I've been playing the Legacy High Tide deck for about a year. I love it, it's probably my favorite deck of all time. I have been playing without candles because they are really expensive and I thought the deck was doing just fine without them. I did end up having a decent amount of success with my candle free build. I eventually ended up trying out a candled build and realized just how strong candles really are. I decided that it was time for me to play the real version of the deck.
The thing is, $700+ is still a lot of money to me (and I'm guessing it's a lot of money for other people too). I have a good job, I could drop seven hundred bucks, but I wouldn't feel good about it. 700 dollars can buy a computer....or 3 slices of cardboard. Magic isn't my primary hobby (running/soccer) and Legacy isn't even my primary format (drafting). Also 700 dollars is probably less than I'd end up paying, it's probably closer to 900.
So I guess I'm looking for a way to set aside the money over a few months. I read about a couple that would set aside every five dollar bill they got and eventually they saved up a ton of money. That wouldn't really work too well for me since I probably end up encountering a five dollar bill about once or twice a week. So it would take over a year.
I have some trade stuff, but it's mostly rtr and not really worth too much. I thought about using the scg buylist, but it's extremely underwhelming (four bucks for a bloodcrypt? Awesome....)
With legacy cards that are on the reserved list, you run the risk of their prices going up while you wait to save up to buy them. If you can afford to get them now, and you for sure know you want to buy them, then sooner is always better.
How much do you draft? You could try to watch for rares worth any money and sell them on eBay. I have sold even ~$2 cards and typically get around tcgplayer lows. If you generally walk out of draft with $6 or $8 in rares while you draft twice a month, that could help.
Ultimately, though, you're going to have to part with $700 in value if you want those cards. You're just going to have to trust that 1) you'll have a lot of fun with them and 2) unlike many other $700 purchases, they'll probably retain their market value.
Depends if you want a fast or slow route. If you want it ASAP... Then realistically a second job or getting more hours...
To save slowly? There's tons of ways. (Read the legacy forum, there's the breaking into legacy cheaply thread that has a small section on this.)
Some ways though:
- Piggy Bank/Change jar: Especially if you pay cash for most things, put any extra change away then roll it when it amasses. You'll be amazed when a tiny little jar happens to fill up to hundreds of dollars. (A lot of legacy players have said they've emptied small-mid sized coin banks once a year for anywhere from $1-300+)
- Put some money aside each paycheck. Say you make enough where 10 bucks a week won't hurt you any. Put it in an envelope or something. A year doing that is $520. (2 Candles)
- Draft winnings. Anything you draft and any prizes. Depending on your luck and skill, if you put all that into cards and not paying for your next draft, it also adds up. (Assuming your store allows you to use won credit on the next draft. Mine pays out in packs only so that's simply more to open and trade.)
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Quote from EX33396948 »
If your deck is 60 cards then you're playing with the best possible odds. 61? Probably won't alter your odds too much but we all know that 96% pure meth won't cut it next to Heisenberg's 99%.
You could always take decks you are not using or like less than high tide and sell that to get you closer.
Every 2-3 months I take most of the contents of my trade binder and a few thousand bulk cards and sell them to SCG for store credit for the 25% bonus. I just sent them another $100+ last week. I just keep accruing it there and when I need to buy cards I buy them out of my credit.
But as far as "easy ways to make $700", if there was one, everybody would be doing it. Can you have a yard sale? You could spend a few weekends doing day labor work, just go to a home depot parking lot on Saturday at 6:30 AM and stand with the rest of the day laborers and wait for someone to come by and offer you work for they day. If you aren't afraid of hard work you can clear $100-$150 under the table per day pretty easy (well you'll be working you ass off), but ou'll have your Candles in a few weekends and you'll always appreciate the sweat you put into getting them
There are plenty of speculative investments that can make you $700 in no time flat (I turned $50 into $1600 in 1 day) but you need to have a lot of experience and education before you invest in those, and you can easily lose your initial investment (I've done that bunchs of times too)
The cost of some cards is one of the reasons I do the bulk of my singles shopping after tax season. I get a few here and there, but I generally build new decks from scratch in March-May time frame.
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Currently playing:
Standard: WBRG Aggro-Reanimator Humans GRBW
Modern: UR Twinning RU G Venus Fly Trap G U Artifacts Aggro U
As long as candelabra doesn't get banned (unlikely at this point I'd say), candelabras will gain value in the long term. So if you pay $700 now, next year you might be able to get $900 for them, and that's money in your pocket, and the entertainment value of having fun with your deck.
Looking at ebay, it looks like Dan Bock pretty much has the market cornered, by having 19 of them up, and all at $250 or more.
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The thing is, $700+ is still a lot of money to me (and I'm guessing it's a lot of money for other people too). I have a good job, I could drop seven hundred bucks, but I wouldn't feel good about it. 700 dollars can buy a computer....or 3 slices of cardboard. Magic isn't my primary hobby (running/soccer) and Legacy isn't even my primary format (drafting). Also 700 dollars is probably less than I'd end up paying, it's probably closer to 900.
So I guess I'm looking for a way to set aside the money over a few months. I read about a couple that would set aside every five dollar bill they got and eventually they saved up a ton of money. That wouldn't really work too well for me since I probably end up encountering a five dollar bill about once or twice a week. So it would take over a year.
I have some trade stuff, but it's mostly rtr and not really worth too much. I thought about using the scg buylist, but it's extremely underwhelming (four bucks for a bloodcrypt? Awesome....)
So yeah, that's my story. Any advice?
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
BGW Karador, Ghost Chieftain
Ultimately, though, you're going to have to part with $700 in value if you want those cards. You're just going to have to trust that 1) you'll have a lot of fun with them and 2) unlike many other $700 purchases, they'll probably retain their market value.
To save slowly? There's tons of ways. (Read the legacy forum, there's the breaking into legacy cheaply thread that has a small section on this.)
Some ways though:
- Piggy Bank/Change jar: Especially if you pay cash for most things, put any extra change away then roll it when it amasses. You'll be amazed when a tiny little jar happens to fill up to hundreds of dollars. (A lot of legacy players have said they've emptied small-mid sized coin banks once a year for anywhere from $1-300+)
- Put some money aside each paycheck. Say you make enough where 10 bucks a week won't hurt you any. Put it in an envelope or something. A year doing that is $520. (2 Candles)
- Draft winnings. Anything you draft and any prizes. Depending on your luck and skill, if you put all that into cards and not paying for your next draft, it also adds up. (Assuming your store allows you to use won credit on the next draft. Mine pays out in packs only so that's simply more to open and trade.)
Every 2-3 months I take most of the contents of my trade binder and a few thousand bulk cards and sell them to SCG for store credit for the 25% bonus. I just sent them another $100+ last week. I just keep accruing it there and when I need to buy cards I buy them out of my credit.
But as far as "easy ways to make $700", if there was one, everybody would be doing it. Can you have a yard sale? You could spend a few weekends doing day labor work, just go to a home depot parking lot on Saturday at 6:30 AM and stand with the rest of the day laborers and wait for someone to come by and offer you work for they day. If you aren't afraid of hard work you can clear $100-$150 under the table per day pretty easy (well you'll be working you ass off), but ou'll have your Candles in a few weekends and you'll always appreciate the sweat you put into getting them
There are plenty of speculative investments that can make you $700 in no time flat (I turned $50 into $1600 in 1 day) but you need to have a lot of experience and education before you invest in those, and you can easily lose your initial investment (I've done that bunchs of times too)
Standard:
WBRG Aggro-Reanimator Humans GRBW
Modern:
UR Twinning RU
G Venus Fly Trap G
U Artifacts Aggro U
Legacy:
B Reanimator B
WU Stoneblade UW
EDH
WBGGhave, Guru of SporesGBW
URGRiku of the Two ReflectionsGRU
WUBRGScion of the Ur-DragonGRBUW
Casual
Far too many to list
Looking at ebay, it looks like Dan Bock pretty much has the market cornered, by having 19 of them up, and all at $250 or more.