Welcome back! It’s a sad day; we’ve reached the end of our series on pimp Magic cards. If you missed the previous articles make sure that
you catch up.
Language Redux and Introduction to Foils
For the conclusion of this series, I want to introduce you to a couple of guys who have invested a lot into their Magic collections. Their thoughts on
the topic of pimping should at the very least give you a view of what this type of clientele is looking for. We’ll start with an interview that
didn’t make it into last week’s article.
Interview with Ben Carp
Ben Carp is one of the people that I go to for advice and pricing on Magic Oddities. He is an active member of the Magic Traders forums and a respected
member of the Magic Oddities community.
Introduce yourself.
My name is Benjamin Carp. I got into Magic around Apocalypse. I bought a few collections on ebay, and started playing Vintage since I couldn’t afford
new T2 stuff like $15 Rishadan Ports and Urza’s Rages.
How did you get into miscuts/crimps/misprints?
I picked up a few randomly that I thought were cool, then I started getting heavier into Magic and kept picking them up. For a while I focused on
crimps but started picking up more and more miscuts and other misprints.
What I try to go for more than anything else is playable misprints, because I play my misprints. In Vintage I play crimped Beta power, miscut duals,
miscut Forces of Will, miscut Mana Drains, miscut Brainstorm, etc. I even have a five-color Commander deck based around a miscut Sliver Queen where all
100 cards are misprinted.
Is there a value hierarchy when dealing with miscuts/crimps/misprints?
The more severely misprinted and playable cards tend to be worth more. Misprints from rarer sets can be worth more as well.
What’s the best way to value miscuts/crimps/misprints?
Generally the bulk stuff is pretty cheap. Miscuts that don’t show another card are usually $.25-$1, and if they just show a little of another card then
maybe $1-3 (these prices are for unplayble cards). Crimps generally go for $1-2 for bulk and more for playables. Extremely heavy crimps usually
command a premium, and vertical crimps generally go for $25-50+. Usually crimps will go for around the regular price of the card, plus or minus
25-50%. Inking errors, blotches, smears, and that sort of thing don’t tend to go too high unless they’re extreme or on playable cards. The
super-expensive stuff is the really impressive stuff, like Summer Magic, double-printed cards, cards printed on backs, 50/50 miscuts, miscut dual
lands, crimped P9, that sort of thing.
What’s are the five most insane miscuts/crimps/misprints that you have in your collection?
I have a lot of incredible misprints. A few of my favorites are:
1. Crimped foil Wasteland. Yep, even promos can be crimped. Anything that is sealed in a plastic wrapper that was crimped shut can be crimped. I picked
up this Wasteland back in 2001 or 2002 for $10. It was one of my first misprints.
2. Vertically crimped Rancor. Vertical crimps are from the back of the pack sealer. They are extremely rare, something like .5% (half a percent) of all
crimps.
3. Crimped Beta Time Vault. I traded a beat-up Beta Volcanic Island for this, then right afterwards Wizards re-errataed Time Vault to make it useless.
I’m glad I kept this, since now it works again and I play it in Rainbow Demon, the new Vintage Oath variant.
4. Miscut Volcanic Island/Vesuvan Doppelganger. $39.99 Buy-It-Now on ebay at least 5-6 years ago. I’ve been playing it ever since, in both Vintage and
EDH.
5. Mercadian Masques Brainstorm printed on the back of a card. The other side is also a card back.
Interview with Jeff Blyden
I met Jeff at a Star City Games Open a few years back. His pimp Standard deck immediately caught my eye and after he crushed me, we had a good
conversation about foils and then we did some trades. Ever since, he has been a valuable asset in trying to price and move foreign foils and oddities.
Why do you pimp your MTG Collection?
That’s a good question. I guess it’s because it gives me something to collect that isn’t just your run-of-the-mill magic card.
Do you think pimping is positive or negative EV?
It’s positive EV, if you do it correctly. Take Jace, the Mind Sculptor for instance. I picked up my foil playset at $285. Stoneforge Mystic, $8
for the English foil set and $12 for the Chinese foil set. As long as you target the right cards (namely cards that have a life outside of Standard)
you should win every time.
What is the next evolution in pimping?
KOREAN FOIL! That stuff is going to be beyond absurd. Especially the M12 cards that got out before the recall. I can’t imagine what foil Korean
Garruk, Primal Hunters must be worth! Alters are pretty cool as well, but I think that they are a being a bit overdone. But in the end,
“pimp” is in the eye of the beholder and different folks will gravitate towards different forms of absurdity.
What is the most pimp card you own? How much is it worth?
That’s a very hard question to answer as I tend to pimp out my collection by just picking up foil copies of everything that I play outside of
Standard. If I had to narrow it down though, I would say my Korean ‘Kiss’ Dark Rituals that I got from you, my altered Tropical Islands, my
foil Japanese Dazes and Grove of the Burnwillows, my FBB and Beta Duals, and my $30 Black Lotus (its pimp because it has character!).
What would be your advice to those trying to get into pimping.
If you are pimping for personal reasons, buy/trade for whatever it is you find cool and don’t be afraid to take a gamble based solely on your
intuition. If you are doing it for value, bide your time a pick up cool Modern/Legacy/Vintage cards whenever you get the chance especially if you are
getting rid of Standard only cards.
Interview with John Donovan
I met John Donovan at a PTQ a few years ago. I traded him an alternate art Foil Ertai, the Corrupted, for his Commander deck. Since then, Donovan has
been a great source for Japanese foils. Donovan, like Jeff, has one of the most insane collections that I’ve ever seen.
Why do you pimp your MTG Collection?
A long time ago, I opened a box during the Mirage/Visions days that had foreign cards. It was some collector’s box and I opened a Chinese Natural
Balance. I was hooked. I wanted everything to be pimp from then on. So, I began trading for every foreign card that came. Then foils hit, and it was a
whole new ball game.
There are also moments like I had in SCG Kansas City when I overheard a few players who were watching my match talking about the pimpness of my deck.
Not to mention how good it felt on camera as I was playing my two feature match games knowing that everyone at home could see some of the fruits of my
labor.
Do you think pimping is positive or negative EV?
Pimping can be positive EV if you are investing in the right cards. For example, I rarely get Japanese foil Standard cards. I don’t want to spend the
money on cards that are going to have little to no post rotation value. My Vintage and Legacy cards are where the money goes and let’s not forget
Commander, where there’s incredible value in foils. This doesn’t mean that I don’t own Standard legal Japanese foils, like Batterskull and Sword
of Feast and Famine, but these are also Legacy cards.
What is the next evolution in pimping?
I’ve kind of reached a part of that threshold. I’m starting to acquire more artist altered cards. For example, I have a Crucible of Worlds that
my friend painted for me and it’s GORGEOUS. I think the next evolution is choosing a pimp project. My current project is to prioritize every card
in my collection by this standard; Beta, Japanese Foil, Korean (only older, not newer), Foil, and Japanese. For example, I can get a Neviyrral’s Disk
in promo foil or Korean, but I have Beta as my top priority. If a card can’t be Beta, then I want it in Japanese Foil next, if not Japanese foil, then
Korean, etc…Eventually, my entire playstock will reflect my choices. Some people may choose German, or Russian. But personally, I always prefer
Japanese foils.
What is the most pimp card you own? How much is it worth?
When I read this question, it made me reflect on the entire collection of pimp cards I have. I even asked a few people, “Do I show just one card?
Do I show an alter? Do I show a Japanese foil?” Then it hit me. I can’t show just one card, and I have a set of something not many people in the
world have and I’m very proud of it.
40 English Alpha/Beta Duals
When I finished this playset, I actually went out to dinner to celebrate. I can’t tell you how satisfying it was to finally reach the 40. The funny
part was for a bit I had 40, but the 40th was a 5th Tropical Island, and I was missing a Plateau.
The Approximate Value: $23,000 based on SCG SP value across the board. However, I will point out that they are in fact out of stock of all of them, and
the prices are rising every day.
What would be your advice to those trying to get into pimping.
Start small. Don’t go for the big guns right away. Do you play mostly standard? Then go for English foil Standard! It’s fun playing a pimped
deck, but if you are a multi format player, start looking deeper in to the Vintage and Legacy playables and invest in that area. The cards will not
lose value and will only rise over time, especially as their rarity increases. Perfect examples are Japanese Foil 7th edition or Japanese Foil Ravnica.
These sets are very hard to find in Japanese foil and all the prices are VERY high on playable cards. For example, Dark Confidant $45, English Foil
Dark Confidant $100, Japanese Foil Dark Confidant $750 (that’s an eBay price, not from a company where you are assured of your shipment). I guess the
biggest piece of advice I would give is invest wisely. Build your decks first, then other playstock pieces second.
Is Pimping Profitable?
As you read in the interviews above, pimping can be profitable if you invest in the right cards. The key is to avoid Standard cards and put your money
into cards for Non-Rotating formats, like Legacy, Commander, and Vintage. Cards that are only played in Standard will drop in value once they rotate
out of the format. Some cards that are currently in Standard are also played in other formats. These are decent investments for the future.
My suggestion if you want to work on pimping your collection or even just a deck is to get the cards that you want in non-foil English first. Then work
your way up the hierarchy. The next step would be Foil English then Japanese foil. The benefit of doing it this way is that once you
“upgrade” a card for your deck, you can put the English non-foil copy into your trade binder. This helps to keep your stock fresh and it
also helps to replace cards that you traded away to get the foils versions.
One of the biggest pieces of advice that I can give on this topic is to build a network of people who can or will buy foil and foreign cards. This is
one of the reasons that I made this last segment an interview segment, because It’s these kind of conversations that influence my movements on
the trade floor. Reading Jeff’s and John’s responses to the “next era of pimp” questions gives me a lot of insight into what
things that I should be picking up or paying attention to.
That’s all I have for this week. I will see you next week with an analysis of the Star City Games Invitational. Thanks for reading.
Jonathan