“Pimpin Ain’t Easy” – by Jeremy Blair

Sunday, July 10th – Jeremy talks about the art of foiling out your commander deck. Check his video EDH coverage on YouTube by clicking HERE.
*Editor’s Note* – The Game Academy hosts an EDH/Commander League every Sunday; tournament signups begin @ 2 PM and tournament entry is $3. All entry will be given back to top finishers in store credit to use towards anything in the store. Jeremy is always in attendance to play EDH in our league, offer deck advice, and record matches for his popular YouTube channel. If you don’t have an EDH deck, don’t worry, we normally have a few extras if you want to play. See you here!

Today’s article is both about pimping out your Commander decks and about your investment into your hobby.  Magic: the Gathering has a long and storied history, but Elderdragon Highlander, or Commander, is relatively younger.  The origins of the format date back to players in Alaska generating the foundations of today’s Commander.  Sheldon Menery and a few other folks promoted the format on a larger scale, wrote some articles, and through a sort of grass-roots effort grew the alternative, casual format that many of us know an love.

I have only been playing Magic a couple of years (late 2008) and fell in love with the Elder Dragon Highlander format in 2009.  My wife and I helped found a local play group.  We joined in with a number of Tampa card flippers and started an EDH league.  Prior to league play, I began building decks and experimenting with the format.

During our stint playing EDH, we have made some sweet decks, collected some killer cards, and began making videos showing off the format, promoting play, and demonstrating some of the cool things that could be done with a legendary General and 99 supporting cards.  The highlander format was cool for a relatively new Magic player because you really only needed 1 of any card for your deck.

Following the release of Eventide and the rotation of powerful cards like Damnation and Tarmogoyf from the Standard constructed format, cards like Bitterblossom and Cryptic Command would run players about $100 a play set.  After the advent of the Mythic rarity, players were dropping up to $260 to sport 4 Baneslayer Angels.

Elder Dragon Highlander allowed players to spend a bit less to acquire cards because you could play powerful cards without committing to a playset.  However, many players in the format used this opportunity to make that single copy of a card very fancy.  Players in our play group began hunting foil copies of their favorite cards.  Some players would purchase or spend a great deal of time carefully altering copies of their favorite cards.

MTV programming had “Cribs” and you could find “Pimp My Ride” showing regularly.  EDH players followed suite and started pimping out their decks.  In fact, players began going to extremes foiling the cards that could be foiled.  Some folks stuck to altered art versions or sought to only play Alpha or Beta versions of older cards.  While you could jump into the format for a relatively low price, there was also the opportunity for a little self-expression.

Some folks sport cool tattoos, diamond studded gold teeth, or a slick ride.  EDH players throw down time and money on pimping out their decks.  A few players traveled to big events to try for an all-artist autographed deck.  Professional players like multiple Pro Tour Champion, Louis Scott Vargas, are rumored to own an entire deck of crimped, foil cards.

I have seen videos of entire foil decks, sweet altered decks, and decks that did strange and amazing things.  There is a guy from California that owns a Relentless Rats themed deck in which each card is hole-punched like Swiss cheese.  Another local player has a steam-punk deck, and others have gone as far as printing proxy copies of foil Beta cards or began judging DCI tournaments to pick up the sweet promotional card packs.

While EDH players form a Casual nation, they also have members of that nation that have a little swagger to their proverbial step.  While foil cards and pimped out Swiss cheese decks are not for everyone, they definitely appeal to a great many players.  Watch the lines at big events the next time you play a prerelease or PTQ.  Some players spend every spare moment digging through foil binders and trying to engage in trades just to pick up cards for their deck.

A completely foiled-out EDH deck is a serious commitment.  Even if you have the large sum or money that it would take to foil out a deck in a single purchase, the chance of finding each foil card in person, online, on Ebay, or at a major event is almost non-existent.  I spent about 5 months assembling my first foil deck.

There are some cards that you already own.  Others are available, but pricey.  It might take some time to find a good bargain.  As soon as you get about 60 of the cards, there are bound to be some new sets introduced that might result in a list change.  Then you have to track down replacements.  After searching online, exhausting the local game shop, digging through binders and scouring foil bins, you might land 80-90% of the deck.  There may be a few cards that are not available in foil.  That can be a pain.  If you want to pimp out those cards, you have to search or contract alterations.  Eventually, you get down to the last 5-7 cards.

I can still remember mine.  It took me a long time before I wanted to pony up the cash for dual lands.  They cost about $25-60.  I think I might have spent $65 bucks on my Underground Sea!  There were Judge promo foils like Demonic Tutor and Sol Ring that could run a player $30-40.  I wanted to foil the deck bud did not want to spend more than $600.  For me, that was my limit.

The hardest cards to find were the off-beat selections that I needed for my combo, but that average players in the Magic world often overlooked.  Anyone could land a dozen copies of foil Cryptic Commands, but try finding foil High Markets and copies of foil Rhystic Study.  At that time, there were no completed auctions of these cards and most large retailers were sold out.

Eventually, I landed each copy of the cards on my list.  The 5 months was worth the time and effort.  The finished product was a completely foiled out EDH deck that would not rotate out of the format, would likely not see card bannings, and is still assembled with minor tweaks these years later.  A work of art!

I have included the 2011 price guide of my original list.  Each card is on the list with some notes.  If the version is not stated, then it is the original set.  The dual lands are revised and every card that can be is foil.  The Force of Will is altered.  A few cards are signed by the artist, but no other changes have been made.  My initial $600 investment into the deck has blossomed into over $2,000 in value after about 24 months.

Some of the Legacy legal cards have gotten hotter.  Most of the Judge promos have doubled or tripled in value and many of the format staples have increased.  I bought a foil Genesis for $7 and the Urborg for $12.  My judge foil Maze of Ith was $25.  I guess you win a few, but there are a couple of cards that will decrease over time.  Solemn Simulacrum is getting the reprint and Trinket Mage dropped  by half when it was refeatured.  Overall, I recommend trying to pimp out your favorite deck.  Josh at the Game Academy will work with you to track down some of the hard to find cards and you will likely look back at your purchases with joy.  It might be a bit harder now, but the format is growing fast and pimpin ain’t never easy.

Take a look at some of my pick-ups and the $600 EDH deck that serves as a nice investment.  You can do it too.  It just takes time and some spare dough:

 

Card Name                 Notes              Ebay Average

Vorosh the Hunter	Russian	10
Yavimaya Elder		9.5
Mystic Snake		5
Talaria West		14
Eternal Witness	FNM Promo	9
Mana Crypt	Non-foil Promo	60
Demonic Tutor	Judge Promo	83
Force of will	Altered Art	68
Island	Unhinged x3	60
Swamp	Unhinged x2	30
Forest	Unhinged x3	42
Urborg		60
Flooded Strand	Judge Promo	45
Windswept Heath	Judge Promo	40
Wooded Foothills	Judge Promo	39
Polluted Delta	Judge Promo	60
Misty Rainforest		30
Bloodstained Mire	Judge Promo	35
Verdant Catacombs		27
Breeding Pool		40
Watery Grave		24
Overgrown Tomb		25
Twilight Mire		10
Sunken Ruins		14
Flooded Grove		15
Yavimaya Coast		7
Underground River		8
Reliquary Tower		8
Temple of the False God		9
Strip Mine		11
Reflecting Pool		27
Lonely Sandbar		2
Maze of Ith	Judge Promo	125
Tropical Island	Revised	74
Underground Sea	Revised	105
Bayou	Revised	55
Intuition	Judge Promo	60
Fact or Fiction		6
Mana Drain	English NM	120
Perplex		2
Trinket Mage		5
Rhystic Study		25
Decree of Pain		24.5
Life from the Loam		17
Merchant Scroll		25
trygon predator		21
Sensei’s Divining Top		32.5
Genesis		37.5
Mystical Tutor		5
Kodama’s Reach		7
Seedguide Ash		2
Remand	FNM Promo	2.5
Indrik Stomphowler		2
Glen Elendra Archmage		14.5
Deep Analysis		3.5
Counterspell	FNM Promo	6
Krosan Tusker		1
Careful Study	FNM Promo	2
Spitting Image		1
Yawgmoth’s Will	Judge Promo	30
Pernicious Deed	Judge Promo	35
Duplicant		23
Solemn Simulacrum		23
Liliana Vess	Lorwyn	8
Time Stretch	Odyssey	13
Explosive Vegetation		2
Stroke of Genius		11
Harmonize		3
Rewind		4
Trickbind		5
Simic Sky Swallower		10
Restock		22
Concentrate		2
Wood Elves		2
Sakura-Tribe Elder	JSS	4
Damnation		15
Bribery	8th Ed.	42.5
Mystical Teachings		1
Sol Ring		56
Coiling Oracle		2
Hinder		4
Dissipate	Promo	6
Vampiric Tutor		23
Clone		1
Pact of Negation		20
Mox Diamond		27.5
Time Warp	Promo	19
Cryptic Command	Promo	8
Voidslime	States EA	25
Regrowth	Promo	15
Mulldrifter	FNM	4
100 Cards		2173.5

 

Thanks for reading.  Check out the foil selection at The Game Academy’s online store and Ebay auctions.  Keep flipping those 100 card stacks and check back for our next articles.

 

JB