After Wizards announced the postponement of Modern season, some staples continued to rise while others stayed stagnant. Sigmund attempts to dissect the apparent inconsistencies in the Modern market.
Sigmund Ausfresser
Sigmund first started playing Magic when Visions was the newest set, back in 1997. Things were simpler back then. After playing casual Magic for about ten years, he tried his hand at competitive play. It took about two years before Sigmund starting taking down drafts. Since then, he moved his focus towards Legacy and MTG finance. Now that he's married and works full-time, Sigmund enjoys the game by reading up on trends and using this knowledge in buying/selling cards.
Retail prices are higher than eBay prices, which are higher than buy list prices. But what happens when this expected price structure goes out of whack? Sigmund examines three case studies understand what such a phenomenon means.
The constant barrage of buying opportunities makes it easy to succumb to hype and make baseless speculations. Sigmund highlights the one action you should always take before investing in cards.
While reviewing his portfolio last week Sigmund recognized a trend. Turns out his recent bets have loosely followed the Kelly Criterion, an objective investing approach developed in 1956.
Everyone has an opinion these days–buy this, sell that! But actions speak louder than words. This week Sigmund discusses some of his specific holdings to highlight where he is investing.
Wizards threw Modern speculators a dagger this passed week when they switched up the PTQ schedule. Now Sigmund has to rethink his Modern strategy and make some portfolio changes. This week he does his best to summarize his plan of action.
Sigmund used to despise foils, avoiding them at all costs. Recently his sentiment has changed quite a bit – so much so that many of his latest buys have been foils. This week Sigmund explains why his feelings towards shiny Magic Cards have changed.
This weekend we were bombarded with news from SDCC and PAX Australia, where Theros themes, FTV: 20 spoilers, and new Commander cards were all revealed. Sigmund considers how everything will impact the MTG market.
While he waits for Standard to rotate and Modern season to arrive, Sigmund has turned towards arbitrage. This week he explains how to profit from market inefficiencies around the globe.
This weekend GP Kansas City gave us another snapshot of the Modern metagame. Sigmund breaks down the top decks from Day One to identify investment opportunities, with specific focus on Melira Pod.
Price spikes are becoming a routine occurrence. In some cases it makes sense to buy into the hype and at other times it’s best to sell. Sigmund outlines the criteria he uses to make these decisions and provides some recent examples.
Remember when Modern Masters was announced and Sigmund sold his Dark Confidants and Tarmogoyfs? Despite a 4,500 player MM Grand Prix, prices still haven’t dropped much. Sigmund outlines options moving forward on these expensive Modern staples.
In Modern, nothing is immune to reprints nowadays. But that shouldn’t deter us from speculating on the format, especially as Modern season gets nearer. This week Sigmund attempts to look past reprints to identify a sound investing strategy moving forward.
