Icy Manipulator | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com Play More, Win More, Pay Less Tue, 18 Jan 2022 02:00:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.quietspeculation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/favicon.png Icy Manipulator | Quiet Speculation https://www.quietspeculation.com 32 32 Another Round of ABUGames Credit Arbitrage https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/10/another-round-of-abugames-credit-arbitrage/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/10/another-round-of-abugames-credit-arbitrage/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2020 11:00:13 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=96251

Sig has been very active with ABUGames trade credit arbitrage lately. The once-defunct strategy has become live once again thanks to some recent market trends. This week Sig shares his secrets--with some time and patience, anyone can leverage this same approach to make MTG cheaper.

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Navigating Vendor Shut-Downs https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/03/navigating-vendor-shut-downs/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/03/navigating-vendor-shut-downs/#respond Mon, 30 Mar 2020 11:00:41 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=95013

COVID-19 has forced temporary suspension of many large Magic vendor operations. This week Sig reports on which vendors are closed, which are still open for business, and how he's shopping during this tumultuous time.

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Old School: Cautious Optimism for 2020 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/01/old-school-cautious-optimism-for-2020/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2020/01/old-school-cautious-optimism-for-2020/#respond Mon, 13 Jan 2020 12:00:57 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=94556

2019 has been a tough year to be holding Old School cards, to put it mildly. As prices equilibrate, Sig is slowly making new acquisitions for his collection. Will this be a brighter year for card prices? Or will they continue to stagnate? This week, Sig shares his take.

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On the Hunt for Deals https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/12/on-the-hunt-for-deals/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/12/on-the-hunt-for-deals/#respond Mon, 16 Dec 2019 12:57:56 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=94436

While it's true the Old School market has been particularly soft this season, some vendors have overdone their price cutting. The result: many deals are out there on major retailer sites...if you know where to look and can catch a restock.

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The Case Against Power https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/02/the-case-against-power/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/02/the-case-against-power/#comments Fri, 22 Feb 2019 10:00:20 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=91686

Today's article subject spawned from a discussion that began in the QS Discord chat. One of our members was contemplating stepping away from the game for a while and wanted to know the best place to park his money and/or what to trade into. As expected, a lot of people immediately jumped to Power. The general […]

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Ravnica Allegiance: Spoilers, Facts, Specs & More https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/01/ravnica-allegiance-spoilers-facts-specs-more/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2019/01/ravnica-allegiance-spoilers-facts-specs-more/#comments Sat, 12 Jan 2019 12:00:24 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90531

The sequel to Guilds of Ravnica and the 80th expansion set in Magic: The Gathering's history is due to release on January 25, 2019.  Here's what we know about Ravnica Allegiance (RNA) so far, including any cards in the spoiler, the guilds represented, and cards to speculate on before the full spoiler is released.   The Guilds […]

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MTG Metagame Finance #25 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-25/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-25/#respond Tue, 25 Dec 2018 17:44:01 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90930

The holidays are in full swing and the new year is right around the corner. And as some of you may know, the stock market has been a bit shaky in the last month or so. But it seems Magic is still doing pretty well during this slightly volatile time. I think a good portion […]

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MTG Metagame Finance #24 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-24/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-24/#respond Fri, 21 Dec 2018 01:05:52 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90841

Ultimate Masters is still in full bounce back mode, and the last World Magic Cup has come to a finish. Plus, some sweet Ravnica Allegiance spoilers have hit the market so there’s gonna be a nice mix of things to talk about again in this piece. Owing to the spoilers, this might be a little […]

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MTG Metagame Finance #23 (Free Giveaway #2!) https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-23-free-giveaway-2/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-metagame-finance-23-free-giveaway-2/#respond Fri, 14 Dec 2018 10:00:16 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90756

Ultimate Masters has hit the market and there’s already been a lot of movement. The prices of the reprints dropped as they usually do when a set first hits the market. But it seems like the prices have started to rebound a lot quicker this time around. There’s a slight possibility they could drop again […]

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MTG Questions: What’s an Easy Way to Sell Bulk? https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-questions-whats-a-fast-way-to-sell-bulk/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/mtg-questions-whats-a-fast-way-to-sell-bulk/#comments Fri, 07 Dec 2018 10:00:42 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90648

This is the first article from my new series, MTG Questions. You might be familiar with the Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em series (rebranded as MTG Metagame Finance), which takes a tournament-oriented perspective. I decided to start this series to focus on more general aspects of MTG finance. The two series will work together, as when […]

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Preparing for the December 6th Announcement https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/preparing-for-the-december-6th-announcement/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/12/preparing-for-the-december-6th-announcement/#respond Thu, 06 Dec 2018 22:37:50 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90668

Welcome back, folks. It's been a while since I last wrote an article, in large part because I've been unwilling to make any financial moves on MTGO before reading the December 6th announcement about competitive play on Arena. What is announced there could have major ramifications for investing on MTGO, and so I've been very […]

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Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em #20 https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/11/hold-em-fold-em-20/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/11/hold-em-fold-em-20/#comments Wed, 21 Nov 2018 16:15:32 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90488

Many people have been saying there’s been a little less movement regarding Magic finance during the past few weeks or months. Some people are saying there’s a slowdown. Others are saying it’s normal because the holidays are around the corner and players have less money to spend on Magic cards. Regardless, Magic continues to move […]

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Latest Changes to Buylists https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/10/latest-changes-to-buylists/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/10/latest-changes-to-buylists/#comments Mon, 15 Oct 2018 14:30:34 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=90009

A new wave of buylist changes inspires Sig to revisit the subject and examine which components of the Old School market continue to receive attention from major vendors.

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Bull, Bear, or Somewhere in Between? https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/09/bull-bear-or-somewhere-in-between/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/09/bull-bear-or-somewhere-in-between/#respond Fri, 28 Sep 2018 14:37:25 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=89550

For investors, the majority of the last 18 months has been a magical ride. Picking stocks on Wall Street in 2017 was easier than picking ripe avocados at the supermarket, and economic optimism was as high as I have ever seen in my lifetime. There was growth across nearly every sector and the major Wall […]

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Unlocked: The Market Forces at Play https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/07/unlocked-the-market-forces-at-play/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/07/unlocked-the-market-forces-at-play/#respond Mon, 30 Jul 2018 18:43:58 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=88655

On older cards, Sig has observed how a single vendor's actions can be the catalyst for price shifts. Today he looks at the recent history and makes predictions for corrections to come.

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Unlocked: What’s Hot During This Summer’s Slowdown https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/07/unlocked-whats-hot-during-this-summers-slowdown/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/07/unlocked-whats-hot-during-this-summers-slowdown/#comments Mon, 02 Jul 2018 09:00:21 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=88149

The summer slowdown is upon us, but if you dig deeper you can find some surprising market trends. Sig looks at the newest developments with Magic's first few core sets.

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Insider: The Pluses and Minuses of Proxies https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/04/insider-the-pluses-and-minuses-of-proxies/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2018/04/insider-the-pluses-and-minuses-of-proxies/#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2018 16:07:24 +0000 https://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=87061

Proxies can threaten the profits and livelihood of an LGS—but they don't have to be all bad. Pete weighs in with some ways proxies can benefit the community when used responsibly.

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Insider: Surprising Alpha and Beta Commons & Uncommons https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/10/insider-surprising-alpha-and-beta-commons-uncommons/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/10/insider-surprising-alpha-and-beta-commons-uncommons/#respond Mon, 30 Oct 2017 09:00:03 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=83844

Some seemingly random commons and uncommons from Magic's first two sets are priced surprisingly high. Sig discusses what they are and why they're holding value.

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Insider: R.I.P. FNM Promos and FNM Promo Finance https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/07/insider-r-i-p-fnm-promos-and-fnm-promo-finance/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/07/insider-r-i-p-fnm-promos-and-fnm-promo-finance/#respond Fri, 28 Jul 2017 09:00:27 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=82057

FNM promos are dead; long live FNM promos. Mike's produced the comprehensive breakdown of every FNM promo ever printed. Check it out!

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Insider: Cashing In on Recent Catalysts https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/07/insider-cashing-in-on-recent-catalysts/ https://www.quietspeculation.com/2017/07/insider-cashing-in-on-recent-catalysts/#comments Mon, 24 Jul 2017 09:00:21 +0000 http://www.quietspeculation.com/?p=81989

Eternal Magic has gotten very interesting lately with SCG's price hikes and the announcement of a Legacy PT. Sig breaks it down and looks where to put any newfound profits to work.

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