Madcap Skills | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com Play More, Win More, Pay Less Tue, 18 Jan 2022 02:37:28 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.quietspeculation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/favicon.png Madcap Skills | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com 32 32 The Case Against Power https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/02/the-case-against-power/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/02/the-case-against-power/#comments Fri, 22 Feb 2019 10:00:20 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=91686

Today's article subject spawned from a discussion that began in the QS Discord chat. One of our members was contemplating stepping away from the game for a while and wanted to know the best place to park his money and/or what to trade into. As expected, a lot of people immediately jumped to Power. The general […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/02/the-case-against-power/feed/ 16 Ravnica Allegiance: Spoilers, Facts, Specs & More https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/01/ravnica-allegiance-spoilers-facts-specs-more/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/01/ravnica-allegiance-spoilers-facts-specs-more/#comments Sat, 12 Jan 2019 12:00:24 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90531

The sequel to Guilds of Ravnica and the 80th expansion set in Magic: The Gathering's history is due to release on January 25, 2019.  Here's what we know about Ravnica Allegiance (RNA) so far, including any cards in the spoiler, the guilds represented, and cards to speculate on before the full spoiler is released.   The Guilds […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/01/ravnica-allegiance-spoilers-facts-specs-more/feed/ 29 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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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-24/feed/ 0 Mtg Arena Has Been Framed! Who Is the Real MTGO Killer? https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-arena-has-been-framed-who-is-the-real-mtgo-killer/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-arena-has-been-framed-who-is-the-real-mtgo-killer/#comments Tue, 11 Dec 2018 10:00:44 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90705

Magic Online has a problem. A card value problem. In a recent Channel Fireball article, Florian Koch showed just how much card prices have fallen over the past few years: That's right. To own a playset of the cheapest version of every Magic card ever printed on MTGO would have cost you roughly $28,000 in […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-arena-has-been-framed-who-is-the-real-mtgo-killer/feed/ 4 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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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-questions-whats-a-fast-way-to-sell-bulk/feed/ 12 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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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/preparing-for-the-december-6th-announcement/feed/ 0 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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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/11/hold-em-fold-em-20/feed/ 7 Daily Stock Watch – Vivien Reid https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/10/daily-stock-watch-vivien-reid/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/10/daily-stock-watch-vivien-reid/#respond Tue, 16 Oct 2018 05:18:51 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90021

Hello, everybody and welcome to a new week of the Daily Stock Watch! Standard cards are starting to move in the wake of new brews with cards from Guild of Ravnica, and we're all but ready to see which deck will be the new Black Red Midrange (arguably the best deck from last season) of […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/10/daily-stock-watch-vivien-reid/feed/ 0 Mardu Shadowspear https://www.quietspeculation.com/2015/01/mardu-shadowspear/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2015/01/mardu-shadowspear/#respond Sat, 03 Jan 2015 06:55:54 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=55335

Come see all our Fate Reforged spoiler coverage Mardu Shadowspear This is fine. I think the word “each” may be the least necessary bit of text on a Magic card! Maybe a Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker deck wants this? Maybe you’ll get 3 of these and ruin the 2-headed giant tourney at your prerelease? More likely this […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2015/01/mardu-shadowspear/feed/ 0 Fate Reforged Spoilers – 1/2/14 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2015/01/fate-reforged-spoilers-1214/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2015/01/fate-reforged-spoilers-1214/#comments Sat, 03 Jan 2015 06:28:46 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=55328

Come see all our Fate Reforged spoiler coverage Brutal Hordechief This cycle is shaping up to be a little less exciting than the rare cycle. That is likely because they're not legendary, I guess. Still, as much as this would be better as a general in a three color deck, this trigger can put games […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2015/01/fate-reforged-spoilers-1214/feed/ 1 Insider: M15 Top 10 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-m15-top-10/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-m15-top-10/#comments Thu, 24 Jul 2014 09:00:39 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=49728

It's time for the M15 set review! Mike Lanigan breaks down his picks for the top ten Standard cards from the new core set, with analysis of how they'll impact the established decks and metagame.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-m15-top-10/feed/ 2 Insider: Lame Ducks https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-lame-ducks/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-lame-ducks/#comments Tue, 08 Jul 2014 09:00:04 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=49197

We're soon to enter that strange limbo time in Standard when both core sets contribute to a brewer's paradise. Jason Alt asks how to take advantage of this pre-rotation mayhem.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-lame-ducks/feed/ 3 Red Dead Redemption at #SCGVEGAS! https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/06/red-dead-redemption-at-scgvegas/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/06/red-dead-redemption-at-scgvegas/#comments Wed, 25 Jun 2014 04:16:37 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=48688

Mountains were on top of the mountain in both tournaments in Las Vegas, Nevada, last weekend at #SCGVEGAS.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/06/red-dead-redemption-at-scgvegas/feed/ 1 The Boss Takes Down #SCGINVI, Resendez & Smith Win Opens! https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/06/the-boss-takes-down-scginvi-resendez-smith-win-opens/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/06/the-boss-takes-down-scginvi-resendez-smith-win-opens/#comments Thu, 19 Jun 2014 20:04:24 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=48423

After 16 rounds of competition plus an insanely stacked top 8, Tom 'The Boss' Ross has won the second StarCityGames.com Invitational tournament of 2014 that took place in Columbus, Ohio, this past weekend.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/06/the-boss-takes-down-scginvi-resendez-smith-win-opens/feed/ 4 Insider: Poise https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/06/insider-poise/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/06/insider-poise/#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2014 09:00:30 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=48327

Jason Alt isolates three cards that have been in his sights recently, and explains his rationale for targeting them.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/06/insider-poise/feed/ 4 Naya Hexproof in Standard https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/05/naya-hexproof/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/05/naya-hexproof/#respond Tue, 06 May 2014 06:08:41 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=46800

Hexproof is getting a lot of buzz right now. With new threats, better mana thanks to Mana Confluence and a shift from monochromatic lists, it's a good time to give Hexproof another look. Anything to avoid Standard getting stale. Here is a list from Brian DeMars on Star City Creatures (18) 4 Bassara Tower Archer […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/05/naya-hexproof/feed/ 0 Insider: What to Expect From Standard https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/05/insider-what-to-expect-from-standard/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/05/insider-what-to-expect-from-standard/#comments Thu, 01 May 2014 09:00:37 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=46555

While Journey Into Nyx is unlikely to unseat the top decks in Standard, it does enable a few new strategies. Mike Lanigan investigates.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/05/insider-what-to-expect-from-standard/feed/ 6 Journey Into Nyx and the Future of Standard: Part II https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/journey-into-nyx-and-the-future-of-standard-part-ii/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/journey-into-nyx-and-the-future-of-standard-part-ii/#comments Tue, 22 Apr 2014 09:00:34 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=46031

Ryan launches into another round of spoilers, focusing on a few key cards, including one innocuous-looking 2-drop you might have overlooked.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/journey-into-nyx-and-the-future-of-standard-part-ii/feed/ 13 JOU Spoiler: Weekend Wrapup and 4/15 Spoilers https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/jou-spoiler-weekend-wrapup-and-415-spoilers/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/jou-spoiler-weekend-wrapup-and-415-spoilers/#respond Tue, 15 Apr 2014 08:14:09 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=45875

This is as close to an Inspired effect I care about. Pain Seer got a lot more hype and went nowhere (so far (?)) so I don't expect this to presell for more than a buck or two. This might be worth doing something "cute" with like using it with Springleaf Drum but the effect […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/jou-spoiler-weekend-wrapup-and-415-spoilers/feed/ 0 Insider: 3 Standard Decks That Actually Have Synergy https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/03/insider-3-standard-decks-that-actually-have-synergy/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/03/insider-3-standard-decks-that-actually-have-synergy/#comments Thu, 27 Mar 2014 09:00:20 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=45005

No one wants to kill a Lhurgoyf twice, but it sure sounds better than "bloodrush, boros charm, you lose". Here are a few Standard decks that don't care about mana symbols for once.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/03/insider-3-standard-decks-that-actually-have-synergy/feed/ 8