MtG Cabal Cast

MagicCon Vegas 2023 saw a number of announcements; from Doctor Who spoilers to upcoming Universes Beyond and even the next Standard Play announcement. And it's this announcement that we're doing to discuss this week as it has the opportunity to immediately impact the LGS level of the competitive Magic ecosystem. So we break down a number of LGS issues and concerns about Standard play and once agai...

MagicCon Vegas 2023 is in the books, Worlds has been won, and the first $100 thousand sealed event compete. But what was it actually like at the event? How was everything structured and what was the feeling? We break down MagicCon Vegas 2023 from a logistics standpoint so you didn't have to be there! Come join us as we crack open the seedy underbelly of Vegas.

With the heat from "LOR" dissipated, and WOE taking center stage, we go back this week to look at our picks for our most overhyped card, underhyped card, and that Goldilox one right in the middle. We pull apart our reasoning, the price points, where we think we went right or wrong, and just generally hang our heads.

With full spoilers and a prerelease behind us, this week we look at and discuss Wilds of Eldraine. What cards do we think are prices well? Which are priced poorly? Is there enough "juice" on the Enchanting Tales sheet to keep people opening this set for a while?

Continuing the discussion about the Hasbro Q2 2023 earning call, we revisit the bulleted points from the previous episode and break them down based on economic indicators, expectations set by Hasbro, and mix in our own brand of, "old man yells at cloud". https://gamerant.com/pokemon-company-multibillion-dollar-increase-in-revenue/ https://www.hipstersofthecoast.com/2023/08/magic-revenue-down-15-in...

It's time for the Hasbro Q2 2023 earning call valuation! In the first episode of this two parter, we break down some of the more interesting and finer points before reacting to them in the follow up epside. https://gamerant.com/pokemon-company-multibillion-dollar-increase-in-revenue/ https://www.hipstersofthecoast.com/2023/08/magic-revenue-down-15-in-q2-tales-of-middle-earth-is-magics-second-best-...

The last GenCon related episode for the year. We promise. We discuss GenCon through the years, from it's humble beginnings in 1969 through to 2023. How Magic impacted GenCon, their relationship through the years, and their eventual separation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gen_Con

Last week we covered what the lead in to, "The Greatest Four Days in Gaming", (GenCon) is like and this week we get into the nitty gritty. What's it like on the floor, is there time to enjoy the show itself, what is there to do before, during and after? ...When do you find time to eat and sleep? All of it. From the highest highs to falling off a curb and chipping a tooth. We're breaking down what...

Branded, "The Greatest Four Days in Gaming", GenCon is one ot the most popular and important conventions for everything table top gaming. And while a large number of people are able to attend GenCon as "genpop" not many people get to opportunity to work GenCon in any capacity. This week we begin our journey through what it means to attend GenCon as both and LGS and a vendor, what that process look...

Last week we covered what The National is and a bit of the importance of it to the Sports card industry. This week we recap what happened at The National 2023 from both the vendor perspective and the attendee side of things. How does The National stack up against Origins and GenCon, how has it changed and expanded over the last few years and what happens after hours for both vendors and attendees...

A few weeks back in episode 244, we covered Origins, a convention that many in the TCG community seem to overlook or underrate as an experience. This week, we're running back that foundational idea with a preshow episode for The National (Sports Collectors Convention). Notably most people haven't attended let alone heard about this show and as it's seeing a growing interest from gaming vendors, it...

Taking a break from finance topics this week, we're going over some of the finer details about Vintage Rotisserie Draft, ahead of the next St. Lotus event. If you don't know what VRD is, please give this a listen and if you're like to know more, join the community, and do some drafting online, head on over to https://stlotus.org/ for all that information. https://stlotus.org/build/index.html#/ htt...

Origins 2023 is in the books and now that we're back we thought, "what does the average gamer know about Origins?" So we sourced questions to help build a representative idea of what the event is and what it means to the gaming communities it serves. Did you even know it's in Columbus Ohio?!

With immaculate timing, after recording our previous episode it was announced that the one of one The One Ring was found and graded. So... what happens next? We came up with a few important questions to discuss from player, LGS, and vendor perspectives about the current and future state of this set and IP based chase cards in the future.

Previously we have discussed the possibility for seemingly unbridled growth of Unlimited. From power to duals to even the lowly Fork, there was seemingly no end in sight for where Unlimited would. Well, a few years later, we're older and wiser and can see that where Unlimited is headed, is downward trending. Though, on the opposite side of things, Beta sales have been steadily increasing. Join us...

With The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth prerelease weekend squarely in the rear-view and Release Party Weekend coming up, we continue our discussion about this set and what we saw this past weekend. We break down what we saw at an LGS level and what the current slate of products, including the Doctor Who Universes Beyond, means. The cost implications, churn, and player attention span all...

In "standard" fashion, we take a look at Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth, breakdown the set, and make a few predictions based on what we've seen in regards to "hype". Now, this does follow our standard practice for a new set but relying on price here is a bit of a red herring so we're trying something new: relying on the internet and what kind of buzz we're seeing. Stick with us as we bre...

The "Junk Wax" era of sports cards is one of many defining moments of the hobby's history and is quite infamous for those that were in any part of the ecosystem during this time. With the advent of Whatnot and the sheer population of box brakers, as well as the entry into that space of a card manufactor, we decided to cast a critical eye at WotC in their serialized era. Part two of series covers t...

The "Junk Wax" era of sprots cards is one of many defining moments of the hobby's history and is quite infamous for those that were in any part of the ecosystem during this time. With the advent of Whatnot and the sheer population of box brakers, as well as the entry into that space of a card manufactor, we decided to cast a critical eye at WotC in their serialized era. Part one of this two part s...

At MagicCon Minneapolis, WotC announced that they were going to look into reinvigorating player interest in the Standard format. How? Well by extending rotation out from two years, to three years! Among other things. Now between that event and this episode, we've received a few more details. Details like their handling of ban and restriction announcements moving forward, their desired outcome for...

March of the Machine: Aftermath. A micro set. An Epilogue set. A small print booster set with wild CB slot collation. What exactly do all of those words mean, how do they apply to this product in particular and into the future, and, importantly, what even is this set all about? We break down all this shiny new gem and discuss what it means for you as a player and someone looking to make a profit....

Now that we have vended our first MagicCon of this new era, we break down this new vending experience for WotCs new, premier, Professional Level Organized Play event. What was this like compared to GPs, Magic Fests, PTs, and Mythic Championships of the past, was this a better or worse experience overall for vendors, staff, and players alike? Did you even feel like you were at a Pro Tour or remembe...

This week we go behind the scenes and discuss what it's like to make the Podcast. This might seem self serving, but we'd like to give every one an idea of what the lifecycle for each episode is like as well as the timings, discussion, and even spec process is. A bit of filler in these dry times while we wait for MagiCon: Minneapolis and March of the Machine: Aftermath but something fun to do nonet...

With the heat from "ONE" dissipated, and MoM taking center stage, we go back this week to look at our picks for our most overhyped card, underhyped card, and that Goldilox one right in the middle. We pull apart our reasoning, the price points, where we think we went right or wrong, and just generally hang our heads.

With full spoilers and a prerelease behind us, this week we look at and discuss March of the Machine. What cards do we think are prices well? Which are priced poorly? How do serialized cards impact the price of regular rares and their long term out? Tune in and find out!