Donation boxes are awesome

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Posted on Aug. 3, 2015, 2:35 p.m. by ComradeJim270

Some LGSs keep a donation box, where unwanted cards are left after drafts or when someone opens packs or just has more cards than they need. It's a great resource for us players on a limited budget. Usually it's commons, some uncommons and bulk rares. But every once in a while you find something good. In recent weeks I've gotten the following from such boxes:

None of these are exactly a Goyf or anything like that, but getting them for free is awesome. Even got a Collected Company once!

What are the best free cards you've found in boxes like these? Could be things that were more valuable than one would expect in a pile of free stuff, or things that aren't worth much but were exciting for you to find. Like for me, King Macar, the Gold-Cursed is like that; a junk rare I pulled out of a box that I immediately decided I will make into a commander at some point.

Share your stories!

HolyFalcon says... #2

Well, I once got a Flooded Strand for free when my brother quit Magic. My LGS doesn't have a donation box, but I think I might ask my LGS owner about it.

August 3, 2015 2:40 p.m.

golgarigirl says... #3

I am pretty much my LGS's donation box. As in, I'm the one who buys packs and then gives them to newbies if I didn't get anything I need. I often wonder what they do with those cards left on tables from drafts and such, though. I wonder if they'd be partial to that idea.

August 3, 2015 2:56 p.m.

ljs54321 says... #4

A buddy of mine quit playing around Innistrad and mid-RTR block my kids were just starting to play, which brought me back from a 10+ yr break, and he gave us ~15,000-20,000 cards (mostly commons/uncommons) that he had just sitting around left over. In the boxes, I found Remand, 4 Dryad Arbors, ~200 Zendi FA lands, Aven Mindcensor, Slippery Bogles, Wild Nacatls, Serum Visions, and a ton of other $1-2 commons/uncommons. There might be a few more hidden gems, but I moved about a yr ago and I'm not sure where they're hiding. :-/

August 3, 2015 2:57 p.m.

ComradeJim270 says... #5

Wow, nice! I haven't found anything quite as good as that, ljs54321.

If your LGS doesn't have a box like this, it's worth encouraging them to start. It helps people out a lot and also means they'll have something to do with stuff that's left lying around. Everyone wins, really.

August 3, 2015 3:01 p.m.

ducttapedeckbox says... #6

Some of the people at my LGS like to accumulate playsets of every card in each set, so many of the regular drafters and top-4 FNM players leave their bulk around for people to pick at. Nobody ever leaves anything valuable though.

August 3, 2015 3:02 p.m.

addaff says... #7

None of the places I go to have a donation box, but I do have a place were I get some good finds. 3 Legion Loyalists for $2, 2 tempest Chokes for $.50, 4 Fatestitchers for $1 when they were $5 each, and Inquisition of Kozilek for $.25. Those are just some of the ones I remember off the top of my head.

August 3, 2015 3:38 p.m. Edited.

ComradeJim270 says... #8

Oh yeah, it's always great when you find stuff on the cheap. Like the place where I buy singles was silling Heritage Druids for $15 each. I grabbed those pretty quickly!

This game can be expensive, but keeping an eye out for deals and being frugal really pays off.

August 3, 2015 3:41 p.m.

HolyFalcon says... #9

Well, I did buy two Hangarback Walkers when they were 1.50.

August 3, 2015 3:57 p.m.

This discussion has been closed