What’s going on everybody? Hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving! It’s been a month and that means time to review all the hot news that came out this past month and what it means going forward. I am partially in a food coma at this point on Thanksgiving Day and debating on battling Best Buy at 5am for this sweet TV I want,  but I will do my best to make coherent comments and opinions. As always, if there is a topic you wish to hear me write on, feel free to leave a comment stating the topic.

Magic Player Rewards Discontinued

There is a mix-bag reaction to this news, and the easiest way to see this split is just look at MTGSalvation and Magictraders. It seems like the majority of people on Salvation were upset with it and people on MOTL were ok with the decision. My take on this is that this is a pretty good move by WoTC. This goes back to my argument about TOs needing to have stores to run certain events; less chance for fraud and ruining it for other people. If things kept happening the way they were, WoTC was going to lose confidence in store-run events and we could have seen something even more drastic happen; sort of a domino effect that was luckily stopped. We need to have faith that WoTC will put this money towards more programs such as Gateway and FNM. Hell, they doubled the FNM prizes that could be given out at stores and no one said a word, and when they got rid of a program that gave away FREE cards, people complained. Magic players sure do feel like they are an entitled lot, don’t they?

MED4

The full list is out and this is definitely going to stir some things up on MTGO. Notice how Library of Alexandria is not restricted on Classic MTGO; just a thought going forward about potential real-life implications. Another factor is the dual lands being reprinted again. Well, this should obviously drop the prices in the short term. They could rebound a bit as more people view this development as a way to get into the format and the demand goes up after awhile.

Paypal Charges in 2011

Starting in 2011, Paypal is required to report to to the IRS if you do more than $20,000 in received payments or 200 payments in a year. I said this back in my second article, but you need to be recording what you do to avoid problems with the law and the IRS. This is going to change how people do business and I wouldn’t be surprised if people start giving discounts for non-paypal transactions to avoid this. Yes it is shady, and yes it will probably be done. Personally, I have no problem with this because I already report on my taxes my Magic profits and you should too.

Winterking Results

Results are in and lots of Cryptic Commands appeared and not many Reflecting Pools. Granted this could all change with Mirrodin Besieged to still come out before the extended season but it is something to note while trying to pick up cards before the season. You are buying cards while they are cheap now, aren’t you? I honestly wouldn’t invest in Fae stuff at the moment because it looks like Merfolk just might be stronger and on paper it looks like it could beat Fae as well. Mystic Gate was the filter land of choice this weekend as well. No Doran decks showed up in the T8 lists. This could be from people being prepared for it or the loss of Goyf and Slaughter Pact is more important than initially thought.

Fire and Lightning Deck and Trends

This has caused quite the firestorm of conversation on MOTL in the past week or so. One dealer from overseas was particularly upset about the fact that Chain Lighting was in this new set (granted he admitted to not being very good, so take that point of view for what it is worth). He felt like this gave him no faith in WoTC and what they wanted for the future of the game. I personally think this set is a great idea and have had zero problems with any of their decisions in the past year. New players like it because it is basically a ready-made legacy deck that only needs a few cheap Type 2 fetches to be really exciting. Old players like it because it reminds them of when they had Chain Lightnings and Fireblasts to play with and could potentially bring some of these players back. I think the positives far out weigh the negatives on this box set and any they do in the future. Notice more people complain when there is a bad set like Phyrexia vs Coalition that did not do anything to any significant card’s value compared to Elspeth vs Tezzeret which basically neutered Elspeth’s value forever.

Buy High/ Sell Low

Buy High:
1.  GerryT- Congrats buddy! Good luck at Worlds

2. Thanksgiving- Yum Yum Yum!

3. P90X- Yep, one week in and I am hating life. Just the way a good work out system should be.

4. U/B Control- Raised my constructed rating up 60pts in 3 weeks with this deck.

Sell Low

1. Tom Brady- Way to ruin my day with 4 TDs and make me sweat out my Fantasy match up this week

2. The BCS- Just get rid of it for playoffs. More money and more TV, that’s what they care about anyway.

3. Derek Jeter’s Agent- You are not making yourself any friends with your media comments.

4. SOM Planeswalkers- Dropping every day, don’t even want to give a real number on them any more :/

Contact
E-mail: tennis_stu_3001@hotmail.com
MOTL: stu55
AIM: stoopskoo15
Store: The Vault- Greensburg, PA