Cool, thanks for the input! The Garruk I had trouble getting rid of for anywhere near $30 (I think it had to do with the majority of EDH players near me being uninterested in foreign cards/foreign foils in general) but I might try and hold onto it for a bit more.
One of the LGS's near me broke open a Stronghold box they had gotten in a collection purchase and sold packs for 10.99 - I bought two and pulled a cheaper but fun rare (Pursuit of Knowledge) and Volrath's Stronghold, as well as a Crystalline Sliver in the uncommons. Pretty chill - I coincidentally needed the Stronghold for EDH and didn't really care about losing out too much since it was fun for me.
They also had a few leftover BNG White prerelease kits for ~15 - I got from mine:
Temple of Mystery
Temple of Plenty
Temple of Abandon foil (first foil rare I've pulled in a while)
Eidolon of Countless Battles
+ cheaper things.
Not as solid as the JOU prerelease kit I pulled a Keranos/Iroas/new Elspeth from, but I was still pretty satisfied.
I was under the impression that power creep runs rampant throughout the set and that the designers cannot control it. Would this be true?
Yup. Cards don't go through a playtesting process like Wizards R&D uses, so power creep is much more rampant. Banning/limiting stuff is really the only way to control that power creep.
And yeah, theft is a huge problem in Yugioh, much more so than in any card game that I'm aware of really. Sucks, but I don't think you have to worry about it if you're just playing with friends.
Also, because of the said luck involved in YGO, card advantage is taken much more seriously in Yugioh, to the point that any card that allows your opponent to draw a card for free is considered "bad".
Typical staples are as of this format:
Spirit Reaper
Effect Veiler
Sangan
Monster Reborn
Dark Hole
Pot of Duality ($$) (basically a $150 Ponder)
Synchros:
Ally of Justice Catastor
Black Rose Dragon
Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
Stardust Dragon
Colossal Fighter
Mist Wurm
Thought Ruler Archfiend
Scrap Dragon
In conclusion, be prepared for a tough road if you plan on playing competitively. I'm taking a short-term break from MTG to learn Yugioh because quite a few of my friends play (yes, burn the witch) but I'd never give up MTG. MTG is just better than Yugioh in so many ways, unless you are a hard-core Johnny.
Last trip to the local flea market, I found a guy there selling some random stuff at normal prices. I was pretty surprised to see a foil Unhinged Plains for $1, which I snapped up.
Also a Goblin Piledriver (was worn on the front, but mint on the back oddly) from the LGS for $1. I even pointed it to one of the employees I know there, and he told me it wasn't a wrong price. That store also had a Legends Nicol Bolas marked at $1, but that turned out to be an actual misprice.
Hmm... I'd side with Blut's suggestions, except that since you're not running any other enchantments, I would just run two Enlightened Tutors and run another bomb of some sort.
TBH, I'd run Iona, Shield Of Emeria in that spot so you have a bit of backup, but that's just me.
EDIT: Also, I think you're running too many rituals for the combo. Personally, I'd cut one Cabal Ritual and two of the normal Dark Rituals and instead add two more Putrid Imps and another Bridge.
Last trade:
My:
2 Flooded Strand KTK (1 Japanese)
1 Wooded Foothills KTK
His:
2 Spellskite
1 Blinkmoth Nexus MMA
Pile B would need around $5-7 to make it more equal. That being said if I had Pile A I would gladly take the hit in value to do the tradeup.
My:
1 Garruk Primal Hunter (Japanese M13 foil)
Their:
1 Elspeth Tirel
1 Vault Skirge pack foil
1 Exsanguinate
1 Oversold Cemetary played
My:
1 Scroll Rack MP/HP
1 General's Kabuto
1 Vampiric Dragon
1 Living Death commander
Their:
2 Etched Champion
1 Steel Overseer
They also had a few leftover BNG White prerelease kits for ~15 - I got from mine:
Temple of Mystery
Temple of Plenty
Temple of Abandon foil (first foil rare I've pulled in a while)
Eidolon of Countless Battles
+ cheaper things.
Not as solid as the JOU prerelease kit I pulled a Keranos/Iroas/new Elspeth from, but I was still pretty satisfied.
Yup. Cards don't go through a playtesting process like Wizards R&D uses, so power creep is much more rampant. Banning/limiting stuff is really the only way to control that power creep.
And yeah, theft is a huge problem in Yugioh, much more so than in any card game that I'm aware of really. Sucks, but I don't think you have to worry about it if you're just playing with friends.
Also, because of the said luck involved in YGO, card advantage is taken much more seriously in Yugioh, to the point that any card that allows your opponent to draw a card for free is considered "bad".
Typical staples are as of this format:
Spirit Reaper
Effect Veiler
Sangan
Monster Reborn
Dark Hole
Pot of Duality ($$) (basically a $150 Ponder)
Mirror Force
Solemn Judgment
Solemn Warning ($$)
Bottomless Trap Hole
Dimensional Prison
Torrential Tribute
Synchros:
Ally of Justice Catastor
Black Rose Dragon
Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
Stardust Dragon
Colossal Fighter
Mist Wurm
Thought Ruler Archfiend
Scrap Dragon
In conclusion, be prepared for a tough road if you plan on playing competitively. I'm taking a short-term break from MTG to learn Yugioh because quite a few of my friends play (yes, burn the witch) but I'd never give up MTG. MTG is just better than Yugioh in so many ways, unless you are a hard-core Johnny.
Also a Goblin Piledriver (was worn on the front, but mint on the back oddly) from the LGS for $1. I even pointed it to one of the employees I know there, and he told me it wasn't a wrong price. That store also had a Legends Nicol Bolas marked at $1, but that turned out to be an actual misprice.
I would say that's the best way to describe it (also being Chinese). Just don't put too much stress on the "w" of the "ow" part.
If you want a native solution though, you're out of luck.
Both Legends and Superstars are great places. I pretty much only go to Legends though, as it's the closest to where I live.
It's Nebuchadnezzar, BTW.
Price of Progress
Crackdown
Last Laugh
Do or Die
Fact or Fiction[/CARD]
TBH, I'd run Iona, Shield Of Emeria in that spot so you have a bit of backup, but that's just me.
EDIT: Also, I think you're running too many rituals for the combo. Personally, I'd cut one Cabal Ritual and two of the normal Dark Rituals and instead add two more Putrid Imps and another Bridge.
-J
It really depends on the card though.