Trading Advice

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Darkness1835

28 March 2010

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Trading

With the new set Rise of Eldrazi coming out, people will probably be scrambling all over to try and trade for various super-powered rares like Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, among others. Before you become one of those people, there are some things you need to know about trading.

Types of Trades

First of all, there are several types of trading. There’s what I like to call “Need” trading, and “Greed” trading. Need trading is where you trade X for Y, where Y is what you need to help complete a deck. Greed trading is where you trade X for Y, where Y is what you don’t necessarily need at the moment, but could put in a deck later, or use for trade. Y could be anything from a playset of Lightning Bolts to a Black Lotus, but we’ll get more into Power 9 later.

Now that we have Y defined, let’s work on X. The variable X is what you have. Again, this can be divided up into two categories. You will either be trading cards you meticulously hoarded, or cards that you need, but is the only acceptable trade to the person with Y.

Be forewarned. Trading cards that you need may come back bite you later on. It may not be as easy to get as it once was, so consider these types of trades very carefully.

Prices

In the universe of Magic: The Gathering, each card has a price. DUH. But people I’ve seen don’t pay much attention to prices, and simply go “card-for-a-card”, or “a-couple-cards-for-a-planeswalker”. This is fine, if you like possibly not getting the most bang for your buck. In most cases, this is just a couple of dollars, but it can be worse. Back when M10 first came out, and all the Two-Color lands were sitting at about $13 or $14 each, my friend made bank. He traded his $6 Coat of Arms for a Sunpetal Grove.

In short, if you’re going to trade without knowing prices, and least have a general idea; and if you don’t, get a second opinion. Most guys out there at the Magic Shop won’t try to tell you that Lorthos, the Tidemaker is just as valuable as Baneslayer Angel.

Power 9

Before I begin this topic, let me explain what the Power 9 are. Yeah, yeah, you all know what they are. They’re Black Lotus, Mox Pearl, Mox Sapphire, Mox Jet, Mox Ruby, Mox Emerald, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, and Timetwister. But they are more than just super rare cards that redefine the game. They are rule makers. Every trade ever made is relative to these guys. Nothing compares to them when talking about trade. Not Bazaar of Baghdad. Not Tarmogoyf.

So if you are in collecting mood, and decide to try and find someone to trade you one of these, these are various things you need to know. Assuming you have found someone, you need to know that the person with Power 9 makes the rules. He/she (regardless of what they want from you) will always direct the trade, and you’d best say yes. (Unless of course they demand 4x Baneslayer Angel, 4x Elspeth, Knight-Errant, 4x Jace, the Mind Sculptor and 4 of every other expensive card out there.

Learn the value of each Power 9 card, or at least the one you are trying to get, and stick to it. Don’t be dissuaded by the fact that there’s a big shiny Black Lotus waiting for you.

For most trades, you will be trading them something which can easily be gotten back. There are plently Baneslayer Angels out there, compared to Mox Emerald.

In short, to get better trades, make sure you know card values, know what you can afford to lose, and make the best trade accordingly.

Hope this helped. Feel free to comment with your ideas about trading, and the best strategies to getting your favorite cards.

Until later.

Darkness. Out.