We are in an unprecedented era when it comes to spending money on Magic, and next year will be even wilder.
Seven sets planned for 2026, and that’s without the inevitable Secret Lair/Chaos Vault offerings that Wizards gives us. Right now, we’re in the middle of three superdrops within a month of each other: Secret Scare, Playstation, and Avatar: the Last Airbender. Things are wild and they are only going to get worse.
I write about Magic finance, but really, my budget isn’t unlimited. I have to decide what to buy and what not to buy. I’m here to give you my general guide, and give some examples/counterexamples of why I’m following these guidelines. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of everything that’s done well, but instead is a set of rules that I follow when spending money on Magic cards that I plan to resell.
I also need to note that this doesn’t cover things I buy for myself, personally, or for my decks. I have a very pretty, maximum-foil Dragon deck, and I’ve paid early prices because I had to have that foil right now and I don’t feel bad.
We can’t buy everything and frankly, we shouldn’t. Let’s go over what I am buying, and what I’m staying away from.
Things I do buy:
- Reprints that make staples cheap
Dump Week is a wonderful thing that’s happening in Magic finance right now. Basically, there’s a group of people who need to get as much as they can after paying retail for something, even if they end up with a small sliver of profit or even a loss. A great example of this is coming up with Demonic Tutor. Once the Secret Lair version is on TCGPlayer, there will be a short time where you can buy foils and nonfoils of the Kieran Yanner art for much less than they will eventually cost.
The risk here is repeated reprints. I picked up a lot of Aerith’s version of Heroic Intervention, just to see it show up again in Spider-Man AND Avatar. I bought Deadpool’s Blasphemous Act, only to see a new Secret Lair version shortly after. I’m not going to lose money on these long-term, but it’ll take a lot longer thanks to the reprints. Nothing I can do about this, either.
- Cards that are good with upcoming Commanders/themes
I made a lot of money on some assorted Assassin specs when ACR was previewed, and I’ve already made good money on some Avatar-related ones like Earth Surge. More Allies are coming, and Earthbending especially offers a whole lot of chances for cards to spike. I’m also in on Corruption of Towashi, as a transform-related card for what’s coming up in Lorwyn Eclipsed.
The key with these specs is to make sure you sell into the hype, because if you wait, interest and prices cool off. A great example of this from my own experience is Widespread Brutality. I bought pack foils for $1, resold them at $5, but later found an extra dozen copies that didn’t stay with the group and are now back to under a buck.
- Secret Lairs with proven staples
There’s a lot of money to be made if you can get specific Lairs at retail during the buying frenzy. I hate the queue, and that little walking jerk, but I can’t deny the money I make. I detail this in each of the ‘Are We Buying…’ articles I write before each Lair drops, and here’s the biggest thing to know: You need to sell ASAP.
The easiest way is eBay, but TCG will let some stores presell and there’s a few other presale sites too. The Lairs that sell out have a ton of FOMO and people are willing to pay a lot. Preselling can lock in some profits and give you a turnaround time of nearly zero, which is the best sort of profit by far.
- Cards underpriced due to circumstances
Sometimes, cards are cheap due to weird conditions or a lack of awareness. Jumpstart cards can be like this, but Commander bannings have me really really tempted. I’ve picked up a playset of foil borderless Jeweled Lotus not too long ago and I’m just waiting for them to be unbanned. I’m ready for when it does. I recognize how speculative this is, but I feel confident it’ll eventually get unbanned.
What I don’t buy:
These are the categories of cards that I’m no longer buying. I’m not saying they can’t turn a profit, only that they are too likely to lose me money and I’d rather just stay away entirely.
- Constructed cards.
Not Standard, Modern, Legacy, nothing. Constructed isn’t moving the needle for the majority of cards, and those few where it does I’m at the mercy of the metagame (looking at you, Quantum Riddler) and hoping I’ll get there. Commander is just more certain, more predictable, and I much prefer to put money there than in the four-of formats. Note that I’m not saying I never spec on cards that are good in Constructed, I’m saying I never buy only because of that. The Spider-Man Ephemerate is a great example. Big in Commander, only special version, and it’s a bonus that it’s good in Modern.
- Anything that’s had a Commander deck reprint (It’ll get printed again)
This doesn’t include the new-to-Magic cards, as those can be worth a spec, but generally speaking, if a card’s been in a regular Commander deck, it’ll be there again. It’ll also have a chance to be part of a Surge foil or something like that, which will make other versions tank even farther. I’ve had some bad experiences here, and heaven willing, I’ll be able to avoid that issue again.
- Cards with huge amounts of stock already online
James and I often look up the quantity in stock for a card when we evaluate each others’ picks on MTG Fast Finance, and knowing the amount still available is a very useful data point. If there’s a large amount online, I often want to wait and let many of those copies get soaked up by early action before moving in on a card. I don’t want to be the only one with 400 of a card. I’d rather wait till 250-300 of those copies are gone, to show that there is a demand, and then I’ll be happy to buy in, even if the price has gone up.
A card spiking brings people out of the woodwork to sell it, so bake that into your expectations. Copies will materialize when it gets pricey, and keeping your profits can be tricky.
Cliff (@WordOfCommander at Twitter and BlueSky) has been writing for MTGPrice since 2013, and is an eager Commander player, Draft enthusiast, and Cube fanatic. A high school science teacher by day, he’s also the co-host of the MTG Fast Finance podcast. If you’re ever at an event and you see a giant flashing ‘CUBE DRAFT’ sign, go over, say hi, and be ready to draft.