The Magic 2010 release event is over.  The cards have been drafted, decks built and matches won or lost.  A few of the other combatants have trickled out the doorway.  You sit in your straight back chair waiting patiently.  Either for the next draft to begin, or for your stomach to ring the ‘lunch time’ bell.  Then you glance down towards your companion with the smooth black finish and Slave of Bolas cover art.  A smile forms on your lips as you realize its time to dig into the game within the game.  Trading!

let's make a deal

When it comes to swapping these smallish pieces of cardboard, there are as many types of barterers as there are players.  Some prefer to keep their cards in-house and trade only with friends.  Others travel cards-in-hand to various meeting places such as FNM or events like the M10 release.  Still more take their trades to the nether-realm known as cyberspace. (Ed. Note: Nobody under 40 calls it cyberspace anymore.  The author is losing touch.)  Obviously there are those that dabble in any or all three.  And that is only the tip of the proverbial ice berg.  Let us not get ahead of ourselves here.

Trading within a playgroup can create a symbiosis of sorts.  For example, there is a certain blue wizard that walks my realm carrying a particular disdain for green.  Favorable for him when you consider my out-right infatuation with the color.  The swaps are always fair, but also sped along by a desire to rid ourselves of cards deemed unusable.  Another benefit of trading with friends is wanting to help one another out.  This led to my monopoly on Demigod of Revenge copies.  However, there are some drawbacks to dealing with those close to you.  First, the pool of cards is often limited.  Unless your buddy just opened two boxes of M10 then chances are you’ve scoured their collection already.  Second, your bartering style becomes well known as do any tricks you may try to pull.  Third, in extreme cases your friends will decline to trade with you based on previous dealings.  The embargo rarely lasts long, but always long enough to cost you one trade you really wanted to make.

its not always easy to tell a card's worth

Within the realm of MTG, trading at a local events and online are fairly similar.  Both provide opportunities to pick up cards you never had access to before.  They also offer a chance to really drive that bargain, and drive it hard.  The repercussions of an unfair swap are more bearable because you won’t see your cards played.  Events like the Grand Prix will see dozens of traders roaming the crowd looking for that next sucker.  They are hustlers.  Therein lies one of the key problems with this trading scenario.  Your fellow merchants are only trying to get the best deal for themselves.  They will likely never play your decks, so why waste an opportunity by helping you.  The cutthroat environment this creates can be intimidating.  That leads to the next big issue.  How do you know if you are getting ripped off?  What determines your foil Honor of the Pure is worth more than Garruk Wildspeaker?

Value is the trickiest part of trading.  Especially within a market as fluid as Magic the Gathering’s.  Even within the context of ‘how much could I sell this card for?’ things are often muddled.  Baneslayer Angel is the hottest card from Magic 2010, and if you check three different vendors they are likely to give you three different prices.  How are values determined in such a mercurial market?  Some players simply assign a dollar amount to a card and move on.  Others base price solely on desire created by the card itself.  Some throw pricing completely out the window and trade unused cards for ones they want to play.  Of course in order to present any value at all you need cards on hand.

a wise investment for the savvy trader

Duelists carry trading fodder in an assortment of ways.  There are fat-packs, deck boxes, rubber bands, and books.  While it is easy to throw tradables willy-nilly into a box its beneficial to make them look nice.  The trades you make are often dependent on how your cards appear.  As a fairly recent convert to the binder I am bias on this issue.  I urge anyone who trades with relative frequency to grab one and throw something in it.  Then take a gander.  That Greater Gargadon looks pretty good sitting behind that clear plastic.  In the past digging through my cards for offerings was a hassle.  Now its simply a turn of the page.  Quite the upgrade, and in our circle binders have facilitated faster and more satisfying trades.  Not to mention they give you a chance to show off some of your flashier cards.  However if three-rings are not for you, it is a good idea to have readily tradable cards within easy access.  Its not re-inventing the wheel, but it sure makes trading more fun.

One thing that makes trading less fun?  Getting ripped off, or even a person attempting to rip you off.  Honor is not something found in every trader.  As often as not you’ll end up face to face with some villainous scum trying to convince you their Titanic Ultimatum is worth that Taiga you’ve been toting around for years.  This sort of thing happens everywhere and controversy rages about its acceptability.  On one hand many traders are looking out for one another.  ‘We are all brethren aren’t we?’ they say.  There is a another camp that asserts anything is fair short of actually reaching into someone’s collection and snatching a card.    Perhaps I was born with an extra pious bone in my body, one that hums  and rattles around these nefarious types, but I frown on the latter.  Maybe because I have had some regrettable deals in my time.

thinking of a trade gone south

Yes, nothing stings worse than the memory of the trade gone wrong.  Whether you traded a classic for the latest model, or realized too late Sower of Temptation is actually really good.  Bad trades happen to everyone.  Some personal examples include swapping said faerie for Cho-Manno, Revolutionary and a Revised Hypnotic Specter for peanuts.  Ouch.  The worst of these tragic trades are the ones you can’t even remember clearly.  You look to that empty slot in your collection and try remembering what became of your Pact of Negation.  Just keep on reminding yourself, ‘it happens to everyone.’  Because it does.  With all the inherent perils that come with trading why do it at all?  Why not sell you cards on Ebay?  Because of those great swaps that make it all seem okay.

Grand trades have been pulled off in my presence.  Some even by me.  It took ten minutes of convincing to execute the Demigod of Revenge for the foil Ancestral Vision deal but it happened.  The Darksteel Colossus trade I wrote about here?  I don’t even remember what I gave up, and that alone brings a smile to my face.  Of course I do trade with noble intentions.  I was once offered a pair of Portal Wrath of Gods and turned it down because the asking price was too low.  Karma is a force not to be trifled with under any circumstance.  Especially not in Magic.

Trading  collectible cards is a massive topic.  One much too broad and daunting to be delved fully in this space.  The point here is to begin a dialogue.  What are some of your best trades?  Conversely what are some of the cards you wished you never gave up?  How do you feel about fleecing the ignorant?  MTG Darwinism or just plain thievery?  And on the outside chance that trading isn’t part of your game, why not?  After all we’re in this together and besides I have a few Shivan Dragons I’m looking to unload.

Like this article? Try these:

1. Things Magic the Gathering Online Could Do Better
2. Quick Card Judging – Mana Cost
3. Let’s Open a Booster – Magic 2010
4. Treasure Hunting – Getting a Second Opinion
5. Getting Started – The Right Way