And finally something that goes according-ish to plan
Okay. I know. I introduced a clever system for my mailday posts: one each quarter summing up what the acquisitions had been for the last three months. So clever. So simple. And yet, apparently, too difficult even for myself.
Because I have not posted three quarterly mailday posts in 2024, even though we are now very thoroughly in the fourth quarter of the year. This, of course, could be because I spend a grand total of zero dough on cardboard or cardboard-related shenanigans, swagger and memorabilia.
That is not the case. How could it be?
However, I must admit that the third quarter, July through September, was a bit slow on the cardboard front for me. Especially the Old School card front. I did buy a lot of new cards – I mean actually new cards. Very new and very complex cards for the Vintage Cube. What a pile of insanity that is!
You know how we always talk about Old Schools as a never-ending journey or hunt? Let me let you in on a well-kept secret here: Vintage Cube is an equally endless journey. Maybe not as expensive as the ever-elusive upgrade to round- and black-bordered, but very expensive indeed. I think I have spent around €500 on cards for the cube this year. Probably more. And most of this on cards that did not even exist a year or two back. Just a year from now, I will probably have had to change several of them – or at least add other new cards. And with the 50 or so new releases from Wizards every year, this quickly amounts to quite a lot of new relevant cards.
Anyway, I won’t show a picture of the cards here. It doesn’t make much sense: they are not that interesting anyway – especially not for those of my readers that are primarily interested in Old School. For those readers, I do have the following.
Because I did spend some money on cards on the other end of the scale where those new cards reside. The way other end. The end where it all began. Because after I once again enjoyed myself very immensely with the great synergy of Ball Lightning and Unsummon a couple of weeks back at LIC6.0, I simply had to get my hands on these:
Those are really cool, right? I mean round, black borders. The ever-exhilarating feel of owning Alpha cards. That big, stupid “CARD ed” in the middle of the textbox. It is hard to describe. I just really love the Alpha cards with errors on them, or just slight differences from their Beta cousins. It also ensures one, that this is actually Alpha and not some clipped nonsense. So beautiful.
I bought two of these at LIC and found two more on the Danish forum for Old School.
But I also bought another Alpha card at LIC! Yep. Even though I have promised myself several times that I should not own anymore Alpha, because, why? (Except for the epicness, the beauty, the history, the status, the cool-factor and all the other very reasonable reasons to get more Alphas).
This one was a card I have wanted one or two of for a long time. It is not a card I often put in my decks, but I like what it does, and I think it should fit a lot of what I normally want to do in a game of Old School Magic (except for the part, that it is white).
It is of course this:
A very cool card indeed. This particular copy is also one of the most busted and well-loved/hated-with-a-vengeance cards I har ever seen. But it is still a cool card that I hope to wield at some point, getting some big monsters into play from the grave!
And speaking of that…
Of course, I have saved the best part for last!
Because Unsummon is not the only card that functions well – and to much enjoyment – with Ball Lightning, so too does Animate Dead.
It was on my wish list for 2024 that I wanted a set of Beta Animate Dead. It is one of the cards I enjoy brewing around and playing the most, so it is only natural that my Unlimited copies had to be upgraded.
I had stumbled upon a couple of Beta copies out in the wild for around €250. For both a very worn copy and an ex or good one.
I really like it when I am able to buy a complete playset (or however many of a card, I need) instead of buying one here and there. Of course, it shouldn’t matter much for anyone not as stupid as myself, but I just love the feeling of actually getting all the cards I am looking for in one big, nice pile. I also really like to buy my cards from Danish players, collectors or vendors, as the sending of cards is often just smoother that way.
And then I suddenly noticed that the great guys at The Card Collective had no less than five black-bordered Animate Dead on their shelves. Not quite Beta, but I mean…
I asked if they were able to make me a great black week/Christmas deal and they were. And then, a couple of days later, these landed at my GLS store:
I don’t think I have been this hyped since I collected my fourth Beta Howling Mine, or since my set of Alpha Lightning Bolts finally arrived after weeks of worried waiting.
God damnit these are some beauties! Not only are they Alpha. They are Alpha in way nicer condition than basically all my other cards! And they were really not that more expensive than what I had been able to find in Beta.
Okay, you ask, but isn’t it somewhat goofy of you to buy these cards instead of some of the cards you don’t have Swedish legal copies of: Savannahs, Swords to Plowshares, Serendib Efreets etc.?
Well, no.
Look at them again.
I could have bought a playset of Unlimited Savannahs, which are next on my list of duals to acquire, but they would never have struck the same nerve as these does. Unlimited Savannahs would have been a purchase out of some form of necessity. These are very much a purchase out of love!
As mentioned, Animate Dead is one of my absolute favorite cards to brew decks around and to play with. I find it both very powerful and very underplayed as well as just a really fun card that can have a rather unique and game-swinging effect on a game. And it couples well with some of my other favorites; Triskelion, Skull of Orm and Verduran Enchantress. The card even has beautiful, well-recognizable and legendary art. And now I have a set in a great condition, in the most pimp version that exists of the card. I cannot upgrade these cards – perfection!
I could not be happier with this trade!
And they cost me almost exactly the same as what I just sold some reserved list Premodern cards (Lion’s Eye, Grim Monolith, City of traitors, Intuition) for. Definitely a trade I would do again!
And that is it for the purchases of cards for 2024. I did, however, spend some of my funny-cardboard-money on something else than actual cards. I bought myself some art.
See, I have wanted to update this site for some time now, and I wanted something unique in style and expression. What would be more natural than to ask Metageyser Team member The Other Thomas – also known as Mise7 alters – for a cool representation of the spectacle?
Nothing. Nothing would be more natural. And then, of course, I asked him. He gladly took the job, and then continued to make a whole range of really cool paintings with his very recognizable graffiti art on them.
I then continued to not update my blog (but I probably will at some point), but I did make some cool play mats with his work.
Behold:
I may make a smaller printrun of these at some point and sell them. If there are interested takers out there, please let me know.
And that was it for the quarterly update on my acquisitions for 2024. I did not reach all of my goals, but I got my hands on both a playset of Beta Ankhs of Mishra and a Beta-ish playset of Animate Dead. The three Unlimited Mana Vaults can easily wait some more months.
Until the postman has been around the next time!