The financial barrier to Magic, especially with the Modern format has come up multiple times since the blog was launched in January. The financial barrier is an issue that plagues many aspiring Magic players, including myself; however, you wouldn’t expect this since I’m about to build another $500ish deck (details on the horizon).

My goal here is to curate a short list of affordability techniques you can use to build your first Modern deck.

Trade/Bargain with Friends

For me, cutting deals and trading with friends is easily accessible; however, the success of this depends heavily on the amount of people you have in your play group. I have 5 people in my immediate play group and several more in my extended, so trading is easy. After all, Magic is a trading card game, but how can you turn trading into direct value for yourself and others?

First and foremost, monitor what your friends pull from packs/boxes and what they have in their collection. For example, one of my friends pulled a Liliana of the Veil from a MM17 booster pack, a card that would normally sell for over $90 (yes, the price went up). Although the price sounds like a lot, moving your own cards can be difficult. There are many downsides to selling on sites like eBay/Amazon, so players settle for selling to either their LGS or an online buylist, (like TCGPlayer) and will always get nearly half the value of the market price. As of February 27, the buylist price for Liliana of the Veil is $54.15. I paid my friend $50 in cash and a traded her a Collected Company (a total value of about $63). This way here, I’m making out on the deal, and so is my friend because she is getting more than she’d be able to sell the Liliana for.

Lastly, game stores are eager to move product, especially expensive cards, like Liliana of the Veil, Tarmogoyf, and Masterpieces. Don’t be afraid to ask your LGS if there’s any movement in the price of a certain card. Above all, state that you want to support your LGS, rather than a huge retailer.

Imagine your LGS as an extremely niche supermarket and you want to buy these really expensive foreign oranges before they go bad sitting on the shelf, but don’t want to pay full price (I’ve never been the best at analogies)…

Be Aware

Awareness is key to finding good Magic deals. The first step to being aware is monitoring MTG prices and stocks. It sounds like a lot work, but it might pay off in the long run. Checking MTG stocks is part of my daily routine, and there’s a lot of places to find them. For example, MTGGoldfish‘s Daily Change. Oftentimes, increases and decreases in card prices are typically thanks to current events. For example, Liliana of the Veil and Tarmogoyf are on the rise because of the unbanning of Bloodbraid Elf, players are excited to play a Jund deck with these cards. On the flip side, the price of Chalice of the Void is decreasing because it was announced yesterday (February 26) that it’s being reprinted in Masters 25.

Speaking of Masters 25… masters set reprints are a great way to score cards for less, whether you want to buy singles, a box, or single packs. I for one am waiting for all the Masters 25 cards to be spoiled before purchasing the more expensive cards for my next deck. Scryfall has been updating their Masters 25 page each time a new card is spoiled and is a great resource if you’re looking to keep up with the spoilers!

Find Unexpected Value

Finding unexpected value is another category that requires players to be aware. You can find unexpected value in a variety of ways. The primary goal for making this category is to encourage players to buy moderately played/damaged and foreign cards. If you don’t care much for the condition of your cards moderately played or damaged cards are often times cheaper than a near mint or similar card. The extent of the damage can range anywhere from a small crease in the card, to a tear that may make the card unplayable in sanctioned events. Typically, I would go with heavily played cards, but if a card is significantly cheaper as damaged, it’s always possible to message the seller and ask them the severity of the damage.

According to TCGPlayer:

Cards in Damaged condition can exhibit a tear, bend or crease that may make the card illegal for tournament play, even in a sleeve. Cards in Damaged condition may have extreme border wear, extreme corner wear, heavy scratching or scuffing, folds, creases or tears or other damages that impacts the structural integrity of the card.

To learn more about card conditions, including heavily played, click here.

Buying foreign cards comes with far less risks. Foreign cards are legal in tournament play and it is even legal to have a judge look up the text of the card in yours or your opponents native language. Although, foreign cards can be both cheaper and more expensive, since they’re hard to come by, so you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled. For example, I’ve been eyeing a lightly played Chinese Leyline of Sanctity. The market price of a Leyline of Sanctity is currently $26.35; however, I could snag the Chinese copy for $19.99 (including shipping). The savings don’t seem like much, but cutting off any amount of a money is seen as a victory in my budget book.

Thrift Stores, Bulk Bins, and eBay

Last, but not least, finding cards at thrift stores, in bulk bins, and on eBay is another form of finding unexpected value; however, it takes a lot more work than just monitoring the internet and paying for your product, you may have to leave your house.

Finding cards at a thrift store is hit or miss, but most of all because they go FAST. On average, Jimmy leaves for college/gets married and his mom or dad donates his “useless cardboard.” Every avid Magic player knows this story and that’s why there’s a group of players who are dedicated thrift store hunters. It is for this reason that I don’t bother much with thrift store hunting, but was definitely worth mentioning.

Searching bulk bins can either be at your LGS, a friend’s bulk bin, or your own (if you have it!!). Cards are always changing in price and the last place people tend to look is in their bulk, no one has time for that (unless you’re me). Sometimes it’s as simple as an under-experienced game store or friend not knowing the price of their cards and sticking them with their bulk.

With the dawn of pauper on the horizon, tons of cards have increased in value, namely Preordain and Needle Drop. Recently, I found a Preordain in my own bulk and sold it for $2 at my LGS.

Some cards that have recently changed in price are Bedlam Reveler and Goblin Lore, both previous “bulk” cards.

Lastly, eBay is worth paying a visit. Oftentimes, sellers auction playsets of expensive and inexpensive cards. If you are planning on buying this way, I recommend deciding on a maximum price you are willing to pay for the auction, and bid that amount. This way here, you don’t have to worry about getting into a bidding war–someone else simply wanted to pay more than what you were willing to pay. However, you can also put an auction on your watchlist and get emails when something happens to that listing.

Just a quick example: I recently purchased 4 Near Mint Future Sight Dryad Arbors from eBay for $25, plus a couple dollars in shipping. The market price for this card is $10, which means I saved approximately $3.75 per card and about $15 on the playset.

Anyways, that’s all for today. I hope you found this article useful. Please be sure to share and comment, to let me know what you think. I’d love to hear your recommendations for getting into modern!