How to Protect Yourself from Thieves

As magic becomes more valuable, players are starting to steal more and more.  I remember at Asgard being told that someone had their Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale stolen.  The card is 320 dollars on TCG mids.  And at DNA two traders came to the pre-release and were very shady.  Later people who they had traded with them found they were missing cards. 

Here are some tips.  

Consolidate your collection into one binder.  If you have more than one binder, only trade from one binder at a time.  You really shouldn’t bring more than two binders.  

Sleeve trick. Put a sleeve behind the more valuable cards.  That way when they pull the card they will pull an empty sleeve.  You can catch them red handed this way.  It is surprising to the thief. 

Never trade with more than one person at a time.   Make sure their friends are not passing cards around.  Plus you really need to focus on a trade and out of respect you should only be doing one trade at a time.   

Keep a look out for your belongings.  Cameras don’t always work.  

And remember once a shark always a shark/once a thief always a thief. If someone attempts to rip you off once or steal from you, they will try again.  May be not with you again, but with someone else. 

Trade Manners

This is a trading card game.  Collecting and trading is part of the game.  But a lot of people are rude, sharks, and overall act inappropriately.

Smile.  And be friendly.  

If there is a pricing difference, do not demean that person.  You can say “that’s a little much,” but don’t laugh or treat the person like crap because they said a price you don’t agree with.  Many traders will try to make the person seem dumb and a shark.  I do not agree with this.  If you don’t like the price then either move on or subtly suggest that they should check their phones.  Being mean over a trade isn’t worth it.  

Always remember that you are playing this game to have fun.  

Interfering with a trade is considered rude.   If two people are trading, jumping in and offering a better deal to one of the traders is rude.   Wait and be patient.

The exception to the above rule is Live as a shark, die as a shark.  I do not condone sharking, although I’m on record saying I have sharked.  I will jump in if prices are skewed over 50%.  Sometimes less, but it depends on what is being traded.  If it becomes apparent to me that one of the traders doesn’t understand prices I will let that player know they can use my smart phone to make sure the deal is fair. 

Socially Weird

I made a video saying the community should engage socially awkward players and I got a few pms about tips on how to join a magic community if you are shy or new.  

First off, there is nothing wrong about feeling out of place when you go to a new store.  Most likely, there will be a core set of locals who know each other.  And while it seems like that everyone knows everyone else this is not the case.  There always new players in the store.

Register for FNM even if you don’t feel like you are ready.  Playing is the first step to joining a community.  We all start off 0-4.  Sometimes I finish FNM still 0-4.  There is nothing wrong with losing.  For more experience players if you find yourself 0-3 against a new player just be nice and let them win.  It doesn’t cost you anything and means everything to the new player. 

Talk with your opponent.  Most magic players are social when it comes to magic… outside of magic is another issue.  Ask for advice or tell your opponent you are new.  This will open up the conversation.  All it takes is one regular to think you are a cool guy/gal before you feel accepted into the community.  Also ask the magic store owner or the Tournament Organizer for help on decks and advice.  They are extremely nice. 

Magic Mean Girls

"She's fabulous, but she's evil,"

Although magic players are not social animals by nature when they get together they create a hierarchy within the community.  

There are the cool Asians and then the really old not cool Asians who have kids…. and pack a lunch for FNM.

There is the popular table and then the table next to the bathroom… I’m totally serious, DNA comics reserve a table away from everyone else… conveniently located near the bathroom…  Interestingly this table is crowded with new players and or shy players.  I’m not too sure what they do at this table; I’ve only passed on my way to the bathroom.  But FNM and the actual events are held in the middle of the store where we have a nice plasma t.v. and ice cream. 

There are the suits.  R and I come straight out of work so we are not in t-shirts and jeans.  We also shower daily and exercise. 

There are the college kids.  Mostly from the University of Houston but in my graduate school they were from William and Mary.  I expect every local game store has them.  They are very nice, but they do tend to isolate non-college students.  And apparently there is always a party to go to…. Right… you are playing magic Friday night until 1… and you have a party to go to.  Just stay and play EDH with me?!

Then there are the high school kids.  They tend to be sort of awkward.  They are super nice.  And apparently always looking for geists of st. tafts.  I like talking with them the most because I can share my knowledge.  They also are easily impressed.  I show them 5 jaces and they are like “woah that’s more than a playset.”

On the lower end of the totem are the trade grinders.  They treat magic as a business where they need to earn a certain quota before the end of the night.  They are sharks, but not smart ones. 

They are true sharks.  Every store has them.  The great white, the great hammerhead, and the tiger shark.  They are aggressive, like to belittle traders.  Their tactics may include publicly humiliating or spreading nasty rumors about other traders, pitting friends against one another, excluding or rejecting former friends, or even developing a set of rules for their group members and punishing disobedience. 

So what are you?  I’m probably a great hammerhead shark… but it’s debatable. 

Modern Primer: Lands

The most important thing in modern is surprise mana bases. 

There are four types of mana base you should be aware of.

Fastlands.  These are the lands from scars of mirrordin.  They are used as four ofs in many tier 1 and tier 2 modern decks.  I like them a lot.  They are especially important for fast decks like infect, dark burn, and bant enchantments.  I encourage you to pick up playsets of each.  There are five so pick up your 20 as soon as you can. 

Fetchlands.  These are the holy grail of mana.  They are used mostly as 4 ofs and are used in almost every modern deck.  They are the most important piece when building a modern collection.  Although they are pricy their price should go up until they get reprinted. 

Shocklands.  Most decks actually do use these as 4 ofs.  They are in standard now.  I would pick up all playsets of all 10.  Eventually their price will go up.  They are used in almost every modern deck but are not as prevalent as the fetches. 

Manlands.  These lands are from worldwake.  They turn into creatures.  I love these.  They give you something to do with your mana and serve as finishers for the control decks.  Celestial Colonnade and Creeping Tarpit are the standouts of the group.  But I would try to get a complete playset of each of the five if possible. 

Remember lands are key to the modern format.