Hello, everyone, and welcome back. I don’t normally get the itch to write set reviews, but I’m once again sitting at my computer at 9:30pm. I think my editor, Danny Brown, is sitting outside of my window holding his newborn child in one arm and a crossbow in the other [Editor’s note: Mages don’t need crossbows, DJ],…
Read More
(Cold)snap Back to Last Week Welcome back, readers of Brainstorm Brewery material. I think I’m getting into a routine where at the beginning of each article, I’ll bring up an insightful comment from the previous week to bring full attention to it. Last week we scratched the surface of token finance, and I forgot to mention…
Read More
“I took the liberty of bullshitting you.” “Excuse me while I whip this out.” “I have half a mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it.” Hello, Brainstorm groupies! When last we left our intrepid heroes, we were learning about the investment styles that each host was using to amass…
Read More
The Magic community has a lot of different definitions for the word bulk. Bulk rares are the [card]Conjured Currency[/card] and [card]Whims of the Fates[/card] of the world, the dregs of Magic cards that most often sit collecting dust until they’re shipped off to a dealer for $.10 or $.13 a piece. Bulk commons and uncommons are generally sold…
Read More
The professor walks in on the first day of classes with a gleaming smile that could make your stomach turn to knots. There’s no way someone can be that happy. It’s the first day of MTG Appreciation 2100 [Ed. note: this explains why he’s so happy]. As an introduction, Professor Brightflame feels we should take turns…
Read More
Welcome back, readers! I always say “welcome back,” but I’d like to take a moment to mention how much I honestly mean that. It’s not a cheap way to get three extra words on the page to finish this article sooner. I received a lot of excellent feedback on my analysis of the Modern Event…
Read More
There are a number of basic concepts that you learn when starting in Magic finance. These are the building blocks that make Magic finance predictable enough to be profitable—the fundamentals that dictate supply and demand. I’m talking about things like rarity, big set versus small set, draft pack ratios, scarcity of older sets, and rotation….
Read More
It’s round four at SCG Detroit. Across from me is Joe, who is playing Mono-Black Devotion. He swings in with a [card]Nightveil Specter[/card] to deal two, but what do I care? I’m playing Gruul Aggro with [card]Skylasher[/card], [card]Titan’s Strength[/card], and [card]Armed // Dangerous[/card] in hand. He plays a second [card]Nightveil Specter[/card] and I panic. I…
Read More
This normally isn’t my thing, but I figure that making some outlandish predictions about the future is something I’m occasionally good at, so I’m giving it a try. After GP Richmond’s massive 4,300-person attendance, it’s clear that Modern is really a force in the market. I think that Wizards will continue to show a lot…
Read More
“Leave the last 10 percent for the next guy.” This sound line of reasoning has been promoted by the guys from the Brainstorm Podcast and I tend to agree, although it may seem counter-intuitive initially -“Why give up profit margins on my speculation targets that hit?” Because cards are ultimately only worth what someone is…
Read More
Hello, and welcome to my very first article here on Brainstorm Brewery. I’d like to start by thanking the staff here and especially Jason for pushing me to finish this article. It’s my goal to write articles that make you think critically about how you are currently conducting your business, and more importantly, to engage…
Read More
It’s not a secret to anyone who knows me that I love Merfolk. Or that anyone who may have heard me say anything in passing knows that I love Merfolk. Or that anyone who has ever had a single limited interaction with me knows I love Merfolk. I have a good reason, after all. I’ve…
Read More
That’s right, I’m that guy. Every Magic community has at least one. We generally lurk in your local game shop a few nights a week, poring over the same binders as weeks go by, hoping to glean just one glance of blinding salvation to make up for the piles and piles of nonsense we flip…
Read More
The first item on my fearless personal inventory (discussed in my last article) is bad money management. If you are into the financial end of Magic in any way, shape, or form, bad money management should be at the top of your list as well. For most people, myself included, it is something that you…
Read More
It is entirely likely that many a Commander playgroup is approaching the final stretch of the arms race to build increasingly powerful decks full of format staples. And why not? Thanks to Eternal players and speculators seeking to offload extra pieces of the Mind Seize deck, there is a massive influx of Commander 2013 product….
Read More
Hello again! For those of you who took the time to read my last article and still bothered to click on the link to my second piece, I thank you. I hope I was able to share enough information to make it worth your while. If you’re just jumping on this article series (if you…
Read More
Last week, I started discussing the importance of goals in your life. These principles apply to almost everything, even the act of playing and trading Magic: The Gathering. I talked about determining what is important to you in life, basing your long-term goals around it, and how to formulate them in a SMART way (Specific,…
Read More
All Magic Has a Price J. Graves Tampa, FL Let me know your thoughts at [email protected] Follow @jwgravesFL Supporting the Local Card Shop Intro Thanks for all the wonderful feedback on the first issue of All Magic Has a Price. I appreciate each comment. Toward the end of this article, I will talk…
Read More
Author’s Foreword Due to the news of Premier Events returning to MTGO, the main premise of the article, that the MTGO market may not yet be at its bottom, has become outdated. Certain parts of the article have been rewritten to fit with the new information. However, I feel that the thrust of the article, that…
Read More
Hello everyone, and welcome to a new article series here on BrainstormBrewery.com. My name is Douglas (DJ) Johnson, and I’m here to aid the Brew Crew in the never-ending goal of helping you squeeze monetary value out of this card game that we all know and love. Seeing as I’m the new kid on the…
Read More
This week’s article is going a little bit off the beaten path. For the past two articles I’ve written solely about the practical applications of Magic finance. This week is going to be a little different. I want to share with you an important subject in Magic finance, but also the rest of our lives,…
Read More
I got my start with Magic: The Gathering back in Worldwake. Many readers have probably been playing way longer than I have. I had a friend that was pretty cool and he had a group of nerd friends that would come over and play Magic for hours at a time. Finally, I got curious enough…
Read More
Welcome Brew Crew. First some introductions, my name is Ryan Archer and I am a member of Team RIW. I’ve been playing Magic for a long time, but recently focused on my goal of making the Pro Tour. When Dragon’s Maze was released, it introduced some of my favorite Standard cards: [card]Advent of the Wurm[/card]…
Read More
In this corner, the greenest merfolk to ever walk into an arena, weighing in at 2UUGG, standing a measly 1/1 before coming in to play, [card]Prime Speaker Zegana[/card]! And in the challenger’s corner, the weirdest wizard you’ve ever met, weighing in at a whopping 4UR, and standing an impressive 2/4, [card]Melek, Izzet Paragon[/card]! Ready? Fight!…
Read More
In my previous article I delved into the financial merits of cards that have recently rotated out of the standard format and how you, as a player or financier, can try to make the best of it. And for those who commented on the glaring exclusion of a particular card, I have put the data…
Read More