would like to just open a valuable card and win some packs.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
On Deck, and the Quest to be Top Dog
So the Avacyn Restored release weekend brought us another set to standard, and there didn't really seem to be any cards from the new set making a splash, at FNM and at the SCG event. It is probably a result of card availability. I was happy to move my Tibalt, Tamiyo, and Temporal Mastery for 3 Snapcasters, an Isolated Chapel, and a Sulfur Falls. I ended up losing a little bit based on Star City value, but on Channel Fireball I ended up doing well, since Tamiyo is only 35 (40), Tibalt is 15 (25), and Mastery is 30 (40), so I would have gained about 15 on CFB prices. Normally I use Star City for everything, but he had a smartphone app and the prices seemed to be a mix of the two, and since the prices of these cards are going to drop, I needed to pull the trigger and get some more casters, so I can try to move them in another trade. On the card playing side, Miracle is a pretty fun mechanic. There's nothing like being dead on board and ripping an Entreat the Angels off the top to win, but having someone blast you in the face for 7 and wipe your board is pretty much like playing an auto win card. Drafting should be really interesting for the next few months. (I finally opened a money rare. After about 40 packs, I got an Entreat the Angels). Hopefully I can trade the packs for cards, since that would really give me some value.
It seems like there are several different states that I am in in terms of trading. In general, my trading pool grows every week as a result of FNM trading (getting a dollar or two on a few trades, maybe making one really good deal getting 3-10 in a single trade. Drafting will generally help as well, though it seems like the good cards are always opened by other people. Buying bulk rares has really helped, and it only takes one trade to make a huge profit. The problem is that when I trade for cards that I think are going to go up in price (so I need to hold them) or for Modern/Legacy cards that I really don't plan on trading. I ended up trading a Huntmaster and a Garruk for a foil Stifle. I was shocked that someone had a foil Stifle, and knew I had to get it, since that is a card that will really help to trade up for top tier stuff. Beyond that, I ended up gaining $6-11, though my trade binder shrunk $32. I also traded a Sorin (22), 2 Garruk (24), and a Sunpetal Grove (3) for a Dark Confidant (45) and $10 cash. It was pretty sweet getting some money (which I really don't try for, but it works), so it is effectively 100 bulk rares with the Confidant. That pulled another 45 out or my binder, and the 75 from the 3 Snapcasters I got for the new cards I moved. So being able to effectively replace the value that I lose in trading for Eternal cards is important. Right now though, I am really gearing up for the next couple of months. I know someone who has 4 Force of Will that I want to trade for, and I just met someone who said he has two Moxes (I believe he said a Pearl and an Emerald). The problem with trading for a card worth that much is that if the person doesn't play/want Legacy cards or Modern cards, it becomes a lot harder to just accumulate that much value. To get 500-600 in standard cards, it would require so much. 4 Snapcasters, 4 Liliana, 4 Sorin, 4 Primeval Titan, 4 Huntmasters, and 4 Tamiyo will get there would get to around 600. It gets really hard when the guy needs to want all of that. So unless the guy wants most of the important cards in standard, it will be pretty hard to get more than 200 in value, so things might be complicated. I sort of feel like I am "On Deck", just waiting to try and get as many cards as I can that people will want. I am constantly upgrading junk rares into 2-5 dollar staples, then packaging them up to move up to big ticket items. Right now, the "Big Ticket" items are Snapcasters, Huntmasters, Geist of St. Traft, Sorin, Liliana, and the new cards. Scars block cards are starting to be problematic since people don't want to trade for them since they will be cycling out soon. It really messes with my emotions, because part of me wants to have all of the big ticket items, and when I have them, I feel the need to move them. I never really think about the sweet cards I get that leave the binder. The same goes for Legacy cards. I want to have more and more of them, but when I have them, I feel the need to try and convert them into duals.
I am excited that I will be getting a new box of binder sheets on Wednesday, and will probably try and get 25 more top loading hard plastics for duals (which is a good problem when you need more things to store duals). I think that I am going to use one single binder for all of my Legacy cards, and am hoping that I can work on trading up for more duals. I think that I am also going to work on trading the promo cards that I have amassed in the last couple of years, since they are just sitting around taking up space. I am hoping that I get accepted to judge a lot of events over the summer, so I can do a lot of trading with random people, since I generally do really well at bigger events. The first step is to get my binders in order and figure out what I am looking for
It seems like there are several different states that I am in in terms of trading. In general, my trading pool grows every week as a result of FNM trading (getting a dollar or two on a few trades, maybe making one really good deal getting 3-10 in a single trade. Drafting will generally help as well, though it seems like the good cards are always opened by other people. Buying bulk rares has really helped, and it only takes one trade to make a huge profit. The problem is that when I trade for cards that I think are going to go up in price (so I need to hold them) or for Modern/Legacy cards that I really don't plan on trading. I ended up trading a Huntmaster and a Garruk for a foil Stifle. I was shocked that someone had a foil Stifle, and knew I had to get it, since that is a card that will really help to trade up for top tier stuff. Beyond that, I ended up gaining $6-11, though my trade binder shrunk $32. I also traded a Sorin (22), 2 Garruk (24), and a Sunpetal Grove (3) for a Dark Confidant (45) and $10 cash. It was pretty sweet getting some money (which I really don't try for, but it works), so it is effectively 100 bulk rares with the Confidant. That pulled another 45 out or my binder, and the 75 from the 3 Snapcasters I got for the new cards I moved. So being able to effectively replace the value that I lose in trading for Eternal cards is important. Right now though, I am really gearing up for the next couple of months. I know someone who has 4 Force of Will that I want to trade for, and I just met someone who said he has two Moxes (I believe he said a Pearl and an Emerald). The problem with trading for a card worth that much is that if the person doesn't play/want Legacy cards or Modern cards, it becomes a lot harder to just accumulate that much value. To get 500-600 in standard cards, it would require so much. 4 Snapcasters, 4 Liliana, 4 Sorin, 4 Primeval Titan, 4 Huntmasters, and 4 Tamiyo will get there would get to around 600. It gets really hard when the guy needs to want all of that. So unless the guy wants most of the important cards in standard, it will be pretty hard to get more than 200 in value, so things might be complicated. I sort of feel like I am "On Deck", just waiting to try and get as many cards as I can that people will want. I am constantly upgrading junk rares into 2-5 dollar staples, then packaging them up to move up to big ticket items. Right now, the "Big Ticket" items are Snapcasters, Huntmasters, Geist of St. Traft, Sorin, Liliana, and the new cards. Scars block cards are starting to be problematic since people don't want to trade for them since they will be cycling out soon. It really messes with my emotions, because part of me wants to have all of the big ticket items, and when I have them, I feel the need to move them. I never really think about the sweet cards I get that leave the binder. The same goes for Legacy cards. I want to have more and more of them, but when I have them, I feel the need to try and convert them into duals.
I am excited that I will be getting a new box of binder sheets on Wednesday, and will probably try and get 25 more top loading hard plastics for duals (which is a good problem when you need more things to store duals). I think that I am going to use one single binder for all of my Legacy cards, and am hoping that I can work on trading up for more duals. I think that I am also going to work on trading the promo cards that I have amassed in the last couple of years, since they are just sitting around taking up space. I am hoping that I get accepted to judge a lot of events over the summer, so I can do a lot of trading with random people, since I generally do really well at bigger events. The first step is to get my binders in order and figure out what I am looking for
Friday, May 4, 2012
Treasure Hunt
I randomly decided to go to Craigslist today and look for Magic cards for sale (since everyone dreams of finding that collection with amazing cards with a low asking price), and $375 later, I am pretty sure that I have the best collection in the city. Here are the gems (there were a lot of random rares and whatnot, but here's the bigger stuff)
4 Glimpse the Unthinkable=60
3 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind=36
2 Privileged Position=18
Debtors Knell=8
Sliver Queen=30
Captain Sisay=2.5
2 Meddling Mage=6
Lightning Helix=4
2 Serra's Sanctum=30
3 Volcanic Island= 330
Underground Sea=150
Poor Condition Badlands=25
2 Reflecting Pool=16
3 Lake of the Dead=24
4 Tolarian Academy=100
Glimmervoid=15
Vesuva=10
Tower of the Magistrate=10
3 Wasteland=150
Steam Vents=25
Godless Shrine=20
2 City of Brass=10
4 Minamo, School at Water's Edge=20
8 Pain Lands=16
Ancient Tomb=10
5 Faerie Conclave=7.5
6 Treetop Village=12
2 Urza Lands=8
Mishra's Factory=5
3 Kor Haven=18
Flagstones of Trokair=6
4 Thran Dynamo=20
2 Thran Quarry=8
Dust Bowl=6
2 Forsaken City 1 foil=7.5
3 Yavimava Hallow 1 foil=56
2 Phyrexian Tower=24
4 Strip Mine=16
Golgari Grave-Troll=3.5
2 Elvish Champion=12
Aluren=6
Argothian Enchantress=15
Eladamri, Lord of Leaves=8
2 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary=30
Nether Spirit=4
Infernal Tutor=6
3 Birds of Paradise=15
4 Avatar of Woe=16
4 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni=40
Lord of the Undead=10
Dark Confidant=45
Demonic Tutor (beta)=120
Demonic Tutor (UL)=20
2 The Dark Ball Lightning=15
4 Goblin Welder=32
3 Sneak Attack=90
3 Fork=18
3 Doomsday=12
2 Ill-Gotten Gains=8
Grave Pact=5
4 Howling Mine=8
Karn, Silver Golem=4
5 Mother of Runes=25
2 Enlightened Tutor=24
2 Wrath of God=12
4 Armageddon=16
2 Angelic Chorus=6
Progenitus=15
Reya Dawnbringer=4
2 Karmic Guide=20
Serra Avenger=6
Academy Rector=12
4 Shattering Spree=12
4 Ensnaring Bridge=20
Path to Exile=6
foil Scryb Ranger=8
2 Grindstone=36
Grim Monolith=22
4 Erratic Portal=8
7 Lotus Petal=25
Blood Moon=6
2 Mystical Tutor=12
4 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner=72
Lord of Atlantis=4
2 Tinker=8
Desertion=7
Misdirection=13
2 Meditate=14
Treachery=12
Time Warp=5
2 Show and Tell=90
Back to Basics=8
Gilded Drake=16
Time Spiral=25
Gamble=7
2 Dream Halls=10
Spell Snare=10
2 Mana Vault=8
Doubling Season=25
Foil Life from the Loam=35
4 Smokestack=32
2 Metalworker=26
8 Nevinyrral's Disk=48
Angel's Grace=4
Proclamation of Rebirth=8
Trinisphere=4
Tangle Wire=5
Sensei's Divining Top=15
On top of that, there are 42 foil basic lands, and I have no doubt missed cards worth money. The total from the cards listed hits a whopping $2,638.
I initially looked at the listing and saw the Dual lands, and figured for that price, it was worth it. I was disappointed when I saw the Badlands, because there is a part of the top layer of the card that is peeled some, so it is in horrible condition. He said in the listing that it was "Hammered", but I figured it was in better shape than that. However, the listed the other duals as "played/fine", and they were near mint and very lightly played, so that was amazing. Going through the collection was really fun though, trying to find all of the gems that weren't mentioned, like a foil Life From the Loam or 2 Grindstones or 4 Kira. It was really awesome. I don't really know what to say other than I was exceptionally lucky, and that I am hopefully able to move these cards to pick up more duals. In reality, a set of revised duals is worth $3,680 on Star City, so if I were to convert all of these cards into dual lands, I would have 3 of each. The random EDH cards and foils should trade well, and there are a lot of bigger ticket items that should make trading up easy
I have also been acting like the local card store, just amassing more and more cards. I ended up buying a bunch of beta lands and random beta cards. The lands I got for .50 each, which is pretty sweet considering that they sell for 2-6 on Star City. I also ended up buying 13,000 commons and uncommons from someone for $2/1000. It is an amazing investment, as I can sell them to a card store for the same price if I wanted to. Beyond that, the random good cards give me an insane profit (pulling out joraga warcallers at $2 each or Inquisition of Kozalik at $4 is all profit). I think that this week has been rather good, and if I am able to move my new cards for a bunch of snapcasters, it will really make my collection strong.
I don't really know what the hell is going to happen to standard, but I know that right now is a very important time when I need to move as many Scars Block cards as I can, since there is a rotation in about 6 months. While that is far away, I don't want to be caught with many money cards waiting to drop. I know that I have probably $500 in cards that I would love to convert to either Modern or Legacy staples, or just move into Innistrad block cards, since I would get another year to work on trading up. I have been rather successful in moving cards that I want to (at least the bigger ticket ones) and I think that if I can really make one last push to get rid of any Scars card over $5, then I did one hell of a job. I think that it might be time to switch gears and start to aggressively trade for snapcasters again, as people are starting to end up with extras, and they are not really in demand so being able to negotiate the price down to $20 shouldn't be hard at all.
It feels like my collection has been really erratic lately. Things were a lot easier with one binder (I remember not even having a Legacy binder when I went to Pittsburgh for the Grand Prix). I don't really know how to deal with all of the random Alpha and Beta cards that I have, and I need to figure out a way to try and move all of the non-Standard bulk rares that I have. When you have 4 binders, it is hard to let everyone go through them all. You have to treat time as a resource, and the more page flips that a person has to make, the less time you can trade with others. Usually I just have people go through my 2 Standard binders and hopefully they pull enough from there. I hate bringing out the Legacy Weapon, and I only use the bulk binders when someone is a casual player or wants something specific. I think that I am alright using hard cases for my duals and other expensive cards over $50 that I don't really plan on trading, though I would imagine the only cards that fall in that category are the Bazaars, the Mox, and the Beta Lord of Atlantis. I would love to move everything else, especially those overpriced alpha and beta cards that I doubt anyone will want. I would imagine that judging will help with that a lot, since being able to go to a lot of tournaments will get me more trading time at bigger tournaments, which ultimately leads to more and more profit. If I can move my Phyrexian Obliterators and Seachrome Coasts, I think that I would really feel better about things. The seachromes shouldn't be too hard, but moving the obliterators might be tricky, though I think that I have someone in mind (the kid with all of the old stuff apparently has some beta llanowar elves and a drop of honey and some over randoms). I would gladly move Obliterators to get those cards. The fact that my Legacy binder is growing very quickly is reassuring, though I am not really liking spending money to buy cards, since I want things to be a liquid as possible at all times (Legacy cards are easy to move and are liquid to me).
I think that I might need some more short term goals (I think I had a list somewhere in an old post, but I am not going to bother checking now). By June 1, I would love to
1) Trade away all M12+ Scars block cards worth more than $5
2) Convert $200 worth of Standard cards into Modern or better staples.
3) Figure out a better system for my trade binders
4) Figure out a way to deal with my commons and uncommons
5) Aggressively trade for more sleeper cards and more foils
4 Glimpse the Unthinkable=60
3 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind=36
2 Privileged Position=18
Debtors Knell=8
Sliver Queen=30
Captain Sisay=2.5
2 Meddling Mage=6
Lightning Helix=4
2 Serra's Sanctum=30
3 Volcanic Island= 330
Underground Sea=150
Poor Condition Badlands=25
2 Reflecting Pool=16
3 Lake of the Dead=24
4 Tolarian Academy=100
Glimmervoid=15
Vesuva=10
Tower of the Magistrate=10
3 Wasteland=150
Steam Vents=25
Godless Shrine=20
2 City of Brass=10
4 Minamo, School at Water's Edge=20
8 Pain Lands=16
Ancient Tomb=10
5 Faerie Conclave=7.5
6 Treetop Village=12
2 Urza Lands=8
Mishra's Factory=5
3 Kor Haven=18
Flagstones of Trokair=6
4 Thran Dynamo=20
2 Thran Quarry=8
Dust Bowl=6
2 Forsaken City 1 foil=7.5
3 Yavimava Hallow 1 foil=56
2 Phyrexian Tower=24
4 Strip Mine=16
Golgari Grave-Troll=3.5
2 Elvish Champion=12
Aluren=6
Argothian Enchantress=15
Eladamri, Lord of Leaves=8
2 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary=30
Nether Spirit=4
Infernal Tutor=6
3 Birds of Paradise=15
4 Avatar of Woe=16
4 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni=40
Lord of the Undead=10
Dark Confidant=45
Demonic Tutor (beta)=120
Demonic Tutor (UL)=20
2 The Dark Ball Lightning=15
4 Goblin Welder=32
3 Sneak Attack=90
3 Fork=18
3 Doomsday=12
2 Ill-Gotten Gains=8
Grave Pact=5
4 Howling Mine=8
Karn, Silver Golem=4
5 Mother of Runes=25
2 Enlightened Tutor=24
2 Wrath of God=12
4 Armageddon=16
2 Angelic Chorus=6
Progenitus=15
Reya Dawnbringer=4
2 Karmic Guide=20
Serra Avenger=6
Academy Rector=12
4 Shattering Spree=12
4 Ensnaring Bridge=20
Path to Exile=6
foil Scryb Ranger=8
2 Grindstone=36
Grim Monolith=22
4 Erratic Portal=8
7 Lotus Petal=25
Blood Moon=6
2 Mystical Tutor=12
4 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner=72
Lord of Atlantis=4
2 Tinker=8
Desertion=7
Misdirection=13
2 Meditate=14
Treachery=12
Time Warp=5
2 Show and Tell=90
Back to Basics=8
Gilded Drake=16
Time Spiral=25
Gamble=7
2 Dream Halls=10
Spell Snare=10
2 Mana Vault=8
Doubling Season=25
Foil Life from the Loam=35
4 Smokestack=32
2 Metalworker=26
8 Nevinyrral's Disk=48
Angel's Grace=4
Proclamation of Rebirth=8
Trinisphere=4
Tangle Wire=5
Sensei's Divining Top=15
On top of that, there are 42 foil basic lands, and I have no doubt missed cards worth money. The total from the cards listed hits a whopping $2,638.
I initially looked at the listing and saw the Dual lands, and figured for that price, it was worth it. I was disappointed when I saw the Badlands, because there is a part of the top layer of the card that is peeled some, so it is in horrible condition. He said in the listing that it was "Hammered", but I figured it was in better shape than that. However, the listed the other duals as "played/fine", and they were near mint and very lightly played, so that was amazing. Going through the collection was really fun though, trying to find all of the gems that weren't mentioned, like a foil Life From the Loam or 2 Grindstones or 4 Kira. It was really awesome. I don't really know what to say other than I was exceptionally lucky, and that I am hopefully able to move these cards to pick up more duals. In reality, a set of revised duals is worth $3,680 on Star City, so if I were to convert all of these cards into dual lands, I would have 3 of each. The random EDH cards and foils should trade well, and there are a lot of bigger ticket items that should make trading up easy
I have also been acting like the local card store, just amassing more and more cards. I ended up buying a bunch of beta lands and random beta cards. The lands I got for .50 each, which is pretty sweet considering that they sell for 2-6 on Star City. I also ended up buying 13,000 commons and uncommons from someone for $2/1000. It is an amazing investment, as I can sell them to a card store for the same price if I wanted to. Beyond that, the random good cards give me an insane profit (pulling out joraga warcallers at $2 each or Inquisition of Kozalik at $4 is all profit). I think that this week has been rather good, and if I am able to move my new cards for a bunch of snapcasters, it will really make my collection strong.
I don't really know what the hell is going to happen to standard, but I know that right now is a very important time when I need to move as many Scars Block cards as I can, since there is a rotation in about 6 months. While that is far away, I don't want to be caught with many money cards waiting to drop. I know that I have probably $500 in cards that I would love to convert to either Modern or Legacy staples, or just move into Innistrad block cards, since I would get another year to work on trading up. I have been rather successful in moving cards that I want to (at least the bigger ticket ones) and I think that if I can really make one last push to get rid of any Scars card over $5, then I did one hell of a job. I think that it might be time to switch gears and start to aggressively trade for snapcasters again, as people are starting to end up with extras, and they are not really in demand so being able to negotiate the price down to $20 shouldn't be hard at all.
It feels like my collection has been really erratic lately. Things were a lot easier with one binder (I remember not even having a Legacy binder when I went to Pittsburgh for the Grand Prix). I don't really know how to deal with all of the random Alpha and Beta cards that I have, and I need to figure out a way to try and move all of the non-Standard bulk rares that I have. When you have 4 binders, it is hard to let everyone go through them all. You have to treat time as a resource, and the more page flips that a person has to make, the less time you can trade with others. Usually I just have people go through my 2 Standard binders and hopefully they pull enough from there. I hate bringing out the Legacy Weapon, and I only use the bulk binders when someone is a casual player or wants something specific. I think that I am alright using hard cases for my duals and other expensive cards over $50 that I don't really plan on trading, though I would imagine the only cards that fall in that category are the Bazaars, the Mox, and the Beta Lord of Atlantis. I would love to move everything else, especially those overpriced alpha and beta cards that I doubt anyone will want. I would imagine that judging will help with that a lot, since being able to go to a lot of tournaments will get me more trading time at bigger tournaments, which ultimately leads to more and more profit. If I can move my Phyrexian Obliterators and Seachrome Coasts, I think that I would really feel better about things. The seachromes shouldn't be too hard, but moving the obliterators might be tricky, though I think that I have someone in mind (the kid with all of the old stuff apparently has some beta llanowar elves and a drop of honey and some over randoms). I would gladly move Obliterators to get those cards. The fact that my Legacy binder is growing very quickly is reassuring, though I am not really liking spending money to buy cards, since I want things to be a liquid as possible at all times (Legacy cards are easy to move and are liquid to me).
I think that I might need some more short term goals (I think I had a list somewhere in an old post, but I am not going to bother checking now). By June 1, I would love to
1) Trade away all M12+ Scars block cards worth more than $5
2) Convert $200 worth of Standard cards into Modern or better staples.
3) Figure out a better system for my trade binders
4) Figure out a way to deal with my commons and uncommons
5) Aggressively trade for more sleeper cards and more foils
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