Jim Casale

Grinder Finance – The Moon’s the Limit

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As with every set, I like to make a list of cards that I would consider “non-bulk” that are likely to be useful over the lifetime of a set in Standard.  Some of them are pretty obvious (like Duskwatch Recruiter) but some are not so obvious (Angelic Purge).  If you missed my last article, here, I outlined the cards I pick from Shadows over Innistrad commons and uncommons.

Eldritch Moon Commons:

  • Bloodbriar
  • Displace
  • Drag Under
  • Exultant Cultist
  • Fogwalker
  • Galvanic Bombardment
  • Ironclad Slayer
  • Ironwright’s Cleansing
  • Olivia’s Dragoon
  • Prey Upon
  • Primal Druid
  • Spontaneous Mutation
  • Stensia Banquet
  • Succumb to Temptation
  • Take Inventory
  • Terrarion
  • Thermo-Alchemist
  • Thraben Standard Bearer
  • Turn Aside
  • Ulvenwald Captive
  • Waxing Moon
  • Wretched Gryff

Eldritch Moon Uncommons:

  • Blessed Alliance
  • Campaign of Vengeance
  • Chilling Grasp
  • Conduit of Storms
  • Courageous Outrider
  • Crop Sigil
  • Cryptolith Fragment
  • Curious Homunculus
  • Drogskol Shieldmate
  • Emrakul’s Influence
  • Faith Unbroken
  • Foul Emissary
  • Furyblade Vampire
  • Geist of the Lonely Vigil
  • Gnarlwood Dryad
  • Graf Harvest
  • Grizzled Angler
  • Hamlet Captain
  • Incendiary Flow
  • Kessig Prowler
  • Lashweed Lurker
  • Lone Rider
  • Mockery of Nature
  • Mournwillow
  • Murder
  • Nebelgast Herald
  • Nephalia Academy
  • Noose Constrictor
  • Repel the Abominable
  • Ride Down
  • Rise from the Grave
  • Scour the Laboratory
  • Shreds of Sanity
  • Unsubstantiate
  • Vampire Cutthroat
  • Whispers of Emrakul

As usual, I’d pick every double-faced card due to their rarity.  You never know when another Lambholt Pacifist will turn up.  Another thing I would like to note is the general power level of the draft cards is pretty high.  A lot of them could see Standard play which bodes well for the set as a whole.   I think Wizards of the Coast has finally developed a good small set plan because this set looks similar in power level to Oath of the Gatewatch which brings us such hits as Reflector Mage.

The Under Appreciated:

I did some testing today with Eldritch Moon and these are the cards that stood out most to me

collectiveeffort

It’s a little unassuming but it fits in great with the “Go wide” plan that a lot of white decks have right now.  It’s often a 3 mana sorcery that can kill Avacyn or worse and has the kicker of tap a creature to pump your team.  It will likely be important in G/W Mirrors as it doesn’t really allow you go get blown out like Dromoka’s Command.  The ability to kill an Always Watching or Evolutionary Leap instead of accidentally hitting a less useful Gryff’s Boon or Oath of Nissa means it will also have a lot more utility like Dromoka’s Command.

mausoleumwanderer selflessspirit

Mausoleum Wanderer and Selfless Spirit are the real glue that will make Spirits a thing in Standard.  Mausoleum Wanderer gets an upgrade from the $10 uncommon from Shadowmoor, Cursecatcher.  Flying and the ability to get pumped by playing other Spirits means it’s a real clock.  With a Rattlechains in play, both of these creatures’ activated abilities get a lot better.  No longer can people play around “on board tricks” when all of your Spirits have flash.

darksalvation

If zombies are even remotely on the cusp of being good, this card will be very very good.  It reads oddly because it’s a removal spell that also makes creatures.  It’s the best kind of 2 for 1 because it lets you scale it based on the state of the game.  It will be great to draw this on turn 1 and turn 20.  It’s probably not going to be the Declaration in Stone in this set but it is definitely going to be a solid role player for Zombie decks.

nahiriswrath

You know all the decks that play Kozilek’s Return because they have big fatty Eldrazi to trigger the other side with?  Well theoretically you don’t even need that anymore.  Nahiri’s Wrath is really good at blowing up your opponent’s board if you’re just interested in survival and it does it at a nominal price.  If you have some extra lands and a World Breaker you can blow up all of your opponent’s planeswalkers (which are generally hard to kill for ramp) and ensure you survive long enough to rebuy the World Breaker and keep going.  If World Breakers are not really your thing, Nahiri’s Wrath also combos pretty well with Emrakul.   It can fill your graveyard with card types or discard Emrakul herself to kill any planeswalker.  It also sets up any kind of reanimator strategy up pretty well by putting creatures in your graveyard and killing threats.

matterreshaper

One of the new mechanics in Eldritch Moon is emerge.  You know what’s really good to emerge?  A creature with a death trigger.  Matter Reshaper lets you curve nicely into an Elder Deep Fiend or other 7 cost emerge beast without giving up cards.  You get to basically make a down payment on your emerge guy and it threatens to block.  I’m a pretty big believer it’s hard to go wrong with a creature that hits so many important notes in Standard.  The fact that you can also hit Reshaper off of Collected Company is just icing on the cake.

rattlechains

A lot of people caught on to Rattlechains on Friday.  With the full spoiler some players decided they were willing to play it and it saw a modest jump from $1 to about $3 on TCGPlayer.  I played some games today and this is easily the best card in the Spirits deck.  It was very powerful before but with all these new Spirits it will be a top tier creature.  I’m not sure $3 will be the ceiling for this creature for the next month.

bygonebishop

Did you remember this was a spirit?  Since the Spirit deck will likely be playing much of it’s game on it’s opponent’s turn, being able to hold up a counter spell or crack a clue will be invaluable.  This guy hasn’t quite caught everyone’s eye yet but since all of the best spirits cost 2-3 mana it is unlikely to not make the cut.  I think this is more likely a $3-4 role player in a few weeks than the bulk rare it currently is.

Final Thoughts

  • This might be one the best sets in a long time.  Plan accordingly for the fall when everything is stupid expensive because it’s the small Summer set.
  • Conspiracy 2 Spoilers will start in a few weeks.  This is getting tiring
  • Next year’s schedule for Grands Prix will be revealed at Pro Tour Eldritch Moon.  Make sure you tune into to coverage to see if your city will get a GP next year!
Sigmund Ausfresser

PROTRADER: Not Concerned by RL Buyouts

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Interests 1

Interests 2

For a moment, I saw absolute panic.  Right before me I saw the whites of the buyout monster’s eyes – 28 more reserve list cards jumped by over 15% in the past week.  These all moved after we already saw rampant buying in Moat and Lion’s Eye Diamond.  This was quite possibly the beginning of the end, and America’s most-hated man was pouring fuel on the fire with his unnecessary, trolling tweets.

Shkreli

But over this past weekend I realized a few things that have drastically ameliorated my fears.  Setting emotions aside, I’ve come to the conclusion that the world isn’t ending.  Is it possible that buyouts and a healthy MTG economy can coexist?  This week I’ll share three observations that have calmed my nerves and motivated me to stretch my MTG investments even further despite all the recent turmoil.

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Casual Fridays

The mythics of EMN

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While I could take some time and reflect on all the buyout silliness, it’s time to talk about the mythics of the new set. Small-set mythics have a lot of potential, historically, but for almost all of these, the prices are going to go down.

Picking out that one riser is tricky. Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy is the recent example that tells people ‘don’t miss out!’ but I remain content to sell them all immediately and lock in my value.

One thing I want to point out: not only does this set get opened half as much as Shadows over Innistrad, it’s also going to be overshadowed by Conspiracy 2 in late August. I think that there’s a certain number of drafts that would have been EMN-EMN-SOI, but are instead triple Take the Crown, so the numbers in circulation are going to be lower. Not hugely lower, but lower nonetheless.

My predictions are for what the card’s value will be when Kaladesh comes out at the end of September.

White

Deploy the Gatewatch ($4) – It’s hard to argue with what this offers in the right deck. I’ll leave the probability analysis to others.  What I think is that $4 is just right for this off the top, and it ends up being bulk. Foils are intriguing, though, and if they dip below $7 I’m going to go after them for a long-term hold.

Gisela, the Broken Blade ($27) – This price is absolutely too high right now and she’s got a comparison in Archangel Avacyn that just makes her look bad. She’s a strong card, a mini-Baneslayer, but I think she settles in around $10 by the time Kaladesh rolls out. I also don’t see many decks that are going to run her instead of the Archangel, even as she costs less than her boss.

Notably, though, this is a mythic Meld card. I think that the foils on this are going to see a serious multiplier as people chase their own shiny B.F.M. and I will be surprised if the foils go below $50 at any point.

Black

Liliana, the Last Hope ($23) – Now this…this is tempting. Three mana planeswalkers tend to be at least played, and there are some good things going on here. Her plus ability is better than the flipped Jace, Telepath Unbound’s plus. Yes, read it again. That’s until your next turn, not until end of turn as we are used to. Her minus gets you something you already want, or maybe an upgrade if you flip over a more appealing target. Her ultimate is good for, at the minimum, two Zombies per turn, and you’ll get the first two right away.

Liliana is only pick to go up. I think she finds multiple homes and stays between $20 and $30, with real potential to jump very high right away.

Tree of Perdition ($5) – Oh you lovely people that are going to jam this in Standard with Triskadekaphobia. I commend you. I value you, and I want to see photos all over Twitter of this happening. It’s janky as janky can be, and this card is going to be higher than bulk, but only just.

Green

Ishkanah, Grafwidow ($3) – I’m not sure who was clamoring for the Legendary Spider, but congratulations, those people! You’ve given us another bulk mythic. I don’t get why Spider Spawning and Nyx Weaver outrank the three spiders with red in their costs, but whatever.

Blue

Mind’s Dilation ($3) – Seven mana. Does nothing the turn you play it. Wild variance in effect. Possible for your opponents to outmaneuver it by doing nothing or manipulating their library.

All that adds up to a bulk mythic and Commander gold! I can’t wait to play it and get slaughtered for cackling evilly.

Red

Nahiri’s Wrath ($6) – This cannot hit players. I repeat, this cannot hit players. Therefore, at best, it’s a bad removal spell, costing you at least one more card than you’re killing. Potentially, this goes in decks that want to dump their hand, but you have to do so much here. Bulk mythic.

Mirrorwing Dragon ($5) – This is a sneaky-great card. It’s got the ability to spread your good spells out to your whole team, and will spread your opponent’s kill spells to their whole team. It’s got potential, but I think $5 is where it stays.

Colorless

Emrakul, the Promised End ($20) – In a deck that can mill itself effectively, I can see this costing 9 or 8 mana, and that’s when this card is impressive as hell. She is indeed what we were promised, a fixed version that is a real beating. Who cares that they get to take a turn after you use a turn for them, because you cast spells badly, made crummy attacks, and messed with everything.

I think Emrakul doesn’t drop far, maybe trailing down to $15, but the casual demand for her is never going to let the price fall too far. Foils are going to be crushing wallets all over, likely $60+ for the duration.

Decimator of the Provinces ($8) – It’s no Craterhoof Behemoth. It’s going to have the same problem that Overwhelm did: you want all your creatures to be in play and attacking! The Emerge cost means that it’s got a green color identity for Commander, and as such, only some decks can play it. I think this ends up near-bulk, at $3 or so.

Multicolor

Tamiyo, Field Researcher ($26) – Three-color planeswalkers have a rough history. Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker was powerful enough, and could be run alongside Cruel Ultimatum, but was never pricey. Sarkhan Unbroken is awesome, with very good abilities, and sees no play. Tamiyo defends herself well, but the plus ability requires creature combat. Right now, there’s a Bant Humans deck that is set up with the right manabase, but would it be worth it to jam a couple of these and make Collected Company that much worse? I’m doubtful, and I think she ends up at $10.

Grim Flayer ($14) – I think this card is sweet, but it’s got the misfortune of being in the same Standard as Sylvan Advocate. There’s going to be a period where this is legal and the Advocate isn’t, but the Flayer is just so outclassed. This isn’t going to see heavy play, and I’ll be watching to see if this goes too low. My prediction is $5-$7.

Gisa and Geralf ($6) – This is the type of card that is mythic only to save us from awful games of Limited. This is tough to beat in sealed or draft, with a constant flow of card advantage. Relentless Dead has seen a big spike lately, and I think this is why. G&G offer a lot of potential in casual decks as well, and you can’t overlook repeated abilities like this. Financially, though, I think this is never going to be too valuable, with regulars likely a dollar and foils pushing $10, because people love Zombies!

Ulrich of the Krallenhorde ($6) – Angels and saints preserve us, we finally got the Werewolf legend that Commander players have been pining for since original Innistrad. Ulrich is underwhelming to me, though, and I’m not alone. You get a one-turn bonus to power and toughness on the front, and conditional removal on the back. I suppose there will be turn cycles where he flips back and forth, but I think Huntmaster of the Fells is neck and neck here. I expect that this is going to be very cheap, around $2, but the foils will be up to $10-$15 from those who are dying to jam every Werewolf into a hundred-card deck.

Conjured Currency, Douglas Johnson

Customer Service in #MTGFINANCE: Part 2

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Written By:

Douglas Johnson @Rose0fthorns
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Welcome back, friends. I spent the last weekend moving into a new apartment, so I didn’t have a whole time to spend on Magic. Thankfully I’ve still got some decent ideas leftover from last week’s article, so we’re going to talk about customer service in this industry a bit more. I’m sure you all want to hear about Craig Berry and the whole Reserved List buyout, but Corbin has already covered that extensively in an interesting interview with the man himself. I’d really recommend checking that out.

Last week we went over a couple of the scenarios where things can go wrong in the process of buying or selling a Magic card, and the proper procedures for both the buyer and seller to resolve things as peacefully as possible without resorting to insults and witch hunts. I’d like to start this article on a brighter note, and provide sellers with some ideas that can be used to really brighten a buyers’ day and earn those coveted five-star reviews that we all want to secure. As such, this article will be a bit more “seller focused” because that’s where I have more experience.

Freebies

Maybe this is getting to be more common practice, but I don’t buy enough singles online to personally know whether or not that’s true. What I do know is I’ve really started to enjoy shipping small little tokens of appreciation with my orders, often in the form of literal Token cards. While I’m not about to become Santa Claus and start throwing in the Wurm tokens for Wurmcoil Engine, a single Plant token for their Nissa, Voice of Zendikar can go a long way.

LifelinkDeathtouch

Seriously, these things are $3 each.

On a similar note, how many of you ship out the appropriate checklist card when you sell a double-faced card? While they only go on TCGplayer for pennies, you save someone from having to pay $.25 or $.50 at their LGS if you just throw in the appropriate checklist card. While someone purchasing an Archangel Avacyn is probably playing with opaque sleeves at a competitive event, there are a non-zero number of people who prefer to avoid the judge call entirely and just use checklist cards in their opaque sleeves while reserving the actual card in a clear sleeve in their deckbox for an easy flip back and forth.

awake spooke

My favorite card to ship with the matching checklist is definitely Startled Awake. Do you know who’s casting this card? I’ll give you a hint; they probably don’t play with opaque sleeves, if any sleeves at all. That person will be ecstatic that they don’t need to hunt down the checklist card. Now that we’re on the subject, I’m absolutely fine with holding Startled Awake at the $3 they’re at now.

startled

It’s not quite at the point where I’d actually feel comfortable listing it on TCGplayer, because that flat .50 fee per transaction makes selling cards under $5 less than appetizing to low level sellers. Remember that there approximately the same number of these in the market right now as there are Archangel Avacyn. This is a casual all-star with ridiculously low supply, which helps beat the test that Breaking // Entering fails to pass. Being a launch promo during Dragon’s Maze kind of kills all of the potential that one had. Anyway, where were we?

breaking

Wrong Address

Oh, right. Customer service stuff.  Now here’s a situation that’s never happened to me and I’m very thankful that I haven’t had to deal with it. Every now and then, human error gets the best of us and two orders get shipped to the wrong addresses. The Modern player who ordered four Life from the Loams gets sent a foil Kaalia of the Vaast, and vice versa for the aspiring Commander player who just wants to bash with dragons and angels. Just great. So what do you do? Do you ask them both to ship the cards back to you? You could just ask them to ship to each other…..

WRONG.

Do not do this. Ever. Nope nope nope nope nope. Do not ever put yourself or the buyer at that kind of risk. You don’t want to be giving out other people’s addresses, and you don’t want buyer A screwing up the shipping process while they end up getting their card safe and sound, while buyer B is screwed over. You also shouldn’t be sending them money to cover the cost of the PayPal shipping label. Here’s what you need to do to make this right on both ends: It will cost you a decent chunk of money, but it’s your fault multiplied by two in the first place.

1. Print out a total of four shipping labels to start with. One of these is going to buyer A, and one is going to buyer B. The other two shipping labels are addressed to you as the seller.

2. Place the necessary shipping materials inside each of two bubble mailers. That includes one other bubble mailer, the necessary sleeves, toploaders, and/or a team bag. Whatever is needed to safely package the card and return it to you.

3. Ask each buyer to safely and securely package the order just as it came, and then reseal it in the bubble mailer they received, taping the pre-paid shipping label to the envelope. Those mailers go back to you as the seller, so that you can then re-ship the correct orders to the correct buyers.

None of this can be done without tracking, because this gives buyers an opportunity to lose or even steal cards without you being able to provide evidence of what happened. Cover yourself every step of the way, and take the loss like an adult.

Of course, the exact method listed above can easily cost you $10 in shipping materials alone. For this reason, it’s only really worth it for you to do if the cards shipped to each party are valuable enough to care about being tracked. In the case of smaller orders (think $4-5), it might just be easier and cheaper to just purchase a replacement copy of each buyer’s order, and ship it directly to them via PWE, then tell them to keep the misplaced order as compensation for the trouble.

Endgame

So what’s the end goal here? As a seller, I’ve technically given you a bunch of ways to lose money in the past two articles. Paying buyers for condition discrepancies, lost orders, and throwing in free cards? Who would want to do that? If you ignore the whole “hoping for repeat customers” reason, there’s still tangible benefits for having a high feedback rating on TCGplayer.

If you start selling a decent number of cards on TCGplayer, you might want to work your way up to “Gold Star Seller” status. I’ll let you read TCGplayer’s description of what that entails.

downloadstar

That middle statement is the really relevant part to us. When you’re looking to buy on TCGplayer, you can set a filter so that you’re only looking at “Gold Star Seller”s.

star

Alternatively, you can use positive feedback from eBay or TCGplayer as references when starting to sell via Facebook or Twitter. One of the downsides of trying to start out selling on social media is a need for checkable references for accountability. Being able to prove your reputation and connect it to a “tangible” online store that can receive feedback and be named in case of trouble can help get you started in the market of Facebook and Twitter, which is where I always recommend trying to pick up singles at less than TCGplayer low prices.

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