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MTGS Mini #2: Magic Shopping GuideBy Jake Sticka on December 20th, 2005 · Filed in General Magic · Comments not available just nowMTGS Mini is the format we'll be relying on for the next two weeks. People don't like to write much during the holidays, and as a result sites like mtg.com and... well... ours end up with less material for the front page. However, instead of giving you two weeks of MTGS Classics, you'll see two weeks of MTGS Mini, a far more easygoing format. So sit back and relax while we relax... our standards. If this isn't your thing, take a break and we'll see you in January! As a Magic player, I have a feeling we all have requested Magic cards from friends and family one time or another. And we all have been disappointed. The fact of the matter is that those who are not enlightened, those who do not play Magic, simply do not know the difference bewteen Legions boosters and the latest theme-deck and boxes and boosters. Being right in the middle of the holiday shopping season this article may be a little late to help you out this year but in the future whenever you have reason to request gifts; New Years, your birthday, graduation, go ahead and link the Magic-knowledgeless-gift-giving-person to this article and it should help them out. For the benefit of the giftgiver I will divide this article into price ranges as follows: Stocking Stuffers Small Packages Large Packages "You're My Hero" Packages Stocking Stuffers Okay, okay, I know I said that it was too late for the holidays but do you really have to attack me for just using the term [Yes -Ed]? When I say Stocking Stuffers I mean gifts on the lower end that usally accompany others. Yes, smaller gifts. In Magic there are only a few of these, but...: Dice: Now, reader of no Magic knowledge, I am sure you know what a die is. The kind that you are most familiar with is what we call in Magic a D-6 as it has six sides. In Magic we use dice of all different sides for many uses. The most commonly used that would make a good stocking stuffer is a D-20. As these are used for other games as well you can find them in just about any hobby, comic, or card store. Other possbilities would be to ask the gift-getter for a small list of commons and uncommons they would like. Commons and Uncommons refer to the rarity of cards with commons and uncommons usally being the cheapest of the bunch. Once you have the list in hand you would then have to find a store which carries what we call singles, or just one of a card instead of cards in their own packaging (called boosters or packs, we will to those later). Generally the only place you will find these is card shops and even then there is no guarantee that they will have them in stock. This gift requires a lot of extra effort but the gift-getter will always be happy with what the receive. [Editor's Note - in my experience most card shops throw all the commons and uncommons in huge boxes that are impossible to search through for non-Magic players who can't identify the card by its picture. I recommend buying commons and uncommons at internet Magic stores because they have that handy "search" function. If you've been asked for a rare, however, usually brick-and-mortar stores have those organized and easily browsable] Smaller Packages So you want to get an actual gift for this person? The most common cheaper option for players is to buy them a number of booster packs. Booster packs are fifteen pre-packaged cards that contain eleven commons, three uncommons, and a rare. These usally run about four dollars depending on the location although most players will request more than one. While boosters are usally good gifts to give the biggest let-down from boosters comes in the buyer getting the wrong expansion. Contray to popular belief, Magic is released in sets, four a year, that each contain different cards. The power-level and desirability of the sets vary so the best thing to do is ask the recipient which they want. If it is too late and you forgot to do so the following is probably a general guide of recent releases: Very Desirable: Ravnica: City of Guilds Mirrodin Somewhat Desirable: Darksteel Champions of Kamigawa Saviors of Kamigawa Less Desirable: 9th Edition/Core Set Fifth Dawn Betrayers of Kamigawa These are generalizations but should help you avoid getting a gift that is unwanted. Boosters can be found at all card shops as well as large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target. Larger Packages If you are looking for someone's bigger gift of the year the best place to look is buying a box of a set. A box is a pre-packaged box of thiry-six booster packs. However the price of boxes vary greatly. You can find boxes as low as seventy dollars and as high as a hundred and twenty. Buying one requires some shopping around. Once more, the most sure bet is to go to a card shop and look around but if you are not afraid of the great monster that is the computer the best prices can be found online. A simple search of Google or eBay should give you results better than your local card shop although this is not always the case. It is also important to note that in the past the value of the Power Nine has done nothing but increase and therefore can be considered a sound investment. "You're My Hero" Packages Complete sets of magic expansion are generally welcome but finding them is difficult and prices vary greatly so I will leave it at that. Also there are nine cards in Magic considered the most powerful ever known as the Power Nine which all for very high prices and are status symbols in the magic world. The most cheap you can find any piece of Power in three-hundred dollars while the highest at one-thousand dollars. The Power Nine is: *Ancestral Recall *Black Lotus *Mox Emerald *Mox Jet *Timetwister *Mox Pearl *Mox Ruby *Mox Sapphire *Timetwister *Time Walk The best place to find these are usally online auction houses. If looking for a cheaper version, search for the card's name and "Unlimited." For a more expensive version, search for the card's name and "Beta." Make sure the auction is actually selling what you want to buy and is not a "repack auction." These cards are the equivalent of diamond or gold jewelry in Magic, and if you're bidding under $100 you're probably getting the wrong thing. That pretty much covers the type of common Magic gifts. But you do not yet know everything you need to get out there shopping. First some links to help you out: For more information on the game of Magic and how it is sold try Wikipedia's main page here. If you need help finding your local store try Wizard's (Magic's manufactorer) store locator here. For single cards and larger purchases try eBay, rancoredelf.com, and starcitygames. Now you have a good source for all of your gift-givers. So when the next holiday or special occasion comes up go ahead and link or print this to them. Good day and good luck with those gifts! By Jake Sticka on December 20th, 2005 · Filed in General Magic · Comments not available just now About Jake StickaAge: 14 |
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