So last week’s article happened. The feedback that I got was mostly reticent confusion, which is how I imagine most test audiences walked out of advance screenings of Donnie Darko. Let’s address the problems with last week’s article: I started an experiment that I knew could not be quantified within my typical writing window (my …
Let me preface this by saying I was not paid by TCGplayer to write this article. I’m just a longtime buyer of cards from the website, and have had a seller account for a little over two years (although I don’t use it nearly as much as I probably should). If you’ve been reading my …
Magic financiers typically point to the growth of the playerbase as the primary driver of rising card prices in recent years. Rising card prices, in turn, have been the primary driver of Magic finance. Without new money pouring in, speculating on Magic cards would largely be a zero-sum game closer to gambling than investing. The …
This week brought us Star City Games: Baltimore, where Modern was the featured format with a side of Standard and Legacy. Let’s dive into the results to see what innovations were showcased this weekend. Star City Games: Baltimore – Modern Open (Baltimore, MD – USA) Decklists Deck Finish Player Deck Finish Player Sultai 1st Gerard …
http://content.blubrry.com/mtgcastdotcom/Pitt_Imps_Podcast_107_Age_of_Affinity.mp3 Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:26:48 — 19.9MB) This week, we go over the Standard GP that just passed. We also cover some quick news. I don’t know, something about a Dual Deck or a FTV or something. Then we ramble for a bit. Oh wait. Crap, almost forgot. We are giving a guy a try …
I’ve kept no secret about the fact that I’m not impressed with manifest as a mechanic. To me, it fits in with a number of previous unimpressive “feel bad” mechanics. As a featured new keyword in a set, it has a number of issues similar to other troubled mechanics such as tribute, cipher, and curses. …
So today we are going to do something that we have never done before, and could theoretically never do again. Thanks to a conflux of semi-recent events, driven primarily by the new foreign card market, I am about to sign up for TCGplayer—and you’re going to go through it with me! Obviously this experiment is going …
http://s3.gatheringmagic.com.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2015/02/27/Brainstorm-Brewery-136.mp3 Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:12:46 — 66.6MB) Luckily for us, we had another opportunity to debate the Reserved List. Excellent. We like nothing better than spending our time debating the merits of something that is literally never going away ever. It’s always a great expenditure of our time. We love it. We even found some …
Welcome back, everyone who still reads my articles (or are just starting to read my articles!). I’d like to start out this week by clearing up a misconception that many people have about what I (and other Magic financiers) do in the community. I do not own a Crystal Ball. Well, I probably do somewhere …
This certainly wasn’t a weekend to miss. Two grands prix, along with Star City Games Open Series in Los Angeles, means there is a ton of information for us to digest. Let’s dig in and see the results. Grand Prix: Memphis (Memphis, TN – USA) Format – Standard Top 8 Decklists Jack Fogle took down …
Pauper? What does poverty have to do with Magic? If you’re new to Magic, you might not know what Pauper is. Those who know of Pauper are asking, “Why are you writing about Pauper? Isn’t that format dead?” Well, Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) no long supports MTGO Daily Events for Pauper (editor’s note: This …
Hey, guys, sorry for the long hiatus. Between the holidays and the Fate Reforge release, I haven’t had much time to do any research for this series. But here I am, back again to bring you some Commander goodies. I won’t be including price ranges for the upgrades (it simply takes too much time for something …
Confession: I wasn’t 100 percent sold on the name of this column when I started. I liked “Privileged Position,” but I think someone else is already using it. Privileged Perspective sounds like a Magic card name, and maybe some day it will be, but I’m worried the name doesn’t make a whole lot of sense if you …
Have you missed out on some of the “most formidable winged warriors to ever grace the game”? Do you have an Angel-themed EDH deck? Are you trying to collect one copy of every Angel to ever be printed? If the answer to any of the above questions is “maybe,” “I guess,” or “not really,” you …
http://s3.gatheringmagic.com.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2015/02/20/brainstorm-brewery-135.mp3 Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:28:12 — 40.4MB) The gang is joined by self-styled financier Kyle Lopez (@itsyourboyLOPE), CEO of Aether Games. As you may have guessed, Kyle deals in Magical cards. As you may have guessed, he knows some things about it that you want to know. The gang facilitated this transfer of knowledge from …
Ghoulcaller Gisa is definitely the better of the two zombie masters. To recap what she does: Ghoulcaller Gisa 3BB Legendary Creature – Human Wizard B, tap, Sacrifice another creature: Put X 2/2 black Zombie creature tokens onto the battlefield, where X is the sacrificed creature’s power. 3/4 I’m also a fan of her flavor text; …
Based on comments from my previous article, I would like to take a more in-depth approach to Pro Tour Fate Reforged. Covering only the top eight leaves out many of other archetypes that were present over the weekend. This time, I’m going to look at all the players who earned at least 18 match points (a 6-4 …
http://content.blubrry.com/mtgcastdotcom/Pitt_Imps_Podcast_106_PT_Fate_Reforged.mp3 Podcast: Download (Duration: 2:58:48 — 40.9MB) Obviously this is our big week. We take great pride in being the best PT coverage podcast out there, and WE ARE. The work that goes into one of these is unreal but its so worth it. PTs are the very best Magic out there being played and …
For those unaware, Tiny Leaders, which I affectionately call “Baby Commander,” is a variant of the Commander format. One still plays a singleton deck with a legendary creature acting as commander. The most significant differences are its banned and restricted list, its deck size limit (50 instead of 100), and one huge caveat: all cards must have …
Magic casts a pretty wide net. I’ve met a lot of different people playing this game, with various work and education backgrounds. Magic finance, on the other hand, seems to largely attract those who have some sort of economics or business background (or like to think they do!). Perhaps this is why my perspective is …
http://s3.gatheringmagic.com.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2015/02/13/brainstorm-brewery-134.mp3 Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:07:13 — 30.8MB) We skipped a week. We’re really, really sorry about that. The important thing is that we’re back, and we’re in your face with so much value that you’ll need to buy a spare trade binder to hold all of it. You’ll be like that dude trying to hold …
Pro Tour Fate Reforged happened. While I know it was just last week, I don’t really want to talk about it. Well, I’m probably still going to talk about it, but I don’t want to do an identical analysis to what’s already out there. There will be several other articles out there for you to read that recap …
In early December, Wizards of the Coast posted that it will be moving forward with leagues on Magic Online and began testing them during December in the closed beta environment. Along with this, the company posted the link to sign up for the closed beta. If you haven’t applied for it yet, you should do so here. …
Hey, guys, I’ve got some sweet Modern action to cover this week based on the results that have come in from Pro Tour Fate Reforged. Let’s take a look at the standings, what cards were featured in some of the best-performing decks, and if there are any undervalued pieces left after all the spikes and …
Pro Tour Fate Reforged just happened…that’s a lot of Siege Rhinos. We talk the Pro Tour, our weeks, and the announcement of the new core set, Magic Origins. Obviously, this means Black Lotus will be reprinted. We examine the card Metal Worker, and 5.4% of this podcast is dedicated to ’90s post-grunge music. Thank you …
