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The Significance of Aggro in a New Standard

Purphoros, God of the Forge

By Jared Yost

With the advancement of Theros upon the Magic: the Gathering scene, I can’t help but wonder exactly how this set will affect Standard. From one perspective, the printing of the Scry Lands and the generally higher cost of most cards in the set (Bestow creatures, Legendary Enchantment Artifacts, the Devotion mechanic favoring slow but steady board development) leads me to believe that Standard is about to slow down – significantly. Hellrider was a complete beating, and losing this card will affect the speed of Standard because the more powerful cards from the next two sets in the block are not yet present.

But, on the other hand, when a large block rotation is about to happen (losing the entirety of Innistrad block + M13) and players are left with limited options, you will usually find that the deck type of choice is aggro.

At the start of the new Standard season, aggro decks tend to place well out of the gates. Looking last year at this same time period, we can see that the following decks placed in Top 8’s at starcitygames IQ’s over the month of October 2012:

As you can see, there were many options for an aggro (even aggro control) build at this period that were able to place very well.

The theory behind why aggro does so well at the beginning of a new Standard environment is that the difficulty level is much higher when building a control deck. This is because there are many different factors a player has to consider when choosing what they want their control deck to specifically accomplish in order to win the game. In contrast, to build an aggro deck all you have to do is jam a bunch of efficient, cheap creatures into a shell and then go to town.

Of course, there are always players that will play control no matter what. There are always players that can play around aggro either because of a greater skill level as a player or properly building a control deck for the metagame based on previous Block season action (see Jace, Architect of Thought rising to $15 currently). But that doesn’t mean that you can’t capitalize financially on the large amount of aggro about to hit the field!

Let’s review in RTR block and M14 what I think are the best aggressive, battle ready creatures at Mythic and Rare that I think will impact the metagame based on revealed Theros spoilers so far:

  • Boros Reckoner – I think that this is the most obvious card that will be included in the aggro builds for months to come. Being a HUGE devotion enabler and an amazing overall creature means that this card is due for a price increase as demand starts to catch up with dwindling Gatecrash supply.

    Ash Zealot

  • Ash Zealot – When I think of an aggro deck, I see mono red aggro being a big contender. With great options like Purphoros, God of the Forge, Burning Earth, Lightning Strike, Boros Reckoner, Stormbreath Dragon, and Mizzium Mortars, there are a lot of tools to build an unforgiving red deck that an untested format will have difficulty dealing with. There is a lot of potential for Ash Zealot in this build. Haste and first strike on a 2/2 body, which also counts a lot toward Devotion costs with a RR mana cost makes this a juicy pickup target. They are very cheap right now; most vendors will sell them for $1.50 or less and you can most likely pick them up in trades as extra throw ins. I predict that some form of mono red will be viable once Theros hits and if Ash Zealot is a part of that deck, it could easily see a $5 or greater price.

  • Imposing Sovereign – This card was mentioned before by other financially savvy magic players when M14 was revealed, but I think now especially is a good time to pick up these guys. It fits great into the white weenie deck that is also probably going to emerge with the introduction of Theros if mono red is not your cup of tea. It’s a Goblin Piker that simultaneously punishes opponents for playing fast decks as well as makes it difficult for slower decks to block. If it sees play and does well you can expect the $2.50 price to increase.

    Precinct Captain

  • Precinct Captain – Well, here is a forgotten little gem! Where red has Ash Zealot, white has Precinct Captain to take up the two drop spot in it’s deck. The Captain was in a fair number of RTR Block decks (18% or so), and you can bet that most cards that are good in RTR Block will see play in Standard towards the beginning of block rotation because they have established themselves as solid cards. Though future strategies may negate the efficiency of a 2/2 first striker that makes 1/1’s, in the beginning everyone will want them to turn on Devotion and to keep the beats coming along with Heliod, God of the Sun. Getting in at $0.50 to $1 for these guys seems like an great pickup to me.

  • Lotleth Troll – Our friend the Troll hasn’t been given much love in Standard since his $10 preorder price. Let this be a lesson – preorders are nothing more than gambling in 99.5% of the cases. Sure, there will always be the story of that guy that bought 40x Sphinx’s Revelation at $4, but I simply compare this to someone winning the lottery. For every winner, there are hundreds if not thousands of losers that also bought in when Time Reversal was $50 and Temporal Mastery was $25. Back to the troll, however, I believe our little friend is due for a price hike. This is because he is an amazing card in a vacuum that needs an aggro environment to shine – and if a G/B aggro deck that runs 4 of these and 4 Scavenging Oozes hits the scene you can bet that spending $1.50 on these boys will certainly pay dividends. It pairs nicely with the spoiled Hero’s Downfall and Thoughtseize, which I can see as the basis of a deck that is either Mono Black splashing green or Mono Black splashing white. Which reminds me…

  • Blood Baron Vizkopa – Though this doesn’t really fit into my article’s theme, I thought I might mention the Baron in this case because this is a card I believe is undervalued right now at $9.50. Its protection from Black (which is a color I believe will be played a ton thanks to Thoughtseize coming back into Standard) will be key, and in addition to all of its other abilities this will make the card an important strategy in control decks or as the top end of the curve or for aggro decks. At the least this will be a sideboard powerhouse. Since it is a mythic rare from an unpopular set, it will be hard to find after a while. Get in at $10 before the price increase starts to happen.

  • Scavenging Ooze (also Mutavault, technically) – I believe that the window has pretty much passed on this opportunity, but still try to get in at $14-$15 if you can. I’ve noticed something very weird with M14 prices this time around (based on M13 and previous core sets) – the cards never really fell to the depths I thought they would after being out around a month. Even though Scavenging Ooze was preordering for $20, it never really fell below $12 if you bought them through vendors over the past month since M14’s release. Either M14 was gobbled up by players so that they could acquire Scavenging Ooze and Mutavault in oodles, or something has really changed with Magic in respect to the speculation dynamic. No longer is it quite as easy to predict the fall, and rise again, of clearly obvious format defining staples with the exception of dual lands. Even Mutavault has not fallen very far from the $15 preorders I was seeing – it still commands an average $13 price tag even though it is played at most as a 2-3 of in current decks and in only 30% of the decks if that. Of course, as more Theros spoilers are revealed it could completely negate the impact of the ooze and vault on Standard, but in my opinion strong cards are strong (in this case, even Legacy strong) and people will want to try and play them in decks even if they don’t fit quite right. As Standard continues into next year, and even the block beyond Theros, at any point Ooze and/or Mutavault could become very good. I would try and get my playset of both of these now because I really don’t see them going down in price in the foreseeable future. At the worst, Standard players now can hold onto these cards indefinitely because they will be playable in Modern and Legacy for years to come.

    Tidebinder Mage

  • Tidebinder Mage – This card definitely has the potential to be good because it provides a 2/2 for UU that easily turns on Devotion and can help to hold back annoying red and green creatures. If a blue based Devotion deck comes online taking advantage of Thasa, and all those good blue Scrying creatures, I think that Tidebinder Mage could play a role in early Theros standard. For $1.50 I don’t think you can go wrong. Even if the spec doesn’t turn profitable, you can always send them to a buylist at a later point because I believe that during the next two years this Mage will at least make it into the sideboard of a deck piloted by a popular pro tour player that places well in a random Pro Tour, GP, or PTQ.

  • Voice of Resurgence – Everyone pretty much missed the boat on this guy, but lucky for you Voice is slowly dipping back down into the $30s range of “somewhat affordable again”. You can get it for the low $30s but I think that Voice really has nowhere to go but up. G/W aggro Populate is certainly a possible deck, combining Trostani, Advent of the Wurm, Loxodon Smiter, maybe even Scion of Vitu-Ghazi (another great spec at $0.25 a piece) and this guy for some serious beats. Remember Voice is from DGM like Blood Baron, an unpopular set that was hardly even opened. There is a lot of potential for other DGM mythics or rares to spike unexpectedly, but I wouldn’t be surprised for Voice to soar to the $40s or even $50s again if G/W aggro becomes a staying Standard archetype. For the most part, any deck this thing is played will include four of them. Though I wouldn’t actively try to pick Voice up because of the high barrier to entry, if you can trade for them at $30 I would call it a satisfactory pickup. Worst case, you can unload them come January for the same $30.

In conclusion, there is a lot of financial potential in the low end of Standard aggro decks. Most of them have very low buy-ins as rares, so the risk is mitigated by the fact that even if only one or two of these cards is a great card you can still make money because the cost of entry is so low on these picks. My prediction is that the Gods will make people excited about playing mono colored decks in Standard, so being able to get in early on cards like Ash Zealot for the Purphoros Devotion deck or Precinct Captain for the Heliod Devotion deck will be a good strategy.

That’s all for now folks! In my next article, I will delve more deeply into Theros cards specifically because at that point more than half the set will be revealed.

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Conditioned Response

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By Cliff Daigle

For much of the MTG finance world, condition is a big deal. Scales, grading, and the smallest of dents can knock significant value off of a card.

However, to someone who is building a cube, or needs that last foil, or mainly plays at someone’s table on Saturdays… condition isn’t nearly as big a deal.

I tell you this because if you’ve ever tried to sell/trade to a vendor or a collector, you know that they will take money off based on their grade of the card. It can be frustrating and then some, especially if you think you’ve taken good care of it.

Here is a secret for dealing with most casual players: minor and sometimes major flaws in a card are not that important. I myself have a Bloodstained Mire that I bought for $15 from a retailer, because it had been bent. Undamaged ones were $30, and I had planned to get one of those, but when I put the bent card in a sleeve, the damage wasn’t easily apparent.

Should I ever need to trade that Mire, I’ll be looking for someone who doesn’t care about condition, and I’ll find such a person before too long.

Keep in mind that for older cards, condition is likely to be a key factor. Dual lands, pieces of Power, Alpha lands: all of these (and more) have their price affected by condition, sometimes heavily. These are 20-year-old pieces of cardboard, and very few have made it through unscathed. In case you didn’t know, we didn’t really have sleeves for cards for the first few years, and so the backs of cards will often have all sorts of dents and scratches from being turned sideways on a piece of concrete.

Now, it’s true that some cards are truly damaged and unplayable. Some are so warped that they cannot be used in tournaments, and I respect anyone who won’t keep such cards. But for many players, if it looks okay-to-decent in a sleeve, there’s no problem. You won’t get as much in trade as you would an undamaged card, but you’ll get more than you expect. In some cases, people won’t ask for less at all.

If they do care about the condition, and want to knock a little off the value, you should probably accept that it is indeed worth less (but not worthless!). If they want to grade the card in front of you, then it’s probably time to move on.

This is especially true with foils. I’ve met players who really wanted the effect a foil gets if it’s been played without a sleeve and there’s an edge of silver around the card, from where the black ink on the border has worn off. I’ve met others who don’t want that effect at all, and wanted a lot less than the card was worth.

When you’re trading online, then you’re in a much trickier area. I’ve had multiple experiences where cards arrived in a different condition than I expected, and I’ve had people say I sent Slightly Played cards instead of the Near Mint I promised them. My advice in this regard is to be open and honest. Communication is everything. If there’s a chance of a problem, scans are good, pictures are good.

On eBay, I’ve heard tales of someone who sold a card at NM price, but the buyer then claimed that the card was SP. So the buyer sent the card back, and indeed, it was a SP that got sent back. This is an evil, criminal tactic to upgrade the condition of a card and a reason why you need to be diligent with feedback. I’m told eBay always takes the buyer’s side, so be appropriately cautious.

Be cautious as well when you’re dealing with signed cards. Most vendors view that as a negative, even though many casual players will view a signed card as more unique and personalized. I like my signed cards, as they represent a journey of different artists I have met and events I have been to.

So if you have a slightly worn yet very awesome card, don’t despair. Just be patient. A vendor may not give you full value for it, but there are many trade partners who are looking for that exact card. You’ll find them, make the trade, and everyone wins.

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October Rotation Price Targets

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By Cliff Daigle

Theros is coming.

It’s going to be released the first week in October, and that’s when ‘rotation’ happens. All of Innistrad block (Innistrad, Dark Ascension, and Avacyn Restored) and Magic 2013 will not be allowed in Standard decks anymore.

Traditionally, this means that their prices fall, and indeed, a lot of those cards are starting to creep lower.

Today, I want to go over the cards that are going to get taken out of Standard decks and you should snap them up at their lowest prices. I can’t say for sure what those prices will be, but whatever they end up at, get them at rotation. When their price goes back up in a year or so from casual appeal, you’ll be thanking me.

I’m also going to make a prediction for what their prices will be in October 2013, and again in October 2014. My only caveat is that if something gets reprinted or banned, the price will do something really weird and that prediction will be irrelevant.

 

Magic 2013

The M10-M13 checklands (Sunpetal Grove, etc.): These are very common after four core set printings and yet they are still a decent price, because they are very good in casual decks, even as a one-of. These do not see much Modern play, so once their price drops low, they will creep back up around Christmas, I’d say, when the new Commander decks come out and people are building a lot of new EDH decks.
Price at Rotation: $2 each
Price in a year: $5 each

Thundermaw Hellkite: Dragon decks are fun and easy to build. This particular dragon is a powerhouse, being five hasty power for five mana. It’s also worth mentioning that this on turn five is one of the best followups to Kaalia of the Vast on turn four, because he clears the path for her attack. Doesn’t see much Modern play, but sees lots of casual use. I’m in.
Price at Rotation: $7
Price in a year: $12

Rhox Faithmender: Doubling lifegain effects is something casual players love to do. He hasn’t been paired with Thragtusk in a while, but his appeal outside Standard is very high.
Price at Rotation: $1 or less
Price in a year: $3

Sublime Archangel: Angels are a serious thing for casual players. This one is cheap and can hit very hard. She fits into a lot of different decks: Tribal, Exalted, or even ones with themes like “beautiful women on the card” and if you think I’m kidding about those sorts of decks, remember there’s an Elvish Ranger who wants a word. As for Sublime, she will hit a floor at rotation and tick slowly up for years.
Price at Rotation: $6
Price in a year: $10

Omniscience: This is popular in Legacy Show and Tell, often used to cast an Emrakul for free, getting an extra turn and the win pretty often. EDH players go just as crazy for this card. I don’t expect the price to fall far on this card, but I’ll be ready if it does. Of all the cards on this list, if any get banned, this one is the most likely.
Price at Rotation: $8
Price in a year: $20

Vampire Nocturnus: In Magic 2010, with all the cheap vampires and fetch lands from Zendikar, Nocturnus was the top of the curve and a $20 card despite being the prerelease foil. He’s seen zero Standard play this time around, because the cheap vampires all need red mana and his triple black is just too much. One of the spoiled legends in the new commander set is a Vampire, though, so there’s room for that tribe.
Price at Rotation: $4
Price in a year: $7

Elderscale Wurm: Big and has a unique effect. You can think of him as a green Platinum Angel that attacks very well. He’s nearly bulk now, and I’ll be happy to scoop some up.
Price at Rotation: under $1
Price in a year: $3

Rancor: Another casual all-star, this was a $2 card even after duel deck and Archenemy printings. Pick up as many of these as you can as throw-ins when you’re trading in October–they will be $2 again before long.
Price at Rotation: $1
Price in a year: $3

Thragtusk: The value you get from this one card is still quite impressive. It’s in Cubes and EDH decks and not Modern at all, so when he rotates, get these cheap.
Price at Rotation: $3
Price in a year: $6

Reliquary Tower: One of the lands that every EDH deck should consider playing. I like to have these in my binder for when someone tells me they are building a new casual deck. Foils especially, but regular ones will be a good pickup too.
Price at Rotation: 25 cents
Price in a year: $1

 

Innistrad

Mikaeus, the Lunarch: Yes, he was in FTV:Legends. His effect is very good for one big creature or powering up a casual token army. He’s not used in Standard anymore though, so his price might not change at all.
Price at Rotation: $2
Price in a year: $3

Garruk Relentless: If he drops to $5 or lower, I’ll get all I can. He’s too good for that price. Other such examples: Nissa Revane and Sarkhan Vol. Planeswalkers will always have a certain appeal.
Price at Rotation: $5
Price in a year: $10


Enemy checklands (Sulfur Falls and the like): Just like their M10 counterparts, these are great and easy mana fixing for casual decks. The bonus here is that these are rarer than the ally-colored ones that have been printed four times, so grab all you can when they bottom out. It’ll be easy money before long.
Price at Rotation: $3 each
Price in a year: $8 each

Geist of St. Traft: I doubt he will go much below $15, because he is used often in Modern and in Legacy. That said, once he rotates, his price will creep upwards. Get in if you can, but I can see people taking their Standard Hexproof deck and turning it into one for Modern.
Price at Rotation: $15
Price in a year: $25

Kessig Wolf Run, Gavony Township: These are the two best utility lands for their colors. They are powerful in different ways but they are easy to add in, because most decks will be able to use such an effect.
Price at Rotation: $1 or less
Price in a year: $2

 

Dark Ascension

Increasing Devotion: Token decks are always going to be a popular way to play. This is one of the best cards for such decks, and let’s not overlook that they make Human tokens, one of the few cards that makes this relevant creature type. Pick this up cheap and sock it away for a year.
Price at Rotation: 25 cents or less
Price in a year: $2

Thalia, Guardian of Thraben: This little lady does it all. She slows spells, she attacks and blocks well, and has a low mana cost. She’s also popular in certain Legacy and Modern decks, so her price might not fall very far.
Price at Rotation: $3
Price in a year: $8

Geralf’s Messenger: A restrictive mana cost and being terrible at blocking mean he won’t see Modern or Legacy play. It’ll be casual or bust for this.
Price at Rotation: $2
Price in a year: $5

Gravecrawler: Zombies are a great tribe and this is a flavor winner. Gravecrawler enables all sorts of combos in all sorts of formats. Keep in mind he’s a buy-a-box foil.
Price at Rotation: $3
Price in a year: $6

Mikaeus, the Unhallowed: Another Zombie whose price is all due to his casual appeal. I’m hoping his price drops to $3 or less, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he stays where he is.
Price at Rotation: $4
Price in a year: $7

Drogskol Reaver: Here’s a card that will be close to bulk at rotation. It’s too good in assorted EDH decks to stay that low.
Price at Rotation: 25 cents or less
Price in a year: $1.50

Huntmaster of the Fells: Much is going to depend on price memory for this card. When people think about how much they spent on it in its heyday, they will be reluctant to let it go at the new low price it will get to. It’s a fringe player in Modern currently, but if it dips very low, I’ll pick them up.
Price at Rotation: $5
Price in a year: $10

 

Vault of the Archangel: An outstanding effect on a land, and very popular with the casual crowd Grab them and put them away for a while.
Price at Rotation: $1
Price in a year: $4

Sorin, Lord of Innistrad: Again, cheap planeswalkers are something to speculate on. It takes one being truly bad to stay at a low price forever. Even Chandra Ablaze is up to $8, and Sorin is much, much better. Remember that he has a Duel Deck foil nudging his price downwards.
Price at Rotation: $8
Price in a year: $20

 

Avacyn Restored

Avacyn, Angel of Hope: Look at this price. Nearly $20 right now, and that is ONLY due to casual appeal. She’s never been played in Standard or Modern or any Constructed format, but this speaks to the power of the casual crowd. Not just EDH, but every deck wants an effect like this. I do not expect her price to go down at all.
Price at Rotation: $20
Price in a year: $25-$30

 

Cathar’s Crusade: Parallel Lives never had a chance to be cheap, the ship has sailed on making good money off of that. This card offers a different kind of power, and will be available at bulk rates. Get a stack of these, they will be buylisted for $1 within a year.
Price at Rotation: 50 cents
Price in a year: $2

Entreat the Angels: This is a great effect, and when it gets cheap, you should trade for these. Remember, we love Angels and we love tokens!
Price at Rotation: $4
Price in a year: $10

Terminus: I cannot overstate how good this card is in EDH. With every set, there’s new, powerful creatures that resist destruction. This is one of the best spells to cast and its price will be at an all-time low.
Price at Rotation: $2
Price in a year: $7

Deadeye Navigator: Nearly bulk now, he’s too good to stay that low forever.
Price at Rotation: 25 cents or less
Price in a year: $1

Tamiyo, the Moon Sage: Planeswalker, cheap, powerful. You know the drill by now. But in case you’re not aware, there’s nothing a blue player loves more than to bring spells back to hand after casting them.
Price at Rotation: $7
Price in a year: $20

Temporal Mastery: I’m aware that Time Warp is cheaper and more consistent. But it remains a fact that there’s a lot of players who love to take extra turns. Pick these up and help those players realize their dreams.
Price at Rotation: $2
Price in a year: $5

Zealous Conscripts: I still can’t believe this is a card. It’s a combo with Kiki-Jiki, and it will be nearly bulk at rotation. It’ll be good for a long time after that.
Price at Rotation: $1
Price in a year: $3

Craterhoof Behemoth: I sold out on these when they had their spike at the beginning of the year and I’ll be glad to pick them up on the cheap when they bottom out. The effect is too strong and too popular to remain inexpensive.
Price at Rotation: $3
Price in a year: $5

Gisela, Blade of Goldnight: Anything that doubles damage is going to have a high casual appeal. Her ability to halve damage makes things like Pyrohemia amazingly good in EDH. Amusingly, there is exactly one creature that can block her, kill her and live: Withengar Unbound.
Price at Rotation: $3
Price in a year: $10

Sigarda, Host of Herons: A fringe player in Standard for her term, she doesn’t see any play in the Eternal formats. She’s powerful as a Cube or EDH card, especially as a General heading up a Selesnya deck.
Price at Rotation: $2
Price in a year: $6

Bruna, Light of Alabaster: There’s a chance that she gets a lot better with the enchantments coming in Theros block. She is, by far, the best general for an enchantment deck because of her built-in recursion. Others like Uril, the Miststalker or Krond the Dawn-Clad have to work much harder to bring back their Auras.
Price at Rotation: $2
Price in a year: $5

Alchemist’s Refuge: Yes, it requires two colors and three lands, but the effect is undeniably powerful. Something like this is always going to have appeal, no matter the color requirements. Winding Canyons is the nearest example we have.
Price at Rotation: $1
Price in a year: $2

Cavern of Souls: I don’t think this will take much of a hit at rotation. It sees enough Modern/Legacy play to keep its price, and as someone with four tribal EDH decks, I know I’ll be wanting them to get cheap.
Price at Rotation: $15
Price in a year: $20

 

 

Slayers’ Stronghold: Just like the refuge above, it’s worth stretching your mana a little to get an effect this good. Vigilance, power boost, and most importantly, haste on a land. Hall of the Bandit Lord is our comparison, and some decks will want both of these lands.
Price at Rotation: $1
Price in a year: $3

As always, find me on Twitter @WordOfCommander and tell me why I’m so very right or wrong.

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Trading Online

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By Cliff Daigle

Last week I went over some tips for trading with another person. Today I want to give you some alternatives to that sort of trading.

I want to start off with a trade that doesn’t have anything to do with another person: trading cards to a vendor for store credit. This is something that you might hesitate to do, because you won’t get full retail value for your cards. Understand that a vendor lives for their profit margins, so they buy cards for about half what they sell them for. Most vendors offer a bonus if you choose store credit over cash, from ten to thirty percent, depending on the vendor.

You can compare buylists online to find who will give you the most value, and it just so happens that here on MTGPrice you have a tool for that. Just bring up a card’s price, and on the right, you have buttons for ‘buy price’ and ‘sell price’ depending on which you want to do.

Click "Sell Price" to see what price you can sell to stores at.
Click “Sell Price” to see what price you can sell to stores at.

The main reason to use a buylist is when there is a specific card that you just haven’t been able to find anywhere else. Trading is imperfect, and sometimes you just need that last card or two. I have done this to finish foiling out a deck, because I was unable to find someone who had spare foil Ravnica bounce lands. I gave up, and went to a vendor.

In the modern age, we don’t have to rely on in-person trades with individuals or vendors. I want to share with you three different online tools that I’ve used to trade via mail. I’ve traded to Hong Kong and to Europe, and I have yet to have a bad experience.

The first you should know about is the oldest, the Magic Online Trading League (MOTL), and you’ll want to check out the forum. This is a place where people post their have/want lists and you see what matches up with yours. The advantage of this site is that since its been around for quite a while, there’s some very awesome cards available. If you’re into early judge foils and FBB duals, this is the place.

The downside of MOTL is a subtle one in terms of layout and organization. It’s a forum. You post what you have and want, and people reply. It’s very static and there’s no built-in tool for setting up a trade or card valuation. In addition, because of the values of the cards available, it seems to have a higher incident rate when it comes to scammers.

An aside about mail fraud: agreeing to trade by mail and then not doing so is exactly mail fraud. It is easy to prove and prosecute, and the mods will help as much as they can. I’ve done more than 100 online trades and haven’t hit a bad one yet. Inattentive people yes, but not evil.

A newer trade site is PucaTrade.com. Instead of directly trading with another user, you add your list of haves and wants, then you fill the wants of others and earn points, which you then use to obtain your own cards. A point is roughly equal to one cent, so if I send someone a Snapcaster Mage, I’m earning around 2400 points and they are spending that many points.

PucaTrade allows for you to get maximum value for your cards. You get full retail in points, and can do so at the height of the market. If you like to buy low and sell high, you can do very well on PucaTrade. The big drawback is that the process of sending cards is a little more luck than anything else, because it is a race to fulfill orders. I put every shockland up as available, and only one pops up to be sent now and again, because others fill those orders as soon as someone does it. I have seen someone pick up dual lands in PucaTrade and not have to deal with someone who insists on getting extra value for ‘trading down’ their Reserved List card.

The third site I want to mention is my favorite: deckbox.org. It combines a built-in price tool from tcgplayer with chat boxes and a cleaner interface than MOTL and yet is a regular trade. Deckbox gets a lot of their traffic from reddit, and there are some awesome people on reddit who like to trade. Trades haven’t been just cards-for-cards either! I have sent magic novels out and gotten cards for my trouble, and I’ve sent out a stack of cards and gotten a brand new iPad.

As I said, I’m a devotee of Deckbox. I like browsing for foils, I like the chat box they offer instead of PM-style messages back and forth. I like the reddit trade page that refreshes weekly and I appreciate the forums that deckbox has, which has boards for different formats, locations, or styles.

For anyone who wishes to trade online, I would also suggest looking into shipping using Paypal to print out a postage label. Of the 90 trades I’ve done, more than half have been high-value enough that I wanted some form of tracking on them. Using Paypal, a first-class mail parcel in a thick envelope (bubble mailer) is $1.69 in shipping, when going to the USPS counter would cost twice that. Save yourself some money, and go enjoy some trades!

Questions? Leave them below, or tweet them to me @WordOfCommander!