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ProTrader

PROTRADER: PucaPicks for 12/29/16

It’s the end of the year, and despite this being a lull in news, there’s lots of news! We’ve learned what most of the Aether Revolt Inventions are, and we’ve heard people whine about Ornithopter.

I don’t suppose it’s news that a whole lot of the Affinity deck got Invention versions, as that’s a deck that combines some awesome artifacts. Enchantress decks will have their day in the sun too.

We are about to get hyped on sweet, sweet spoiler coverage starting just next week, and that’s always a sneaky, sneaky time financially. Some cards are going to spike as new combos are revealed. Some will drop as new answers are printed.

I want to look at things that still have nearly a year to go in Standard, because there’s three sets’ worth of cards to make them spike. You may or may not agree with some of these, and that’s what the comments and the forums are for.

To the picks!

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ProTrader: Magic doesn’t have to be expensive.

ProTrader

PROTRADER: PucaPicks for 12/22/16

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Before we get to some picks this week, I want to talk about Freytag’s article, Promoting Trades, because it’s so directly relevant to what many of us do. I’m already offering a 30% bonus on foils I want, and lots of other members are offering bonuses too.

That’s the key word: bonus. This isn’t necessary. It’s not a requirement. I am aware that some people like getting a bonus, so I offer it. I want these foils and giving a sweetener is just fine by me. But it is not a requirement. It’s extra. Most trades on the site don’t have a bonus.

Pucatrade is working hard to take points out of the system, and a fee for promoting trades that can be paid in points is going to further that goal. I cannot overstate how awesome it is that the fee for getting your needed Invention can be paid by sending some other member a pair of Saheeli Rai, or some such.

I also want to link a page I was sent via Twitter where some guys talk about their experiences, good and bad, on Pucatrade. I’ve certainly had ups and downs, and the short version is that as long as you are participating, trying to do things better, they will get better.

I would also really like to hear from you if you’ve been working Pucatrade over by sending out booster packs. It would seem to me that the postage is prohibitive, but considering that you can get boxes for about $90, that’s 250 points a pack and you can move them for 394 points. Arbitrage for the win!

Now, on to my picks! It being winter break, and with Aether Revolt spoilers due soon, we are at some delightfully low spots. Almost everything is a buy for me this week, in contrast to a couple weeks’ worth of sends.

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ProTrader: Magic doesn’t have to be expensive.

ProTrader

PROTRADER: PucaPicks for 12/15/16

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It’s the surprises that keep me coming back. As we travel further back in Magic’s history, raiding old draft boxes, we are at five and six and seven years ago. If you’ve been playing all this time, maybe you remember these formats. Maybe this is your first exposure to some of these cards. Remember, these are all commons and uncommons.

Our goal here is to mine for the cards of not just value, but demand. It doesn’t do as much good to have one $10 card that moves in a year, as compared to ten $1 cards that I can move right now.

I also want to note that I’ve seen some of the cards I highlight move in price. Last week, Galvanic Blast was nearly 100 points, now it’s under 80. I’m not blaming anyone, but it does seem that the faster you move, the better off you will be.

This week, we are covering the newer standard of core sets, as well as Zendikar block, widely given credit as leading a renaissance for Magic.

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ProTrader: Magic doesn’t have to be expensive.

Casual Fridays

Lessons Learned

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One of the things that I like to do when I’m reviewing how the year went is to look for patterns in the spikes throughout the year. This can clue me in about what might be coming next, or the things I want to pick up in anticipation of future growth.

I’m going to look at the last three months, and see what stands out to me. First, some of the spikes that I or others mentioned ahead of time, some spikes I don’t think people predicted at some point, and then what I want to have going forward.

December:

The Chain Veil – The theme this month is going to be counters and proliferate, thanks to Atraxa. The Chain Veil is a card that many picked to eventually be awesome when it was spoiled, and a lovely target at $1. A new spike, especially in foils, is reminiscent of how Nekusar, the Mindrazer caused many cards to spike.

Contagion Engine – If activating planeswalkers twice is good, tapping six mana to +2 all of them is pretty great too. This dodged being in Atraxa’s deck, and should have been on your radar immediately as a result.

Bloodspore Thrinax – If you called this one, then you really do play a lot of counters with your creatures. I’ve got this in my Experiment Kraj deck, and frankly, I feel silly that I didn’t see this spike coming. It’s a fantastic way to power up everything you’re bringing into play, and now Atraxa can grow it! The synergy of Atraxa proliferating this, which will make everything else better,

Doubling Season – I felt silly when I saw this starting to climb. Sure, it’s had two printings plus a Judge edition, but this card defines the casual player’s experience. It’s ready to be printed again, and don’t overlook how hard it is to take this card out of a deck. The supply is low on this because the copies are seeing play, not waiting in storage.

Next up: Asceticism

Sure, it’s $10 right now, but if we are spiking creatures that have to stay in play to get better and better, we need protection for them, and this is a totally unfair card. As a bonus, the foils are not that much more than the nonfoils, and I always prefer speculating on casual foils.

November

Angus Mackenzie – This year, we’ve seen a huge part of the Reserved List go through spikes, and while some of those are pure speculation from individuals or groups, Angus is a group hug commander who can’t be replaced. Throwing a Fog every turn requires a lot more setup, and all he needs is three mana.

Koth of the Hammer – Skred Red strikes! This was a cheap planeswalker, especially with a Duel Deck printing, but it’s reflective of the relatively small supply, since that was four years ago.

Pact of the Titan – Maybe we should have seen this. The other Pacts, aside from the white one, have all seen some tournament play. Free spells are good!

Silas Renn, Seeker Adept – I love that this was less than fifty cents and then was up to $3 at one point. Cheap, powerful, and recursive. How did we not see that this would always be good?

Next up: Mind’s Dilation – Cheap mythic with a game-breaking effect, from a small set, and demands an immediate answer. This is a lot like Lurking Predators, and that’s one of the cards that really jumped me into the MTGFinance game.

October

Selfless Spirit – I played back in the day when Dauntless Escort was a thing. Picking this to be an expensive card wasn’t too tricky.

Foil Leyline of the Void – The rise of Dredge decks should have clued us in about picking up good sideboard options. This has always been a good sideboard option for graveyard decks, but this is powerful from the opening turn.

Torrential Gearhulk – We didn’t say that this would be a $30 card, which is what it spiked to. Six mana is a lot, but I dismissed it for only copying instants. The Pro Tour taught us different.

Next up: Metallurgic Summonings – It’s a fringe deck right now but it’s such an engine that I want to have lots of these. I’m trading for them in foil and not foil, because I don’t want to miss out on the next deck that will make it big.