Sharks are Everywhere

Everyone is a shark.  The only question is how much of a shark are you?  Are you a baby shark or a great white shark?  

Even the most casual places for magic are infested with sharks.  I’ve been on record saying I found the best place to play magic in Houston.  A place where everyone is nice and there are no sharks.  This is not true.  Idealized this place and only recently has it become very clear that there are a lot of sharks.  I no longer even bring my medium binder to trade since very few people can trade on my level and the people who can are sharks.  

I can classify sharks in two different groups, the shark that comes once in a blue moon only to trade.  This shark normally comes during pre-releases or game days.  This happened in DNA some time ago.  A shark came in and traded a few foil commons and full art zendikar lands for an underground sea and a bonfire of the damn.  I am completely serious.  The shark then hightailed it out there since they weren’t playing at the event.  The person they sharked… the tournament organizer….  

The other group of sharks are locals.  They support each other and use social pressure to hurry up a trade.  Because they have been playing magic so long they have a certain clout that makes them difficult to challenge.  This is the far more dangerous shark because on the surface they may not seem to be a shark.

I would much rather deal with the shark I know then the shark I don’t.