Post #4: The Magic of Friendship

Yes, that's me (left) holding Force of Will and Sean, fellow admin of MTG Casual Net (right), holding a Jace, the Mind Sculptor. What's with the goofy faces and gleeful smiles? That's me, breaking my playset of Jace tms. I spent about a year trying to find good deals and good trades to build that playset. Those 4 copies of Jace were like a trophy to hard work and the mindset of completing a challenge I had set for myself. I've been very reluctant to trade a Jace away, event though I know I could get good value out of it. What happened?

At fnm today, after playing some games and slow trading, I was about to get up and look for trades and head out. Sean and his roommate were about to join me when someone approached us asking for trades. I agreed and searched through his binder to find a Force of Will. I asked if the FoW was for trade and suprisingly, he said it was. In 4 years of playing magic, I don't think I've ever seen anyone have a FoW for trade. Plus, the card is so old, there aren't many copies of it in circulation. I immediately jumped on it and offered to work something out if he found something in my trades. He looked and to my dismay, saw nothing. I asked what he was looking for and he responded with Avenger of Zendikar. I knew my good friend, Sean, had one for trade and just looked in his direction. He took a second, and pulled out his binder without a word. I asked this guy how much he valued FoW, he responded with $50. Fifty.. dollars. Normally, I would be like 'heck no!, 50 bucks for a card?!' But, FoW is one of the biggest cards in Legacy and has been on the rise for many years. I've wanted one for almost two years and have talked about it for a while. I asked what else he was looking for. He responded with Sword of Fire and Ice. Damn. 

I didn't have one on me, but to get FoW, that would have been a good trade. I looked blankly at the ceiling and thought, wow, this might be the only chance to get this card. Sean paused for a minute and sent me a text saying 'how badly do you want this card.' I responded with 'pretty badly.' He did something crazy. He took the Sword of Fire and Ice out of his deck that he had been working on for 3 months, and put it on the table towards the trade. I was almost speechless. What is he doing? We looked up the value of Sword and settled on $40. After some discussion, the FoW owner agreed to the trade of Sword + Avenger for FoW. The moment just moved so quickly. I blinked, then there was a FoW in my hands. After the transaction, Sean said 'this is your graduation gift.' I said 'no way, ask the store owner (of Mega Gaming and Comics) if he has a sword and I'll buy it for you right now.' He retorted with 'how about put it towards the Jace we had been discussing?' I happily agreed.

Sean has wanted Jace, the Mind Sculptor for a long time. I've been discussing with him about a trade and unfortunately, I just couldn't part with the trophies I worked so hard to get. I don't think it was getting the FoW that made me part with it, but the fact that my friend was willing to put a very important piece of his deck towards a trade, for me. I don't know many people that would do something like that and I was honored. I'm glad that I could help a friend get his first Jace and at the cost of breaking a playset, that seems ok to me. I'm glad that Jace went into good hands; and Sean, you earned it. 

Magic is not just a game about cards and values. Having friends to support you, magic related or not. I think a big lesson behind today, is that we should all care for each other. Regardless of a trade being bad or good. Or keeping a card or not. A game is no fun unless we enjoy it with people we care about. 

Here was the final trade: