Ambition's Cost | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com Play More, Win More, Pay Less Tue, 18 Jan 2022 02:46:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.quietspeculation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/favicon.png Ambition's Cost | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com 32 32 Real-world Flavor. Confucius and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/12/real-world-flavor-confucius-and-the-romance-of-the-three-kingdoms/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/12/real-world-flavor-confucius-and-the-romance-of-the-three-kingdoms/#comments Wed, 29 Dec 2021 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=102926

In this first installment of a multi-part article, Francesco examines quotations from Chinese literature, mostly represented by the set Portal Three Kingdoms.

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A Deep Dive into Portal: Three Kingdoms https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/07/a-deep-dive-into-portal-three-kingdoms/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2021/07/a-deep-dive-into-portal-three-kingdoms/#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2021 17:29:50 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=98593

Sig rounds out his study of Portal sets this week when he examines Portal: Three Kingdoms. This is one of the rarest, most interesting set in Magic's History, and definitely merits exploration.

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MTG Metagame Finance #24 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-24/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-24/#respond Fri, 21 Dec 2018 01:05:52 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90841

Ultimate Masters is still in full bounce back mode, and the last World Magic Cup has come to a finish. Plus, some sweet Ravnica Allegiance spoilers have hit the market so there’s gonna be a nice mix of things to talk about again in this piece. Owing to the spoilers, this might be a little […]

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MTG Questions: What’s an Easy Way to Sell Bulk? https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-questions-whats-a-fast-way-to-sell-bulk/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-questions-whats-a-fast-way-to-sell-bulk/#comments Fri, 07 Dec 2018 10:00:42 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90648

This is the first article from my new series, MTG Questions. You might be familiar with the Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em series (rebranded as MTG Metagame Finance), which takes a tournament-oriented perspective. I decided to start this series to focus on more general aspects of MTG finance. The two series will work together, as when […]

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Preparing for the December 6th Announcement https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/preparing-for-the-december-6th-announcement/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/preparing-for-the-december-6th-announcement/#respond Thu, 06 Dec 2018 22:37:50 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90668

Welcome back, folks. It's been a while since I last wrote an article, in large part because I've been unwilling to make any financial moves on MTGO before reading the December 6th announcement about competitive play on Arena. What is announced there could have major ramifications for investing on MTGO, and so I've been very […]

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Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #20 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/11/hold-em-fold-em-20/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/11/hold-em-fold-em-20/#comments Wed, 21 Nov 2018 16:15:32 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90488

Many people have been saying there’s been a little less movement regarding Magic finance during the past few weeks or months. Some people are saying there’s a slowdown. Others are saying it’s normal because the holidays are around the corner and players have less money to spend on Magic cards. Regardless, Magic continues to move […]

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Insider: Commander 2017 – Vampiric Bloodlust https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/08/insider-commander-2017-vampiric-bloodlust/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/08/insider-commander-2017-vampiric-bloodlust/#respond Wed, 16 Aug 2017 09:00:04 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=82518

Jim covers the Vampire deck from Commander 2017, discussing the new cards, the major reprints, and his predictions on near-term price movements.

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Insider: Touch of the Eternal — Looking Through the Portal https://www.quietspeculation.com/2013/03/insider-touch-of-the-eternal-looking-through-the-portal/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2013/03/insider-touch-of-the-eternal-looking-through-the-portal/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:00:48 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=36655

David Schumann continues his review of eternal staples, this time focusing on rare and little-known gems from the Portal series.

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Vampire Sunrise — Comboing with Vish Kal https://www.quietspeculation.com/2012/07/vampire-sunrise-comboing-with-vish-kal/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2012/07/vampire-sunrise-comboing-with-vish-kal/#comments Mon, 16 Jul 2012 05:05:38 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=29375

Carlos develops another Second Sunrise deck, this time with Vish Kal at the helm. Find out how profitable sacrificing your own creatures can be.

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Balthor on a Budget https://www.quietspeculation.com/2012/05/balthor-on-a-budget/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2012/05/balthor-on-a-budget/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 05:05:09 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=27500

Carlos scours Avacyn Restored for some potential Commander sleepers, then walks us through a budget version of Balthor the Defiled.

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Dealing with Dragons https://www.quietspeculation.com/2011/06/dealing-with-dragons/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2011/06/dealing-with-dragons/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 04:06:38 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=16871

Wait? That's right! It's a double dose of Carlos this week! With Worldgorger Dragon being unbanned, Carlos devolves into a degenerate brewer looking to mix the big-spell style of Commander with busted-as-can-be effects!

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Deck Tune: The Writhing Of Korlash https://www.quietspeculation.com/2011/06/deck-tune-the-writhing-of-korlash/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2011/06/deck-tune-the-writhing-of-korlash/#comments Mon, 06 Jun 2011 04:05:56 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=15656

Neale's back with a new deck to tune! He starts with a controlling Korlash build and ends fawning over Dralnu and Jin-Gitaxias. You'll have to read to find out why!

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MOAR CRADS! (Gassing Up) https://www.quietspeculation.com/2011/02/maor-crads-gassing-up/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2011/02/maor-crads-gassing-up/#comments Tue, 08 Feb 2011 00:10:00 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=9764

Being full of gas can be a bad thing but not in Commander! In this format the best of us run out of gas, miss land drops, and topdeck nothing but duds all game. This week David hits card advantage in Commander and how different types of card draw fulfill very different roles.

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