Hello out there in the interwebs, you will be happy to know that I am back with some trades this week! I'll have you know that it was no easy task. Since I have been revealing my secrets online here and at other sites like MTGMetagame and QuietSpeculation, it's getting harder to trade at my local shop. I've been getting the reputation of the snake in the grass and when my trade partner start the trade with comments like "Time to sell my soul to the devil," as they sit down, it certainly doesn't help new comers feel warm and fuzzy about trading with me. When I approach people with my Pack to Power binder they automatically pass on trading, before even looking at the binder.

This week I needed to break the ice a little, so I sat down with some casual player to talk shop before busting out the binder. I wanted them to know that I wasn't the devil but instead that I was a player that loved the game just like them. I told them about the pursuit of power and they all got a good laugh out of the fact that I started with a Bear Umbra. I explained that I didn't want any of their expensive cards but was looking to trade for junk and they were happy to pull out their junk... man you guys have a dirty mind, I'm talking about their junk cards. Once the binder was open, people crowded around and the trades started to flow. Lesson for the day, break the ice – thanks American Pickers. Before we jump into the trades let's give say hello to some friends.

Shout Outs

I finally get to say hi to my buddies over at Yo! MTG Taps, It only took them like five hundred million weeks to mention the Pack to Power quest, but better late than never. I do think that they need to work on their priorities over at that show, I mean come on, Pack to Power is way more important than the latest standard decks. In case your sarcasm meter is broken, I am just kidding. I don't want to get flamed in the comments for being a Narcissist, even though I am one.

Speaking of Narcissim while I was staring at my awesome author picture, yeah sometimes I just stare at my own picture for hours, I was reminded of something. I need to mention my buddy Shaun Wallen who drove out to the cards store at midnight on a week day to snap some pictures of the original kick-off. I never got an official chance to give him a shout out, thanks Shaun! Even though I crushed you with Polymorph, you're still a good guy! Man, I love having an internet forum where I can talk smack to my friends. Ok, enough tom-foolery.

The Trades

This one was the "Ice Breaker." I need to open the binder, sometimes that's half the battle. If you can get the binder open at a table full of people you get opportunities that you wouldn't have otherwise. It's kind of a no brainer, a common for an uncommon. Sejiri Merfolk is one of those cards that people like, I think it might actually see play after the rotation of Shards.

The next trade was another common for uncommon trade. This is strictly a trade up strategy, there was no thought process other than let's get more value for these commons. I am hoping that in the future I can do X uncommon for a junk rare trade.

Someone standing at the table saw me trading and said, "Hey I need those Wall of Omens." This is what I am talking about, Opportunity. I may not have gained anything in trading the commons for uncommon but I did gain the opportunity for this trade. Polymorph is on the rise as an archetype and I have seen these trade as high as $5 each. I hope to move them at FNM this week.

My last trade was a guy who offered me some uncommons out of the packs that he just opened. The Vampire Nighthawk was a big win! I am sure that this will trade up for a rare.

As you can see there wasn't much strategy in the trades themselves but you should take note of how I approached a hostile trading situation; Break the Ice, trade for the sake of trading and keep an eye open for opportunity.

Long Distance Trades

This question has come up a few time and I wanted to take a moment to talk about it. Will I accept trades over the internet? The answer is yes. I actually do quite a bit of real trading online at Magic Trading League. The thing that you have to remember is that I cannot spend money. This means that I can't buy a stamp. Here is how internet trades will be conducted. You will email me your trade proposal and then I will accept or deny it, probably accept. I will then send you my shipping information and you will send your side of the trade and a SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope), then using that I will mail my side to you.

My Camera Sucks

You might notice that a lot of these images suck. I am considering buying an actual camera for this project instead of using my phone, so expect better image quality in the future. I apologize for making you look at blurry trades. Hopefully this will be corrected soon.

I want to wish everyone who's going to GPDC good luck, have a great weekend and thanks for reading.

No updates to the trade binder graph this week. Sorry, but I'm on the road for Grand Prix DC and can't get it built. -- Trick