So I just recently got a job, so I have a lot more money to spend on Magic stuff. I have a list of wants that I would like to trade for, and buy with cash. However I would also like to buy some packs and/or boxes.
Of course, I want to get a couple boxes of M13, not only because it's a new set, giving the cards in it (especially the chase rares) a relatively high trade value and trade demand,but because some of the cards in it (a playset of indominable archangel and 2 cathedral of war, not to mention some of the dual lands) are some of the top things on my wants list.
However, there are some things on my wants list that are pretty hard to come by, even in card shops and especially in people's trade binders.
Cards such as
Gaea's Cradle 
, Foil
Green Sun's Zenith 
,
Noble Hierarch 
,
Breeding Pool 
, and
Misty Rainforest 
.
I was wondering if it would be a better idea to just buy packs and boxes from these sets until I get the cards I want, buy boxes of standard and use those cards to trade off to other people for the stuff I want (this could take ages, especially for the Gaea's Cradle), or just buy the cards online? One thing I will say is that I feel so much better about getting a card if I pull it from a booster pack. A good example of this is when I bought my first (and only) Ravnica booster pack, and pulled a doubling season. I've treated that card like a treasure, and keep it as part of my not-for-trade collection.
I guess for things like misty rainforest it isnt as big a deal to pull one, but for cards like Gaea's Cradle, which are so rare and expensive, it would be one of the coolest things ever to pull, at least for me.
So if I were to do this my own way, without any help, this is what I would do:
Buy 3 boxes of M13, 1 box of Urza's saga (and I would just buy packs of it after that, [boxes are EXTREMELY hard to find] unless it isn't worth the risk of the packs being left over from a mapped box, then I would buy another box), 1 box of innistrad, 1 box of avacyn, (in my opinion dark ascension has so much crap in it that buying a box doesn't seem worth it compared to the other sets in the block).
My only concern is that I wouldn't be able to find traders looking for anything that I have, since standard is becoming less popular due to legacy growing in popularity.
It would be much appreciated if you could send me your input and thoughts on what I should do, I will reply to all helpful comments. Thanks very much!!
