Gatecrash spoiler | MTG Spoiler

These are not yet official but these cards got leaked on Craigslist.  I'm jumping on the bandwagon on the mtg spoiler cards.  It will be weeks before we get to the official previews.  Here is my impression on each individual card.

Mtg Spoiler: Aurelia, the Warleader

 Aurelia is rumored to be the new Boros guild master.  The Boros ability is expected to have something to do with attacking considering how aggressive the guild was in Ravnica.

Aurelia is costly for a 3/4 creature.  But she basically attacks for 6 with her "Relentless Assault" ability.  And this doesn't matter on whether she stays on the battlefield or not after the first attack.  I can see Hellrider smiling (as long as it stays on the battlefield).  All in all, Aurelia looks to be a finisher for a Boros deck.








Mtg Spoiler: Borborygmos Enraged

 I didn't expect Borborygmos to have a combo-like ability.  He has a slight combo on his own.  Seismic Assault on legs is more like it (plus a way to get more lands).  He is costly at 8 casting cost though and I wonder if Gruul needs to get to that much mana to finish off opponents (pre-RtR RG Aggro didn't need to get to 8).  Gruul featured the Bloodthirst ability in Guildpact.  Bloodthirst as an ability returned in M12 and it was fun to interact it with Simic guild's ability to transfer +1/+1 counters to other creatures (I'm speculating a similar ability for Simic, by the way).

So much for Borborygmos Enraged.  Like most of the guildmasters, I don't expect this to see much play but it still has possibilities.  Those non-land cards that are in the graveyard can be abused.  We'll wait and see.



GateCrash Spoiler: Domri Rade

 I'm already hearing bad things about Domri Rade.  But I look at it as a card drawer for a color combination that normally loses its hand because of the creatures.  I don't think I play that way anymore with RG.  But still, I like how Domri Rade is made despite the drawback that the top card of the library might not be a creature card.  ( * And suddenly, I had a fleeting thought of pairing it with Borborygmos - just in case that the top card is a land.)

Wizards doesn't want to flood the metagame with planeswalkers that warp the Standard scene.  Domri Rade made just turn out to be a tame planeswalker but I'll have to wait and see what Gatecrash has in store before making a final say.  That emblem sure looks tasty though.




Mtg Spoiler: Enter the Infinite

 I've always wanted to be able to pull off a Tamiyo emblem-Omniscience combo.  Enter the Infinite just made it more enticing.  The 12 casting cost is very hard to get to even for a control deck.  Out of the blue (pun intended), this card just looks combo-rrific.













Gatecrash Spoiler: Hellkite Tyrant

The last card leaked is 2 expansions too late.  I can see this in Commander decks where there's a possibility to get that far to having 20 artifacts in a game.  Might also be useful in multiplayer or other variants.

In Standard, it doesn't seem to look like it's worth the trouble.

What Format to Play (Constructed, Limited, Standard, Modern, Legacy, and Vintage)

First of all, all formats are playable.  There are just certain considerations to be made when choosing what format should be played in a community.  This post is focused on a community that's just starting out.

I'll start out with Limited.  For me, it's the fairest format.  It promotes deckbuilding skills and every participant is on equal footing.

There are several Limited formats and I'll try to go over the common ones.

Sealed Deck is a Limited format that involves building a 40-card deck out of 6 booster packs (15 cards x 6 = 80 total cards; subtract 6 basic lands included in all booster packs that leaves at most 74 cards as card pool).  For a player (and a community) that's just starting out, Sealed Deck is attractive because it allows participants to immediately obtain some cards and at the same time play with them.  Unlike Booster Draft where 8 players are more of the norm, Sealed Deck can be enjoyed even if there are only 2 players.  There is a reason why Sealed Deck is the preferred format of choice for Prerelease Tournaments.  Glaring need to do Sealed Deck is the availability of basic lands.

As mentioned, Booster Draft would need 8 players but it can still be played with at least 4 players.  Participants in a Booster Draft each have 3 booster packs and they are opened one at a time.  With the first booster pack, a player picks one card from the pack and passes the rest to the left (and at the same time getting a pack from the player to his right).  Picking and passing continues until all cards have been picked.  With the second booster pack, the cards are passed to the right instead of to the left.  The third booster pack is once more passed to the left.

The important skill in Booster Draft is knowing what cards to pick from the packs.  More advanced players are skilled in providing signals to ensure that the best cards would eventually be passed.  Players build their 40-card deck out of all the cards picked (15 cards x 3 booster packs = 45 total cards, subtract 3 basic lands that leaves at most 42 cards as card pool).

New and inexperienced players tend to shy away from Booster Drafts because of fear of losing rare cards in the booster packs (rare drafting is a highly discouraged way of doing Booster Drafts and is frowned upon).

Other obscure Limited formats include Minimasters and Winston Draft.  Minimasters can be played using only one booster pack.  The booster pack is opened and the insert card is removed.  2 or 3 of each basic land is added which now becomes the "deck" of the player (15 cards + 15 lands = 30 cards).  Players can't be milled out and the graveyard is shuffled to become the library again if the library runs out of cards.

The main debate is on the Constructed format.  Hereon out I would state that Standard is the best format to play in because of the following reasons:

- Availability of cards.  Standard makes use of recent cards.  These recent cards are readily available from packs.  Recent cards mean that it's easier to find.
- More tournaments.  Most card shops promote Standard tournaments because it helps their business.  Since the format uses recent cards, players would try to find such cards from the recent packs which are readily available from the card shop.  Players know that if they buy such packs, all the cards are playable.  The card shop sells Standard-legal packs and promotes Standard tournaments and players buy Standard-legal packs and participates in the Standard tournaments.  It's the way of the Standard world.
- Lesser number of cards legal compared to Modern, Legacy, and Vintage.  The legal cards are those that are included in the 2 most recent expansion releases.  This reason coincides with availability of cards which makes deck building easier compared to the rest of the formats.

For a community that is just starting out, Standard is very attractive for new players.  Understandably, old players would want to stick with their old cards and thus urge for Modern, Legacy, or Vintage.  If a community has to grow by attracting new players, Standard tournaments are it.  A new player wouldn't want to get his ass whipped from an old player who already possesses the necessary cards.

Regarding expenses and expensive cards: Standard format is understandably expensive because it expects to be dynamic rather than static.  The set designers would try to warp the format as much as they can so that there would be a continuing buzz around players.  No buzz means low interest.

For those who are worried about expenses, the trick is simple.  Sell the cards 3 months before they are no longer legal in Standard.

Modern is the closest relative to Standard.  It makes use of cards that are printed in the new card face.  Modern used to be Extended but Extended became too difficult to play in because of the always changing sets of cards (similar to Standard).  Modern increases in number as new sets are released and doesn't lose out on the number of legal cards.

Modern can be good.  The problem is it is not attractive to new players who don't normally possess the old cards as far as Mirrodin.

Legacy and Vintage are similar formats because it includes all cards that have been printed.  Legacy has a different set of banned cards compared to Vintage while Vintage also has banned and restricted cards.  The argument as to why Legacy and Vintage is not that attractive compared to Standard is similar to the reasoning with Modern.  New players don't have the old cards.  Furthermore, old cards are hard to find.

For a community that doesn't want to move forward, Vintage, Legacy, or Modern is your choice.  But decks tend to be stagnant and will not want to be changed. For a player like me who still wants to remain active, I would choose a more dynamic format.  Maybe when I'll retire, I'll use only my old cards and play such formats.

Thus, in conclusion, Standard is the format to play.  Expenses are expected.  Again, this is not a cheap hobby and if you're reading this, you know that you're expected to be a player who buys cards as well as play them.

Note again on expenses:  Tarmogoyf is one of the better creature cards out there and it is expensive.  As for Black Lotus, you only need one but good luck finding one at a very cheap price.

Magic: the Gathering Buying and Selling

One of the more conflicting aspects of Magic: the Gathering is the transaction involved in buying and selling cards.  For as long as I can remember when I began to participate in Magic: the Gathering forums, card prices have always been a huge part in discussions to the point that it becomes a never ending argument between the buyers and the sellers.

This post will discuss on buying and selling and card prices.  If ever that I feel that I want to post about trading, I might just do so if I don't get lazy.

First of, I have an outlook that "There is an essence of a schmaker (or schmacker) in every buyer and seller."

What is a schmaker?  Unfortunately, it can't be considered as a real word.  I can't even be sure of the spelling and I would have to make use of my best guess of its spelling.  As far as I can remember, a schmaker can be described as one who tries to obtain a card at a very low price or value (to the point that he has to lie about the card's actual value) and subsequently sell the card at maximum profit.  A favorite scenario of a schmaker transaction involves the supposedly lowly 0/1 Birds of Paradise:

Schmaker: That Birds of Paradise that you have with you is a bad card.  A 0/1 flyer can't do much.  A 5/5 Shivan Dragon is better.

Note: In its heyday, a Birds of Paradise reached a value of $10 or more.  Having been reprinted several times has made it more available thus the lowering of its current price value.  A Shivan Dragon though has never met the level of value of a Birds of Paradise.

Noob:  But the BoP has a nice ability to add any color mana...

Schmaker: Think about this:  The 5/5 Shivan Dragon can deal 5 damage.  The 0/1 BoP can't do anything with its 0 power.

Noob: (begins to buckle to pressure) But...

Schmaker: Plus, the 5/5 Shivan Dragon can stop attackers.  The 0/1 BoP does not have the toughness to block any creature.

Noob: Well, if you say so.

Schmaker: I'm doing you a favor.  I'll buy your BoP at <shamefully low price>.

To continue with the scenario, the schmaker will sell the BoP at its actual value, sometimes even jacking up the price a few notches above the current value.

Several questions would come to mind.  Is the schmaker truly at fault here?  Did he "commit" a crime?  Is the schmaker obligated to inform the BoP owner of the true value of the card?

Ethically speaking, the schmaker is not doing the right thing.  Unfortunately, there is no such thing as ethics in Magic: the Gathering.  One can probably discuss it at length but sadly it can fall into deaf ears.  Besides, even professionals fail to follow the ethics of their profession.  How much more a hobby that doesn't need a degree in college?

What could the noob have done to prevent the said transaction?  In this hobby, the noob should have been knowledgeable enough to know how the BoP is such an important card.  Knowing is only a part of being able to assess if a card is good or not.

To make the long story short: a schmaker makes a transaction unfair.  Both sides can not be labeled as schmakers though both sides can accuse the other as such.  Simply put, one side has to be "considered" at a disadvantage and the other at an advantage.

So, is there such a thing as a fair deal?  Yes and no.  It all depends on the buyer if the deal is fair.  For those who are not familiar to buying and selling (or the term business, for that matter), BUYING AN OBJECT REQUIRES AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN BOTH PARTIES.  Before such an agreement would occur, there might be a reduction of price.  One might ask, who has the upper hand in a sale?  Is it the seller or the buyer?  As almost always the case, it is the seller who dictates on the price of the object.  The buyer only needs to agree or disagree on that price.  The buyer can attempt to ask for a lower price otherwise a decision has to be made on whether a sale would occur.

Can a buyer complain that a seller's price is too high?  Of course he can but he can only do so much.  If such is the price of the seller, any of the possible events can happen:

- The seller can sell it to someone else.
- The seller would not be able to sell it but would still be able to include the card (or cards) in a trade with a different player.
- The seller realizes that the said price is too high and will reduce the price.  This would happen only if the said overpriced card remains unsold after such a long time.  (If one realizes it, this is how a business decides upon items that will be included in a special promotion of having reduced prices.  These items have been on display for quite a time and are hard to sell.)

What is the alternative for the buyer in a failed transaction?  The buyer can go look for another seller or several other sellers.  In business, this can be termed as canvassing for prices.  If the failed transaction involves in-demand cards, it is highly likely that:

- The price is the same with the other sellers.
- The card is not available with other sellers.
- The price is different.  If lower, then it's good.  If higher, then it's bad.

So, the buyer AGREES to the price.  The price might be considered as high or it can also be considered as low.  The important point is that an agreement is made thus a sale occurs.

If a buyer continues to say that the price is too high, then this is where my point on "one side at an advantage and the other side at a disadvantage" comes in.  Can the seller be considered as a schmaker?  If the buyer wants to say so, then by all means he can do so.  But still, the buyer AGREED to the price so such a schmaker label on the seller only reflects badly at the buyer also.

Where do these prices come from?  Several resources can be used to determine card prices.  One reliable site is starcitygames.com.  Unfortunately, the prices are in dollars and the dollar exchange rate varies everyday.

Is there some higher being who controls these prices to be higher or lower?  The aforementioned site raises its price according to:

- Rarity (a card being hard to find e.g. only 1 copy for every 2 boxes, etc.)
- Demand from players, which can be caused by
- Inclusion in top tier decks that have won international tournaments

Despite that a card would probably be priced too high, the point of the matter is, players would still buy the card/s because they need it.  If I'm a seller and I know that a player would buy the card at such a price then I will continue to sell the card AT THAT price and not at a lower price.  THAT IS NOT HOW BUSINESS WORKS.

To add, people grumble about how gasoline prices are way too high but they still continue to buy gasoline.

Yes, Magic: the Gathering is not the same as gasoline.  But Magic: the Gathering is similar to gasoline because money can be involved in an exchange.

But wait.  Magic: the Gathering should not be considered a business, should it?  It would be ironic if Magic should not be considered as a business.  A booster pack is not free thus it also entails that what is inside the booster pack is also not free.

To sum up this very long post: before complaining about a seller's price being too high, the buyer should put himself in the seller's shoes and think: "Would I sell at a lower price?"  If so, who then becomes the schmaker and who has become the schmaked?

Magic: the Gathering is not a cheap hobby.  A casual player though can continue to enjoy the game without spending too much.  But one can not have the best deck without spending anything.