ANOTHER DONATION!

Just when I thought all of the donations were done, I got ANOTHER donation. This time it was from a real good buddy that would like to remain anonymous.

Here's what was very generously given to me:

Garruk Wildspeaker (Lorwyn) x2 $7.98
Fire-Lit Thicket (GP Flower-Stamped from GP Boston day 2. Drafted by the Canadian National Champion, Marc Anderson) $3.99
Wort, the Raidmother $.99
Dramatic Entrance $.49
Lightning Greaves x2 (Mirrodin) $3.98
Wheel of Sun and Moon $2.99
Paradise Mantle $2.99
Scythe of the Wretched $1.99
Cloudthresher x4 $3.96
Full Art Forest from Zendikar $.75
Full Art Island from Zendikar $.75
Savage Lands $1.49
Goblin Burrows x4 $1.96
Sulfurous Springs $1.49
Llanowar Wastes $1.99
Karplusan Forest $1.99
Treetop Village x2 $1.98
Teetering Peaks $.25
Ancient Den $1.99
Seething Song $1.49
Sygg, River Cutthroat $1.99
Violent Ultimatum x2 $.99
Bonesplitter x5 $1.25
Mask of Memory $.49
Kitchen Finks $3.49
Atog x2 $.98
Juvenile Gloomwidow (Foil) $.25
Seedcradle Witch (Foil) $.75
Tattermunge Maniac $.49
Ashenmoor Gouger $.49
Boggart Ram-Gang $1.99
Krosan Tusker $.25
Crystal Shard $.75
Darksteel Ingot $.99
Mind Shatter $.49
Doom Blade $.25
Explosive Vegetation $.99

annnnnnd a blown-up mail promo Hero of Bladehold!!! $ ?.??

Total = + $62.37

That's not including anything I can get from some additional worthless commons and basic lands that he threw in.

I'm at the point now where the entire binder is filled to the brim. What I really need to do is make some big trades and trade up as much as possible.

I'll post a binder video update shortly.

SO EXCITING! Thanks for reading!

- Milo

Trade 10 and 11 !!!

2 trades, 1 post. Just amazing.

Trade #10 was with a buddy, Jason, who needed some newer cards for his cube. I was more than happy to oblige. The Birthing Pod has been sitting in my binder since the binder's origins and the Kessig Wolf Run hasn't jumped in price the way I thought it would. However, the Wolf Run is a really solid card to have, its super easy to move right now. I didn't actually make anything on this trade. We made a dead even swap. I just took two cards that I was pretty confident that I could move - PLANESWALKERS.

I traded my: Kessig Wolf Run and Birthing Pod ($6.98)

and I received:

Sorin Markov and Chandra Nalaar ($6.98)

The second trade was with this random dude, Miguel. He's not completely random, I actually know him, but he's just got one of those faces - you know? Miguel and I have been talking about trading from the binder for a little while now. He only found a Silvergill Adept and a Paper Tiger. I valued the Paper Tiger at exactly nothing - as did he.

This is the trade we made:

I made this trade just because I gained a little value.

I traded my Silvergill Adept and a Paper Tiger ($1.74)

for his Recross the Paths and Devil's Play x2 ($2.23)

Total: +$0.49

This is the type of trade that could turn around and bite me in the ass. We'll see. I think that there must be someone out there looking for Devil's Play - and I'm going to fucking find them.

'til next time.

- Milo

Trade 9 - Trading with Iby

Iby was one of the first people to donate to the cause, so when he told me he really needed the Koth, I knew it was going to him.

I really wanted to get some Standard stuff for Koth so I could chain it off into a bunch of cards that were easier to move. Unfortunately, Iby doesn't really buy a lot of Magic cards anymore so his stuff is pretty ancient.

However, he was determined to ensure I gained value out of this trade:

My:

Koth of the Hammer ($15.99)

for his:

Minamo, School at Water's Edge, Masako, the Humorless (foil), Sunforger (foil) and Grove of the Burnwillows ($21.96)

Total: +$5.97


Now I gotta find some people who are interested in getting rid of their Standard overstock for some of these hard-to-find foils and modern playables.


I started trading over youtube to build some web-cred. I couldn't get any bites on my donations-to-something trade binder video so I started trading with popular youtube traders in hopes that their subscribers would trickle down and start visiting my youtube channel.

This is the first trade confirmation video that I've received:

Trade 8 - BIGGEST TRADE YET

I went to 401 after work on Thursday because I know there's a Standard tournament and a lot of people bring traders to those things. Unfortunately, most of those people are really only looking for cards to play in Standard. There was this one guy though...who, like me, was just there to trade.

He kinda took me to school, he was a better trader than I am. That's okay though - I got to trade up:

My: Kitsune Mystic (foil), Kuro, Pitlord (damaged/foiled), Undead Warchief (Foil), Skycloud Expanse (foil), Goblin Token (Player Reward's) and a Slagstorm = $20.94

The Goblin token isn't on SCG so we just kinda guessed - He valued the pitlord at a buck less because it was damaged.

I received: Hinterland Harbor, Magister Sphinx, Koth of the Hammer = $20.73

Total = -$0.21

...I didn't get owned as badly as I thought! :D

It was definitely nice to move the Undead Warchief at full value. I really needed to get rid of my EDH/Maginally collectible cards and gain some relevant expensive cards.

Koth's price will fluctuate based on the popularity of Mono-Red in Standard...I'm okay with that. Planeswalkers are nice to have in a binder full of unpopular cards.

Trades have slowed the fuck down

Greetings and Salutations.

Trades from my Donations to Something binder have slowed the fuck down. The random people I've been running into don't want to trade with me because I look like a sexy shark.

The people from Craigslist aren't responding to my updated trade list.

That means I need to branch out again. I'm now entering the world of youtube trading. I started my own channel, "Sweet Magic The Gathering Chan".

http://www.youtube.com/user/MiloDaGreat1?feature=mhee

Hopefully, I can shore up some sweet trade offers with my awesome 8-Bit channel theme. It's pretty much a razzle dazzle magic trade page and I think the pay-off is going to be sweet to the Xtreme.

Donations to Something - Speculation Pays

I didn't make any trades or get any more donations, but I still made $2.49. How? Let's check Starcitygames.com

This is how:

Solemn Simulacrum Commander 4 Artifact Creature - Golem 2/2 R NM/M 101 $7.99

Mayor of Avabruck | Howlpack Alpha Innistrad 1 Creature - Human Advisor Werewolf 1/1 R NM/M 128 $3.99


Remember trade #5?

My Solemn Simulacrum for a Kessig Wolf Run, Mayor of Avabruck, Aegis Angel and Ob Nixilus, the Fallen

+$2.49

Shiiiit. Trade don't look so bad now, do it?

Hopefully, I'll get more trades done this week and can update with some more killer trade posts. I need to move a bunch of commons and get some relevant cards in my binder.

Another Donation - HUGE DONATION!

A friend of mine, Sebastian, has very generously donated cards to this project twice. Some of the cards I started with were his, then he found a bunch of commons/uncommons and he gave those to me last night.

I added so many cards from the stacks he gave me, that I had to completely reorganize my binder. I also ended up taking out some cards.

I took out a bunch of French 4th edition, Russian shadowmoor and Japanese RoE commons. I also removed:

Grab the Reins x 2 $0.98
Scrabbling Claw x 2 $0.50
Russian Meekstone ?
Dragon Blood FOIL $.49
Arcane Spyglass FOIL $.25
Darksteel Pendant FOIL $.75
Arcbound Singer FOIL $.49
Granite Shard FOIL $.49

$ - 3.95

I added a bunch of cards, I'm going to try and list them all, but there is a chance that I might miss something...

Wirewood Lodge $2.99
Temple of the False God $.75
Daru Encampment x 2 $.98
Starlit Sanctum x 4 $3.96
Seaside haven x 2 $.98
Tree of Tales $.49
Secluded Steppe x 3 $.75
Barren Moor x 4 $1.00
Lonely Sandbar x 3 $.75
Armadillo Cloak x 4 $3.96
Fires of Yavimaya x 3 $2.97
Edgewalker x 2 $.49
Nebuchadnezzar $.49
Feldon's Cane x 2 $.49
Caltrops x 4 $1.96
Myr Enforcer x 2 $1.98
Serpent Generator $.98
Loxodon Warhammer x 3 (One has some writing on it - "I am worse than Crystal Shard, you dumbass") $4.47??
Crystal Chimes $.49
The hive x 2 $.49
Colossus of Sardia x 3 $1.47
Skyship Weatherlight $.99
Triskelion $.49
Tormod's Crypt $1.49
Quicksilver Amulet (Urza's Legacy) $5.99 - CRAZY RIGHT?
Spellbook x 2 $.98
Wall of Junk $.49
Thran Lens x 4 $1.96
Shield Sphere $1.99
Crystal Shard $.75
Ashnod's Altar x 2 $1.98
Moss Diamond x 5 $1.25
Marble Diamond x 3 $.75
Fire Diamond x 3 $1.47
Sky Diamond x 2 $.98
Charcoal Diamond $.49
heartstone $.49
Nuisance Engine $.49
Sungrass Egg x 2 $.50
Shadowblood Egg $.25
Aura of Silence $1.99
Enlistment Officer $.49
Soltari Priest $.99
Animate Wall x 2 $.98
Warrior Angel x 2 $2.98
Flicker $.49
Oracle en-Vec $.49
Sacred Guide $.49
Wall of Essence $.49
Divine Offering (Chronicles) x 4 $1.00
Righteousness $.49
Null Chamber $.49
Peace Talks x 2 $.50
Repulse x 2 $.50
Man-O'-War x 4 $1.00
Chain of Vapor $1.99
Rebuild $.49
Waterfront Bouncer $.25
Exhaustion (portal) $.99
Raven Familiar x 2 $.98
Telepathy $.49
Recall $.49
Second Chance $.49
Whim of Volrath $.99
Duplicity $.49
Musician $.49
Drain Power x 2 $.98
Ice Cave $.49
Legacy's Allure $.49
Elephant Grass $1.99
Channel $.49
Argothian Wurm $2.99
Call of the Wild $.49
Seeker of Skybreak $.49
Revelation $.49
Invigorate $1.99
Rebirth $.49
Quirion Druid $.49
Argothian Elder $.75
Tempting Licid $.49
Yavimaya Granger $.99
Killer Bees x 2 $.50
Tinder Wall x 3 $1.47
Living Lands $.49
Bloated Toad x 2 $.25
Reap and Sow $.49
Ruination $1.49
Goblin Recruiter $1.99
Seething Song $1.99
Goblin Bombardment $1.49
Goblin Grenade (Fallen Empires) x 3 $4.47
Arc Lightning x 2 $.50
Land's Edge $.99
Keldon Firebombers $.49
No Quarter $.49
Brand $1.49
Kird Ape $.49
Goblin Tinkerer $.49
Brawl $.49
Goblin War Strike $.49
Mogg Fanatic x 3 $1.47
Uthden Troll $.25
Wall of Stone $.49
Dragon Whelp $.25
Dark Ritual x 6 $5.94
Sacrifice $.49
Culling the Weak $.99
Bottomless Pit x 4 $.49
Hidden Horror $.25
Reanimate $5.99
Exhume x 3 $8.97
Songs of the Damned x 2 $.98
Unearth x 2 $2.98
Diabolic Servitude $.49
Bone Dancer $2.49
Kaervek's Spite $.75
Ebon Praetor $.49
Lurking Evil $.49
Endemic Plague $.49
No Mercy $4.99
Dauthi Horror x 3 $.75
Dauthi Marauder x 2 $.50
Dauthi Slayer x 5 $2.45
Stupor $.49
Barter in Blood $.99
Hecatomb $.99
Diabolic Tutor x 3 $2.97
Portal 3 Kingdoms Basic Land (2 of each) $10.00

TOTAL = + $171.70

This total is very misleading. There are a lot of $.50 cards listed that I will almost never be able to move. I'd love to trade these for Standard cards, just so my binder doesn't look like a sack of dated commons.

I also made some pages of crappy cards just for fun. IE, Page of Revised Terrors with a Mirrodin Terror in the middle as well as a page of commons from portal and two pages of John Avon basic Swamps and Mountains from Urza Saga and Mirage.

Trade 7 - Trade before Tuesday Night Cube Draft!!! :D

This one dude, Kyle, started playing cube drafts with us on Tuesdays. He usually doesn't have any traders with him and when I ask him about trading he is usually only interested in very specific Legacy playables that aren't in my binder.

However, this week he said he's making a binder of creatures that he likes. I guess it's kind of like a "Hall of Fame" for his personal favourite creatures. I could dig that, it sounds like something I would do. He showed me the binder and I told him that I was interested in a bunch of cards. He has good taste in creatures. There was also a Sol Ring in the binder...Sol Ring isn't a creature...I guess that's why he was so eager to trade it.

I traded: Cabal Interrogator, Necrotic Ooze, Arcanis, the Omnipotent (REALLY DAMAGED) = $5.23

and I received:

Sol Ring ($5.99)

Total = +$0.76

According to Starcity prices, I didn't even come out ahead by a dollar. I disagree. Even though Sol Ring is a $6.00 card by SCG prices, it's still valued as a $10.00 card by most people. Even at my LGS they sell it for more than $6.00. I can definitely get more than book value for it...I hope.

I just told another friend about the "Donations to Something" challenge that I'm working on and he has a box of random commons/uncommons that he's going to let me go to town on. We'll see if I can find any old boarded mana leaks or maybe even some Top's or something.

STAY TUNED!!!!

Trade 6

This is a trade I made with Andy (the guy from craigslist that gave me all the free Unglued & Foreign cards). He's a really great guy and we made a lot of trades outside of the "Donations to Something" binder, but I did let him know that the trades we made from my personal stuff would have to be separate from the trades I made with the janky binder.

I actually told him that I share the "Donations to Something" binder with other people and that's why it needs to be separate. It's just a lot easier than explaining what I'm trying to do with the binder.

Anyway, here is the trade we made:

I gave up a Birds of Paradise, Cabal Ritual and an Innocent Blood ($5.97),

and I received:

Slagstorm, Dragonskull Summit ($6.49)

Total = +$0.52

WOO HOO!!! Yeah, the deal was pretty even, but that's good too. Anytime I don't get ripped off - I'm happy.

Trade 5 - Craigslist Trade

I posted all the cards in my binder on Craigslist and I got one person asking about trades.

The dude wanted the most expensive card in my binder, "Solemn Simulacrum". I tried to get a deal off of him, but he said he was just going by Starcity prices, so I made a trade that's exactly even.

I traded my Solemn Simulacrum ($9.99)

and I received -

Kessig Wolf Run, Mayor of Avabruck, Ob Nixilis and Aegis Angel ($9.96)

... I guess I lost 3 cents. lol.

I think that I am comfortable moving the Wolf Run and Mayor at about $5 each. There is no way I would ever get more than 10 for a Solemn, everyone knows its price.

Also, I don't have a Solemn now, so people are going to need to be more creative when looking through my binder, which is just the kind of creativity that I want to inspire.

Donation from random dude on Craigslist

So I met this random guy from Craigslist who wanted to give away some foreign cards/unglued cards. I was hoping for Unglued lands, but I didn't get lucky.

Oh well, these cards were still free:

NOTE: Most prices are the ones listed for the English cards, unless Starcitygames actually had the price of the Japanese card available.

JAPANESE:

Ancient Amphitheater x2 $1.50
Orzhov Pontiff x2 $0.98
Goblin Trenches x3 $1.95
Doomgape $1.99
Wydwen, the Biting Gale $0.49
Mass Calcify $0.99
Yukora, the Prisoner $0.49
Cabal Patriarch $0.49
Nostalgic Dreams $0.49
Quirion Dryad $0.99
Negate $0.25
Thicket Elemental $0.49
Aladdin's Ring $0.49

RUSSIAN:

Root Maze $0.99

Other noteworthy cards that I'm not going to bother pricing:

BB Italian Craw Wurm
BB Italian Ironclaw Orcs (beat up)
French White Knight
French Llawnowar Elves

42 Unglued Cards - No Rares, No Lands.

Total = +$12.58 (plus whatever the other garbage is worth. I'll trade it for whatever I can get.)

I'd rather have my bulk rares in different languages because people are more likely to be interested in foreign bulk than regular bulk. We'll see if I can move this stuff in the coming weeks.

Trade 4

I needed 3 of the cards that I traded for, for my cube...I can't carry around a bunch of binders all the time so I'll just have to trade with myself if I end up in a situation like this.

I'll try and make the trade from the point-of-view of the cube-owner and someone else has these cards that I need for my cube. Then I'll ask myself, "What would I be willing to give up for these cube cards?"

So I traded Mikaeus, the Lunarch, Kessig, Wolf Run and Dryad Arbor ($14.97)

and I received Solemn Simulacrum, Birds of Paradise (M11), Bloodlord of Vaasgoth, Chancellor of the Spires, Argent Sphinx, Pentavus and Sorin's Vengeance. ($17.43)

Total = +$2.46

I hope that I won't have to do this often, but I'm also not going to be silly and not put cards in my possession into the cube if it will enhance cube gameplay.

NEW CARDS - TRADES 1-3

I finally made some trades, yo!

1) I traded Price of Progress, Pyrostatic Pillar and Sensei's Divining Top ($13.97)

and I received:

Champion of the Parish (Chinese), Balefire Dragon (Chinese) and Mikaeus, the Lunarch ($13.97)

wow, this deal was dead even. However, I checked the value of the two Chinese cards in English. I'm sure they're worth more because of the foreign text. I did give up the most expensive card so I probably got ripped off the most. During the trade I was valuing the Pillar at .49, but they were .99 ... I think that they are probably pretty difficult to get rid of. I don't know how I feel about this trade, we'll see if it pays off in the upcoming weeks. 

2) I traded Sakura-Tribe Elder x 3, Circle of Protection: Red (8th FOIL), Temple of the False God and Savra, Queen of the Golgari ($6.20)

and I received: 

Kessig Wolf Run ($3.99)

-$2.21

Wow, I got taken to school on this trade. However, the only thing I might miss in the trade is the Sakura-Tribe Elders. Kessig Wolf Run just won worlds so I think I'll be able to trade it for something pretty decent. The problem with the card is that people only run 1-2 in a deck. I really didn't expect it to be so cheap, just after its worlds win. Live and learn, I guess.

3) I traded Razorverge Thicket, Champions of Kamigawa Foiled Island ($8.97)

and I received: 

Inferno Titan, Dryad Arbor, Arcanis, the Omnipotent (10th) ($11.97) 

We valued the Razorverge Thicket at $9.99 and that's how much I actually thought it was. My mistake. He got the most expensive card in the trade though so that's gotta be worth something. 

+$3.00

Overall, after these three trades I am +$0.79, but I gave up two of my most expensive cards. *CRUSHED*

Tomorrow I'm meeting some guy off craigslist who is going to give me some free cards because he doesn't want to bother selling them. Even if its just commons/uncommons it'll be fun to see what I can shove into this binder...and who knows, there might be another divining top in there too!!! 

Pictures of "The Cause"

So these are some hott pictures of my snazzy binder. XXX.

There's one page missing. It would only load up sideways, so fuck that page.

If you see something you like make sure to let me know and we will absolutely be able to work something out.

Donations to Something - More Donations!

My good friend Iby decided he'd be the first to donate to the "Cause". He gave me 20 more cards for my sad-ass binder earlier today. Let's see the haul:

Razorverge Thicket $7.99
Avatar of Woe $4.99
Memorcide $0.99
Birthing Pod $5.99
Stormgeist $0.49
Blazing Archon $3.99
Treva - IN JAPANESE! $3.49
Kuro, Pitlord (Foil) $2.99
Silvergill Adept $1.99
Necrotic Ooze $0.99
Temple Bell (Foil) $1.99
Death Wish $0.49
Ezuri, Renegade Leader $1.49
Savra, Queen of the Golgari $0.99
Skycloud Expanse (Foil) $5.99
Ethersworn Canonist $4.99
Veteran Bodyguard $2.99
Rakdos Augermage $0.49
Teneb, the Harvester $0.99
Phyrexian Hydra $0.49

Also, I forgot to mention these four, super-noteworthy cards that were already hiding in the binder:

Junkyo Bell $0.49
Edgewalker (Foil) $0.99
Player Rewards Tokens - Goblin $1.99
Player Rewards Tokens - Pentavite $1.49

Donations to Something

I'm a little late to the whole "Pack to Power" phenomenon that has happened over the last two years. Back in my day we used to just trade what we had for what we wanted without this whole internet jibba-jabba getting in the way. Now that everyone has access to prices from starcitygames.com trading has become a chore, people just trade cards based on the exact costs of the moment or they don't trade at all. There has been a serious shortage of people who trade for fun, but I wanna bring that back.

I asked a lot of my friends who have quit playing Magic to donate whatever they want to a binder that can only be described as a "Cause". I'm going to take all the cards donated and begin to trade for fun. I'm going to attempt to trade for value, but to be quite honest - if someone has a stupid card that nobody uses, but its in Japanese and someone painted a cock on it, there's a good chance I'm going to overvalue it. I'm terrible at trades. The idea is that I can't possibly harm my collection because this binder is going to be mostly garbage anyway. I am hoping that I can eventually turn this binder into something awesome, but I doubt I'll hit power. I'd probably settle for a playset of beta Forests.

Here's what I'm starting with...

$10.00 +

Sensei's Divining Top $11.99

$5.00 - $9.99

Sacred Ground (7th Edition Foil) $5.99
Undead Warchief (Scourge Foil) $5.99

$1.00 - $4.99

Ensnaring Bridge $4.99

Second Sunrise x 4 $3.99 ea

Time of Need (Foil) $2.99
Dragonspeaker Shaman $2.99

Furnace of Rath (8th Edition Foil) $2.49
Withered Wretch (Legions Foil) $2.49

Kitsune Mystic (Foil) $1.99
Wing Shards (Scourge Foil) $1.99
Lumengrid Augur (Foil) $1.99

Tendrils of Agony $1.99
Persecute (US) $1.99
Cabal Ritual $1.99


Circle of Protection: Red (8th Edition Foil) $1.49
Druid's Call $1.49

$0.00 - $0.99

Takeno, Samurai General x2 $0.99 ea.
Krosan Warchief x 4 $0.99 ea.
Innocent Blood x 4 $0.99
Wirewood hivemaster x 2 $0.99 ea.
Flashfreeze (Coldsnap) $0.99

Price of Glory x4 $0.99 ea
Pyrostatic Pillar x3 $0.99 ea

Sakura-Tribe Elder x 3 $0.99
Darksteel Pendant (Foil) $0.99



Cabal Interrogator $0.75
Withered Wretch $0.75
Temple of the False God $0.75
Chain of Plasma (Onslaught Foil) x2 $0.75 ea.
Reckless One x 3 $0.75 ea.

Orochi Hatchery $0.75

Kitsune Mystic x 2  $0.49 ea.

White Knight x 4 $0.49 ea
Whipcorder $0.49
Rashida Scalebane $0.49

Leonin Elder (Foil) $0.49
Arcbound Stinger (Foil) $0.49
Ashen-Skin Zubera (Foil) $0.49

Exoskeletal Armor $0.49

Centaur Glade x4 $0.49 ea
Stag Beetle $0.49
Warbreak Trumpeter x3 $0.49 ea

Yavimaya Enchantress (8th Edition) x2 $0.49 ea
Granite Shard (Foil) $0.49
Dragon Blood (Foil) $0.49
Doubtless One $0.49



Akroma's Devoted $0.35

Vengeance (Portal Second Age) - AWESOME ART $0.25
Grab the Reins x 2 $0.25
Catapult Squad $0.25
Wirewood herald  $0.25
Scrabbling Claws x2 $0.25 ea
Arcane Spyglass (Foil) $0.25
Memory Lapse (Mirage) $0.25

???

6 Portal 3 Kingdoms Commons in Chinese $ ?

Rampant Growth (Russian 8th Edition) $ ?
Llawnowar Elves (Russian 8th Edition) $ ?
Fellwar Stone (Russian 8th Edition) $ ?




So that's what I'm starting with and it is not pretty. I have that Sensei's Divining Top, but I think it almost ruins the binder. People are only going to want to trade for the Top or nothing. I won't know for sure until I start trading more frequently.

I tried trading this stuff with a couple people at my LGS, but the people were just not having it. I needed some more donations to get something going so I went over to a friend's place and he let me take any 20 cards that he didn't need. I'll show you what I got in my next post.


- Milo