Wikipedia

The term "Circling the Wagons" comes from the Old West situation of being attacked on all sides. Most people think of this scenario and that's the definition that comes to mind.

Me? Ya, so I grew up a little differently.

To me, when the wagons are circled, that's when you go in for the kill. That's when your opponent's back is clearly against the wall. Break their lines and invade their territory! CRY HAVOC AND LET LOOSE THE DOGS OF WAR! Okay, so maybe there's a little too much General Custard in me.

If you've been reading my column long enough, you know I delve into a variety of subjects. Lately, the trend has been the coming and goings of Modern. The last 12+ months have been the lead-up to my favorite constructed format. Naturally, when you want to educate in your writings, you make sure you talk about the things you know best. Modern is absolutely my greatest tool in my arsenal, but being a retail store owner, traveler, Magic speculator and a deep introspector means that I can bring many topics to the conversation.

I've mentioned a number of times how this game has changed. If you've been following Magic: The Gathering for years--or even for only a few months--you'll notice a series of patterns that most events take. Just like poker though, all Magic: The Finance is is just "seeing hands".

"Seeing Hands"

1. In English, "Seeing Hands" is an idiom to suggest that patterns arise after watching a series of repetitions of the same event.

I touched on this last week, and it bares repeating:

"Let’s face it. The game has changed. The game is changing. Still. The expectations of the past no longer apply to the present."

In the past, as Pro Tour Qualifier seasons came and went there would be a series of events. Prepare (Acquire)->Wait->Release->Restock." Rinse. Repeat. This ebb and flow was continually driven by obvious spikes in the customer demand, with or without constraints on supply. It was like clockwork, though.

Let me reiterate this: If you know nothing about supply and demand--you are cheating yourself on valuable information in your speculation career. Take a day. Take a moment and read up on the different effects of supply vs. demand.

Now the game is clearly different. Magic: The Finance has taken on a much more elaborate form. It's not simple, cuddly and cute. You might have been starting at it as a Mogwai before, but now...?

Consider it its evolved state. As the evolution of a thing progresses, you must recognize how that thing is changing. If you feel trapped in a dead end, you can no longer just wait it out, or head back to the starting line. The race is already in full progress and there is no lap to catch up to. The race really never ends.

"The Race Really Never Ends."

What that really means isn't some existential "Why are we here?" line. I only bring up the phrase because it simply means one thing--there isn't a good starting time or place, anymore. Any starting time is a good starting time. Any angle is a good angle.

Know more about Commander than Modern? Start with Commander. Love Standard? Welcome to the crowd!  The traditional cycle I mentioned before just does not exist anymore. Do you want to start something? Start Today. It used to be that you would have to wait for your specialties. The last two years have had two (possibly three) significant events that have changed that though.

1. The rise of alternate formats.
2. Wizards attempting to regain the "Alpha" role.

With any good business plan, as things change you must change with them. The rise of alternate formats like Legacy (backed with support from Star City Games) has really fundamentally altered everything about this business.This small step into underutilized territory really opened a lot of peoples' eyes on what was possible. It went from older cards meaning little to nothing to *BOOM* Legacy is played every weekend. Commander went from an obscure recreational "trinket" to the casual players' bread and butter. It gave form to the chaos that was casual play.

For years, that was the one distraction that could possibly prevent you from really getting in on casual play. What happens when you get together with people you didn't know? They could have anything. They could be playing any deck. 40 card. 60 card. Oh jeez, that guy has a 300-card deck (and he wasn't even playing Battle of Wits). That is seriously how random casual play was.

Giving some definition to a format gave people an expectation. When you have an expectation you can hold, you all of a sudden have a problem that sparks curiosity. It brings out innovation. Passion sticks out it's thumb and wants to grab you by the ears and tell you where to go. You get players.

Subtly, Commander is what has caused Magic: The Gathering to reach heights before untold.

Along with that, Wizards attempted to regain the competitive edge on events. Either that, or they saw the market as Star City was attacking it. Why can't you have large scale events every other weekend? Why were you not doing coverage, building excitement, getting people interested, and having them plan for the next event locally as well as short/medium distances away.

They were looking for ways to bring the Pro Tour respectability and legitimacy. Even attempting to throw it up on ESPN to drive people to it. The response was very lackluster in that regard. People just didn't enjoy it because it didn't tickle the expectations in their brain stems.

Now that has changed. All just because the mentality shift has taken place. This mentality shift has delved to the deepest parts of Magic: The Gathering and has affected Magic: The Finance on the deepest levels as well. What form that chaos is going to take is still shifting and moving. Writhing even.

The second guessing stage has come into play. That stage is when you start looking at fundamental assumptions that you've made and ask what you've assumed. You then start to reassess, innovate, and move forward. We're at a truly great time in Magic: The Finance. There's a path that is ready to be blazed, only if someone is willing to say: "Why not? Why could this work?" Instead of asking "Why couldn't this work."

Let's start finding the reasons it could work.

-Till Next Time