In certain circles, I am known as the Warren Buffet of cardboard games. The U.S. billionaire investor may make a little more spare change than the Kingpin, but you can't really argue with the striking similarity in our methodology. Well, maybe you can, but that would defeat the whole point of my interesting analogy.

Over the last 6 sets, I have invested wisely in my cardboard stocks. I have bought when the prices were low and sold or traded when the prices were high. While some folks deal in the fancy loot cards and flashy world of scratch-off codes, I began my humble beginnings in blue and purple ink. One of the most outstanding aspects of a trading card game is the fact that the cards are collectable. The have various values and you can spend your spare time hunting for Illidan or hunting for bargains on the web. These days, you can find me nearly every weekend with my trade binders sprawled across a local game store table. I broker trades for two or three rare cards when players desire a chase epic. When I am not engrossed in real life Warcraft trading, you might find me monitoring the virtual world for basement bargains.

The Trader-Collector Spectrum

The values of collections rise and fall. When new cards come out, nearly everyone is looking to assemble their new favorite cards. There are many types of gamers, collectors, and consumers of Warcraft cardboard. I have met folks who simply buy to game. These minimalists search out rare copies of very few cards when they have grown tired of running proxies in play testing. Often you can find these folks scouring the tournament scene in the hour before an actual sanctioned event either trying to barter for the last pieces of their deck or offering some sort of interest free loan program in hopes of using the cards for an event.

Even more players can be found in the group of gamers that crack a bunch of packs and search the world over to fill in the blanks on their wish list. These players do not need every card, but definitely try to snatch up the play sets of things that look interesting, playable or potentially powerful. Most people I know fall into this category. This keeps the game fun. There are always things that you could add to your collection and always an inclination to trade in search of great deals.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the completionists. These players want 4 copies of every single card ever made and they typically want them in numerical order. Everyone has met one of these guys. They have separate binders for each set and have idiosyncratic ways of knowing what cards they still need and how many spare copies might be messing up the Karma of their organized binders. These guys can be a value seeker's best pal. They don't value that fifth copy very much and usually hunt for things that other folks don't really want. If you can form a symbiotic relationship with a completionist, you might end up with a very valuable collection.

The final types of collectors and gamers on my trader spectrum are unique and rare personalities. Occasionally, you land a thematic player who only likes a certain class. There is the type of collector that aims for all of the Extended Art and promo materials, and the Fort Knox that has somehow amassed all of the most rare and desirable cards the game has to offer. You might find three binders of Leeroy Jenkins or thirty-three pages of shiny raid deck treasure cards, crafted cards and scratch offs. We have all run into players that have these rare interests. I like these guys and like to refer to them as the specialists.

One Half Prospect, One Half Play Test

Wherever you fall on the spectrum, you might want to buff up your collecting, trading and prospecting skills. If you have tons of valuable cards, then you will have lots of fuel to meet any goals that you have. If you have none, then you will have to join a gypsy band of gamers and try to borrow all of the cards for the next 100 events. Don't be that guy!

Prospecting for cards can be tricky. I have a good buddy that takes a lot of time at the beginning of each set. He looks over the cards, watches the eBay markets and checks his Starcity.com singles list regularly. When he sees what he perceives as a great deal, he jumps on it. However, he typically buys pretty high and tends to sell and trade low. For example, when the Blade of Wizardry hit the market, it was cashing in for nearly 22.00 USD. If you bought a play set, then you would be paying about 88 bucks for the epic chase cards. However, if you waited a couple of months, you can now scoop them right here at Starcitywow for 12.50 USD. By waiting for the card to cool, you can likely snatch a really great bargain.

It is very important to assess the “instant playability” of the card in question. Will it fit right into a popular deck or inspire a very powerful new deck type within the first month? If so, then you go ahead and pay the price. The magic happens when you are right and the cards actually become more valuable! In the Servants of the Betrayer set, there were several cards that gained value over time. Great rare cards are often outstanding bargains in the beginning days after a release. The Bringer of Death could be purchased for 9.00 USD in December. Now they are easily selling for 20.00 USD. At the time of this article, Starcity has a list price of 20 dollars and is “sold out.” If you scooped up multiple copies in December, you could have more than doubled your money over time.

The key is one part prospecting and one part play testing. Prospecting involves finding the good rares, locating popular effects, weapons and allies that will make a huge impact on the game. The second part requires some play to find out if the new cards will fit in decks that are tournament viable and will survive in a metagame. The Bringer of Death was a very powerful card, but it was made playable in the discard Priest deck and some Warlock builds that stormed the top tables. In contrast, the Freezing Band is a massively powerful effect, but did not find a place in a viable deck with large scale success. These power and playability drive the demand and the rarity and availability drive the supply. If you are looking for rares or epics from a sold out set, then you might have quite an expensive task in front of you. Check out some of the prices for cards like Shadowfiend, Moonfire, and Morlug. Those cards are maintaining a high value due to a very limited supply.

Looking Back to Betrayer

I write an article like this when each new set drops. In my last, big money rare article, I mentioned some potential cards that you might want to check out and purchase before they skyrocketed. The list included Marksman Glous, Form of the Serpent, and Ripped Through the Portal. Each of these cards doubled in value over time. Glous is worth over 10.00 USD, Form is over 9 and Ripped is over 6. I neglected the Voidfire Wand which is worth about 11 and overestimated the value of Survival Instincts. If you would have taken my advise and purchased 2 play sets of each card mentioned in my hot list for the Betrayer, you could now sell those cards and would have made 56 USD. For an investment of 132.00 USD you would have walked away with 188.00 USD in your pocket. If you followed my advice in December on The Bringer of Death, you would have invested 80.00 and walked away with 160.00 USD.

It is important to remember that much of this is pure speculation, but after some play testing you can find out for yourself which cards will be the proverbial “sure things.” The best epics are always amazing. Look at the values of Ishanna and Varimathris. Each of those cards has maintained value. Ishanna is one of the hottest cards in the game and has become a cult classic chase card. Let's take a look at some of this sets brightest stars.

Treasure Hunting for Illidan

Let's have some fun with this. We will break the set down into near sure things, possible moneymakers, and the long-shot-high payoff potential cards. You might want to diversify your approach with each of these categories.

Near Sure Things

The Mage class landed a huge boost. I am almost certain that either Water Elemental or Blast Wave will be a huge money card. The problem is that if one card is a sure thing the chance that the other will be a sure thing sharply decreases because they are both specific to Mage talents of Frost and Fire. If the Frost deck is the metagame pick, then the Fire deck will likely have to wait for its time in the sun. However, both cards seem to pack money making potential. Blast Wave will likely be a bit cheaper and might even fall into the long-shot category.

Azaloth should be both popular in the Ripped Through the Portal deck and should carry mass appeal with both tournament and casual players. He is huge. There have never been 50/50 stats and this guy poses some entirely new ways of winning games. He is neutral and can be played by numerous factions making his playability and popularity potential increased. I think he will be a fun and profitable card. He should also make Ripped Through the Portal more valuable.

My final pick for initial great investments would fall on the Band of the Inevitable. I would go ahead and purchase a play set of these and would begin hording these back for a later date. They are like a soft version of the Bringer of Death for classes that can't use the card. Keep in mind that they are not going to be as valuable as the Bringer, but should make decks and side deck inclusions for some time if the classes for intended use are popular. I think that Druid is a house and should keep this card afloat until Shaman steps back up.

Retainer's Blade is like an evolution of the Perdition's Blade. Blades that deal only 2 might become less popular, but this baby will take down an ally when it is destroyed. That seems good and should spur the card through the theoretical sense. Good play testing will allow us to know if the card will, in fact, be a valuable card. I think Rogue will be a playable class in the future and should use cards like these.

Possible Moneymakers

The ranged theme could be really solid if it takes off. The deck seems to have a great deal of support as you read through the spoiler list. If the cards come together, they will likely flourish on the backs of either Master Marksman McGee or the Elder Huntsman Swiftshot. These cards got me thinking about the ranged damage on certain allies and some pretty good ones are among the ranks. I really like the Alliance options and would imagine these guys fitting into a deck somewhat like Kavlai the Uplifting fit into the old Draenei rush builds.

Epics are tricky. The typically start off at pretty high prices. Most drop and a very few skyrocket. Collidus the Warp Watcher joins cards like Azaloth, Akama, and Maieve Shadowsong as potential gainers. However 3/5 of the cards in this group will likely tank. Collidus seems like you could build a pretty good end game deck that might get far ahead and stay ahead in an environment filled with allies. I think solo will remain on the decline and this guy could be a sleeper. The other epics are really fancy, but I would be cautious. My back-up pick is Maieve. With that many keywords, she seems bound for play.

The Lightwarden's Band might get some instant play in an environment filled with Alliance decks packing Myriam Starcaller. The only thing better than an ally that inspires another ally is a ring that does the same thing. It is just a shame that more classes can't use the card. It could have been a gold mine!

High Instructor Campbell rounds out the list. If trait specific cards are playable, then he will find a place on the alliance roster. I was excited to see a card advantage, come-into-play effect on an Alliance character. Many of the best alliance drops have had solid come into play effects. Parvink was a staple for months due to her ability. Now you could have a card advantage curve of Parvink to Campbell pulling back cards like Blast Wave or other talent spec goodies.

Long Shots

1. Lexicon Demonica
2. Mind Flip
3. Overkill

Lexicon Demonica reminds me of the Freezing Band. It is clearly powerful, but only a certain type of deck would just slip it in. It will need some careful thought, but could be a nice card in time.

Mind Flip reminds me of the other Priest abilities that take allies. The abilities clearly look great. However, they will need a strong deck to support their play and Priest seems to be most successful in Discard at present. This would be a nice trick to play with Shadowfiend. I believe you attack with the 2-cost, ready a resource and then steal an ally on turn 4 giving them the fiend that just pops back to your hand. If it was instant, then the card would be a ton better. As it stands, it requires a specific set up, board state, and many things could go wrong.

Overkill might be amazing. It does a ton for a single card but I am unsure if there are enough Finishing Move abilities at this time to make the card a house. As the game grows, this card might develop into a quite threat. As it stands, Gut Shot and Eviscerate are some of the only playable finishing moves. Can you think of the last game in which you had 3 Gut Shots in your graveyard and needed another card to help you win the game? It might be good but only time and metagame will tell.

The key to making great trades and landing solid bargains is one part prospect and one part play testing. If you neglect either aspect then you might miss out on some great finds. There are likely no Bringer of Death level cards in this set. I don't imagine that many of the rares will peak over 20 bucks but I do think there is a good collection of 10-dollar cards that will be found at a lower cost. The key is to buy low and sell or trade high. If you are the guy with 20 pages of Chromie, then you have no idea what I am saying. For the rest of you, best of luck building your cardboard portfolios. Use the forums to talk about the cards I missed and which will be the hottest of the set.

Jeremy Blair has changed his name to Kingpin. Eventually he will just go by Pin and then will just be known by the Horde symbol. Comments and hot picks to Tampakingpin@yahoo.com . Thanks.