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@jbohnet Drafting is a great way to generate a col...

2010-03-11T13:37:31.108-05:00

@jbohnet
Drafting is a great way to generate a collection and helps develop you as a player. You get 3 packs worth of cards, the potential to access more than the standard ratio of 1:1 rare to pack (this goes double for uncommons). Additionally it will help develop your skills as a player and deck builder given the nature of the format.

When starting and building a collection, its important to understand and pay attention to the financial value of the cards. The best way to do that is with research. This site has a link to the Black Lotus Project and any articles that Kelly writes on Magic Nation usually have insight on the value of cards. Additionally, sites like Star City Games, Channel Fireball and Blackboarder have articles that deal with the art of trading as well as pointers for people starting out.

It is also important to have an end goal in mind when you start out. Are you building a collection because you want to trade and make money? Or are you building a collection so that you have a quality pool of cards to draw from when deck building and playing? You need to have an end goal in mind when you start in order to focus your attention and time. For example, if you're attempting to build a card pool for yourself to draw from, you may be whiling to trade even or up to get a card that you're looking for when deck building. The opposite is true when you're attempting to trade for value; you'll want to seek out deals that have people trading up to you.

In addition to deciding why you want to build a collection, its important to understand what type of player you are. For example, are you interested in playing kitchen table Magic with your friends or are you interested in attending tournaments? Based on this answer, there are different ways to go about collecting cards. The kitchen table players (typically referred to as Timmy) are going to be better off finding bulk deals to build collections. I'm not suggesting you buy someone's $100 collection off of ebay, but a lot of online stores offer deals for a random assortment of cards which can be helpful in just amassing cards. I would still be cautious with this route as from personal experience, it always more enjoyable to find cards you want and seek them out.

If you're interested in playing tournament Magic like a Friday Night Magic event, you should look at the cards in Standard and decide what type of deck you want to build. From there you ought to trade and purchase cards that further you toward completing your deck.

The last suggestion is to have patients when playing and starting out. While its tempting to impulsively buy cards with high price tags, if you don't have an understanding of why the card is valuable/powerful/rare, it usually not worth it. If you wait, you'll find good deals when it comes to trading and purchasing cards. You don't have to rush out and buy everything all at once. The best traders are the ones that accumulate cards over time because they'll wait for the best opportunities in order to get the best value out of each transaction.

Just some thoughts and best of luck trading and starting out.

I am a new player, and I don't have a lot to trade...

2010-03-11T00:40:33.376-05:00

I am a new player, and I don't have a lot to trade with. Do you have any tips for someone that is just getting into the game to build up a collection?

For a store, this may be a moot point, but is ther...

2010-03-10T15:33:24.664-05:00

For a store, this may be a moot point, but is there such a thing as having too many binders? I mean it can be a bit overwhelming when someone ask to trade and then lays out 3 or 4 binders, even if each is a different format/them, or am I over-thinking it?

I think Ive had one of the better Magic Card Shops...

2010-02-26T11:46:54.415-05:00

I think Ive had one of the better Magic Card Shops around.
Wizards of the Desert Card Shop, down in Moab, UT. Year #15!
Ample seating, open play everyday. Tournaments every Saturday.
150,000 single cards in stock, from 4th edition forward.
Ive been doing this for 15 years, and am longing to retire, but its still fun!
I feel the most important part of a Magic card Shop, is the overall atmosphere and attitude of the players.
I have always run the store as one 'big dysfunctional family', rather than a business. With new players, you can guide them towards the right attitude, about winning and losing.
The game is, after all, supposed to be 'fun'.
And players should be friendly and outgoing towards other players.
At so many other stores, there is this arrogant attitude that prevails amongst some of the better players. We dont have that here.
Of the Top Ten Eternal Players in the State of Utah, 7 of them reside here in Moab. And they are all great and friendly players, willing to share their ideas and suggestions with up n comers.
So, for me, the 'atmosphere' of the store, is most important.
For now, I am the only one with a vast collection of single cards, between Salt Lake and Denver.
So, for me, what makes a great store, is what the owner molds it into.
Friendly but still competative. No bad-ass attitudes allowed. Open play everyday. A vast array of single cards very competatively priced. And a place you can visit, and just... be yourself.
Cards are my business, but The Players, are my most important commodity.

Sincerely;
LX Skye
Wizards of the Desert Card Shop
Moab, UT.

Dude tophat, why rag on my backpack?

2010-02-22T22:26:49.536-05:00

Dude tophat, why rag on my backpack?

Spud and Thomas have a great point, and the Calcit...

2010-02-18T22:11:07.304-05:00

Spud and Thomas have a great point, and the Calcite Snapper does seem like an amazing roadblock. In defense of the build I still plan on trying (1x Divination, 1x New Jace, 1x Old Jace), consider two factors: not only did I play against mid-range decks (at best), but this list is just crazy removal heavy. I only had one game where I was seriously pressured, and often felt like Jace would have been better than Divination. That said, I also have no idea about how well this will work--but I'd also be reluctant to try that build EXCEPT in the moderately weak metagame faced at Castle.

Grisix is an amazing deck, even better now after W...

2010-02-18T19:53:17.497-05:00

Grisix is an amazing deck, even better now after Worldwake! I ran mine last FNM and I blew everyone else away! However, I'm seeing the same problem with your deck that I don't like about WUR which is the running of Flashfreeze, Negate and/or Essence Scatter. I find that they are way to narrow to be very useful in most match ups. Cancel and now Spell Contortion are so much more useful in every matchup then Flashfreeze is. Yes Cancel costs one more then Counterspell and you will not be able to counter anything on turn two. But that's what Terminate and Lightning Bolt are there for.

Worldwake also brought so much to the table that control just loves! I ran four Calcite Snappers over any Sphinxes because they're cheaper meaning I could cast a snapper and counter something instead of just a sphinx. The biggest and best spell for this type of deck has to be Comet Storm. Being able to hit your opponent at the end of there turn with a Fireball is just amazing!

I think Jace Beleren is a fine choice, and Jace, the Mind Sculptor is even better. Use him to draw a card then whatever happens to him after that is fine. If your opponent Lightning Bolt's him instead of you after you drew, then its kinda like "1UU, prevent the next 3 damage and draw a card". Planeswalkers makes your opponents play very differently and that can help you out.

I am now officially sick to death of the word "par...

2010-02-18T16:56:56.818-05:00

I am now officially sick to death of the word "parity."

Good article, though.

I don't know how well your Jace's will work in this build when just swapped out for Divinations. The entire reason Grixis decks ran Divination over old Jace in the first place was because they couldn't protect him long enough for him to even get you two free cards. People are experimenting with Calcite Snapper for this reason - Grixis needs a Wall of Denial in order for something like Jace to really shine.

Good article! I enjoy reading about matches. And...

2010-02-18T16:07:28.587-05:00

Good article! I enjoy reading about matches. And the store sounds cool. Looking forward to more articles.

Terastadon is a new staple for Hypergenesis decks....

2010-02-17T16:33:41.139-05:00

Terastadon is a new staple for Hypergenesis decks. Not sure how that's going to push the price, though.

I think, perhaps, the best potential is in the unc...

2010-02-17T16:17:54.305-05:00

I think, perhaps, the best potential is in the uncommons of this set. Specifically, Kor Firewalker, Tectonic Edge, and Everflowing Chalice. Good uncommons hit $5-6 when Standard season swings around, and we can remember how hard it was to find Burrenton Forge-Tenders or Kitchen Finks. Bloodbraid Elf is already $4, and it's not even Standard PTQ or Regionals season.

Given that Worldwake is a small, pseudo-third set, I'm hoarding all the Tectonic Edges I draft, and keeping them safe and sound.

The store is at 713 Main St in Lafayette. We're i...

2010-02-17T15:25:54.058-05:00

The store is at 713 Main St in Lafayette. We're in the downtown area, directly next door to Spurlock's bar/restaurant. Email me if you'd like more info - we're playing Standard tonight at 7pm!

So I may have missed it, but I live in the Lafayet...

2010-02-17T15:15:06.922-05:00

So I may have missed it, but I live in the Lafayette area and was wanting to know where you store is?

I applaud the article. Although if the next set do...

2010-02-15T09:14:49.013-05:00

I applaud the article. Although if the next set does turn out to be another "Mirrodin" like it has been rumored, then Stoneforge Mystic is going to be amazing in a white artifact deck! And she will go up in price. I think 2 dollars a piece is a good deal!

Type 2 cards that go big in Vintage/Legacy are usu...

2010-02-14T12:22:42.599-05:00

Type 2 cards that go big in Vintage/Legacy are usually worthless unless they're broken in T2. If Ad Nauseam is still bulk, I can't imagine Selective Memory going up.

I belive Dark Depths used to be in many casual dec...

2010-02-14T10:04:35.632-05:00

I belive Dark Depths used to be in many casual decks

Selective Memory: If you're talking short-term, th...

2010-02-13T09:05:48.224-05:00

Selective Memory: If you're talking short-term, then yes, it won't get above "bulk rare" while it's Standard-legal. But if ANYONE just absolutely BREAKS it in Legacy, I look forward to making my $.50 investments more like $5, if not higher (and if it DOES get broken in Legacy, $5 may not be the potential ceiling price).

Death's Shadow: I'm getting them for $1 each, and I'm already thinking of casual decks to put him in (most involve either Stuffy Doll + Dead Reckoning, Pandemonium + Suicide, or some combination of both). Praytell, how many cards go from "bulk rare" to "shining PT/GP star" from casual use? (Honest question there: Have there been any cards, especially in recent memory, that have gone from having a casual deck built around it to regular PT/GP Top 8 and the price just shot up like a rocket [at least, relative to its original price]?)

Congrats on the new store - here's hoping you'll s...

2010-02-11T20:47:37.733-05:00

Congrats on the new store - here's hoping you'll see success in the future.

Jace a bulk rare yet Anawan not. I didn't even nee...

2010-02-11T19:06:41.402-05:00

Jace a bulk rare yet Anawan not. I didn't even need to read the rest to know you must be on crack.

Still waiting for the worldwake guide...

2010-02-09T19:14:54.479-05:00

Still waiting for the worldwake guide...

I don't see why you think Ravaging Ravine is bad I...

2010-02-06T15:02:53.880-05:00

I don't see why you think Ravaging Ravine is bad I won FNM with it last night and after one attack it's out of bolt range which is huge. Lavaclaw reaches seems weaker by comparasion as you need then to have no blockers for it to be effective.

I guess he doesn't care.

2010-02-04T20:29:50.412-05:00

I guess he doesn't care.

So are we going to hear anything about Worldwake a...

2010-02-02T05:15:12.509-05:00

So are we going to hear anything about Worldwake and what to look out for? Because, I suppose, that's kind of what I find valuable about this site.

Nice article, legacy is really pretty wide open, a...

2010-02-01T10:22:10.980-05:00

Nice article, legacy is really pretty wide open, and thanks to that it doesn't necessarily cost a bazillion dollars to get into (although I have probably spent that much regardless)

@mtgveteran: I'm pretty sure Balrog is widely referred to as Boxer as a nickname due to all the naming conflicts with those who used to be boss characters, as well as Bison (Dictator) and Vega (Claw).

You should try to learn the name of your "main".

2010-01-31T19:17:35.027-05:00

You should try to learn the name of your "main".