by Blake St. Sauver

There are three separate concepts to trading for value; Trading Up is trading low value cards for higher value cards, Trading Down is trading a higher value card for many lower value cards, and Running Average means to trade cards of equal value.

The reason for Trading Up is simple, move a bunch of lower value cards for one or two higher value cards. The example would be to move 10x $1.00 cards for 1x $10.00 card I retain in these trades to continue to gain trade value as much as possible. So my type of trade would look like this 10x $1.00 cards for 1x $10-$12.00 card but understand that this is not always possible. This is my favorite type of trading because gaining higher value cards is eventually how you end up trading for $50+ cards.

On the opposite side it is imperative to be able to Trade Down. Trading down gives you the ability to re-stock your trade book and gain value in one trade. (These trades have the ability to give the highest overall value in return) An example of a Trading Down would be this:

My: 1x Foil Batterskull $50.00 1x Ext. Art Mana Leak $6.00 1x Foil Mass of Ghouls $0.50 Total: $56.50

For His: 2x Japanese Ancestral Visions $9.00, 1x Foil Etched Champion $8.00, 1x Antiquities Strip Mine (No Sky Even Terraces) $8.00, 1x Portal Alabaster Dragon $3.00, 2x Memoricide $3.00, 2x Caged Sun $4.00, 1x Birthing Pod $3.00, 1x Foil Birthing Pod $8.00, 1x Vorosh the Hunter $1.00, 1x Sculpting Steel $4.00, 1x Foil Zendikar Plains $6.00, 1x Foil Zendikar Forest $6.00, 2x Marsh Flats $22.00. Total: $85.00

NOT ALL TRADES will gain this much value but I knew what his cards were worth better than he did. He overpaid for the Batterskull because of the popularity of Caw-Blade prior to the Stoneforge Mystic ban, but this is an example of how I utilized the trading of 3 cards to gain 14 cards worth more in value. Trading Down allows your trade book to become flexible so that you always maintain a good stock of cards other players will want.

            Running Average trades is based on two factors; Speculation and Need. Speculation is the belief that a card is currently worth the same cost as a card you own, but eventually will gain more value than your prospective card is worth. There are two aspects to this; what is the prospective value of my card, and what is the value of his. The measure of this value is nearly 100% based on the second overall factor, Need. Need is a complicated equation because it balances playability, variance, feasibility, and power. Understanding these aspects takes playing the cards and/or card similar to it and measuring each of these things, which I will not go into in this blog. The easiest way to understand need is to look at standings, how many of each card is being played in decks, and how many decks are playing the same card. Tournament play shifts the movement of card value because the more a card sees play the more it will gain value. Speculation and Need are skills gained over time and experience of playing cards.

The concept and purpose of these trading styles is to gain trade value and keep a thoroughly stocked trade binder at all times. All of these trades are needed to ensure quality in your binder. The military has kept me busy lately, but I hope to see you all soon on the tables.

For those that play competitive magic you have come to the realization that the game can be expensive. Many players balance this cost by buying/selling magic cards when they have gained Actual Value on the card from where they traded for it and/or it is selling for more than what you believe it will be worth in the next few months Perceived Value. Though I do not believe in gaining value from dealers because my brother and I enjoy holding a large collection there is an option for those not willing to part with cards for cash, build a collection on trade.

                Maintaining within the game of magic is not easy when you don’t have much money but this is the model that we maintain. Buy a box of the newest set, the best time to buy into a new set is as soon as it comes out when Perceived Value and anticipation of the new cards is at its highest, the reason for this is because as the market is flooded with more and more packs opened within the newest set the Actual Value of the new set will decrease. For example when New Phyrexia came out the perceived Value of Karn Liberated was 50$ (the same cost as most new planeswalkers that come out), the Actual value of the same card after the release of the set was 35$. Understanding the pricing of cards (Perceived vs. Actual) will give you an upper hand in determining when and how to trade cards for the most value.

For example here is a trade that was made just after Mirrodin Besieged was released when the Perceived Value was highest.

My Cards: 2x Thrun the Last Troll, 20.00 and 1x Green Sun’s Zenith, 10.00 Total: 50.00

His Card: 1x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas 50.00 Total: 50.00

Understanding that Tezzeret was going to be played in both standard and legacy and knowing that Thrun the last Troll would not maintain its 20$ price tag made this trade easy for me. Now we look at the same trade 4 months later.

My Cards: 2x Thrun the Last Troll, 6.00 and 1x Green Sun’s Zenith, 6.00 Total: 18.00

His Card: 1x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas 35.00 Total: 35.00

17$ in Actual Value gained

 After the initial trade I was able to make this trade when Perceived Value was highest.

My Cards: 1x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas 50.00, Total: 50.00

His Cards: 1x Japanese Signed Gideon Jura 30.00, 1x Green sun’s zenith 10.00, 1x Seachrome Coast 2.00, 1x Jhoira  of the Ghitu 2.00, 2x Hymn to Tourach 1.00, 1x Phyrexian Revoker 3.00, 1x Oracle of Mul Daya 2.00, 1x Foil Master of Etherium 5.00 Total: 56.00

4 months later the same trade looks like this:

My Cards: 1x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas 35.00 Total: 35.00

His Cards: 1x Japanese Signed Gideon Jura 30.00, 1x Green sun’s zenith 6.00, 1x Seachrome Coast 4.00 , 1x Jhoira 3.00, 2x Hymn to Tourach 2.00, 1x Phyrexian Revoker 4.00, Oracle of Mul Daya 2.00, 1x Foil Master of Etherium 5.00 Total: 58.00

$21 net total gained on this trade, if you take these trades together $17 + $21 = $38 gained in Actual Value for the trade binder in two trades (these are high value payoffs not all trades are this profitable). This may not seem like it has had much value on your collection, but after making 20 profitable trades it is quite possible to add 100-200 dollars in value to your collection. It is common for me to trade something like this: My: 2x junk rares .20 (.10 cents to a dealer) for his playable legacy commons and uncommon .50 to 1.00 worth. The fact is you must have an outlet for Chaff (cards worth .10 cents or under) from your trade binder or else it will get so overgrown with junk rares that no one will want to look through it.

Having the ability to balance the Perceived Value vs. the Actual Value is how you build your collection through trade. I hope this was a good example on how you can begin to make yourself a better trader my next Blog will talk about “Up” and “Down” trading.

I know many of you are very familiar with drafting here at Paddy’s, but I’ve also seen quite a few new faces Friday nights. It’s great to see some fresh players here, and I hope this will help you get a leg up at the draft table. This article should cover the buildup, actual draft, and deck build for you. As always, things may need to be tweaked for your individual play style, and conditions at the table. Still, I hope this helps.

1)      The Buildup

Spin through the internet to look at the card pool you will be drafting, and through the online rulebook. This can give you both information on the different cards in a given draft pool, deck build ideas, and a good understanding of rule mechanics for how the different cards will interact with each other. Don’t worry if you haven’t memorized every card in the set, or can’t quote rules verbatim. Heavy knowledge of card pools will come as you play, and there will be a judge at any sanctioned event to help you, feel free to call them as needed. Friday Night Magic (FNM) is your first step to organized magic play, and the main objectives of FNM are to have fun and learn. Draft starts at approximately 6:30 p.m. It’s always nice to come a little early to set yourself up and be ready to play. Come early to give yourself time to say “Hi,” to everyone, pay, get your beverage of choice, and put your things down. It also gives you time to mentally prepare to draft. Drafting well can be quite mentally taxing, and always requires your full attention. Having a little time to set yourself up can make the difference between a good draft, and a random bunch of cards in your hand. Sometimes you just end up running late, and this can be unavoidable, however, every edge you can get is a good one.

2)      The Draft

All right! Time to sit down at the table and crack some packs! We’ll assume you have a good working knowledge of the set of cards you’ll be drafting, so you’ll have a good idea of what you will see in the first fifteen cards. Well, it’s always great to have a plan, be it a general one like “white and green have the strongest cards, I’ll draft them,” to a very specific draft archetype like a “Merfolk mill deck,” you’ll still need to be able to bend your draft archetype like a reed in the wind. I’ll elaborate on that later.

An easy way to value cards in a given draft is the acronym B.R.E.A.D. I make no claim to be the creator of this, but it has worked the best for me. B.R.E.A.D. stands for Bombs, Removal, Evasion, Abilities, and Dudes. I’ll explain:

BOMBS:  These are the first pick game enders, cards like Garruk Wildspeaker, your Blaze spells, guys that you’re always happy to see. Almost all of these are so good that they are worth splashing into a third color for. From Incendiary Command to Serra Angel, these cards win games. Often, these guys will give you a good look at what color or colors you will want to be in.

REMOVAL:  These take care of the other guy’s bombs, and clear the way for you! Terror, Oblivion Ring, Shock, many of these are also splashable. Be on the lookout for cards that can target multiple things, like Hurly Burly or Thundercloud Shaman, which is removal wrapped up as a creature. Also, Goldmeadow Harrier is another form of removal, often tapping that big nasty guy across the board. An abundance of removal in a given color is a clear tell to you as well, seeing a late Shock, or Eyeblight’s Ending lets you know that the color is open for you, and may forecast some nice late picks come packs 2 and 3.

EVASION:  These are your guys that can fly, hop over, swampwalk, has protection from, or just can’t be blocked by other dudes. Often a limited game can get stalled with a lot of dudes just staring at each other across the board. These guys end the stalemate, and many times that 2/1 unblockable guy just swings 10 times for the win.

ABILITIES:  Creatures with good “comes into play” effects, or reasonable in play effects, as well as combat tricks fall into this category. Good examples of this are Giant Growth, Surge of Thoughtweft, and Inkfatham Divers.

DUDES:  These are your hill Giant guys, your Grizzly Bears, your on color creatures that will fill up unused slots in your mana curve. Not much to brag about in these picks, but solid guys nonetheless.

The last few cards of any run are often filled with chaff, the Ingot Chewers, Squires, and such. Still, be sure to look at them well, because even some of these can work well for you in specific situations and can be good sideboard additions.

3)      The Deck Build

Now that you’ve finished the draft, it’s time to sit down and see what you have. I prefer to lay my cards out by mana cost, and make my adjustments from there. For all but the most aggressive limited agro builds, the one mana slot is pretty easy to pass by, as most creatures in that slot just don’t do too much, and are out-classed very quickly. Many one many spells can be remarkably good, but again, your Giant Growth or Tarfire will most likely be saved for when you need it down the line, and should be thought of accordingly. There are exceptions to this; Tatermunge Maniac, Mogg Fanatic, and the above mentioned Goldmeadow Harrier are all great one drops. Also, spells such as Thoughtseize turn one can knock the reason your opponent kept his hand right out of the game. Still, the major focus should be on 2, 3, and 4 drops with a few, (1 to 4), cards hitting the 5+ mana slots. Although a seven mana card better be a real game ender. A typical curve might look like this:

1 mana   2 mana   3 mana   4 mana   5 mana   6+ mana

  3            6               6              4             3              1

            Total:  23 Creatures/Spells

This leaves 17 open slots for a 40 card limited deck, the preferred number of land. Your land count can go up or down by one, depending on your curve or number of colors you’re using, but I wouldn’t differ too much for consistency’s sake. Remember, even the most aggressive constructed decks still want to see some mana to work with.

A common mistake for new players is to try to cram in too many things, some good, some bad, and end up with a 48-card deck that requires four different mana to run. Remember you’re looking for consistency here, so try to keep it to one or two colors, with MAYBE a third color for a splash. This also means limiting the card total to the 40-card minimum. You want to be able to draw and play the things you need to win the game. Keeping the mana costs easy and staying at the 40-card minimum will do that.

I hope this helps, but I gotta’ run, it’s time to draft!

Guest Blogger:  Steve Sobon

Sat, April 16th.

7am, time to grind! 

The days I wake up in the morning AND feel like P. Ditty are few and far between, this not being one either. However, I got a good night's sleep, and had tested my standard deck for the regionals ahead of time, so I was feeling pretty good. "My wonderful wife also brought home breakfast, which was a huge bonus!" When Belts and Blake arrived to roll on down to glory after a quick deck, I felt prepared, and that helps a lot for your confidence going in to a tourney like this. for those that care, here's what I played:

CAW BLADE, by someone better then me, tweaked by Steve Sobon

Maindeck                        Sideboard
1 sword feast and famine        1 sword of feast and famine
1 sword of body and mind        1 stoic rebuttal
2 tumble magnet                 3 kor fireewalker
1 sun titan                     3 mirran crusader
4 preordain                     3 flashfreese
2 day of judgement              1 day  of judgement
4 jace, the mind sculptor       2 divine offering
4 mana leak                     1 sylvok lifestaff
4  stoneforge mystic
1 into the roil
3 gideon jura
2 spell pierce
1 motorpod
4 squadron hawk
5 islan
4 plains
4 tech edge
4 glacial fortress
4 celestial colonnade
4 seachrome coast
1 inkmoth nexus

Most of the list is pretty dang stock, with the few exceptions being an Inkmoth nexus, an into the roil maindeck, a u/g sword main, and mirrian crusaders out of the board. crusaders were houses when they came in, and if I had space, I would maindeck them. I chose a split sword option for the pro blue (jace) ability, and into the roil was just a good catch all. Inkmoth was just another dude to hold a sword. I chose Caw Blade over Dark Blade for the ability to run 4 tech edges, since there seems to be plenty of lands that matter running around at the moment. Ok, enough about the deck, on with the matches!

Round 1, RBG 2-0, 1-0 so far:
Let me be truly honest, I won this despite myself. I played like I had 15 drinks into me. "Ah, I miss you magic cruise," I missed triggers, failed twice to use stoneforge's ability at the end of turn to barf out a equipment, and still ran the guy over. I haven't had to apologize to a guy for winning since I tripple goblin guided Jordan on the play six months ago. What can I say, Caw blade's a good deck. Birds and blades ran him down game one, crusaders and swords wrap it up game 2.

Round 2, Darkblade, 2-1, 2-0 and the days looking good:
My opponent saunters up to the table and informs me that he hasn't been playing lately, to protect his rating. Look folks, unless your rated over 2000, I don't even want to hear about it. Hell, 1800 just means you play at FNM's. This guy goes on to "first place" overall at 7-1, only because the top 2 tables get to draw in in the finals. 
My opponent is running a three color deck with at least 3 tech edges, blows them early on my colonnades, then is complaining when I use my own on the activation stack. He wins the dice roll, but it's sword/bird game one for me, with him on the play, Inquisition/mystic/inquisition/jace for him game 2, then the lovely game three state I described above. 

Round 3, RUG 1-2, 2-1 and missing triggers again:
This was my true derp match, all was well until game three, where he had a magnet with two counters, a red titan, and I'm at ten. However, I have two equipped firewalkers on board. I had missed two triggers costing me a total of 4 life, and also, could have blown up one of his 4 red sources to prevent his fire-breathing titan for going in for exacts. Live and learn, I guess....

Round 4, Mono Red, 2-1, 3-1 and getting back in it.
Game one for me is a dog. It's not un-winnable, but it's pretty rough. Games two and three though, I find firewalkers, and a kicked into the roil keept a koth going infinite. Once you drop birds for firewalkers, and trade out some of your spell pierce for anything else, your fine in this match. keep in motorpod though, as a spikeshot elder or a sparkmage can be hell for you.

Round 5, Goblins, 2-1, 4-1 and getting closer.
I had a wonderful opponent who was rocking a deck close to my heart, Goblins! I love me a tribal deck, to see this deck going late sure makes me happy. On top of that, the pilot was a smiling fellow who was just happy to be there. Game 1 was a loss to me, but 2 and 3 firewalkers come out again, and Gideon seals the deal. I hated to send this guy home early, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

Round 6, Green/White stuff??? 2-0, 5-1 and almost there.
I originally put this guy on eldrazi green, as when he was shuffling, he kept flashing his bottom card, and I had seen all is dust, eldrazi temple, and such. A little note here, it's not cheating by me if you want to show the world your cards while your shuffling. I've noticed that people are pretty loose with their hands too, flashing their cards around. Why show your opponent what you are up too? But I'll take the free info. As I said, I put him on aliens, but he drops a couple walls of omens right off the bat. no matter, birds/sword go! Game two I should haven't tapped out for a Gideon, enabling him to all is dust. no matter, colonnade/sword finishes the job.

Round 7, U/W control 0-2, 5-2 and the wheels fall off.
This still stings to think about. Win and in. Just get there. Sadly, not a chance. My opponent was a good guy who was rocking a U/W list featuring Venser the Sojourner and Spine of Ish Sah. He simply had more counters, more plainswalkers, and I just wasn't prepared for the match. what, like you have this list in your gauntlet? Sigh....

Round 8, Valakut, 2-1, 6-2 on the day.
Here I was paired up against my friend Jordan, who was rocking a valakut list. All that was on the line at this point is packs,and we agreed to split them either way the game goes. Game one was pretty handily in my favor, with a stoneforge mystic equipped with a blade took him down with a magnet clearing the way. In Jordan's defence, he did have to mulligan. Game two, he bombed out 3, count 'em 3, mana walls, to grenade out every spell in the book,and I scoop quickly. Game three was a combo of crusaders and firewalkers with pointy objects in their hands aimed at Jordan. He had no outs to my late counters. We had a few laughs, and turned in the last slip of the day. end of the day postings come out, with me at 11th.  

I was disappointed with not top 8'ing regional's, but a day with friends playing my favorite game is not one wasted. And there's yet another last chance qualifier for nats in two weeks! See you there!