With The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth prerelease weekend squarely in the rear-view and Release Party Weekend coming up, we continue our discussion about this set and what we saw this past weekend.

We break down what we saw at an LGS level and what the current slate of products, including the Doctor Who Universes Beyond, means. The cost implications, churn, and player attention span all impact this set and combined with what we're seeing at the LGC level, shape the outlook and how we handle things.

Episode 241 - The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Aftermath

Welcome to the Cabal. It's not all fun and games and there's not always infinite profit. We hustle, we grind, we're data driven and honest about what we do.

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Leisure

Instead of looking back at the picks we have made this year, we look back at all of our picks for some of our worst performers.

We discuss why we picked them, what has changed regarding that context, the future of the card, and, most importantly, the lessons we have leaned from each pick.

We need to be held accountable and it's about time.

Episode 288 - All Time Worst Picks

From Magic to Pokemon from Lorcana to Flesh and Blood, organized play systems can be the backbone of competitive games. With the multitude of changes to the Magic Organized Play system we thought it was time to discuss where we are, where we were, and where the competition is.

This allows us to take a step back and see, as an LGS or a vendor, where we want to spend our time, effort, and money. Should we be chasing one Organized Play system or another because that's where the money is for both us and players, and what elements make for a successful Organized Play system that would entice both players and vendors to show up and show out.

Join us this week as we discuss the various Organized Play systems offered by a number of games and talk about their upsides, downsides, lessons to learn, and reasons to engage with them as an LGS and a vendor.

Episode 287 - Organized Play Systems Comparison

Obviously Magic as a game play system is complex and deep but between the game itself and the ecosystem it has created there exists a number of avenues for things to change or improve.

We started with a the simple idea of "identify" a few things surrounding that game, within the control of WotC that would fix, or improve, Magic the Gathering.

It could be as simple as "bring back From the Vaults" or as complex as "update an underlying core concept of the game engine", anything we thought needed to be identified, addressed, and discussed with thought and purpose.

Episode 286 - How Would We Fix Magic?

In the past we've discussed the utility of "hot lists" and generic buy lists as backpackers, vendors, and at the LGS level; effectively all levels of the singles selling ecosystem. Their importance to the health and growth of any business cannot be understand.

But what we have not discussed is the importance of making your buylist available and visible to people in an online fashion. Why would you want to maintain a digital footprint like this? What benefits does it afford you?

This week, we remedy our errors and take a look at the importance of an online buylist.

Episode 285 - The Power of an Online Buylist

Yeehaw... This week we look at Outlaws of Thunder Junction.

So saddle on up and hear us spin yarns about tales from out yonder. What cards do we think are prices well? Which are priced poorly? What's a "case" and how do we solve it, or do they even matter? What's a mole god?

Episode 241 - The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Aftermath

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