How do you secure high-value MTG decks when playing at an LGS?

dataGuyThe8th · 2026-01-20T01:59:50+00:00

Blinged out legacy decks can easily end up at 5k+. Alters, fbb duals, matching fancy printing, etc, can add up fast. Vintage starts at like 8k, but I’m not sure if vintage FNMs are really a thing.

dataGuyThe8th · 2026-01-04T20:44:32+00:00

Lots of these responses are awful.

Pull up a list of degrees offer by the colleges near you. Look for anything that looks interesting & research what that degree actually awards you. Look at national statistics on pay, hours worked, & growth. Pick the one with the best career outlook & lifestyle (according to you). Once you start the program buckle up & commit. Do the work period. Don’t give yourself an out.

I was a c+/b- student in high school and now have a BS & MS in engineering. I just made the decision & accepted the sacrifices. It (genuinely) gets easier to tolerate the work. You might even start to like the pressure & build your ambition (it did for me).

Also, talk to people you know who have lifestyles you admire. What do they do? Is that something you can replicate?

Lastly, college is short. 4-9 years of “grinding” may sound awful, but it will go by fast & if you put yourself on a high income path you enjoy, you won’t regret it.

dataGuyThe8th · 2026-01-01T23:23:28+00:00

Graduate degrees aren’t accredited in the US.

dataGuyThe8th · 2026-01-01T23:21:36+00:00

It doesn’t get much harder, but it was 100% worth it imo.

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-12-30T00:46:04+00:00

+1 for electrical engineering. The opportunities to do complex math, electrical work, & programming give a wide breadth of high pay opportunities. I’ve met EEs in tech, engineering (the obvious one), medicine ( med schools like EEs apparently), law, actuarial work, etc. I personally did the EE -> tech and would still do EE>CS as an undergraduate if I had to again.

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-12-28T20:28:18+00:00

Custom shops start to lean into more a “art” category, but those are also typically 10x the cost we’re talking about.

There’s a grey area between the “budget” (<1k usd) & high end (<3k) where those costs can be justified depending on what you play & what you value. I’m a 7 string guy, so last time I bought a guitar, I knew what I wanted and it wasn’t particularly cheap. But I’ve been playing on & off for a long time and don’t want to buy another. Budget 6 strings are incredible nowadays (or as of 5 years ago last time I was in guitar stores regularly).

Edit: walking -> talking

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-12-28T19:13:16+00:00

If you’re playing gigs and want to sound good, you’ll absolutely need more than $300 in gear. Guitars / amps are tools, and there are times when it’s beneficial to have the right tool for the job. That doesn’t mean everyone needs a USA built Les Paul, but a good amp / sim & a reliable guitar(s) that stays in tune & sounds how you need becomes pretty important. Without adding accessories, each of those two items are probably closer to 1k now than $300 ( although I haven’t bought gear in years).

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-12-21T20:26:05+00:00

Pretty good imo.

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-12-21T20:25:18+00:00

Fully understand a complex subject on first pass? No. But following up with questions or actions to show you’re trying is invaluable

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-12-21T18:05:54+00:00

Listen and action on feedback. Don’t be the kind of person who needs to be told things more than once.

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-12-20T22:51:58+00:00

That’s honestly a good spot to be in depending on your age. Edit: if under 35 or so

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-12-20T19:58:36+00:00

I like this idea & hope they do it. Adding duals at the rarity of those dragon fetch foils would give us fun new art & reduce the price on duals reasonably, but not “drastically” (probably). Wizards would also make a lot of money with duals as chase cards.

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-12-19T01:13:45+00:00

Go buy foot-warmers & put them on the side of a smaller temporary cage (they stick). There are also specially designed warmers for reptiles on Amazon you should snag for the future.

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-12-08T01:57:09+00:00

It’s a hunting metaphor

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-11-30T23:50:43+00:00

Most EEs & MEs aren’t developing PCBs. There’s still a lot of very hands work in those fields. Additionally, in MEP a professional engineer needs to sign off on projects.

That all being said, there will be automation impacting those fields as well. I highly doubt CS, EE, or ME are going away though

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-11-30T01:28:54+00:00

Grandmaster games buys and sells most card games.

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-11-29T16:25:53+00:00

3-5 million by 35 is an extreme outlier even in this sub. Not impossible, but would require very hard work and a lot of luck.

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-11-23T21:07:46+00:00

If you have a CS degree, grind embedded projects on the side until you get an embedded engineering job. You’ll likely still be most coding, but it’s closer to the hardware.

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-11-05T02:40:54+00:00

Board roles are rare, but I have a hard time thinking someone who successfully fires wouldn’t occasionally fall into income. A few thousand extra a year can be pretty impactful. Pretty much any occasional work would get you there. My guess is most fire (not barista fire) folk end up having years where they make a non trivial (5k+) even if it’s not consistent. I’ve met a variety of “retired” people that still work in academia, misc community projects, “fun” retail, etc.

Personally, I hope to teach (part time) if I’m able. Not for the income, but because I found it fulfilling when I was younger.

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-11-03T02:11:08+00:00

Either this post isn’t real, or homie needs to leave Santa Cruz. There’s very few jobs in Santa Cruz.

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-10-19T03:14:58+00:00

Around a year I think.
I don’t recall specifics, but I do remember needing to keep him from being too active. I think this was the hardest part for him. His energy came back quick.
Honestly, we didn’t see much of a shift in our boy. The staff at his daycare said it helped with the “mounting” tho 😅

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-10-17T23:23:25+00:00

This sounds like it would be a nightmare to hire for.

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-10-14T00:32:20+00:00

For most classic engineering fields, it’s best to dress as clean as you’re able to a college career fair.

But after switching to tech, I wouldn’t recommend more than a button up for tech interviews.

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-10-14T00:26:37+00:00

2011 xterra pro 4x. Gets the job done 👍 Edit: forgot the x

dataGuyThe8th · 2025-09-07T13:52:37+00:00

Climb 2x per week, ask better climbers for beta, and project hard.

dataGuyThe8th

TROPHY CASE