MtG Cabal Cast (MtG Cabal Cast)

As we begin our yearly look back and take inventory of our processes and lessons learned, we are starting out on a personal level. Have the means by which we engage with the game changed? And if so, how? How have we navigated the financial landscape this year? Casting a critical lense as our processes, lessons learned, and heuristics is an important part of holding ourselves accountable and grow. So join us as we take a look back at a wild year of Magic.

Now that we have vended our first MagicCon of this new era, we break down this new vending experience for WotCs new, premier, Professional Level Organized Play event. What was this like compared to GPs, Magic Fests, PTs, and Mythic Championships of the past, was this a better or worse experience overall for vendors, staff, and players alike? Did you even feel like you were at a Pro Tour or remember that there was one running at the same time?

Continuing the discussion about the Hasbro Q2 2023 earning call, we revisit the bulleted points from the previous episode and break them down based on economic indicators, expectations set by Hasbro, and mix in our own brand of, "old man yells at cloud". https://gamerant.com/pokemon-company-multibillion-dollar-increase-in-revenue/ https://www.hipstersofthecoast.com/2023/08/magic-revenue-down-15-in-q2-tales-of-middle-earth-is-magics-second-best-selling-set/ https://www.reddit.com/r/mtgfinance/comments/15hj2ta/lord_of_the_ring_is_evergreen/jupnh4y/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button https://investor.hasbro.com/news-releases/news-release-details/hasbro-reports-second-quarter-2023-financial-results https://investor.hasbro.com/static-files/18fce6ae-107c-4c55-81e4-0ccb3b3a6af0

Last week we looked to the past, this week we look... to the future! With the quarterly analysis done, MaRo's lastest Tumblr blurb, and a number of key take aways from Hasbro, we compiled a list of things we are looking forward to in 2023. As a vendor, what are we looking for? As an LGS, what do we need? We also cover our hopes and dreams for 2023 and 2024. A few items that we know might not be possible for this year but hopefully the next. https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/storm-scale-throne-of-eldraine-through-strixhaven-part-2

Last week we covered what the lead in to, "The Greatest Four Days in Gaming", (GenCon) is like and this week we get into the nitty gritty. What's it like on the floor, is there time to enjoy the show itself, what is there to do before, during and after? ...When do you find time to eat and sleep? All of it. From the highest highs to falling off a curb and chipping a tooth. We're breaking down what it's like to work GenCon.

With Murders at Karlov Manor set to release shortly, we look back at our Caverns of Ixalan to see how discerning an eye we cast at the set. Were we right, were we wrong? Are we out of touch, or is it truly the children?

In the "stone age" of Magic OP, foreign cards and foreign foils could command a premium over their local equivalent. The reason behind this, generally boiled down to accessibility and scarcity driving demand. As production ramps up across the globe, new supplemental products are released, box toppers, and intra-set art variations there are a lot of competing options for the coveted spot of "best version". So what knocked foreign cards off the pedestal?

As 2022 draws to a close we have yet another reprint set to scour as an LGS and vendor to determine how we are going to handle allocation. We discuss the contents and preorders, among other things, as we break down our view of the set on the way to each delivering a valuation of how we are going to be handling this set in the short term. Did you know that Collectors Boosters are $200 ea at the LGS but $300 on Amazon with some of the most basic stats we've seen? 15 Magic cards + 1 foil token in each booster 11 foil cards in every pack 2–6 Retro-Frame and 1–5 Borderless cards in every pack 4 cards of rarity Rare or higher in every pack Simply. Wild.

As a vendor, when WotC infuses its year with products, it often times created interesting challenges and schedules.

Previously we've discussed what it's like to work shows for a large vendor, this time we discuss the day to day operations.

With Outlaws of Thunder Junction set to release shortly, we look back at our Murders at Karlov Manor card assessment to see how discerning an eye we cast at the set. It feels like we just did this...

It's almost 2023 and we're back with our yearly tradition of discussing what we would do if we ran Hasbro. Comparatively, 2022 was a rather interesting year with the Alta Fox discussions, some rather obtuse earnings calls, and a product release schedule bordering on lunacy but we held in there and used all of this to distill down our changes for the organization on the whole. So buckle up and enjoy some fun back and forth about how we, two dudes yelling over the internet, would change Hasbro.

With Alchemy taking center stage on Arena, pulling content creators and players alike, what kind of impact will this have on the Standard format on the whole? We break this conversation down into two sections after some discussion as we believe that there are a number of ways in which Alchemy and Standard could be at odds and we wanted to discuss both the play aspect as well as the financial aspect. Who thinks that Alchemy will pull focus from Standard and eventually kill it and who believes that Standard prices won't budge an inch? Find out on this episode.

With the sheer quantity of leaks and WotC's shift in spoilers we decided to told off on our normal set evaluation for Modern Horizons 3 and break it into two parts. This first part we will take a look at the cards people are currently interested in after having them in hand for a bit over two weeks and discuss what we are seeing in regards to player interest and whether or not we think cards are appropriately hyped or not.

Seemingly the "deep end" of MtG Finance, Magic art is actually easy to get in to, easy to understand, and delightfully easy to work within.

We received news from our distributors that Commander Legends first and seconds waves will be smaller than expected.

With full spoilers and a prerelease behind us, this week we look at and discuss March of the Machine. What cards do we think are prices well? Which are priced poorly? How do serialized cards impact the price of regular rares and their long term out? Tune in and find out!

With a volatile secondary market, what can you expect vendors to do as the open market churns.

We've had the pleasure of experiencing cEDH from multiple points of view over almost a decades worth of play and thought, what better way to discuss the format than to try and bring together all of that. With the experience of judging one of the largest cEDH events on the East Coast barely in the rear view, we talk about what cEDH means to players, judges, the LGS, and vendors. What is the impact the format has on all the aforementioned people and where we see the format heading. This episode was planned out well in advance of initial cEDH RC issues, giving us an even more interesting insight into the format as we get to marry together player sentiment prior to those events, all the way through the recent bannings.

Sixty percent of the time it works every time and you should keep a varied suite of tools to help you make your decisions quickly and correctly.

Obviously Magic as a game play system is complex and deep but between the game itself and the ecosystem it has created there exists a number of avenues for things to change or improve. We started with a the simple idea of "identify" a few things surrounding that game, within the control of WotC that would fix, or improve, Magic the Gathering. It could be as simple as "bring back From the Vaults" or as complex as "update an underlying core concept of the game engine", anything we thought needed to be identified, addressed, and discussed with thought and purpose.

Between unique set releases, historic sales numbers, and print issues, do we think 2020 sealed is worth the time?

Returning to a known plane, in this case Kamigawa, allows for a lot of interesting financial opportunities that only present themselves on these revisits. Unlike new planes, we know what to expect; the keywords, the mechanics. There's memory attached.

When this happens and the inevitable targeting of cards based on characters, keywords, mechanics, etc. begins the open market begins to churn and writhe. As this is occurring and people look to enter the fray, what is often overlooked is what is going on at the vendor level in terms of sales numbers and buy price.

Can we, based on trend tracking and available historic data, look to vendors for a cue as to what is going on and what's real? Does this kind of movement also impact their operations and do they respond in kind?

We discuss this week what lessons we can learn about the impact of sales based on leaks and spoilers based on vendor buylists and as well as LGS level markers.

Watching something like the MtG Stocks reports can be a great boon but also lead to great confusion when trends deep within niche formats bubble to the surface.

Last week we covered what The National is and a bit of the importance of it to the Sports card industry. This week we recap what happened at The National 2023 from both the vendor perspective and the attendee side of things. How does The National stack up against Origins and GenCon, how has it changed and expanded over the last few years and what happens after hours for both vendors and attendees alike. https://www.nsccshow.com/home

What the heck happened this year and what did we do?

With the possible return of paper Modern, we stare over the fence at each other and yell about prices.

Between the sheets there's a lot that goes one with a Standard set, from vendor orders to rotation.

It's 2024 and we're back with our yearly tradition of discussing what we would do if we ran Hasbro. Somehow we're back to talking about how Alta Fox was right, some rather obtuse earnings calls, and a product release schedule bordering on lunacyon top of holiday layoffs. 2023 was a certified corporate banger! So buckle up and enjoy some fun back and forth about how we, two dudes yelling over the internet, would change Hasbro.

The long awaited August 26th Banned and Restricted announcement was delivered and touched a number of formats, as players expected. We gave it about a week, for MODO and paper results to roll in before diving in and discussing what we've seen, what people are saying, and how we feel about this particular announcement. https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/august-26-2024-banned-and-restricted-announcement https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wxR3iYna86qrdViwHjUPzHuw6bCNeMLb72M25hpUHYk/edit?gid=1611466830#gid=1611466830 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PxNYGMXaVrRqI0uyMQF46K7nDEG16WnDoKrFyI_qrvE/edit?gid=1611466830#gid=1611466830 https://twitter.com/karsten_frank/status/1829178288893505574

MagicCon Vegas 2023 is in the books, Worlds has been won, and the first $100 thousand sealed event compete. But what was it actually like at the event? How was everything structured and what was the feeling? We break down MagicCon Vegas 2023 from a logistics standpoint so you didn't have to be there! Come join us as we crack open the seedy underbelly of Vegas.

In 2020 we're seeing huge spikes across the entire Reserved List, what can history teach us?

In "standard" fashion, we take a look at Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth, breakdown the set, and make a few predictions based on what we've seen in regards to "hype". Now, this does follow our standard practice for a new set but relying on price here is a bit of a red herring so we're trying something new: relying on the internet and what kind of buzz we're seeing. Stick with us as we break down everything from Hobbits to Nazgul.

Keeping people engaged at the LGS level can be one of the most difficult things to do but one of the most rewarding as you see your players returns, bring new people, or covert walk-ins to lifers. This week we discuss some of the challenges of engaged your yours players, regardless of the game they play. How do you keep people coming back and opening their wallets? How do you make the comfortable? We cover all that and more, this week. Bonus: We spend a lot of time talking about the benefits of table top gamers!

The last GenCon related episode for the year. We promise. We discuss GenCon through the years, from it's humble beginnings in 1969 through to 2023. How Magic impacted GenCon, their relationship through the years, and their eventual separation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gen_Con

With WotC expressing interest in entering the cEDH event sponsorship/TO/host space, we decided it was time to dedicate the time to discuss what this means through the lens of "cEDH Finance." In this series of episodes we discuss what cEDH finance looks like for cards designed for main set play. What are signals that cEDH is pushing a cards price. And what it means when a card becomes cEDH viable or a cEDH staple. In this second episode we take a look at some instants, sorceries, artifacts, and enchantments that are cEDH staples and what the impact of this means for them financially. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/0DDiZV77lkSqfVAm8eCllg https://www.reddit.com/r/CompetitiveEDH/comments/17xu4a3/cedh_staple_card_list_october_2023/ https://edhtop16.com/ https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/

As collecing Magic continues to be a pillar of interaction for people, creating memorabilia along the way, we see it begin to follow the trends of other collectables and historical pieces before it. Things like grading the raw game pieces, general art, collectors only items, and signatures of various entities encircling the game. This means that it's time to upcycle a topic from the early days of the podcast: the maturity of the marketplace. With a more mature marketplace comes more unique ways to interact with the memorabilia, more ways to piece together collections, items you want, the signatures or art you enjoy. The devil truly is in the details and we are running, full bore into brand new territory. This week we break down what happened with an unfortunate PWCC buy, the details of the the item, and directly compare this to what we see in everything from sports to historical items and memorabilia.

The "Junk Wax" era of sprots cards is one of many defining moments of the hobby's history and is quite infamous for those that were in any part of the ecosystem during this time. With the advent of Whatnot and the sheer population of box brakers, as well as the entry into that space of a card manufactor, we decided to cast a critical eye at WotC in their serialized era. Part one of this two part series covers the history of the Junk Was era of sports cards, the driving forces that got us there, what it was like within the era, pricing, and the health of the hobby for collectors and investors alike. https://www.cardboardconnection.com/why-sports-cards-early-90s-worthless https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/fanatics-live-box-breaks-online-shopping-nick-bell/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb37yLGLGWM

This week, we discuss a comment left by YouTube viewer bmatth06. What would you say your biggest mistakes were that caused your shop to fail? It's not something we talk about all that often but with the ever changing landscape of the LGS, this was the perfect time to breakdown some of the most commom reasons an LGS might fail.

Part two of our series OS/RL speccing for EDH; looking explicitly at how define staples and what we look for in a staple.

Even though we're all there to vend, we all do it differently.

With last weeks discussion about the return of format based "seasons" in the books, we turn our focus this week to another important element of "seasonality": buylist curation A viewer pointed out that we haven't covered how buylists are handled at the LGS and vendor level so we decided to break things down and discuss a lot of the "whys" and a number of the "hows", covering drivers and utility along the way.

This week we circle back to our Annual Over Under lead in to the next calendar year and make wild bets about even wilder events. Taking into account both recent and historic events, we put together a list of items worth discussing, but only through the lens of degeneracy. Come for the specs, stay for the grumpy discussion.

With over a year of new entrants into the TCG/CCG event space and having vending multiples, we decide to sit down and collect our thoughts about each. Looking to set expectation, we break down the vendor experience in a easy to understand and digest way. We cover everything from booth selection to interesting contract wording, even when you can enter and leave the hall. Distilling this down into a summation and suggestion about what events best suit different types of vendors. Collect-A-Con - https://collectaconusa.com/ SCGCon - https://scgcon.starcitygames.com/ TCGCon - https://www.tcg-con.com/

For a limited time, you can enjoy owning all Magic cards in a digital format!

With full spoilers, a prelease, and several high profile events behind us, this week we look at and discuss the Murders at Karlov Manor. What cards do we think are prices well? Which are priced poorly? What's a "case" and how do we solve it, or do they even matter? What's a mole god?

As has become tradition, we review the rest of the 2023 and 2024 product slate as provide to us by WotC. This time, though, we know where a number of Universes Beyond sets are and how many times we're returning to Ravnica. Will the LGS thrive because of some of the new draft environments or top down trope based design? Are "tent pole" Universes Beyond sets good for vendors? Find out this week! https://cardgamebase.com/upcoming-mtg-sets-2023/ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/351450643950600199/1161522100192940092/en_OsI9fF58WE.png?ex=65389ac0&is=652625c0&hm=f58a4883d51851e43331570748208cfe69c4728606f250beebce32d9fec06850&

With in person play across all types of games returning to the LGS and competitive paper events being held by parent organizations, it was time we checked back in on the LGS. We discuss everything from in person play to tournaments even the invisibles and whether or not they attrition into players who make an appearance at the LGS! And we didn't forget finances and supply chain issues for all verticals, we just saved that for last.

Summer vacations are in full swing and univierties across the United States have been in summer break for some time now which means it's time to drum up seasonal attendance in one of the most difficult times to find foot traffic. So, what can we do and what have we seen our LGS's do that help improve summer attendace? What's worked the best to help make the season when even WotC has called out having issues with product sales and event attendance? Well, the answer is, plainly. A lot. There are a lot of great things that you can do and in this weeks episode we break down some of the most interesting, unique, and in one instance rather recent, events.

This week we cover Modern Horizons 2 and the glut of variants contained within. Retro, showcase, extended border, etched... the gang's all here. Taking a look at some of these variants we breakdown what we're seeing from the set financially and discuss where, based on current numbers, the value in sealed lies. Also the rather stagnant prices. As we've said before, please spend time with two old men yelling at clouds.

In November 2021, PayPal announced that changes in to the upcoming U.S. tax reporting requirements, "could impact the information PayPal shares with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about transactions made using PayPal and Venmo for the sale of goods and services." As open marketplaces like Facebook rely on PayPal as a "backbone" for payments, this has immediate impact for vendors of all sizes and thus means that there is an additional layer of diligence that now needs to be taken by those looking to sell directly to players and collectors. We discuss this impact, what a 1099 form means, how to handle the upcoming changes, and what steps you can take to mitigate your 1099 taxation. https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2021-11-04-New-US-Tax-Reporting-Requirements-Your-Questions-Answered

With the announcement about the return to Organized Play coming mere weeks ahead of the Pre-Release for Streets of New Capenna, we decided to take a look at what is currently happening at the LGS level. How are things being planned, what kind of coordination is going into this first event back after the OP announcement. What kind of expectations are there in regards to the logistics. Hell, do we even remember how to do this?!

As our sixth year as a podcast draws to a close, we continue our process of self reflection and growth. This episode we look back at two picks each, and discuss what they represent to us: winners and losers alike, there's always a lesson to be learned.

From the Judges to the LGS, from the players to the formats we discuss what it's been like operating in the new RCQ system. What changes have felt impactful to each of the aforementioned elements? What are we seeing now that we haven't seen before? Do these changes to the system even feel good?

With each set, we look at cards that we think are underrated or overrated during the prerelease period. Taking into account what we’ve seen from the cards over their three month period we cut through what happened between set releases. Utilizing the notes we took from that episode we reflect on where we went wrong, where we went right, and evaluate why that was the case to help improve our abilities in making correct picks during prerelease.

LGSs open and LGSs close; and that could be for any number of reasons. This week we discuss what it's like shuttering an LGS, from the months ahead of closing up to day the doors finally close. What happens to inventory, stock, everything down to your player base and how to care for them.

Prior to the Spotlight Series announcement, there was a light push for standard play at the LGS level and though meaningless as there were no competitive reasons to play, it did pave the way for the return of Standard at the LGS. Now, with buying from WotC, from large TOs, and, hopefully, a least one RCQ season a year, there are a multitude of reasons to engage with the Standard format. So. Are we seeing a return of Standard at the LGS in any meaningful capacity?

With the sheer quantity of leaks and WotC's shift in spoilers we decided to told off on our normal set evaluation for Modern Horizons 3 and break it into two parts. In the second part, we discuss a number of trends we saw. Starting with pre/release weekends we discuss what events looked and felt like. What was, and is, player sentiment across all formats; limited to Vintage. What impact and trends does this set for the LGS. And, finally, what do these trends mean for older constructed formats like Modern, Legacy, and Vintage.

We started down this road in 2019, got derailed in 2020, but 2021 has seen full buy in from the top level.

As we continue to discuss the ripples that the OP announcement has had on the game, from top to bottom, we do a bit of self reflection. Looking inward we discuss what, if anything, we wil be changing about how we handle our specs, our booth stock, buys... everything as this announcement was huge.

With full spoilers and a prerelease behind us, this week we look at and discuss Wilds of Eldraine. What cards do we think are prices well? Which are priced poorly? Is there enough "juice" on the Enchanting Tales sheet to keep people opening this set for a while?

With a continuously shifting landscape, the removal of Pioneer as an RCQ format to Universes Beyond being standard legacy, LGS operations and MtG Finance on the whole have become rather difficult to manage. Anything can be reprinted at any time, so how do you handle an impending price crash on your foil Patrick Starfish while also worrying about the five Standard sets. So, this week we took at step back and began to discuss what it's like at the LGS level now. What are ways that people are insulating themselves from the whims of WotC and Hasbro profiteering. How can we, LGS's and financeers alike, survive and get ahead in the current environment that WotC has set in front of us.

It's another day so there's another Standard Magic set to digest. This week it's time for breakout of some of the most under priced, over priced, and correctly priced cards in BRO. Join us as we discuss playability, affordability, projected sales, and have a vivid discussion about some aptly named lands.

Chopping booths at event from pre-releases to PTs is a fairly common practice that serves a number of purposes designed to help the attendees.

With every set, standard supplemental, etc., there is an affect on the market of price of reprints. This week we discuss what our expectations for Double Masters is.

Part two in our series! In this episode we discuss some import, and some crucial, elements of running a successful LGS, not just from a financial standpoint but also from a community standpoint because without a community, why have an LGS at all? With our combined experiences working at, starting up, and designing LGSs we break down five elements, each, that we find critical to success. How'd you think we did, was there anything unexpected? Give this episode a listen and let us know!

With the announcement of a return to true Organized Play, there's a lot to pick apart. From the player perspective it's another system with another set of rewards and events to schedule out but for vendors it represents something completely different. We cover a number of elements about the return of "OP with a purpose" and how we feel about this from a bottom up perspective. What does this impact in regards to our existing models, what can we return to, what's missing, and what we're plain excited about. Dreamhack, we're comin for ya! https://magic.gg/news/return-of-the-pro-tour-your-path-to-playing-magic-at-the-highest-level https://magic.gg/news/return-of-the-pro-tour-details

With WotC expressing interest in entering the cEDH event sponsorship/TO/host space, we decided it was time to dedicate the time to discuss what this means through the lens of "cEDH Finance." In this series of episodes we discuss what cEDH finance looks like for cards designed for main set play. What are signals that cEDH is pushing a cards price. And what it means when a card becomes cEDH viable or a cEDH staple. In this third episode we take a look at the left over cEDH staples that represent a neat cross section of Commander and cEDH and what this overlap means for them financially. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/0DDiZV77lkSqfVAm8eCllg https://www.reddit.com/r/CompetitiveEDH/comments/17xu4a3/cedh_staple_card_list_october_2023/ https://edhtop16.com/ https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/ https://x.com/cedhpt/status/1777678508803707032?t=SMQpSANmdjM7JNnViZxBjA

Continuing where we left off last week, we finish out the list of questions regarding MtG Speculation and where we see ourselves.

Yeehaw... This week we look at Outlaws of Thunder Junction. So saddle on up and hear us spin yarns about tales from out yonder. What cards do we think are prices well? Which are priced poorly? What's a "case" and how do we solve it, or do they even matter? What's a mole god?

With 2024 approaching rapidly we go through a few "thought experiments" and discuss what we expect to happen, what we want to happen, where we want to be... even what we want from Organized Play. All in the hopes that our dreams and wishes will come true for the next year and we see positive change and growth from both WotC and Hasbro.

With the Reserved List in place, the loopholes closed, what is it doing and what can we expect in the future

The Spotlight Series announcement was one that was received rather well. The return of a WotC sponsored competitive event series with a clear path to the Pro Tour, a clear prize structure, and a clear tournament structure is what players have been clamoring for, for years dating back to the GP era. But, as with everything, we take a look at some of the good things and some of the bad things within this announcement and what it means for various players around the world. https://magic.gg/news/announcing-the-magic-spotlight-series https://x.com/raff_sputin/status/1827748727844434320 https://commandersherald.com/organized-play-cant-exist-without-judges/

Pioneer events are filling and firing again on MODO and it's time we come back as well.

We took some time off from discussing serious finance related topic and discuss the human element in regards to vending.

With the Hasrbo investor call in the books, time to read and digest Hasbros notes, relearning what the "Brand Blueprint" is and seeing the fallout of the 30th Anniversary event in Vegas, we pulled out some of the more interesting snippets we could find to help breakdown what happened on that call. Armed with links from everywhere, including insight from those on the call, we shed light on some of numbers seen and what that might mean for Hasbro and WotC. https://hasbro.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/hasbro-reports-third-quarter-financial-results https://articles.starcitygames.com/magic-the-gathering/magic-the-gathering-becomes-hasbros-first-1-billion-brand/ https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/10/04/why-hasbro-stock-popped-then-dropped/

Though consistent in their language, WotC cast the idea that Innistrad Double Feature would feature a list of cards chosen from both sets leading both players, vendors and LGSs alike to believe that this would be curated.

That couldn't have been further from the truth.

As we ran up to Innistrad: Crimson Vow's pre-release weekend it was announced that Double Feature would actually be a combined set of all the cards from the previous two Innistrad sets, seemingly leaving everyone flummoxed as what to do. Spend money on a retread of the last two standard sets or allocate funds to the new Standard set, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.

We discuss reactions to the news of the lack of curation and both our expectations of and potential handling of this product from the aforementioned perspectives.

Product Overview: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/innistrad-double-feature-product-overview-2021-11-15

In the Esports change announcement this month, WotC gifts us another possible avenue for financial gain.

We've covered TCG-Cons; what they were like, who the target audience was, and the experience of vending one. With the return of the SCG tournament series, we discuss what that circuit is like now that it also contains premier level Flesh and Blood events alongside large Magic events. Who is attending, what are these events like compared to TCG-Cons and events prior to the shut down. What can we expect as vendors and what is the player response.

That's a big question but an important one. An idea born out of an older Reddit thread (link below), we decided to take a look at what WotC has left in the tank for chase reprints in supplemental sets. What does the current reprint philosphy offer? What cards can even be reprinted to get people motivated to buy into supplemental packs? And seemingly, most importantly, how often can we expect to see these cards because they lose their luster. https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/14zpquw/current_list_of_mythicrare_cards_valued_over_20/

Your front of house is just as important as your back of house and buyers. Don't sleep on skill.

TCGPlayer isn't the only selling platform out there and it's time some others were discussed!

In the past we've discussed the utility of "hot lists" and generic buy lists as backpackers, vendors, and at the LGS level; effectively all levels of the singles selling ecosystem. Their importance to the health and growth of any business cannot be understand. But what we have not discussed is the importance of making your buylist available and visible to people in an online fashion. Why would you want to maintain a digital footprint like this? What benefits does it afford you? This week, we remedy our errors and take a look at the importance of an online buylist.

It's been a rough year for vendors but we've finally received a bit of news about large scale paper events.

Here we are. A time which we never thought we'd see: serialized Magic cards in non-specialty products. With The Brothers War looming and most of the important details laid out, we break down what has been announced about the retro frame artifacts, the schematic art treatment, and their serialized brethren. What does this mean for the LGS, for vendors, players, WotC and Hasbro, and who are these even aimed at?

Recent changes at the distributor level look to impact a number of industries.

With immaculate timing, after recording our previous episode it was announced that the one of one The One Ring was found and graded. So... what happens next? We came up with a few important questions to discuss from player, LGS, and vendor perspectives about the current and future state of this set and IP based chase cards in the future.

With Halt attending SCGCon Baltimore all weekend, taking notes, engaging with players and vendors alike, we'll be discussing what the current look and feel of an SCGCon is in the current era of the circuit. Join us as Thursty live fires a bunch of questions to help build a better understanding of what attending an SCGCon is like. Discussing everything from room layout, to the streaming area, to side events.

WotC announces that players are frustrated they can't immediately play their paper cards from their pre-release events in constructed events like they can on Arena, so now paper cards are legal in constructed starting on pre-release weekend. Okay, but, why? Who asked for this? Why are the LGS and vendors who have an LGS or do events meant to suffer for nothing? Why does WotC continue to harm us? https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/format-legality-shifts-to-prerelease-with-phyrexia-all-will-be-one

As we wind down our fourth year on the podcast and come screaming into the last Standard set of the year and holiday season rush, we decided to do our retrospective a little early. In this, the second of our two part series, we look back at cards we chose as specs for the podcast. Cards that we studied, put time into understanding the reasoning for movement, the expectations based on knowledge of similar cards, movement, and formats, and forecasting. Join us as we step through some of our major groupings in our pick history and takeaways. (Don't eat your margins in fees!)

Several Command Fests and Origins later, we decided it was time to bring our knowledge and experience to a compare and contrast style episode. Not every vendor has the luxury to vend one or both of these, once or multiple times so while this discussion and comparison isn't all encompasing, we only have so much time, it's a great springboard for those looking to go. more general questions comparing Magic Fests, Command Fests, and larger gaming conventions like Origins.

Do you know what goes in to industry regulation and ensuring a stable exchange? Let's chat.

With The Brothers' War in the rearview and Phyrxia: All Will be One on the horizon, it's time for our set review. We each read through the full set and Commander spoiler to find cards we believe are overhyped, underhyped, or hyped just the right about and break down what we do and do not like about the cards as well as give a financial projection. Remember to hold us to these picks and values as we'll be revisiting them to see where we went right and where we went wrong.

It's 2025 and we're back with our yearly tradition of discussing what we would do if we ran Hasbro. Secret Layers, Baulders Gate 3, and the finalization of the eOne sale. What a year it's been. Casting out lens, we look at the decisions we saw coming out of Hasbro and WotC and put together some notes and things we'd like to see them do better, things we'd change, things we'd improve. Even a few things we'd like to do away with. Join us on this rocky ride as we discuss what we would do in 2025 if we ran Hasbro.

With the first PT post-Covid in the books, we are taking a look at how our day to day involvement with Magic has changed from an era prior to the OP announcement that brought us Regionals, Worlds, and the return of the Pro-tour and after. And you might think, why now? Why wait so long after the announcement? And the short answer to that is, simply, that until OP actually mattered, until players had a clear vision of the road in front of them, their habits didn't really change. We'll give you that one up front.

With MaRo telling players to continue to voice their contempt for the current product schedule, WotC walking back their double down that they totally didn't use AI art, combined the OpenGL walk back, WotC has had a string of good decisions. Now, a lot of this still demonstrates initial bad intentions and/or poor first decision making, but we all have to start somewhere and, hopefully, the vocal majority has finally started to make enough noise for both WotC and HAS to care. https://twitter.com/SaffronOlive/status/1742939507979399669 https://twitter.com/wizards_magic/status/1744056808254173447?t=Di8yepxgmsrkaOUwHDC9SQ&s=19

With a change in the Ban & Restricted announcement timings, WotC created a problem of their own design: A B&R shortly after a set release yields few, if any changes. This lead to two, lame duck, announcements in back to back months, allowing most contructed formats to start to fester. We discuss what the timing changes mean for players, for WotC, for the health of the game, and, importantly, for the trust that plays have in WotC to do right by them.

With the heat from "ONE" dissipated, and MoM taking center stage, we go back this week to look at our picks for our most overhyped card, underhyped card, and that Goldilox one right in the middle. We pull apart our reasoning, the price points, where we think we went right or wrong, and just generally hang our heads.

From personal to business reasons, keeping track of your collection should be something you invest the time in.

Whether you plan to hodl, flip, or crack, there's a place for supplemental products in your back catalog.