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.