Most players focus on Standard when building their collection at first. Why? Standard is the most common FNM format and the most accessible format to new players. Because of this, the values of cards are widely known and understood and prices in stores are usually kept up-to-date. If we travel back in the game's history a few years, prices get a lot more hazy. Outside of dedicated Legacy players, few know accurate values of older cards. While Legacy singles may be more difficult to move, there is usually a good cash market for them on the internet.

Pretend you're looking through a Bulk Box at a local card store in which commons are 10 cents and uncommons are 25. You see a few good cards along the lines of:

[deck align="center"]3 Priest of Titania

3 Wirewood Hivemaster

2 Wirewood Symbiote

5 Daze[/deck]

That's about 2 bucks by the bulk pricing scheme. Do you have any idea what those cards are worth? $5? $10? How much can a few commons and uncommons really cost?

How's $30 sound? Yep, those 13 cards are all worth at least $2 each. Priest of Titania, a common from Urza's Saga, clocks in at $5 in NM condition, and a similarly high $4.25 in played shape. You see, most newer players never had a chance to play with those cards when they were in Standard. People who don't focus on Extended will likely have no idea how good the Wirewood Symbiote was at generating extra mana, or realize that Daze is often a hard counter in Legacy. In addition, it's been a long time since those cards were relevant to the Standard format and so many dealers would not have had reason to pull them from the Bulk Box.

This is where some really ridiculous deals can happen. Many dealers and game stores have these unsorted boxes of older cards, and unless the store is focused on selling Magic singles, they will probably never sort through these boxes. Next time you go to a game store, take a half an hour beforehand to peruse online prices of some older sets. Some cards that look otherwise unremarkable can be worth well more than the dime, quarter or nickel you may have to pay for them. A few of note, with average prices:

• Sea Drake - Portal II Uncommon - $40
• Chain Lightning - Legends Common - $12.50
• Mountain - Arabian Nights Common - $20
• Aether Vial - Darksteel Uncommon - $6
• Crystalline Sliver - Stronghold Uncommon - $6
• Enlightened Tutor - Mirage Uncommon - $7
• Goblin Lackey - Urza's Saga Uncommon - $8
• Isochron Scepter - Mirrodin Uncommon - $6
• Personal Tutor - Portal Uncommon - $10
• Standstill - Odyssey Uncommon - $7
• Wasteland - Tempest Uncommon - $12.50
• Ancient Tomb - Tempest Uncommon - $5

Some of these, like Wasteland, might be common knowledge, but many people are still shocked to find out that Standstill, a middling card in Standard, is now a Legacy staple worth more than 90% of the cards in Zendikar. Review a price guide before you go out next and it's almost assured that you'll find some hidden treasures in the stacks of unsorted miscellany.

When it comes to rares in older formats, the facts remain the same. Some rares, which were popular in Standard, are now worth 2-3 times as much. In some cases, a former crap rare has risen to stardom and is now worth 10-20 times as much as it was. Cards like City of Traitors, which was never an expensive card when it was new, are worth $15 due to their ability to ramp out tons of artifact mana.

Although they are very difficult to find, foil copies of Legacy staples are very expensive and can be a tremendous bargain when you locate one. Tinker, normally a $4 uncommon, clocks in at $20 when you foil it out. Misdirection, the Force of Will style Deflection, weighs in at $60 for the foil copy, $120 of that foil is Japanese. While most dealer have some awareness that foil rares are more valuable, you might find a 60 dollar rare marked as 20. It might not be as good as finding a foil Tinker in the dollar bin, but tripling your money or acquiring a real treasure of the game for 66% off is nothing to scoff at.

Knowledge is everything when it comes to making savvy trades and acquisitions. Make sure you research the prices of older sets and their foil versions before going to a tournament, game store, or convention. Some of the most explosive deals can be found in collections of older cards, and these kinds of trades can really catalyze the growth of a collection. Until next week, leave a comment below with some of your experiences and lucky finds when digging through unsorted cards!