Last weekend, Sig received some very unfortunate news regarding an eBay sale he made of an Alpha card. It turns out, the card may have been clipped Beta. This begs the question: how can one detect the difference? This week Sig investigates.
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.
Sig’s records aren’t perfect, but he has recently just passed his 500th MTG finance article–nearly ten years of writing! This week Sig reflects back on his MTG finance journey, the key decisions along the way, and what makes Magic the greatest game in the world.
Sig rounds out his study of Portal sets this week when he examines Portal: Three Kingdoms. This is one of the rarest, most interesting set in Magic’s History, and definitely merits exploration.
This week Sig goes back 24 years to examine the value of Portal and Portal: Second Age cards. Their age, rarity, and unique nature mean they could offer some real upside…or some significant risk, depending on how you look at it.
Sig has seen the set-themed Commander decks at his local Meijer and Target for a while now, but he never really investigated them. Then he received one for his birthday, and it triggered some research on these inexpensive entries into the format.
Returning from a well-deserved vacation, Sig takes a wider look at the Magic finance landscape, examining Modern Horizons 2, Reserved List staples, and more.
Glancing at pre-order prices, Sig noticed Modern Horizons 2 is coming out of the gate on the expensive side. This week, he makes some comparisons to the first Modern Horizons to create his prognosis for prices for the set’s singles.
What do learning chess and Magic finance have in common? Nothing, in a literal sense. But Sig found some creative ways of reapplying chess strategy to Magic investing. This week, he shares these tips in a fun article that combines his two recent passions.
Last week’s inflation data created shock waves in the stock market. This piqued Sig’s curiosity: does inflation also impact the Magic market? He found an article that describes the potential impact very well…oh, and that article was written in 1978!
It’s no surprise some older cards have peaked and are now pulling back. What DOES surprise Sig is that some cards are back on the climb and nearing previous highs. Why the split? This week, Sig looks at the numbers.
Magic broke into mainstream media, briefly, last week. Popular music artist Post Malone was sighted purchasing Magic cards at a local card shop. Is this enough to catalyze some sort of growth? This week, Sig shares his thoughts on the matter.
This week Sig examines recent pricing trends on some of Magic’s historically most overprinted and under-powered sets: Homelands, Fallen Empires, and Chronicles. Without looking, can you guess what booster boxes of these sets sell for today? The answer may surprise you!
It’s no secret: Alpha cards are very expensive now. There are just not very many copies to go around. But what about Beta? It’s print run is larger, but relative to the player base, it’s still tiny. This week Sig examines the Beta market and shares his thoughts on Beta’s likely price trajectory.
