Pimping is the tradition in the Magic community of attaining hard-to-find foils, foreign cards, and, in most cases, a combination of the two. Pimping your collection has many advantages for those that are brave enough and have the endurance to begin the journey.

Flavors of Pimp

Pimp comes in a variety of forms, and before we talk about acquiring and collecting this unique goodness, we should define what it is in its most common varieties.

Alpha/Beta

We are going to start with my favorite type of Pimp, which is what we will call Original Pimp, and this is classified as original printings of classic cards. For my money, there is nothing nicer than having Alpha or Beta cards in your deck. It’s classy and it anchors your collection in the game's heritage. For Standard collections, Original Pimp is hard to acquire because you are at the mercy of reprints. However, if you want to take your deck up a notch, pick up a handful of Beta basic lands for your collection to add that touch of class that only they can give.

Foreign Languages

Next, we are going to delve into the realm of foreign cards. Foreign cards are a trickier beast to add to your trade binders, as not everyone considers this an upgrade. I have heard many times during a trade, “I don’t like cards I can’t read.” So when you begin trading for this type of Pimp, make sure you understand that it will take a specific type of trade partner to move them again, but when you do find that person, he generally wants them more because of their scarcity.

With that being said, not every language of card is created equal. Generally speaking, cards that have a Latin-based alphabet (in the current languages that Magic is printed in, those would be English, Italian, French, Portuguese, German, and Spanish) are not worth significantly more or less than any other, so you can use the English version of the card for a gauge of what these cards would be worth. There are those that prefer these languages, so keep an eye out for them, as they will pay a premium for these cards.

Next we have Simplified Chinese, which is worth a few dollars less in the retail market, and I have never had anyone approach me looking for Simplified Chinese cards specifically. I would avoid these unless you can get them at a good rate, and even then proceed with caution, as they will be difficult to move again.

Finally we have the Holy Grails of foreign cards, which are Japanese and its lesser known little brother, Russian. Japanese cards have been the long-time king of foreign Magic cards, and because of that notoriety, they have always pulled the highest premium, and will generally add up to 5% to the cards value, and more in in the case of Vintage and Legacy staples. Russian cards, on the other hands, are picking up a lot of steam in the world of Pimp due to its rarity, and its non-Latin-based alphabet. It has the ability to pull the same premium as its Japanese counterpart.

There is one other highly sought-after language, and that is Korean. A little background about Korean cards: They were first printed in Fourth Edition and they have not been printed since Urza’s Saga which means that foil cards and Korean cards did not exist at the same time. This makes Korean cards very popular among the Legacy and Vintage communities, and when they get involved, they create a high premium for sought-after cards. For example, a normal Sphere of Resistance pulls a $4 price tag, a Japanese around $10, and a Korean could easily fetch upward of $50.

Foils

Everyone knows foils are worth more than there dull counterparts, at this comes from their rarity. This is the place most people go when they begin their journey into the world of Pimp. It’s like our gateway drug, and there is little, if any argument that foils add exponential pimp to your collection.

However, when you combine foil and foreign, you create a true monster in the trading world. Many regard a Japanese foil as the King of Pimp, and with good reason. Let’s look at a prime example of this: A normal Goblin Welder has a $10 tag, an English foil gets around $90, while a Japanese foil Goblin Welder pushes close to $300. For reference, that is creeping in on Moxen prices. A more recent example, a Japanese foil Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir tops out at around $100.

Oddities

Magic is a world full of oddities, and anything that is away from the norm will create a premium. I am going to cover a list of the most common:

Miscuts – These when the card is not centered with the borders. Occasionally the miscut is so severe, you can actually see the cards that surround it on the full printed sheet, and these miscuts have a small cult following of people who will trade for these at a premium.

Crimps – This occurs when the machine that seals the booster pack catches a card in the pack and either the top or the bottom of the card has been crimped. This also has a small cult following, and these are generally more rare than miscuts. Crimped foils and tournament staples call for the highest premium.

Squared corners – This is what it sounds like, where the corners of the card were not rounded off and they remain squared.

Blank cards – Blank cards are filler cards from the uncut sheets of cards. These are usually pulled out before they get packed into boosters, but sometimes one slips through. These have taken many different forms throughout Magic’s history. Currently they are a blank card with only the black border and a full Magic back. For a full list of filler cards throughout Magic’s history, see here (and if you have an afternoon to waste, you can check out all sorts of Magic rarities and oddities).

The one warning I have to give about trading for these rarities is that there is a very small market for them, and unless you have an outlet for them, or you are collecting them for yourself, you may be sitting on them for a long time. And beyond that, the price tag on them can fluctuate greatly from person to person, and a card is only worth what you get someone to pay for it. I personally pick up oddities for myself and I keep them in my own collection of cards that do not get traded, so I am less worried about moving them again, which is why I have an interest in them.

Trading

So why did I share all this information with you? I have two words for you: trade cred.

When someone opens a binder and see all sorts of foreign and foil goodness, it gives off the feeling that you may have everything, and if you don’t you could easily acquire it. This is the kind of reputation you want to have in your community of Magic players. You want to be the go-to-guy when someone is looking for a hard to find foil or foreign card, and even if you don’t have it on hand, from your journey of collecting these kinds of cards, you will have connections to be able to get them for the person looking for it.

Being the person people not only want to trade with, but need to in your local area is something you want to try to attain, and this is one stepping stone you need allowing you to reach that goal.

Happy grinding!

JR Wade

JohnRobertWade at gmail dot com

@THEJRRR on Twitter