Trading

Legacy’s Allure

This weekend, my LGS is having its first Legacy FNM. For people who don’t play Legacy, this is just a chance for people to show off their dual lands, Force of Wills and Wastelands. I guarantee there will be some people who’ll show up just to see cards they may never see again. I mean,…

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Conjured Currency #45: Pack to Square One

Have you ever heard of the phrase “Pack to Power”? For those who are new to the world of Magic finance, or just never came across the term, let me explain. Back in April of 2010, Jonathan Medina (known to some as one of the forefathers of the Magic finance lifestyle), began an article series…

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Conjured Currency #37: Cheating 101, The Finance Edition

As you may be aware of, a recent cheating scandal has rocked our beloved game in the most recent weeks. Trevor Humphries was suspected of (and admitted to in a subsequent Facebook rant) cheating  at the SCG Open in Worcester, and the well-known Alex Bertoncini got thrown in the cell for another three years. As I…

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Conjured Currency #30: Power 10 (Not the 10 You’re Thinking Of)

Good afternoon and/or Evening! (See what I did there? Go put last week’s article in your face if you didn’t read it, and you’ll understand the clever use of introduction that I managed to pull off). Last week we talked about the reprinting of fetch lands, and some of the financial side effects that they’ll…

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Investing In MTG Oddities

Hey there, all. I’m Markus, a long-time submitter on the /r/mtgfinance subreddit under the username drakeblood4. I’ve decided to go from submitting my articles for imaginary internet points to submitting them for slightly less imaginary exchange of goods and services points. Outside of the time I spend doing a mediocre job using high-school level math…

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Negotiating in Magic Finance

Improving your negotiation skills is a great way to level up at Magic finance. The ability to make better deals, even just slightly better, will pay huge dividends over time because you can use it again and again. Today I’m going to talk about keys to successful negotiation at the dealer booths and trade tables….

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Playing Magic for Free #2: From Trading to Trader

Read Part 1 of this series – here! Completing the Transformation I was talking to a friend, Kevin Grigsby, who has bought and sold cards off and on since well before my start in the game. We discussed a story dating back to the unbanning of [card]Land Tax[/card]. It was the first time I was…

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Playing Magic for Free #1: Catching the Cardboard Bug

When a newborn Magic players opens her eyes for the first time, it’s difficult to not be overwhelmed with the price others will pay for multicolored cardboard.  If you read the title to this three-part mini-series, it’s obvious I’m not here to justify card prices or imply the financial requirement to play this game. I’m actually…

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Getting LUCKy: Acting Too Quickly

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…

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Conjured Currency #10: Which Spec is Right For You, Part II

Welcome back! Last week I briefly discussed how there are different kinds of speculation targets, and why they should be targeted in varying ways depending on factors such as your budget, whether you trade or buy, and whether you’re looking for long-term holds or quick flips. I had planned to go more in-depth and have…

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Getting L.U.C.K.y: Trading Up

This always feels like a tender topic. The idea of profiting in a trade is enough to make many people steer clear of trading altogether. Just so nobody misconstrues this, I am not talking about taking advantage of someone or “trade-rape” (which seems to be a popular term for it at the LGS). What I…

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A Defense of Star City Games

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…

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DJ Johnson – Trading to Your Outs

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…

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DJ Johnson – A Smartphone is Only as Smart as its User

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…

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