Abandoned....

You know the issue with people, in general, is that we tend to start off something, then ended up giving up halfway and we start again something. So basically, we end up with a lot of things started, but nothing finished.

So, in a review for 2014, I have decided to look through all the past attempted projects I have toyed around with and give a comprehensive breakdown on whether the project has been abandoned, why I chose to abandon it and what I did with the cards in the collection or project.

• Project: Zer0 Rare Trading {Still on going!}

This project is the reason why I started actively trading and going around places. It is also because of this project that I started out this blog and also, with credit to this project, eventually opened doors to overseas trading platforms like PucaTrade and Deckbox.org!

Though for the past couple of months, I haven't been active locally. So, I'll probably get back into that once I have fully sorted out my inventory of cards. At the moment now, I'm doing the same trade rates, $0.125 / $0.18 per bulk rare. $0.18 is because I view trades as ideally non-cash transactions, so In fact, I will not lose or earn anything if I go through the trades and bulk as an when. But, non-ideally or realistically, it is a loss if we look at face value if I don't bulk it at equivalent rate. Let's face it; no way I am able to find someone giving me that rate.

But, it's not just there to lose money for fun. Most of the cards in the project are mostly bulk rares themselves or a max cap at $2 rares / mythics. In that way, I can still move them easily to casual players and yes, get more bulk rare to put into the bin as a recycle or just bulk them out for staples. As of writing, I've more or less established the binders and boxes for the respective trades. However, I am unable to bring boxes into shops without drawing attention and against most LGS' regulations, it's not really nice to bring boxes for people to pick from it in front of the store. Hence, I have gradually stopped bringing them to shops. 

On the other hand, since I am not doing it offline, The stocks I made and posted online have to be accurate. Well, that will be an issue. I have sorted out the rares in the binders, but haven't had the time to sort and update the bulk rare boxes accordingly. 

Nevertheless, this project will still be around for the next couple of months at least. So that closes the case for this.

• Modern & EDH accumulation Library Project {Abandoned!}

This was one the big ideas I had when I am playing the 2 formats. The thing is that this was ended up being more of a show-off rather than having any practical uses. I still have them in the separate binders, but I decided to move them out for sale instead of building an arsenal. It doesn't make sense to hoard cards especially after the lesson learnt post Modern Banning, it just shows how volatile the Modern format is.

EDH is more stable, but it's a one-hit or miss kind of things. Honestly, I would personally invest in EDH staples, which are akin to both Modern and Legacy staples but, I have very limited budget and I cannot afford to hoard up cards without practical use or investment value.

• Foil Planeswalkers Collection {Hiatus....}

Initially, this was the ultimate end point for my Project: Zer0... As I first started the blog, my intention was to cover my entire trading journey and experiences to acquire these foils. However, as time passed, the trades were not fast enough to sufficiently reach any targets. I still managed to get a couple, but not really as easy as thought it will be. Also, some of them were bought. I mean like the prices of JTMS and Liliana? They are going to kill my wallet and push me into debt by a few years if based on my allowances! This project is put on hold and the future of it is really uncertain. The only reason is that as the expansions keep coming out, there is no way that I can keep up without doing a mass buy at one shot. The thing is this; the project has no firm boundary. Where do I stop exactly? Do I stop at just the regular foils or do I collect the SDCC promos? Speaking of promos... Is "Book Jace" count into the collection? 

Also, what about Alternate Arts? Like the Duel Deck versions and again, the promo foils given out at GP and PTs? Lastly, do I want singleton copies or multiple copies of these Planeswalkers? The project requires a firm establishment of the boundary I wish to set when collecting them before I continue working on this. I may eventually stop this. However, at the current state of things, I'm not too sure about whether I want to continue this as the end point of Project: Zer0.

• Foil God Collection {Abandoned!}

I managed to only acquire the Theros Expansion ones. The idea was to collect a single copy of all the Gods printed in the entire expansion series as the chances of them seeing a reprint is very low and the appeal to casual and EDH fanatics will definitely be a viable keep. 

However, the collection is nearly not worth keeping unless I have all 15 Gods plus the 5 weapons. It is then the collection will be complete. In comparison to the foil Planeswalker collection, this series is definitely much easier to complete. However, in comparison, the appeal is only specific to only a few of the Gods, naming Purphoros, God of the Forge and Thassa, God of the Sea in the Theros Expansion. The other Gods like Keranos, God of storm that see constructed play will definitely have their appeal. 

So what about the rest? I can keep them for long time, but they are going to rot there and do nothing for me if by then, the demand left in any of them had run out. In the 1 year span of holding, the price difference from the time I purchased them till the point I traded them out was -$26 difference. I would see the returns if I held them out longer, but then the next question will be, will it be worth it? The thing is this; if I were to buy a card and hold it out, it either has no play value to me, but will see a potential increase in the price due to demand / supply. Or, I buy a card for its play value and I maximize my reasoning for expenditure due to the playability of the card to me. For me, the planeswalkers will see more play in my decks over the Gods. Hence, this project saw the bin.

I have to admit that it was another brash attempt to do something with money. Really, money can really drive a person crazy and for this case, I wanted to invest the money I had with foils. Only that I didn't really know what I want to do with it until about a year later... Foil cards do have a rather stable price trajectory as they can hold the prices quite well. In comparison to the non-foil counterparts, the prices is considered to be held out quite well already. 

• Foiling my EDH Deck {in Progress...}

Yes, this is the move I decided to jump into mid of last year while I was doing the organisation and restructuring of the trades. I decided to foil out my EDH deck. Note that it's only 1 deck, so it's not as if it's going to be a multiple attempt under this project.

Firstly. a full disclosure is needed that while I do some trades to acquire some of the cards, I am using cash to buy most of the cards here. So if you are wondering if this is the definite end point for Project: Zer0, the answer is no. This is just something I wanted to do for awhile when I am building my EDH deck. To me, the format in general is considered casual; hence, the banned list is not as volatile as we know in Modern and Legacy. 

Hence, it is very safe to buy in the staples for the format in foils and not worry about it being banned. Also, some if not most are multi-format staples. They are either found played in Legacy or in Modern formats. Even if they are not found in eternal formats, the casual appeal and demand of those cards as staples in any EDH decks is enough to keep these cards holding their prices.

So what goes? What is next for me? At the moment now, I'm working on building a new modern deck on budget and I am around 80% completed. I hope to finish that first before deciding what to do with the other pieces. Right now, I'm actively trading out cards that I do not need for the relevant pieces.

In addition, I'm moving out moving common and uncommon EDH staples for bulk rare. No point for me to hold on to them unless they are foils or are in need. I rather use the bulk rares as alternative currency for my trading or bulking them out for multi-format staples.

I did mention this before when I discussed about the issues of parking investments in Modern format. It's too volatile to guarantee any returns, especially if it is at risk of seeing being banned. Hence, it's much safer to acquire staples that are used throughout the format or across different format.

For reference, I tend to use Eternal formats like Modern and Legacy, and Casual formats like EDH to gauge. Standard format is too short to see any long-term holding. They spike for when they are in season and upon rotation, the cards will definitely dip before any chance of recovery.

These staples used definitely will be a higher priced to buy in, but it's definitely more solid plan if we consider the risks and time involved. In the end, the staples will definitely be used to be played, so even if they do dip a little in the prices, I can still justify the buy-in to be played with. At least it gives the full money worth of why I am buying those staples at such high prices.

While I am in for buying multi-format staples, eventually it only makes sense if I were to either use them, trade out or sell them for profit. The lesson I have learnt over the year is that profiting from Magic: the Gathering is almost never there. Unless you are a solid speculator and have the capital and means to move cards, you won't really see a good sum of profit to justify your time and effort spent researching and collating data. In the end, the very thing that we want to do is to minimize our expenditure in this expensive hobby.

So as a wrap up, I abandoned some of the projects I had as it was rather impractical to have them running with such low budget. I don't have the means to either complete them or that even if I do complete them, does the money spent make sense to justify my action of acquiring or keeping them? For instance, it makes more sense to hold the foil planeswalkers over the foil Gods as I would use the prior over the latter in my casual decks, and it is easier for me to move foil planeswalkers than Gods.

In the end, it does matter in where and how I spend the money to improve my collection. I think it's a well-known fact that quality is definitely over quantity. It's easier to manage quality trades than having to lug around so many binders and doing only a few dollars for that day. Also, expanding my collection is one thing, but I have to consider my role in the game. Do I want to collect just for the sake of collecting? Or do I collect to play and have them as a reserve? To what extend that I want to hold them and how long I want to hold these cards?

I don't expect myself to make the "right" decisions all the time, but as long as I can justify why I am buying something or making that trade, it's definitely better than jumping into a project that is going to cost me a bomb just because it's an act of impulse.