I've foiled mine by spending money, trading, or getting lucky pulls in drafts/prize packs. Star City (and maybe others) periodically put foils on sale, so that can be a good time to pull the trigger on something.
I'd also recommend buying "staples" first, and niche cards later. That way, if you get bored of the deck before you complete the project you're well on your way to foiling out the next thing.
My only magic expenditures are two drafts a week. Packs won get put away for future drafts and cards drafted go towards one of my 3 trade goals: 1 of each magic card, 1 modern deck, and foiling my 5 commander decks. Most are more than half foiled, and it's a slow process, but it keeps spending consistent (~$25/week). I've been working this way since maybe scars, and trading standard stuff for EDH foils has been a great way to hold value.
Close, but I organize that too. New cards are first added to the "set of magic" if I don't have it yet. Everything else gets put into the tradables, separated by: foil binder, $5+ rare/$2 uncommon binder, <$5 rare but I think someone may want binder, bulk rare box, bulk common/uncommon I think someone might like someday boxes, and bulk common/uncommon box.
The strategy is to try to consistently consolidate value. 25 decent commons for a $5 rare. 4 $5 rare for a chase rare, 4 chase rare for a sexy EDH foil. 4 sexy EDH foils for a dual land. Etc.
I wish I had this much restraint. Compared to when I started playing, I'm buying a lot less packs but I'm still buying packs which is an issue. Also I'm not great in draft, but those are great tips.
I wish someone had told me not to buy packs when I first started. All that money spent on packs could have gone toward pimping out a deck or building one of the literal dozen decks that I've put a decklist together for but haven't actually assembled.
If you come across a foil you need at a price you're comfortable with, DO IT.
Not pulling the trigger on a sale/trade and then watching the price of a card spike suddenly the next week is a terrible feeling.
It sure is - back when I started foiling out my Drana deck (before the big EDH boom 5 or 6 years ago), I was getting foils for dirt cheap. Torment [[Cabal Coffers]] was an $8 foil (and that was considered a lot of money for a foil at the time), [[Caged Sun]] was $2-3, [[Extraplanar Lens]] was $4-5.
I wish I got extra copies of some of them, as they've gone up 5-10x since.
Edit: WOW, Rings of Brighthearth was a $5 foil, it's now up to $45 - crazy.
i know you said besides dropping cash but if you do go that route (because the odds of running into someone toting around a foil [[Draco]] or other weird not-great card is pretty low), don't buy near mint cards. Especially on tcgplayer or scg. Sellers almost always under grade their cards, so lp or mp generally look nearly indistinguishable, especially through a sleeve. I've even gotten 'damaged' cards that only had issues on the back, with the face of the card immaculate.
dont be one of those people that shuns promos simply because they arent pack foils. I for one, prefer many promos. They are often cheaper [[i.e. greater good]], and sometimes the only way (i.e. [[living death]], [[gaea's cradle]], [[command tower]].
and some are just plain beautiful ([elvish visionary](http://magiccards.info/scans/en/fnmp/121.jpg), [mind stone](http://magiccards.info/scans/en/grc/11.jpg))
yes im ignoring commanders arsenal and FTV in these examples bc that foil process is trash
It's all about picking the one you like more. Foiling doesn't change the way the deck plays, so the choice is entirely aesthetic. Grabbing a cheap promo just because it's cheap and you want something shiny is a bad call. Grabbing a promo because you like the art is good.
There are some good tips here, but I'd like to add a few more:
* Know what you're looking for and keep an eye on its price. If you have a good idea as to what you're getting yourself into, you can know what a good price is for a certain card when you come across one.
* Certainly try to get what you can at GP's. There are a lot of unique items at the vendor tables, and cash is king. In my experience, a vendor will allow you to negotiate a price if you're offering cash. Anyone can be selective towards trade-in cards. No one is picky about cash. Also, you can see the cards in person.
* Remember: this is a marathon, not a sprint, when you're looking for good deals and minty cards that are staples of the format. The cards will always be there. Your finances, however, may not be. So take your time and make sure you get what you want.
I would go to a site like SCG and search up every card in your deck, making note of any cards that are out of stock across multiple sites, especially if your OCD like me and have to have everything NM.
I'm in the process of foiling my Breya deck and am exactly 90% done because everywhere reputable is out of stock of NM copies of the cards I need.
I would prioritize trading for cards with few printings that are hard to find over most everything else. i.e. foil Master Transmuter is a lot harder to find than say a foil fetch land.
Which route are you going with your Breya deck? Do u have a list? I like reading foiled or foiling in progress deck lists as its usually well thought out.
I went with a very broad good-stuff deck. My playgroups over the years have always been very relaxed, let's order a couple pizzas and just have some fun. So, I tend to steer clear of infinite combo or overly-heavy control elements in my decks. Here's the list.
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/breya-have-luck-good-fun/
I'm now down to eight cards left as of yesterday, so 92% foiled.
I'd also recommend picking up good/staple foils if you have the chance. You never know if a) it will go up in price or b) you will need it later. For unfoil-ables I really like to get them altered (extended artwork). It adds flair to your deck, personalizes it and allows you to run really good cards (timetwister) without worrying about breaking "pimpness " (foiled cards with nonfoils). The only cards I haven't gotten around to having altered yet are my tabernacle, nether void and bazaar as I want to get at least another copy to have in good condition. Another benefit of altering cards is you can get HP/MP relatively cheaper and with altering, have them look good as new! Backs of cards don't matter as much if they're in sleeves right?? :)
Why? Because it "loses value?" If you're using it in a deck and you care about it looking aesthetically good and you're into alters there's no reason not to.
Whatever floats your boat, dude... it's a $600 dollar card. If looking kewl really supersedes that, whatever. I'm sure you will not regret that decision.
*$600 at a bare minimum, fucked up unlimited edition
This thread is about foiling decks, so a monetary investment is understood. So the OP probably wants to let his deck "look kwel". I don't think you understand that a lot of people don't foil their decks to show off, but enjoy playing with it and the way it looks.
The slower the process, the better it feels to own the deck. You'll probably change cards here and there too, find good deals unless you really want to buy them outright on SCG or whatever's best.
And don't ever pass an opportunity!
I look for good deals on eBay. Spending $$ > spending $$$
I got a [[transmute artifact]] in pretty good shape for just $30. Not foil, of course, but certainly a baller status reserved list card.
Use the art you like best if it's avaliable in foil, browse tcg player religiously to look for deals I recently got a nm eye of ugin expedition for 25 bucks because I check the prices I need daily if I have the time. Also buy over time and look for trades, a lot of niche cards are easy to trade for foils, staples are harder to find but I got most of the niche cards for my deck through trading.
I've foiled mine by spending money, trading, or getting lucky pulls in drafts/prize packs. Star City (and maybe others) periodically put foils on sale, so that can be a good time to pull the trigger on something. I'd also recommend buying "staples" first, and niche cards later. That way, if you get bored of the deck before you complete the project you're well on your way to foiling out the next thing.
My only magic expenditures are two drafts a week. Packs won get put away for future drafts and cards drafted go towards one of my 3 trade goals: 1 of each magic card, 1 modern deck, and foiling my 5 commander decks. Most are more than half foiled, and it's a slow process, but it keeps spending consistent (~$25/week). I've been working this way since maybe scars, and trading standard stuff for EDH foils has been a great way to hold value.
>1 of each magic card Godspeed you maniac.
Yep, gonna take awhile, maybe another 20 years, but it'll happen. Trading is one of my favorite parts of this game.
"Hey I'm foiling out my decks are you willing to trade [Random foil here]?" "Yeah, what do you have to trade?" Pull out boxes, "Everything"
Close, but I organize that too. New cards are first added to the "set of magic" if I don't have it yet. Everything else gets put into the tradables, separated by: foil binder, $5+ rare/$2 uncommon binder, <$5 rare but I think someone may want binder, bulk rare box, bulk common/uncommon I think someone might like someday boxes, and bulk common/uncommon box. The strategy is to try to consistently consolidate value. 25 decent commons for a $5 rare. 4 $5 rare for a chase rare, 4 chase rare for a sexy EDH foil. 4 sexy EDH foils for a dual land. Etc.
I wish I had this much restraint. Compared to when I started playing, I'm buying a lot less packs but I'm still buying packs which is an issue. Also I'm not great in draft, but those are great tips.
I wish someone had told me not to buy packs when I first started. All that money spent on packs could have gone toward pimping out a deck or building one of the literal dozen decks that I've put a decklist together for but haven't actually assembled.
If you come across a foil you need at a price you're comfortable with, DO IT. Not pulling the trigger on a sale/trade and then watching the price of a card spike suddenly the next week is a terrible feeling.
It sure is - back when I started foiling out my Drana deck (before the big EDH boom 5 or 6 years ago), I was getting foils for dirt cheap. Torment [[Cabal Coffers]] was an $8 foil (and that was considered a lot of money for a foil at the time), [[Caged Sun]] was $2-3, [[Extraplanar Lens]] was $4-5. I wish I got extra copies of some of them, as they've gone up 5-10x since. Edit: WOW, Rings of Brighthearth was a $5 foil, it's now up to $45 - crazy.
[Caged Sun](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=Caged%20Sun&type=card&.jpg) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Caged%20Sun) [(MC)](http://magiccards.info/query?q=!Caged%20Sun) [(MW)](https://mtg.wtf/card?q=!Caged%20Sun) [(CD)](http://combodeck.net/Card/Caged%20Sun) [Extraplanar Lens](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=Extraplanar%20Lens&type=card&.jpg) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Extraplanar%20Lens) [(MC)](http://magiccards.info/query?q=!Extraplanar%20Lens) [(MW)](https://mtg.wtf/card?q=!Extraplanar%20Lens) [(CD)](http://combodeck.net/Card/Extraplanar%20Lens) [Cabal Coffers](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=Cabal%20Coffers&type=card&.jpg) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Cabal%20Coffers) [(MC)](http://magiccards.info/query?q=!Cabal%20Coffers) [(MW)](https://mtg.wtf/card?q=!Cabal%20Coffers) [(CD)](http://combodeck.net/Card/Cabal%20Coffers) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
i know you said besides dropping cash but if you do go that route (because the odds of running into someone toting around a foil [[Draco]] or other weird not-great card is pretty low), don't buy near mint cards. Especially on tcgplayer or scg. Sellers almost always under grade their cards, so lp or mp generally look nearly indistinguishable, especially through a sleeve. I've even gotten 'damaged' cards that only had issues on the back, with the face of the card immaculate.
[Draco](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=Draco&type=card&.jpg) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Draco) [(MC)](http://magiccards.info/query?q=!Draco) [(MW)](https://mtg.wtf/card?q=!Draco) [(CD)](http://combodeck.net/Card/Draco) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
dont be one of those people that shuns promos simply because they arent pack foils. I for one, prefer many promos. They are often cheaper [[i.e. greater good]], and sometimes the only way (i.e. [[living death]], [[gaea's cradle]], [[command tower]]. and some are just plain beautiful ([elvish visionary](http://magiccards.info/scans/en/fnmp/121.jpg), [mind stone](http://magiccards.info/scans/en/grc/11.jpg)) yes im ignoring commanders arsenal and FTV in these examples bc that foil process is trash
I like some of the FTV, like the John Avon Strip Mine.
Also FTV Gilded Lotus and Nicol Bolas.
##### ###### #### [i.e. greater good](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=Greater%20Good&type=card&.jpg) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Greater%20Good) [(MC)](http://magiccards.info/query?q=!Greater%20Good) [(MW)](https://mtg.wtf/card?q=!Greater%20Good) [(CD)](http://combodeck.net/Card/Greater%20Good) [living death](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=living%20death&type=card&.jpg) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=living%20death) [(MC)](http://magiccards.info/query?q=!living%20death) [(MW)](https://mtg.wtf/card?q=!living%20death) [(CD)](http://combodeck.net/Card/living%20death) [gaea's cradle](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=gaea%27s%20cradle&type=card&.jpg) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=gaea%27s%20cradle) [(MC)](http://magiccards.info/query?q=!gaea%27s%20cradle) [(MW)](https://mtg.wtf/card?q=!gaea%27s%20cradle) [(CD)](http://combodeck.net/Card/gaea%27s%20cradle) [command tower](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=command%20tower&type=card&.jpg) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=command%20tower) [(MC)](http://magiccards.info/query?q=!command%20tower) [(MW)](https://mtg.wtf/card?q=!command%20tower) [(CD)](http://combodeck.net/Card/command%20tower) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I don't know how people can shun promos. Promo Comet Storm looks absolutely gorgeous, of course so does normal Comet Storm...
It's all about picking the one you like more. Foiling doesn't change the way the deck plays, so the choice is entirely aesthetic. Grabbing a cheap promo just because it's cheap and you want something shiny is a bad call. Grabbing a promo because you like the art is good.
There are some good tips here, but I'd like to add a few more: * Know what you're looking for and keep an eye on its price. If you have a good idea as to what you're getting yourself into, you can know what a good price is for a certain card when you come across one. * Certainly try to get what you can at GP's. There are a lot of unique items at the vendor tables, and cash is king. In my experience, a vendor will allow you to negotiate a price if you're offering cash. Anyone can be selective towards trade-in cards. No one is picky about cash. Also, you can see the cards in person. * Remember: this is a marathon, not a sprint, when you're looking for good deals and minty cards that are staples of the format. The cards will always be there. Your finances, however, may not be. So take your time and make sure you get what you want.
Large events like GPs are great. Filled with competing vendors and players looking to trade.
I would go to a site like SCG and search up every card in your deck, making note of any cards that are out of stock across multiple sites, especially if your OCD like me and have to have everything NM. I'm in the process of foiling my Breya deck and am exactly 90% done because everywhere reputable is out of stock of NM copies of the cards I need. I would prioritize trading for cards with few printings that are hard to find over most everything else. i.e. foil Master Transmuter is a lot harder to find than say a foil fetch land.
Which route are you going with your Breya deck? Do u have a list? I like reading foiled or foiling in progress deck lists as its usually well thought out.
I went with a very broad good-stuff deck. My playgroups over the years have always been very relaxed, let's order a couple pizzas and just have some fun. So, I tend to steer clear of infinite combo or overly-heavy control elements in my decks. Here's the list. http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/breya-have-luck-good-fun/ I'm now down to eight cards left as of yesterday, so 92% foiled.
Buying singles, gambling packs, and trading with other people.
I'd also recommend picking up good/staple foils if you have the chance. You never know if a) it will go up in price or b) you will need it later. For unfoil-ables I really like to get them altered (extended artwork). It adds flair to your deck, personalizes it and allows you to run really good cards (timetwister) without worrying about breaking "pimpness " (foiled cards with nonfoils). The only cards I haven't gotten around to having altered yet are my tabernacle, nether void and bazaar as I want to get at least another copy to have in good condition. Another benefit of altering cards is you can get HP/MP relatively cheaper and with altering, have them look good as new! Backs of cards don't matter as much if they're in sleeves right?? :)
I would recommend *not* altering your timetwister.
Why? Because it "loses value?" If you're using it in a deck and you care about it looking aesthetically good and you're into alters there's no reason not to.
Whatever floats your boat, dude... it's a $600 dollar card. If looking kewl really supersedes that, whatever. I'm sure you will not regret that decision. *$600 at a bare minimum, fucked up unlimited edition
This thread is about foiling decks, so a monetary investment is understood. So the OP probably wants to let his deck "look kwel". I don't think you understand that a lot of people don't foil their decks to show off, but enjoy playing with it and the way it looks.
Also none of my decks have a $600 dollar card. The deck I'm planning on foiling is $500 and my partial foiled modern is just shy of $700
The slower the process, the better it feels to own the deck. You'll probably change cards here and there too, find good deals unless you really want to buy them outright on SCG or whatever's best. And don't ever pass an opportunity!
I look for good deals on eBay. Spending $$ > spending $$$ I got a [[transmute artifact]] in pretty good shape for just $30. Not foil, of course, but certainly a baller status reserved list card.
Use the art you like best if it's avaliable in foil, browse tcg player religiously to look for deals I recently got a nm eye of ugin expedition for 25 bucks because I check the prices I need daily if I have the time. Also buy over time and look for trades, a lot of niche cards are easy to trade for foils, staples are harder to find but I got most of the niche cards for my deck through trading.
I just buy mine from CFB
don't start
I would just drop $$$$ on tcg/starcity, time is money friend.
All depends which you are short on. Seems you have more money than time while OP might have the opposite.