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
No comments:
Post a Comment