"Powering Up"

[Fossil4182]

I'm fairly new to the site and have recently decided to start playing Vintage after a couple of years playing Legacy. I've just about finished tracking down a full set of dual lands and figure if I am going to move formats to Vintage, I would do best to invest in some pieces of power. I've searched the boards and found a couple of really good threads going over some of the basics such as a small purchasing guide http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=23553.0. So in that respect, its been very helpful and insightful, however I still had a few questions to ask....

1. What order, if any, should one purchase power in? I guess this may depend on what deck I decide on playing, but I figure some cards are going to be used far in excess of others.

2. Is it more worth while to invest in semi-power first? AKA Mana Drains, Bazaar of Baghdad, Mishra's Workshop

3. What is a reasonable price range to except for some of these cards? I've looked over the stores and have sat on e-bay watch for about two weeks now, however I still figure asking the people who are involved in the format the most about the cost issue.

Thank you for you're help

[Lemnear]

I invested in engl. Drains first start playing Vintage years ago but was disappointed about the averange use of it (I do so with Bazaar and the Shops too later on  ). You should realize that the semi-power is pretty expensive but most of the time only narrow in the quantity of decks they use it. In my example I grab my 4 Shops and 4 Bazaars to play Uba-Staxx but then meta accelerated into combo and I was no longer competitive and started another deck leaving me with hundreds of dollars/euros of rarely played cards at home, having a hard time to collect the power 9 itself.

Finally I was shocked by the price the the power 9 so I started with semi power regretting this 'till today. As you'll realize that the deck calls for the cards and not the other way round you'll check the averange vintage deck/meta and the fact that almost every non-workshop deck is blue so  I would say that (sounds weired) you'll should start with the most expensive cards first that are also the morst played ones, of course. I would personally rank the cards in strength and quantity of decks they use them.

1. Black Lotus
2. Ancestral Recall (IMO the very best card but in quantity of decks the Lotus is still first)
3. Mox Sapphire (the "on-color" moxen in vintage)
4. Mox Jet (the "on-color" moxen in vintage)
5. Time Walk (best fix-spell in the game)
6. Mox Ruby (the moxen ranked by the averange power of spells in the game in chosen color)
7. Mox Emerald (the moxen ranked by the averange power of spells in the game in chosen color)
8. Mox Pearl (the moxen ranked by the averange power of spells in the game in chosen color)
9. Timetwister (Power 9 sometimes used in Combo)
10. Manadrain (It's blue/counter/mana-advantage)
11. Workshop (Shop calls for expensive artifacs and so a very narrow decktype but still powerfull)
12. Bazaar o. B. (very very narrow but strong use)

The prices are a topic at itself 'cause it varies (here in Germany) very much 'cause of the strength/weakness of the dollar. If you're european you should buy power quickly  with a euro worth about 1,60-1,50 dollar at the moment. So I could not really give you advice but if you need a unlim. Mox Ruby (fine) or any kind/number of semi-power your're welcomed! 

[kaos42069]

What are the tests to prove a fake? I am looking at buying power myself and do not want to get stuck with fakes... Ive heard about a bend test? How is it performed? What do you look for? Someone also mentioned a few other ways to tell. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance, hopefully this isn't a repeat post from other people...but maybe a refresher would be good.... heh a video would be awsome...

[Wagner]

ve heard about a bend test? How is it performed? What do you look for?

The bend test is pretty relyable, I'll let someone else explain it with more details, but remember than when bending a card that is more than 15 years old, that has already been bended a number of time and that may have been exposed to moisture or other, there is real possibility to damage the card.

[Fossil4182]

What are the tests to prove a fake? I am looking at buying power myself and do not want to get stuck with fakes... Ive heard about a bend test? How is it performed? What do you look for? Someone also mentioned a few other ways to tell. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance, hopefully this isn't a repeat post from other people...but maybe a refresher would be good.... heh a video would be awsome...

The link in my post has some info on it, however I would use the search function in the upper right hand corner as well if you're looking for specific posts about how to find fake cards. The link does go over some of the basics on the bend test.

[TR]

Finally I was shocked by the price the the power 9 so I started with semi power regretting this 'till today. As you'll realize that the deck calls for the cards and not the other way round you'll check the averange vintage deck/meta and the fact that almost every non-workshop deck is blue so  I would say that (sounds weired) you'll should start with the most expensive cards first that are also the morst played ones, of course. I would personally rank the cards in strength and quantity of decks they use them.

I second this opinion heartily. You should look at what kind of decks you like to play and also at what power cards that deck can operate with. Also remember that semi power cards usually come in sets of four so playing with shops can be more expensive than getting a Lotus or ancestral while narrowing down the decks you can play a lot more.

I would seriously advise against buying a Lotus first, simply based on a cost per viable deck analysis. Sure, a Lotus fits in anywhere, but in my opinion a fish deck with a lotus is a worse deck than the same deck with Ancestral and a Sapphire. Buy the Ancestral first and then a blue mox. This opens a vast array of fish decks that you can start playing. Adding an Emerald after that opens Oath and fish with goyfs.  After that, Jet opens Tog and black in general. This is the earliest point I would consider buying a Lotus. The power of the Lotus is increased exponentially in decks that abuse Will and without the Will Lotus is more of a one trick pony and I would most likely choose Timewalk over it in a tight spot.

If you like control more than combo, get a Ruby instead of Emerald and go Control Slaver. This route means that next you will probably want to get the Lotus since the Welders enhance it's power. I personally took the other route because more interesting strategies opend up with more gradual investment.

[Lemnear]

How to find out fake cards? Guess via ebay and co. you'll do pretty hard. I would never consider buying power without having real powerpieces in my hand. If you take a close look you'll realize the paper quality of the unlimited cards and the double printed boarders of alpha and beta. If you have had several power in hand you'll see a fake from half a mile away.

The bendtest bould be pretty expensive if done wrong so I'll never sold a mox to players wanting me to hand it to them for a banedtest especially if this would be the first powerpiece they buy. To perform it you bend the diagonal corners of a card carefully together so the card makes a smooth curve then release and look at the card ... mtg cards are made of 2 parts ... a backpart and a frontpart fixed together ... fakers often take the original back and a faked frontpart and glue them together ...  the bendtest will make small waves on the front of a faked card 'cause the glue has lower quality. Only original cards will survive a well done bendtest without harm.

I myself bought my complete betapower after bend but that needs lots of patience and trust of both ... the seller and the buyer