Archive for the ‘Trading Tips’ category

Foretold Prophecy: The Real Value of Shippuden

Huzzah! An article about NARUTO, Trading Tips posted on August 31st, 2010 by JR

The Foretold Prophecy starter decks that are being released in conjunction with the Naruto Shippuden CCG series have been accused of offering too much power for professed starter decks. This is largely in relation to some of the rule changes that the Shippuden game has brought. As with any changes, there are some changes that certain players won’t accept.

With the introduction of the still relatively new card series came two new dynamics to the game. Mastery and Surge have both fundamentally altered the way in which rounds are fought. However, Surge isn’t nearly as over-powered as it was originally thought to be. There are a number of ways to combat it, and while one of these is to have one’s own set of surge-powered Shinobi, it’s not by far the only one.

The ‘arms race’ that might have occurred to gather up a large number of these cards has certainly been avoided. However, that’s also not to say that the Foretold Prophecy decks are in any way underpowered. After all, there are 178 cards in the series, and with so many cards, there is certainly a good mix.

In all of this discussion there’s one point that’s heavily missed: namely, the Naruto Shippuden Will of Fire starter decks. Generally sold at a lower price than the Foretold Prophecy decks, there are still 150 different cards when the dust settles. Therefore, it’s probably not too difficult to amass a few and trade up for specific cards.

Actually, trading is probably one of the best avenues for Shippuden players right now. There are certainly some interesting aspects of the trading market to be explored, since Naruto Shippuden doesn’t have the massive over saturation that the original game does. Therefore, some people might be more willing to part with a little more material to ensure that they get the card they need.

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Hacking .hack: The Undiscovered Trading Card Game

Huzzah! An article about News, Trading Tips posted on July 28th, 2010 by JR

Though I usually cover Naruto, I’ve been seeing quite a few references to the .hack//Enemy and .hack//G.U.The Card Battle collectible card games as of late. These two aren’t exactly among the easiest to find, however. In fact, despite the fact that I’m an avid reader of the .hack manga, I had no idea they existed.

Of course everyone knows that many anime series have collectible card game tie-ins. Bleach, Naruto, Pokemon and InuYasha can be found just about anywhere on the web. Even cards for use with the Bakugan Battle Brawlers series are relatively common. However, I hadn’t realized that there were any card games that went with the .hack series.

Dot Hack
Having a look around, it didn’t seem that booster packs for the games were too expensive, though I haven’t seen too many show up on trading forums just yet. Nevertheless, I’ve been hearing quite a bit of chatter about the games. Ironically enough, .hack//Enemy wasn’t developed by the original creators of .hack. In fact, it wasn’t even developed in Japan. Apparently, Mike Reynolds and Chuck Kallenbach of Decipher developed it. Many of you will know Decipher Inc. for its Star Trek card games.

Perhaps the fact that .hack//Enemy was discontinued about five years ago has lead to it’s collectible nature. However, .hack//G.U.The Card Battle can perhaps attribute any popularity it has to the fact that it was actually developed as part of the regular .hack project. No outside service, like Decipher, was called in. The team that was behind .hack//G.U. was also behind this game, so it may have some closer ties to the actual series.

Regardless, collectors have been somewhat clamoring for them, and yet, I haven’t ever seen anyone play the game. What’s probably the most interesting aspect of it to me is that the game itself revolves around a game. The .hack continuity all exists inside a computer game, and a card game was developed around that model.

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How to Spot a Bootleg

Huzzah! An article about Trading Tips posted on May 15th, 2010 by JR

I mentioned last time that one of the major hazards of collecting trading cards is the constant threat of buying a bootlegged card. I usually write about Naruto, but these tips can be applied to just about any game. Unfortunately many legitimate dealers, who aren’t aware that some of their cards are forged, will sell counterfeit cards alongside real ones. Of course, most player organizations will not allow the use of phony cards by players. Likewise, people will most likely refuse them in a trade.

If you’re buying online, make sure that you check the feedback of a dealer if that’s possible. Sometimes, dissatisfied customers will flat out say that the merchant was selling illegal cards. In the same vein, if you buy a pack, make sure that it doesn’t appear to be tampered with.

Most card games have carefully cut cards that stack together neatly. Oftentimes, a bootleg won’t be quite as close cut. Sometimes fakes will not have the image or text properly centered. There might be other things to give away the fact that the text was not professionally printed. Most important of these is whether or not the card has the correct copyright information at the bottom; many bootlegs simply won’t have this information.

Compare the cards to ones that you know are real, if you have the ability to do so. Are the colors all correct? Are there gross misspellings that could indicate the duplication was done illegally in a foreign country?

In any case, its important not to purchase or trade counterfeit cards. They encourage the production of more fakes and hurt the businesses that produce the real games. By hurting these businesses, one jeopardizes the chances of bringing further games onto the market. In short, it’s never a good deal to grab an illegal card.

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The Importance of Naruto Mission Cards

Huzzah! An article about NARUTO, Trading Tips posted on March 25th, 2010 by JR

I have been going through a few back issues of Viz Media’s version of Shonen Jump magazine, and they run a more or less monthly column on the Naruto Trading Card Game. Being that Viz is the North American licensor of the Naruto anime and manga anyway; they generally do a very good job with these articles. In the February issue, the magazine called the Leaf Hospital (M-545) card a Medical Deck must. What they were touching on is the fact that deck building on any specific basis will more often than not revolve around mission cards.

The Leaf Hospital card is harder to use for most players who don’t have a medical deck. While it can still be useful for restoring a medical ninja to full health, its probably doubtful that you’ll have one in play at any given time. However, I’ve mentioned deck stacking before. Therefore, if you have an extra copy of a medical ninja in your deck, then you might be able to have a small but powerful force of them at any given time. You shouldn’t do that at the expense of other aspects of your deck, though.

Perhaps the most important, and overlooked, card mentioned in that article was the Leaf Academy (M-500) mission card. During the mission phase of the game, that card can be used to gain rewards for Growth coins that are under control. While this is most useful in growth decks, I’ve found this card to be a gold mine in a number of universalized decks that weren’t exactly specialized for collecting coins. The card rewards a player with four coins with an extra card draw. Five growth coins allows one to place a growth coin on an existing ninja. Six grants a practically free battle reward.

However, with ten growth coins and the Leaf Academy card, one can instantly win the game with no further action. This can turn a round quickly into a race between two players to collect growth coins before the other player can do so. In fact, the Leaf Academy card is probably the most common reason to build up a growth deck in the first place.

The importance of having matching mission cards to the rest of your deck cannot be overstated. In fact, it’s probably best to spend the most amount of time on planning out how you want to match mission cards to the rest of your deck. You’ll be well rewarded when you unleash a rare and powerful jutsu on your opponent!

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What determines the value of a card?

Huzzah! An article about Trading Tips posted on March 24th, 2010 by BurningLandBrawler

Hey,

In commemoration of the new trading forums out (which you can check out here: CLICK ME), I am taking a step out of the YuGiOh realm and making a general statement about trading.

When trading, I encourage you to take extra precaution so you don’t get ripped off.  The best way to do so is educate yourself about value.

There are two major influences on how much a trading card costs:

  • Supply – How many copies of the trading card are available?
  • Demand – How many copies of the trading card are desired?

Take a lesson from economics.  When demand goes up, the supply of a product goes down.  Unless that supply gets replaced, the price of the product will increase.

Consider the real-world example of Magic the Gathering cards.  With the recent change to the reserved list reprint policy, cards on the reserved list will no longer be reprinted.  The effect this has over the prices of staple cards can be seen already.   While some of the basic landtype duals (Volcanic Island, Savannah, etc) were only $25.00, they are currently going for $40.00 and up.  With no worry about the supply going up to devalue the cards, the prices for the cards can safely be increased.

What are some ways to prevent getting ripped off when trading?  Using the concepts of supply and demand, consider the following:

  • The value of the cards traded: Are you trading a Black Lotus for a Morphling?  Or giving a player Umezawa’s Jitte for some Hammers of Ruin?  Before you trade, consider the market value of both parties.  Is one card worth more monetarily than the other card?
  • The availability of the cards traded: How available are the cards to the players?  Are there a plethora of card shops being sold out with the product?  Are the cards out of print?  If the supply is low and the demand is high, then the price will rise.
  • The rarity of the card:  Rarity dictates how much of the card is printed.  A common card is more available than a rare card.  While rares are generally more expensive, don’t forget demand ties in to the value.  There are some rare cards (Mudhole, One with Nothing) that are not worth a lot of money despite their rarity.

Take note of how to determine the value of Magic cards from you own viewpoint.  Also, use sources such as other people and the Internet to help determine if your trade is fair.

Again, don’t forget to check out the forums here!
www.twitter.com/blbrawler
Burning Land Brawler Signature

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Understanding trades: Card Value

Huzzah! An article about Trading Tips posted on March 12th, 2010 by B-Ric

I know I was supposed to continue talking about my deck in this post, but right now I want to talk about trading. Not just trading magic cards, but about trading in every trading card game. I’m doing this because tonight at the card shop I normally visit to play Magic, I watched someone attempt to rip another someone off in a trade. Had I not been there, this someone might have gotten away with it. As I came home, I thought that there really couldn’t be a better post for a site that encourages trading.

The first thing anyone who wants to trade cards should be aware of is the value of the card. There are actually a few good places to do this. The first place you should check is your local shop. Most shops have lists available that will tell you what a card is worth, if they don’t you can see what they sell for on E-bay or other sites that deal with selling and trading cards. While this is fairly straight forward, the difficult part of card valuing is attempting to gauge what a card will be worth in the long term.

Take the famous Black Lotus for example. When it first came out in the fabled days of Alpha it was probably a couple dollar card. Sure, it was great to be able to pop three manna of any color for free, but the game was still young at the time and the real value of the Lotus wouldn’t be seen for several sets. Conversely, the Arcbound Ravager immediately became a valued card when it was first released. At a high mark of over fifty dollars, it was a highly sought after card. However, once it was banned, it lost all of it’s value. Then as other sets came out, the Ravager became less and less relevant to the game.

So let’s say you want to get your hands on a Baneslayer Angel (one of the more recent money cards), I have seen it sell for sixty dollars, but right now it seems stable at around thirty bucks or so. While it is a very solid card, it is already starting to lose value as newer decks come along that make it obsolete. Once it drops out of standard format, it will lose even more value. Yet, if you take a look at Jace, the Mind Sculptor there is a completely different story. Jace is going to see play for a long time down in legacy and possibly even vintage. This means the value for that card will probably stay stable and maybe even rise in the future.

The reason I am taking time (and space) to explain all of this is because it is important to understand not only the current value of cards, but what their value will be in six months, a year, even five years. Keep that in mind as you are getting ready to trade. Also, if you don’t know if a trade is good, don’t be afraid to ask a veteran player. While you might get ribbed a bit for not knowing, this is far better than not getting a fair trade.

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Hang Onto a Few Common Cards and Watch the Ninjutsu Grow

Huzzah! An article about NARUTO, Trading Tips posted on March 9th, 2010 by JR

There’s nothing that’s more satisfying than finding an incredibly rare Naruto trading card in the pack you bought for a few dollars. Of course, hunting for that special card will net you countless common cards in the process. So what do you do with them? A seasoned player of the Naruto trading card game can use some of the most common cards to shore up an otherwise weak deck.

The Becoming a Pupil Wind Mission card is quite common, but that doesn’t mean it’s a waste. As a card that changes its target’s attribute to Medicine, a deck that has a dearth of medical cards would benefit. By skillfully using it, any other card instantly fulfills that absent need.

The Konohamaru (Hokage’s Grandson) ninja card may have some laughable art, and have countless copies in print, but it reduces the entrance cost of all Jonin or higher ranked ninja in your hand by one. With faster deployment, there’s no reason that your favorite rare card can’t be dropped into a game faster. Still, many collectors overlook the Konohamaru card based on its commonality.

Kiba Inuzuka has been featured on several cards, and he is often a common feature in Fire element exclusive decks. In his most common form, from the Path to Hokage series, Kiba gains a valuable +1/+1 boost when fighting alongside a beast-attributed ninja. There are quite a few of his starter deck card lying around as well, which can consistently be healed whenever a healthy Akamaru card is in his team. This lends for a lingering ninja in play, which is perfect for annoying your opponents.

While a true beginner will probably want to build a deck solely around common cards, many experienced players will have a sort of stigma associated with them. This kind of thing should be done away with, since there are a number of strong deck combinations that can built with sets of rare and common Naruto cards together.

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Tips for Keeping Your Kids Safe Online

Huzzah! An article about Trading Tips posted on December 23rd, 2009 by admin

The internet is a great way to connect with people who share your hobbies and interests, and collectible card games are no exception. Trading cards with others is a great way to expand your knowledge and enjoyment of collectible card gaming.

However, you don’t want to put your safety or personal information at risk, and if you’re a parent, you don’t want your children to reveal sensitive information to strangers.

Here are some tips for parents:

  • Teach your child to never provide their real name or address to others online, even if they’ve “known” the other person for a long time online.
  • Remind your child that people they meet online may not be who they’re pretending to be. Most websites do not do anything to verify the profile information provided by members.
  • Teach your child to select usernames (on websites that require registration) that does not include any personally identifiable information, such as their school name, city of residence, ZIP code, or date of birth (for example, RedmondGrrl1998 is not a good choice, as it tells the gender, approximate age, and location of the user).
  • Remind your child that arranging face-to-face meetings with people they meet online is never OK
  • Openly discuss your reasons for establishing rules for your child’s internet use – help them understand your concerns and the reasons behind them.
  • Trust but check – don’t assume your child is behaving safely online. Establish agreement on how you will monitor your child’s online activity, and include a plan for how this will evolve as your child matures. For example, for a younger child you may want to insist that you have the password to all online accounts your child uses.

Here are more great tips for parents and children (via SafeKids).

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What Does “CML” Mean?

Huzzah! An article about Trading Tips posted on November 21st, 2009 by admin

“CML” or “cml” means “Check My List” (or “see my list”) – in other words, to see what cards I’m interested in trading, look at the list I’ve posted on this forum.

When someone uses this acronym, they usually have a link to their list included in the footer of their message. You might need to view the member’s profile to find their have/want list(s).

Related: Creating Your “Have” List

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Creating Your “Have” List

Huzzah! An article about Trading Tips posted on November 21st, 2009 by admin

One of the best ways to find a trading partner is to post a list of the cards you have and are willing to trade – a “have” list – in an online forum.

On most trading forums, you’ll see numerous examples of “have” lists from other members. Before posting your own list, make sure you understand the rules of the forum; for example, some forums allow only one trading thread per member.

For example, you might post a “have” list if you own and are willing to trade the following cards:

2x Kaiser Sea Horse
Dark Nephthys
Dark Eradicator Warlock
Command Knight
Super-Ancient Dinobeast
Rose, Warrior of Revenge
3x Reinforcement of the Army [Gold Rare]
5x Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon[1x JUMP][4x Gold Rare]
4x Chimeratech Overdragon
3x Junk Warrior
Snatch Steal
Evil Hero Inferno Wing
Riryoku
Evil Hero Malicious Fiend
Unity
Dangerous Machine Type 6

These are Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, and the numbers such as 3x mean that the person has three of this card.

As others read your “have” list, they may post links to their own “have” list, which you can review to see if they have anything you want. If you find a card you want, get in touch to start your trade.

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