As you're reading this, States is less than 48 hours away. For seasoned veterans of the State Championship series, the most fun tournament of the year needs no introduction. For those new to the Champs, a brief explanation is in order. Each year, shortly after the release of the newest large set, a Standard tournament takes place in every state throughout the USA. Aside from bragging rights, of course, the first place finisher receives a unique prize - free entry to all premiere events for the coming year! That includes Grand Prix and PTQs. Despite this lucerative prize, the tournament isn't packed with pro players and sharks as you might imagine. Quite the opposite - States is easily one of the most fun, laid-back tournaments on the Magic calender, and it attracts a great mix of players.

If you're planning to play at States as well as trade cards, there are some very important steps to take before you depart on Saturday morning. If you're just going to trade and play some side events, you can skip the steps meant for the players.

Finish Your Deck & Register It!

There are deck registration sheets available on the internet, so fill out your deck list the night before. This will give you about an extra half hour of precious barter time. Make sure you have every card you need - main deck and sideboard. You don't want to be digging for a card at the last minute. The most important thing to remember is that you've got limited time before the event starts. You'll have plenty of time to do these things the day before. Tomorrow's FNM is the best time to get the cards for your deck, NOT the morning-of!

Sleep Shower and Eat!

If I have to explain why good hygiene is important, you should call your mother and ask her to raise you right. Simply put, no one wants to trade with smelly people. Get cleaned up nicely, and put on some decent clothes. You don't have to go all Cedric Philips and suit up for States, but no one would fault you for ironing your shirt. It all helps generate the appearance of someone who has his/her act together, which helps you generate better deals.

Sleep is underrated. Get at least 6-8 hours, or whatever your normal functioning amount may be. Everyone says this. No one DOES this. Do not stay up late testing or trading, and heaven forbid you stay out late drinking. Really, don't. You can have some brews with your friends when you top 8. You want to be sharp and keen-eyed when trading and playing, so no matter your goal, get to bed!

Eating well is really under-rated as well. A steady supply of light snacks throughout the day will ensure you keep your focus razor-sharp. I suggest bringing some granola bars and some fruit, but a few bags of chips will suffice if you're so inclined. Just don't subject your body to huge swings of feast and famine - it'll ruin your concentration.

Know the Format

I don't mean know it to play it. You should know the format so you know what cards to bring and what cards to showcase. What follows is a list of some of the most important cards to be packing. Don't forget that people will trade and pay well for commons and uncommons, so be sure to review the popular decks online and bring some playsets of commons. You never know when someone will pay $2 for a set of Blightnings. You want to get a small binder together that people trying to finish decks can flip through quickly. This is NOT the event for your 5" thick EDH binder!

• Baneslayer Angel - The Queen Bee of standard. It's possible that the dealers at the site may not have any, so if you're the only one with Baneslayers in the room, the price is yours to name.
• Bloodbraid Elf - Someone's going to audible into Jund at the last minute and isn't going to have copies of the staple commons and uncommons handy. You can turn a set of Bloodbraids into a lot of money or cards if you find the right person.
• Bituminous Blast - See Bloodbraid Elf. In fact, you should just put together as many copies of Jund, minus the rares, as you can.
• Ranger of Eos - A few decks in the format, like Mono White and Boros are running four Rangers. They're getting harder to find now that Alara isn't being drafted anymore.
• Crypt of Agadeem, Extractor Demon, Hedron Crab - "That Stupid Graveyard Deck" is actually a legitimate deck. It's got great matchups against the field and it's Japanese! Everyone loves Japanese Tech. Crypts are usually easy to find, but Extractor Demons are less-so. Most people probably haven't pulled them from their Crap Rare boxes yet, but they're a key card in a legitimate deck. Hedron Crab is an essential uncommon, and should follow the same rule as Bloodbraid Elf.
• Emeria Angel - She's seeing a lot more tournament play, in assorted decks from Worlds. People may not have their playsets yet, so if you bought in cheap States is a great place to unload.
• Noble Hierarch - This card should be on your radar to acquire as well. They've become very hard-to-find of late, and a number of decks are running 4 copies. Most notably, Naya Lightsaber, which took down the World Championship. That deck's sure to be popular, so Hierarchs will follow suit.
• M10 Duals - No one ever has enough rare dual lands. It's a sad fact of Magic. Being the guy with extra duals is always profitable. Focus on Dragonskull Summit and Rootbound Crag to help fill out Jund decks, but bear in mind that Sunpetal Grove is in the Naya deck and the Bant deck, Drowned Catacombs is in the Dredge deck, and some versions of UW control are sure to be out there as well.
• Master of the Wild Hunt - Now a pricey Mythic rare, the wolf factory is essential to modern Jund. Have at least a playset on-hand.

Planeswalkers are always popular, but most traders will only care about the tournament-worthy ones. Elspeth is in some Boros builds, Ajani Vengeant is in Naya Lightsaber, Garruk is in Jund, Nissa is in Mono-Green (which seems to have dwindled in popularity a great deal), and Tezzeret is an alternate win condition for the turbofog decks in which Jace Beleren also makes an appearance. The others can probably be traded, but will not be in nearly as much demand.

Once you've got all the tournament-level cards separated out, including as many spare playsets of commons and uncommons as you can find, throw them all in a binder and sort them by deck archetype if possible. This will make your trades lightning-fast. In many cases, an offer that would usually be considered a bit high will be accepted quicky. People are more concerned with finishing their decks than they are with saving a few dollars, and that's your opportunity to profit.

Overall, States is a heck of a lot of fun! I'll be attending for the first time since the format was Onslaught Block and Mirrodin and trying to beat my previous best of 10th place. If any of my readers are at Indiana States down in Indy, be sure to stop me and say hey! I look just like my picture, except with spikey, mohawk-ish hair. Best of luck, and happy trading!