It's the most wonderful time of the year. No, it's not Christmas or Summer vacation. It's not time for your year-end bonus, either. Nope, it's time for that most wonderful of Magical events (drum roll please, maestro Ferrett)... the release of a new stand-alone set! Of course, being the smart Internet reader you are, I'm sure you knew that.

I'm sure the fact that every writer and their cousin Bob's been writing about it is pretty obvious, too. Of course who cares what my opinion on the cards are. After all, with guys like Zvi Mowshowitz and Seth Burn writing about Invasion practically card-by-card, who needs some random StarCityCCG.com writer like me to add in something? Nope - instead this week's topic is a road that's more useful and a lot less traveled.

Side Rant*: Several Internet writers (I'm not naming names or pointing fingers) are complaining about the fact that Invasion/Masques Block Type II will be incredibly slow. Wakeup call! Everything goes at the same speed in Invasion/Masques Type II. Very few people understand that R&D is reinventing Magic. They wanted a slower environment, and so everything is costed a little bit higher than it used too. Since everything is slightly overcosted, then everything STOPS being overcosted and becomes average. So stop thinking about everything in terms of Urza's Block and other past expansions. Masques/Invasion Blocks are starting over from scratch, and starting the trend of games that take a little longer - and are more about the creatures and strategy than about blindly beating on your opponents.

Okay, sorry; I had to get that out of my system. Now let's get down to business. New sets come out fairly quickly, and sometimes it seems like you barely get some of the cards you want from one set by the time another one is already coming out. Sometimes it can be hard to keep up with it all, especially if you can't buy four or five boxes of a set when it comes out. I feel your pain; I don't normally spend a lot on cards, even though I love Type II. But just because you don't have a lot to spend doesn't mean you should be left out when new expansions come out.

Lately I haven't spent a lot of money on cards and yet there are five basic ideas that have helped me almost double the value of my collection in trading. Keep in mind these are only ideas and it may be that they don't work as well for you.

1) Everyone Loves Staples.

Sure there are all kinds of cool new cards in Invasion, but what will people being playing when it cycles? Rith, Tsabo, and Rout are all cool cards, but they're going to be cycling out of Type II eventually. Base set cards like Wrath of God and Armageddon have been around since Magic began, and they aren't all that likely to go away anytime soon. People are always looking to trade for the good base set cards, and they stick around longer than cards from the expansions. By trading for and owning a few staple cards, you can almost guarantee that someone will trade you a cool new card for them.

2) Always Trade Up.

If someone just picked out four rares from your binder and was willing to trade on a one-for-one basis, which would you want: Rishadan Port or Masticore? When trading, always see what kinds of valuable cards the other person has and try to trade for cards that are higher in value than the cards you're trading to them. By trading up you can eventually work your way into three or four copies of the really pricey rares like Rishadan Port. Those are some good to have while trading, because you can almost name your price in cards from a new set (within reason) for them. Just remember the exception to this rule: If someone offers you two or three rares you need, go ahead and trade down. Just make sure you don't get ripped off.

3) Get the Hot Stuff.
This rule is especially important right before you go to a prerelease or anywhere else there are a lot of players hanging around. Next time you're reading tournament reports, go look at any of the deck lists included in it. You should notice that some cards (Cough, Masticore, hack) show up a lot. These are the kinds of cards I mean by hot stuff. Cards like Rishadan Port and Masticore are so valuable because not only are they very good cards, but they are also played in a buttload of decks. By knowing which cards are popular and trading for them ahead of time, it's possible to leave major events with all kinds of brand new goodness in your pockets. People are always telling me how they traded for sets of the Power Nine at Prereleases, or complete sets of (insert set name here), and I believe them. If you have the hot cards that everyone wants, then you can almost name your price (within reason, turbo). Just don't burn your hands.

4) Don't Use (Insert Random Magazine Price Guide Name Here)
This one may seem kind of stupid. You're probably wondering what kind of cardboard I've been smoking, right? After all if you don't use an Inquest, how are you supposed to know what your cards are worth? How are you supposed to figure out their value? Simple. First hop in your car (on your bike, on your llama, etc.) and go down to the nearest comic shop that sells singles and look at their prices. This is what you should base your card values on. Different areas price cards differently, and magazines like Inquest have the average price nationwide. I don't have anything against Inquest and the magazines like it personally, I think they're great to read, but the prices in them are usually at least a month out of date. This can be some bad when a card has just recently become good. You might end up trading the next Rishadan Port for a foil Carnival of Souls**. Besides, people barely ever use price guide prices; they either think the card is worth more or a little less. Especially in Roanoke. Over here, people either go by Star City's prices or by playability. Playability is how often a card is used, and how important it is to the decks it's used in. For example which is more playable: Cave-in or Bloodshot Cyclops? If you said the Cyclops, go take up Pokemon; don't give me any lip, just go. Trading for playability is actually better than any other way, because cards are just as playable no matter where you go. It does get tricky when trying to do a two-for-one trade, though. In that case, judge on the basis of how much you need the card(s) you'd be getting.

5) Everything is for Trade.
This is obvious. If you have cards in your trade binder, don't ever say they aren't for trade. In fact, don't ever say a card isn't for trade, even if it's in a deck. I once had two Hammers of Bogardan that were in a deck and they weren't for trade - but when someone asked if I would trade them, I said I might. The guy flat-out offered me four Tangle Wires for two Hammers of Bogardan. Screw the Hammers, I can get more, but four Tangle Wires don't usually come up and smack you in the face. Never be hasty and always listen to what the other trader has to say; you just might find yourself getting handed the sweetest trade ever.

So that's it; my five keys to getting the cards you want. Just remember that all the advice in the world can't help you if you have no one to trade with. I'm not going to insult anyone's intelligence by saying go to big tournaments and prereleases; that's pretty obvious. So get out there and go get some really spiffy Invasion cards. And if anyone gets a lot of good stuff off my advice, you can think me by splitting it with me. I'm willing to accept a paltry 30% commission. No? Well, okay - can't blame a guy for trying. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find some Birds of Paradise.

Did I mention I have some nice basic land for trade?

-Israel Marques, II
-Cymagus913@aol.com

*- Sorry, but I can't resist the urge. I hate whiners. I'll try to keep it short, and not fall off my soapbox.

** - If anyone has one of these for trade, e-mail me. No, I'm serious... really.