Ral Zarek | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com Play More, Win More, Pay Less Tue, 18 Jan 2022 02:33:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.quietspeculation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/favicon.png Ral Zarek | 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 #25 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-25/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-25/#respond Tue, 25 Dec 2018 17:44:01 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90930

The holidays are in full swing and the new year is right around the corner. And as some of you may know, the stock market has been a bit shaky in the last month or so. But it seems Magic is still doing pretty well during this slightly volatile time. I think a good portion […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-25/feed/ 0 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 Splinter Twin in Legacy Cube: It’s Not Just for Modern Anymore https://www.quietspeculation.com/2015/01/splinter-twin-in-legacy-cube-its-not-just-for-modern-anymore/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2015/01/splinter-twin-in-legacy-cube-its-not-just-for-modern-anymore/#comments Mon, 26 Jan 2015 15:42:31 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=56290

It's possible this is the best deck in the Legacy Cube. What do you think?

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2015/01/splinter-twin-in-legacy-cube-its-not-just-for-modern-anymore/feed/ 2 Insider: [MTGO] Selling and Buying Back – Exploiting Spikes on Cards Already Trending Upwards https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/12/insider-mtgo-selling-and-buying-back-exploiting-spikes-on-cards-already-trending-upwards/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/12/insider-mtgo-selling-and-buying-back-exploiting-spikes-on-cards-already-trending-upwards/#respond Tue, 02 Dec 2014 11:00:07 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=53870

Buying your position back after a spike? In some circumstances this move makes a lot of sense. Sylvain explores this option in the MTGO environment where more speculators than before may contribute to bigger rises and falls.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/12/insider-mtgo-selling-and-buying-back-exploiting-spikes-on-cards-already-trending-upwards/feed/ 0 Insider: [MTGO] Update on RTR & M14 – Reacting to Changes in the Rotation Trend https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/11/insider-mtgo-update-on-rtr-m14-reacting-to-changes-in-the-rotation-trend/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/11/insider-mtgo-update-on-rtr-m14-reacting-to-changes-in-the-rotation-trend/#comments Tue, 04 Nov 2014 10:00:22 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=52980

This year, several rotating rares didn't bottom out as Sylvain expected. Despite missing the lowest price, he is still taking advantage of good opportunities on rares and a few mythics.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/11/insider-mtgo-update-on-rtr-m14-reacting-to-changes-in-the-rotation-trend/feed/ 6 Insider: [MTGO] M14 and Return to Ravnica Block Post Rotation – Part 1 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/08/insider-mtgo-m14-and-return-to-ravnica-block-post-rotation-part-1/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/08/insider-mtgo-m14-and-return-to-ravnica-block-post-rotation-part-1/#comments Tue, 26 Aug 2014 15:34:14 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=50722

Starting with mythics, this week Sylvain discusses which cards from M14 and Return to Ravnica may constitute a good investment after Standard rotates.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/08/insider-mtgo-m14-and-return-to-ravnica-block-post-rotation-part-1/feed/ 7 Insider: [MTGO] Nine Months of Portfolio Management – Quick Flips & Very Short Term Specs https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-nine-months-of-portfolio-management-quick-flips-very-short-term-specs/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-nine-months-of-portfolio-management-quick-flips-very-short-term-specs/#comments Tue, 22 Jul 2014 12:10:14 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=48922

In one of the final articles in his Nine Months of Portfolio Management series, Sylvain talks about Quick Flips. He explains how he exploited such opportunities to rapidly and consistently grow this part of his portfolio.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-nine-months-of-portfolio-management-quick-flips-very-short-term-specs/feed/ 2 Insider: [MTGO] Nine Months of Portfolio Management – Mismanaging Return to Ravnica Block Positions https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-nine-months-of-portfolio-management-mismanaging-return-to-ravnica-block-positions/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-nine-months-of-portfolio-management-mismanaging-return-to-ravnica-block-positions/#comments Tue, 15 Jul 2014 09:00:33 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=48918

In this new chapter of his Nine Months of Portfolio Management, Sylvain discusses the poor decisions he made with Return to Ravnica block cards--the losing category of his portfolio--and explain what not to do with Standard positions.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-nine-months-of-portfolio-management-mismanaging-return-to-ravnica-block-positions/feed/ 2 Insider: Rotation Picks (Gatecrash & Dragon’s Maze) https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-rotation-picks-gatecrash-dragons-maze/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-rotation-picks-gatecrash-dragons-maze/#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2014 09:00:36 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=48953

David Schumann covers the second half of rotation pickups for this Fall, going over Gatecrash and Dragon's Maze.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/07/insider-rotation-picks-gatecrash-dragons-maze/feed/ 6 Insider: [MTGO] Nine Months of Portfolio Management – Introduction https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/05/insider-nine-months-of-portfolio-management-introduction/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/05/insider-nine-months-of-portfolio-management-introduction/#comments Tue, 06 May 2014 09:00:04 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=43472

Sylvain unveils the groundwork to his recent MTGO portfolio management experiment. What did he do with thousands of tix?

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/05/insider-nine-months-of-portfolio-management-introduction/feed/ 9 RUG Monsters in Journey Into Nyx Standard https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/jou-palate-cleanser-rug-monsters/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/jou-palate-cleanser-rug-monsters/#comments Mon, 21 Apr 2014 00:07:27 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=46044

It's rare to see anyone brewing this late in the game with a new set about to come out. It feels like a lame duck weekend for Standard so I was surprised to see my buddy Ken Crocker on camera at SCG Detroit for two reasons. Ken is not terribly photogenic. RUG Monsters? What in […]

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/jou-palate-cleanser-rug-monsters/feed/ 6 Journey into Nyx and the Future of Standard https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/journeying-into-nyx/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/journeying-into-nyx/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2014 09:00:17 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=45825

Ryan examines the first waves of spoilers for potential gems.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/journeying-into-nyx/feed/ 4 Boros Burn in Milwaukee https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/boros-burn-in-milwaukee/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/boros-burn-in-milwaukee/#comments Wed, 09 Apr 2014 09:00:14 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=45499

Ryan recounts his experience playing Standard this past weekend at the SCG in Wisconsin.

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]]> https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/boros-burn-in-milwaukee/feed/ 3 JOU Spoiler – Keranos, God of Storms https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/jou-spoiler-keranos-god-of-storms/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2014/04/jou-spoiler-keranos-god-of-storms/#comments Tue, 08 Apr 2014 04:28:31 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=45601

Check out the Journey Into Nyx Spoilers on our official [JOU] Mini-Site! This cycle of Gods is really shaping up. In a vacuum I really like Keranos an awful lot. But I feel like this is a card like Phenax and it probably will suffer due to a lack of a deck to go in. […]

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