Way Back When

I first got into Magic in the eighth grade. A peer had cards out one morning during homeroom, and I was intrigued. This was back when colorless mana meant it could be used for any color (or so I was told by this guy). It was fall of 1997. I had tried the game and was hooked. Throughout the rest of middle school and all throughout high school, I was a Magic player.

College began the same. Most of the guys I had played Magic with through high school were still in school, while I began commuting to college. We’d hit up Friday Night Magic and kept in touch. During the four years I was in college, the flame began to fade. I became disenchanted. I was spending money on cards, and playing in little Friday night tournaments.

I probably bought a single pack of Scourge, and that was it. I sold a stack of (~100) cards and made almost a thousand dollars. I kept my other cards, figuring I would build decks and play casually, but no longer seeking rares and tearing packs. I played from Tempest (1997) to Scourge (2003), and then hung up my armor.

Party Like It’s 2009

Time went on. I’d play Magic casually with my brother and cousins. I had mentioned playing the game to my girlfriend, and was interested in teaching her, if she wanted to learn (she games, too, it’s cool). One day, she brought home a surprise gift for me: Duel Decks: Divine vs. Demonic. I had a couple decks built that were years old, so the Duel Decks provided a nice variety. Then, early summer 2009, my brother gave me a call:

Himself: Hey Ryan, Magic 2010 is coming out in a couple of weeks.

Myself: But it’s 2009.

Him: Yeah, they’re releasing one every year: 2010 in 2009, 2011 in 2010, 2012 in 2011, and so on.

Me: So they’ll have those instead of the Editions?

Him: Right.

Me: Sounds too frequent.

Him: They’re changing up some of the rules, too. No more mana burn, and combat damage doesn’t stack.

Me: So you can’t attack with a Mogg Fanatic, stack combat damage, and then sacrifice him for another point?

Him: Nope, not under the revised rules.

Me: Huh.

For whatever reason, that was the tipping point. The cogs began to turn. I could play Magic again, I thought. As a birthday present to myself, I pre-ordered two booster boxes of M10. I was ready to jump back into the fray. Unlike high school and college, where I was living with a limited, part-time-job income, I now had a full-time salary, which meant I could comfortably allocate resources towards playing again.

I’ll be honest: I’ve spent a lot of money over these past nine months. Everything from buying boxes of new product, to acquiring playset after playset of singles over eBay. Standard, Extended, Legacy — even some Vintage (sorry, no Power 9).

Enter Mentor

Getting back into Magic, I stumbled across others on Twitter who shared the love of the game. There was one individual in particular whom I began conversing with. I was awestruck by his trading power. It was Jonathan Medina, producer of MTG Metagame. Through scouring his archives, and through conversation, I came to find that he does not contribute additional money to Magic: everything is acquired through a combination of trading, selling, and taking money made from selling to buy. I was blown away. I never really thought it was plausible; to acquire all you need to play competitively without pitching in more cash.

So Here We Are

What they say is true: your love for Magic doesn’t die. You will continue to thirst. My time with Magic has been born again. This time around, I plan on being financially smarter about it.

I will write about the journey I am taking here: to learn the way of the master trader. I write to document my progress. I write in hopes that maybe my experiences will help a fellow player in one way or another — be it learning from my successes, or my mistakes.