Since I’ve been writing these articles, I’ve become much more aware of people using smartphones at my local game store. People use them to keep track of life totals, check Oracle rulings on cards, and, quite often, to check prices on certain cards during a trade. Smartphones and apps have come to Magic, and if you’re going to be playing the game, you should get used to seeing them and get used to people at your LGS using them. However, as with most technologies that become popular with a more general audience, there’s some etiquette and common courtesies that people don’t necessarily understand. I’ve noticed this most prominently when smartphones are pulled out during a trade, and so I’m going to go over a few things that you should keep in mind while trading and either you or your trade partner pulls out a mobile device.

Your opponent doesn’t have your best interests in mind.

One of the first things we teach a new player entering the tournament scene is that if he has a question on a card or ruling, he shouldn’t trust his opponent. What we often don’t teach new players is how to trade and not get ripped off. Quite often, I will see a trade going on where a question on card prices comes up, and one of the traders will pull out his iPhone or Android to check the price of a card. What is the problem for the trader without a mobile device? He doesn’t know if the person is being honest about the prices he’s looking up. The person looking up the prices can, and quite often will, lie about what he finds, undervaluing his opponents cards and overvaluing his own.

Don’t let this be you!

For a multitude of reasons, trading Magic cards has become very “caveat emptor.” Don’t be afraid to ask your trade partner to see the prices he finds. It may seem rude, but we spend a lot of money and time building our collections, and we should do everything in our power to protect our investment.

When dealing with a more experienced trader, the reverse of this can also be true. Don’t be afraid to pull out your own smartphone to double-check prices. Sharks and value traders will most likely have the current buy and sell price of every Standard, Commander, and Legacy staple memorized, and will be trying to make money when trading with you. It’s okay to pull out your mobile device and look up something you are unsure of. However, there is something you should keep in mind when doing this, and it’s my next point.

Don’t slow-play.

Time is precious. If you’re going to pull out your phone in the middle of a trade, please know what you’re doing with it. Ideally, you should know the value of the cards in your trade binder, and only need to look up a few specific items. It can be very frustrating for your trade partner to have to wait for several minutes every time he asks you what you value a card at, and there are some simple things you can do to avoid these situations.

The first thing to remember is: “There’s an app for that!” Going to a website in a mobile browser to look up prices is going to be slow. Most Magic: The Gathering sites don’t have mobile versions of their webpages built, and so they aren’t optimized to be viewed over a mobile connection. Get a mobile card database app with a built-in price guide.

I recommend Orcish Librarian if you have an iOS device (App Store link) or DeckForge for Android (Marketplace link). Because these are specialized apps, they will allow you to quickly look up prices on cards. I use Orcish Librarian specifically because as soon as you load the app, it has a search bar at the top of the screen, and constantly updates your search results as you continue to type a card’s name in. This, coupled with the fact that prices pop up next to each result without having to click on a card’s name, makes the app perfect for trading purposes.

If you are going to be using these apps, be sure to practice using them before you get into a trade. I actually keep my phone in hand, typing in cards as I talk to my trade partner when I’m in doubt of a price. Being able to type and talk at the same time is a great skill to have, and will keep you from being ripped off, while at the same time keeping the other person from becoming frustrated and rage-quitting the trade altogether because you are taking forever to find a price.

Don’t fail to maintain the game state.

There are several different approaches to trading and, depending on who you’re dealing with, they can vary wildly. Be sure to be clear with your trade partner if you’re going to be using an app, and if so, exactly how you’re going to be using it. I was trading with someone at my local shop the other day who had a printed-out list of cards that he needed to complete his Zendikar block sets. As I was pulling cards out of my binder and his, I couldn’t get a straight answer as to what he valued any of his cards at, or what he wanted to pick mine up for.

It wasn’t until over halfway through the trade that he told me he was going to look up each card’s price on his phone and then make a list of each price on a piece of paper. I was completely okay with this, but being clear with exactly what you’re doing is not only polite, it can save everyone involved a lot of time if they don’t feel comfortable trading that way.

End Step

That’s it for this week. I hope you’ve found this information useful, and remember to keep an eye out during your trades so you don’t get ripped off. As always, feel free to leave comments below or shoot me an e-mail at spork at thehappywalrus dot com. You can also follow me on Twitter @the_spork. I’m always interested in seeing new MtG software, and if you’re a developer who would like me to review your app, don’t hesitate send me a link.