Shameless bump...

502

(5 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I believe your general premise is sound, but (imo) Roaring Primadox is not the way to go.  When you return a creature to your hand, you need to spend mana to bring them back in. You should see if you can get your hands on some Restoration Angels or Sudden Disappearance.  They let you flicker your creatures rather than return them to your hand.

I guess I need to run to my local Shopko tomorrow--they had a number of those sets still on the shelves.

504

(1 replies, posted in General Discussion)

I realize that not all of you may observe Thanksgiving (which is observed here in the U.S. on Thursday), but still want to wish all of you a very wonderful day.  Enjoy time with family and friends, and see if you can hook a few more nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, brothers or sisters, or other relatives and friends on our wonderful passtime/hobby.

My eldest daughter is bringing home her boyfriend for the first time on Thanksgiving, and since his family is many states away, he's staying with us for the weekend.  We already plan to take him to either FNM or Saturday Magic at our local game store.  :-)

The cards which you do have in quantity suggest considering blue-white or black-white builds.

Filter your inventory to show only Standard (using the Format filter), and use the Color filter to show exclusively "one of" the two colors you would like to investigate.  That should let you get a good picture of some of the things you can throw together.

I am going to be playing it in Modern format events.  It had its first run (and, subsequently, its first tweaks) this past Saturday.  It did quite well.  At that time, I had Pillar of Flame instead of Shock, and didn't have Boggart Shenanigans or Quest for the Goblin Lord.  Honestly, I didn't even realize Lighting Bolt was an options--I modded my original Krenko deck about an hour before I left for Saturday Magic.  I had a few rounds where I landed some early, unblocked Dynacharged swings on turns three and four (in the best case, had my opponent down to 1 at the end of my 4th turn).

I just secured two more each of Goblin Lord and Valakut, so I'll have those available to add in very soon.

I just checked--I have Lightning Bolt, so I'll swap those out.

Fire away with your feedback--it will be welcome here.

Thanks for the offers.  I got one that stuck.  Trade is confirmed.

I took some feedback on this one when it was Standard.  I recently reworked it for Modern.

**UPDATE** I've made some additional changes, based on feedback here.  The deck is now larger (72 cards!), but it is working well.  I took second at Saturday Magic at my LGS this past weekend (in four rounds, no byes).  A couple of the wins were Turn 4.

Mod Krenko's Dance Party 72.

I'd appreciate your feedback.

I've found that swinging early with an Overloaded Dynacharge can surprise many players (T1: Goblin Fireslinger, T2: Krenko's Command, T3: swing with Dynacharge for a potential 9).

As the title states, I'm looking for

2 Goblin King
2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

I'd gladly offer one Steam Vents for all four in a single transaction.  Otherwise, feel free to browse my tradelist.

510

(58 replies, posted in Reddit MTG Trades)

shogan21 wrote:

The mail fraud complaint has been filed... I really hope the rest of you that are getting ripped off take the small amount of time to file a complaint.
(emphasis added)

That's really the key.  Unless every affected trader files a complaint, the USPS won't have enough evidence to show a pattern of fraudulent transactions.

511

(10 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

BlackTracktorist wrote:

HikingStick,

Well, as for "collector's view", yes, everything works. As Russians say: "I didn't notice an elephant". big_smile
But this has to be a little bit improved as well:
- In the full set card listing it would be great to highlight all the cards that i have. Well, I see, that there is Inventory quantity column, but cards I have highlighted opposite rest cards of the set that I don't have in dim color would be more illustrative.

That would be a nice feature.  I click the column header for quantity, and that lets me toggle the sort (ascending/descending).  That groups together all the cards for which I have zero (0) quantity.  That should help for now.

BlackTracktorist wrote:

- Another one thing necessary for "collector's view" is search\display\sort (especially!) by card number (x\350 as ususal).

Adding the collector's number has been mentioned in numerous threads, primarily as a way to speed card input in other languages (since adding multi-lingual card title support is pretty far down the feature list--other features to add value to the majority of users are higher on the list).

BlackTracktorist wrote:

As for export file, I tried to do that, seems like it works, but than the next question: how to Import from CSV to my (or my brother's) inventory? Import from csv tool is also needed for Inventory.

This is another one that has been requested many times.  I know Sebi has been considering it--I don't know when it will be rolled out (and don't remember if it was referenced in the other thread).

BlackTracktorist wrote:

And another one. In language property (when adding a card to Inventory), please fix Russian. Now it appears as "русский язык" (russian language), usually we use simply "Русский" (Russian). Thanks.

Это должно быть легко. [This should be a relatively simple task.]  Once Sebi sees it, he should be able to make the change.

Thank you for the feedback.  The involvement of the community is one of the things that make this site so great!

Thanks, Zuul36, for posting that.  Yes, for bubble mailers, you want "first class" as the service type, and "parcel/thick envelope" for the package type.  Three ounces is the magic number--the rate does not go up until you are over 3 ounces.  I typically can ship around 15-20 cards and stay under three ounces, and that includes the additional cardboard I add to keep the package more rigid.

asmodeanreborn wrote:

2. Always use DC# no matter what the size of the trade


Only part I don't agree with, especially since I've done a lot of trades lately where $5-6 of cards is going each way. Paying $2.80 shipping vs $0.65 makes a huge difference quickly here. I'd rather lose the 1 in 100 (or whatever) envelope and send a PayPal payment or duplicate cards for that.

Use PayPal to print labels and you pay less than $1.70 to ship up to 3oz. (US, domestic) including delivery confirmation.  To me, that amount for shipping is less than what it would cost for me to visit a local game store.  No headaches or lost time, either (e.g., waiting a month to see if post office delivers, re-mailing).

514

(8 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

And in the US, sorting by State would be great.  In time, it would be great if we could geocode postal codes, to give true results by proximity.  :-)

515

(8 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

sebi wrote:

We've just added Kiriyat Ono to the database, you should be able to set it as your city now. As for proximity, that is indeed a bit misleading. The only thing is does is it puts all cards available in your city first, then your region, then your country, and then the other countries in the world (but the other countries in the world are in a random order).

It might be worth looking into this further.  As I've browsed through potential trading partners, I've found foreign nationals nested among others in the United States--some from Canada, some from Norway, etc.

516

(8 replies, posted in Trading Post)

Configuration sent.  See the trade chat for details (counts, proposed price, etc.).

517

(10 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

Currently, you can export your entire collection to Excel via a *.csv file.  You'll find that option using View > Export > [Optional: select additional columns] > Export button.

You can access a "collectors view" of sorts by starting in the Card Database area.   The Card Database will show all cards, not just your inventory.  You may use the filters to display cards matching only particular parameters (e.g., Edition), and when the results display, you'll notice the same columns you see in your Inventory: your quantity, the number in your tradelist, the number in your wishlist, and the number appearing in all your decks.  However, at this time, the system shows cards that have a name that appears in that filter, so reprints will show up in results for any search where they area a valid match (e.g., Blood Crypt will appear in a list of Return to Ravnica cards as well as in a list of Dissension cards). This may be cleared up in the next release, because Inventory is being modified to track each card with its unique details as a separate line item. To take a peek at some screenshots of the pending update, visit this thread.

Happy trading and collecting!

518

(58 replies, posted in Reddit MTG Trades)

shogan21 wrote:

I've been more than patient with him and I don't feel the need to take it easy in him because he has done right in the past. He may not be a total deadbeat trader but his history shows he isn't reliable. Sure you might get your cards or money eventually but that doesn't make it right.

Later tonight I will be filing a complaint for mail fraud on him.

This is the form I will use:
https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/form … laint.aspx

I hope everyone else in this similar situation do the same. If you have any questions about filling out the form, I'll be more than happy to help after I fill it out myself.

I don't fault you at all.  If everyone would report all such instances, it would be much easier for the postal service to properly investigate and make a determination regarding possible mail fraud.  Without that pattern, individual claimants really don't stand much of a chance.

519

(58 replies, posted in Reddit MTG Trades)

imsully2 wrote:

I'm guessing there is some sort of an issue...

The information on his profile suggests as much.  However, all said, simply maintaining open communications could have prevented this from escalating into a hot topic.  Still, let it be a cautionary tale for the rest of us, and a reminder that:

1) Each trader is responsible for proving delivery to the recipient's address (remember to use delivery confirmation!).

2) Allow time for postal slowdowns (domestic shipping, 2-4 weeks).  We're coming into the holiday season, when the postal service tends to get backlogged.  Also remember that severe weather (e.g., Hurricane Sandy) and other factors (e.g., spring flooding) can affect delivery times as well.

3) If you, as a sender, experience any circumstances that affect your ability to ship on time or as discussed [hey, I had one this week where I marked them shipped on the way out the door in the morning, but forgot to drop them off at the post office], communicate with the recipient in the trade panel!

520

(58 replies, posted in Reddit MTG Trades)

outofstep wrote:

I almost feel like delivery confirmation should be a requirement at this point, seriously. Enough with trying to get the cheapest shipping possible, especially if you're sending cards worth over $25. I don't care how poor you are. If you can afford to play Magic in the first place, then you can afford $3 for shipping of cards...


As I've tried to publicize in more than one thread, if you print your own shipping labels through PayPal, each and every one automatically includes delivery confirmation and [they are cheaper than buying them at the USPS.

Postage for a few cards that was costing me about $2.80 at the USPS window now costs under $1.70 when I print via PayPal.  The only challenge you may face is if you are shipping larger quantities of cards, as you'll need an accurate weight in ounces if shipping more than 3.0 oz.  I have a little dietary scale here, but you could weigh your mailer at some grocery stores, or even at the post office.  You could create a chart that lists how many cards and toploaders (plus your preferred mailer) adds up to a certain weight.

521

(3 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

Thanks for the feedback.  That feature has been requested before.  I'll let Sebi provide the authoritative answer, but I believe it is being considered for a planned release.

522

(58 replies, posted in Reddit MTG Trades)

shogan21 wrote:

I researched a bit on mail fraud and was discouraged because it sounded like with isolated events nothing much ever comes of it. Now that it is clear at least one other is in the same situation, I will take the time to file a formal complaint. I hope you do as well.

Yes, this is what my research led me to understand as well.  Someone else here noted there may have been problems with this trader on another venue.  If that's true, I ask that they refer folks there to this thread, or at least post the same admonition there: that ALL affected traders file reports so as to get an investigation going.

I'm going to shoot a message to the site admin, Sebi, to bounce a few ideas off him regarding possible safeguards in the future (e.g., keeping record of the addresses used in trades that go south so that they can be flagged if they are used again in association with a new account).

523

(58 replies, posted in Reddit MTG Trades)

Zuul36 wrote:

Look.... I'm fine if you have a life problem... we all have them but at least CONTACT YOUR TRADE PARTNER!

To me, that's the real lesson for all the rest of us.

524

(58 replies, posted in Reddit MTG Trades)

I just ran across another user who reported problems with the same user.  I referred him (or her) to this thread.  Given that there is more than one of you, I strongly recommend you each contact your local post office, describe the situation (noting that you are not the only one affected), and start the process of filing a formal complaint regarding possible mail fraud.

525

(1 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

See a related post at http://deckbox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=28347#p28347 that references the same trader.  I recommend that you both file complaints with your local post office.  Multiple complaints against the same individual are more likely to get attention than isolated reports of potential fraud.