So Columbus was a rather good trip. In terms of trading, there were a couple trades that I regret, either for making or not making. One of them was for a very very beat up Timetwister. I could have gotten it for 2 Dark Confidants and 2 Liliana of the Veil, but I couldn't pull the trigger. The card was just in such bad shape that I felt I would probably never be able to get rid of it, so I held off. If given the chance again, I probably would have traded for it (though if I were there and saw it, I would have probably passed on it). The other one I traded 2 Sneak Attack (80) for a Wasteland ($50, completes my set), a HP Plateau ($30), a Metalworker (13) and a Hevengul Lich (5). I made $18 on the trade, though for some reason I was attached to the Sneak Attacks because I feel like they will go up. It was a great trade, though I am letting emotions get the best of me (I still have a playset)
I didn't make too many trades, but the ones I did I really made count. I ended up getting a playset of Vexing Devils and 2 Koth, which I will package with 3 Shrine of Burning Rage to get 4 Entombs and a Sigarda. I traded away a Chrome Mox (15), Dream Halls (7) and 5 Mox Diamonds (150) for a mint Volcanic Island (120) and a SP Unlimited Scrubland (90). It was a strong deal and I was really happy with it. I picked up a Bayou as well, giving me +4 to the dual count. I moved some random $5-10 cards to get a foil 7th edition Lord of Atlantis (which he put at 45, giving me $15 in profit). I was able to pick up 4 Dark Confidants for $120 cash and 12 in trade, which should be really easy to flip for something big. I feel like the price was right, and am hoping to use the rest of my judge compensation to buy a Force of Will, a Tarmogoyf, and a Dark Confidant.
I think I made one of the most absurd trades in my life around the end of the Legacy tournament. While judging, I was doing normal beginning of the round procedure and went to players who did not have players across from them. The one guy I stopped to talk to was supposed to play Brad Nelson, but he ended up being a No Show. So I talked with him for a few minutes, asked him what he was running, and he told me to take a look at his deck. It was maverick (I think Punishing Fire maverick) and I talked to him for a minute about Karakas and how in demand it was this weekend. He told me that he traded in some cards to get two packs of Italian Legends cards, and in one pack opened a Karakas and a Mana Drain, and pulled out his binder to show me (he was pretty excited). I saw the Mana Drain and it was perfect, so I asked him if he would be interested in trading it. He said that he was never going to use it, so he said he'd trade it to me. I waited for my break and we met up, and we went through binders. He had a Force of Will that was in really bad shape (had a crease in it and pretty heavily played), so I asked him about it, and he agreed to trade it valued at $5. So overall I was able to trade a Force of Will (70), a Vindicate (30) and an Argothian Enchantress (15) for the Mana Drain (110), the Force of Will (I am going to put it at 50, since I am pretty sure I can get 50 for it), Life from the Loam (15), 2 Bloodghast (8), and 2 foil Pyromancer Ascension (8). I honestly would have been happy getting the Mana Drain, but the extras were really awesome. Bloodghast is easy to trade, the Ascensions will move easily to someone playing Storm in Modern (or I could use them myself), the Life from the Loam was traded for 3 Champion of the Parish (1 foil, 26 total) and the beat up Force of Will is something I can hold onto or trade to someone desperate.
It was a very good trip in terms of trades, though I didn't really move too much Standard stuff. I did get good value on all of my trades, so that is all I can hope for. One of the guys I went with spent the first 10% of the car ride home telling everyone else how he was a trade shark and how he got all of these awesome deals. I spent the remaining 90% of the time dissecting his stories to figure out that he was either in denial about getting ripped off, or just so oblivious to everything that he really thought he got good deals. Now don't get me wrong, people hit home runs all the time, but he was saying one trade was with an Origins dealer and the other was from a Star City Games buyer. I doubt that any dealer is going to trade 2 Urborgs for 2 Lightning Serpents. That just isn't going to happen. And Star City isn't going to give $5 trade in value for a Cold Eye Selkie, which it sells for $4 on the website. That is just absurd, considering that he has no idea what any of the prices were. I went through his box of cards at the hotel room, and he was shocked at what was worth money and what wasn't. That really makes me think about how most people don't really know what they are doing in terms of trading, and how trading for me is to make profit on each and every trade. The trip made me realize just how great my collection was. I had several chances to pick up pieces of power without even trading any duals, and I was able to pick up a pack fresh Mana Drain without a hiccup. I might be going to the Invitational in Indy just to attend the judge conference and trade for a whole day. I will keep you updated.
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