On the previous chapter I briefly introduced that the machine you were to run your Magic Online stores on was one of the largest initial investments. Thus, I think it is important that you only spend the money you need on this so important device. In this chapter I will give a few tips on how to decide what elements are the most appropriate ones for a computer to install bots Magic Online according to your needs.

Step 1: Shall I use an old PC or a new one?

If you do not have enough money to afford a new one as I discussed in the previous chapter, you can recycle an old one. For me the only advantage is the short-term savings, but some of the drawbacks I see include the following:

• It is more likely that an old PC gets suddenly broken in the short term. Typical desktop systems are used to be voluminous and make a lot of noise due to de forced convection (fans). 
• They have a higher power consumption.
• They are not fast nor they have enough memory to run some Magic Online bots at once. Memory can be easily substituted, but this does not happen with the CPU.

If you have no other option you can use an old PC, but this article will probably not be of much interest for you. However, my suggestion is to buy a dedicated PC. If you choose this option, we will continue evaluating which features your new computer should have.

Step 2: Intel or AMD?

AMD CPUs are significantly evolving over the last years, with up to 12 real cores per processor at the professional range, and APU for the domestic sector. All this new technology is offered at a relatively competitive price compared with Intel, its main adversary.

However, I would choose an Intel processor for a computer which has to run Magic Online bots. The most important reason is the relation between performance, number of cores and the power consumption. It is clear that we always want the fastest speed possible and in this respect both AMD and Intel do a good job, but it is the relation with the power consumption and the number of cores what makes the difference.

Each CPU core will be configured to run a store, so the more we have the more bots we can install on the same computer. It is more likely that you initially only open 1-2 stores, but for a small extra charge I think it’s a good idea to overstate this device, as it is the most expensive and difficult to replace in the future (brands switch the socket of the new CPUs, you have to change the motherboard…)

I want to say that I have had personal experience of AMD CPUs and they usually break sooner than the Intel ones. I guess this is because they consume more and therefore heat up but I could not contrast this assumption with any specialist. With this I mean that although initially AMD could be cheaper, eventually you will have to change it sooner than an Intel. Of course this is my personal experience and maybe some of you have had just the opposite.

Step 3: Barebone as the basis system

The computer will be on 24 hours a day, so one of the main goals consists of minimizing its power consumption to save money on electric bills. Fortunately you do not need the ultimate in performance because you are not going to use the computer for playing. Thus, the best choice for the box+motherboard set is a barebone.

These computers usually lack of fans and overheating because consumption is very low, and they are also smaller than traditional desktop PCs. This is an additional advantage for zero noise (you can place it in the hall and, for example, use it to watch movies on TV) and lower accumulation of dust inside the computer itself.

Although there are many models on the market, I will show you a small list of what are the ones that I would consider buying when replacing my current computer.

Model	Technical Features	Estimated Price
Gigabyte Brix GB-XM1-3537	Dimensions: 29.9×107.9×114.6 (mm) CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3537U (TDP 17W) Memory: Up to 16 GB DDR3 (not included) Hard Disk: mSATA (not included) Connections: 1x mSATA; 1x Wi-Fi; 1x USB 3.0; 1x HDMI; 1x Mini DisplayPort; 1x Ethernet RJ45 Operating System: Not included	539 €
Intel NUC Kit DC53427HY	Dimensions: 39x112x117 (mm) CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-3427U (TDP 17W) Memory: Up to 16 GB DDR3 (not included) Hard Disk: mSATA (not included) Connections: 1x mSATA; 1x Wi-Fi; 1x USB 3.0; 2x USB 2.0; 1x HDMI; 2x Mini DisplayPorts; 1x Ethernet RJ45 Operating System: Not included	378 €
Shuttle Slim DS61	Dimensions: 43x190x165 (mm) CPU: Intel® Core™ i3/i5/i7 (not included) Memory: Up to 16 GB DDR3 (not included) Hard Disk: mSATA (not included) Connections: 1x mSATA; 1x Wi-Fi; 2x USB 3.0; 4x USB 2.0; 1x HDMI; 1x DVI-I; 1x Ethernet RJ45; 1x SD Card Reader Operating System: Not included	200 €
Mac Mini	Dimensions: 36x197x197 (mm) CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3615QM (TDP 45W) Memory: 4 GB DDR3 (optionally up to 16 GB) Hard Disk: 1 TB 5400 rpm (optionally SSD 256 GB) Connections: 1x mSATA; 1x Wi-Fi; 1xBluetooth 4.0; 4x USB 3.0; 1x HDMI; 1x Mini DisplayPort; 1x Thunderbolt; 1xFirewire; 1x Ethernet RJ45; 1x SD Card Reader Operating System: MacOS X	849 €

Prices may have big variations depending on the content. For example, the Shuttle Slim does not include CPU whereas the Mac Mini has RAM and hard drive included, in addition to some extra connectivity and the host operating system license. As I said, I recommend any of these computers with an Intel Core i7, but if you do not have plans to install many shops on the long-term it may be better a barebone like the Intel NUC due to its lower price.

I have not talked about the graphics card because it is not a top requirement to install bots on Magic Online. Besides, you usually do not have to watch the screen of the computer where you install your stores, so it is not something to worry about. In fact, the less this device consumes the better because you will save more energy. The only minimum requirement is to accept a resolution of at least 1280×1024, which almost all current graphics cards of the market allow.

Step 4: RAM memory

Each store will use a minimum of 1 GB of RAM if run under Windows XP , although it is recommendable to have at least 1.5 GB. Each of your stores probably will work with virtualization (we will see what is virtualization in the next chapter of this series), but all virtual systems are managed by another host operating system.

Furthermore, depending on the host operating system, it will require more or less memory. You shall usually leave 2 GB of RAM for Windows 7/8 or MacOS (I even would keep this quantity for usual Linux desktop distributions like Ubuntu). However, there are special operating systems that only serve to manage other virtual systems. These special OS, like ESXi, have a very low memory consumption but only work on computers with a very specific hardware due to the limited number of drivers available. You have a very good series of articles devoted to this operating system through this link.

With these assumptions in mind, I would recommended a minimum amount of RAM of 4 GB (2 for the host OS and another 1.5 for the first store), and 1.5 GB per additional store. As each module of 8 GB can cost around 60 euros, I would suggest you to directly install 16 GB of RAM to have no problems in performance. because this component is one of the most importants to run Magic Online bots.

Step 5: Hard Disk

Some users have studied the impact on performance when using fast or slow hard drives, even by installing virtual machines on the RAM memory. The results indicate that the impact is rather small, so this component is not critical for performance, at least with one bot.

Let me explain the final assertion. The study referenced above is based on the use of a single bot. However, when you have multiple stores on the same computer, the hard disk must probably access to different parts of the disc itself that can slow down your system. In this situation it may be preferable to use Solid State Drives (SSD) over traditional hard drives (HDD) . They are more expensive but the difference is not outrageous. There are also an intermediate solution, the hybrid discs, which are being analyzed by another expert user at MTGO Library.

Anyway, as I have said the hard drive is not as critical as the other components so you can save money in this case. In addition, this device is probably the easiest one to be replaced from the hardware point of view, and obviously after backing up all your data.

Conclusions and some future sight

According to everything we have seen on this article, what computer would best fit your needs? In my opinion the Samsung Brix would be at the top in terms of price-performance ratio. Adding the price of a typical hard disk and all the 16GB RAM it supports, you can install up to 8 stores for around 750€, i.e. less than 100€/store. The Mac Mini can be deceptive at a first sight, but the unofficial memory expansion leaves it pretty close to the price of the Samsung Brix. So, if you are a Mac fan this is definitely your choice. In my opinion, the quality of the assembly and component durability of the Mac Mini cannot be compared with the others, of course if you can afford the extra price.

I have not talked about the new micro-computers of very low consumption like the Raspberry Pi, because unfortunately they use ARM processors. Truth be told, some systems allow installing modified Ubuntus that can run virtualization software, but surely the performance of Magic Online would be insufficient and it is not a real option for the moment.

I don’t want to finish this article without commenting you an option that I find rather curious. It consists of installing Magic Online stores on a Windows tablet Surface Pro. This Tablet/Notebook hybrid has all the requirements for our bots: Windows 8 desktop (allows virtualization), FullHD screen resolution and 4GB memory. The main drawbacks I see for the moment are the high price of this system and its low autonomy. However, the advantage of having no extra equipment for your stores if you use only one tablet at home can be very interesting. Who knows which new technologies are to come that will allow us to install our Magic Online bots…

MTGO Library Bot 5.91 is online!

Hello,

we are glad to announce ML Bot 5.91, the first bot to fully exploit the new wikiprice, available online in one day ! More info will follow... for now just upgrade and your business will thank you :-)

Albert
staff@mtgolibrary.com

Spoilers and the Market

Many Magic the Gathering Stores and Magic Online bot owners pay very close attention to the next set spoilers. This does not happen due to curiosity of any all-new cards coming out but because of possible reprints.








Spoiling a reprint as a immediate impact on the price of older versions and promotional versions of that card, an example of that can be Doom Blade getting reprinted in M14, this causes an instant demand in full art promotional versions of that card which will obviously only go up in price. Because the Promo Doom Blade price wasn't the highest even during the M12, this is not the best example, but if a card such as Mana Leak does get reprinted, the foil promotional versions will hit a massive price rise.

Remember to keep an eye on spoilers!

Buying Big, Selling Big - In Conjunction with Limits

Buying Big, Selling Big

When you are a very small bot looking to make leaps and bounds in growth then you need to be very aware of how you buy and sell high value cards. Last time I spoke about minimizing risks with big cards in an article about what MLBot provides us here. In this article I'd like to discuss what you as a user can do to minimize these risks.

If you run one bot with email reminders and habitually check each trade for continuity and unusual patterns then you’re already in a great position to make money back or even profit on cards you aren’t ready to hold in your bots inventory.

Expanding your horizons

I propose to attentive individuals that instead of limiting your bot to purchase only cards you can afford to retain in inventory that you expand and purchase cards of even the highest value.

Why would you do such a thing? Because big money cards are an easy sell. Suppose your bot buys a card for 20 tickets. You are still a new bot and have very little inventory and the bots purchase ate up your last 20 tickets. You may not want to invest everything in a single card. What if it takes months to sell? Maybe it never sells? What if in the time it takes for you to sell the price drops and you’re actually losing money on that trade? As is often said, never put all your eggs in one basket.

Using your limitations to your advantage

 

Instead of limiting the bot to making only affordable purchases (which will reduce opportunities and possible profits) you expand your limits to encompass all kinds of trades. It can be scary but if you check your trades at least once a day you shouldn’t have to worry about loss.

You don’t want to hold on to the money cards just yet but that doesn’t mean you can’t purchase them. When you make a purchase you are uncomfortable holding onto you may want to assess whether or not the card is in high demand and if you will sell it very quickly. If it’s a card everyone is scrambling to buy up you should be safe to leave it on your bot and expect a trade within hours or days. However, if you anticipate that the card will drop in value or is not flying off the shelves you have another option. You are not the only bot on MTGO and if you are uncomfortable holding onto high value inventory then you are probably not the bot paying the most for money cards.

Instead of purchasing a card and placing it into your bots inventory you can take that card into your own hands and sell it to another bot or another player in the classifieds. Larger bot chains usually are willing to pay more for cards than you would be and they have the buying power and audience to sell cards you wouldn’t normally be able to.

Pros

• Minimize the risks you take in purchasing high value cards.
• You can easily make a small profit by selling to other players or bots directly for very little effort.
• You benefit both your own bot (by increasing the number of tickets you have to buy more cards) as well as benefit larger bot chains who desire to hold such high value cards

Cons

• If someone comes to your bot looking for high value cards they will be disappointed and you may lose a customer

How to remove untradable cards from collection?

I did have some untradable stuff in my collection. Either cards or Avatars which cannot be moved elsewhere what made my collection less lucid. It drove me crazy and my anger was all the time accumulating and accumulating.

However, one day it reached the peak and I exploded like a balloon with too much air inside.

Wholeheartedly, I wanted to get rid of it somehow and the only way that came up to my mind was contacting with WotC customer service. I wrote what was on my mind and to my surprise I received an answer just to send them the billing adress, what was a some kind of verification if it is really me who wrote this message, and they would remove untradable cards from my collection. I did what they asked me to and within 2-3 days untradable cards disappeared. I hope some of you may find this article useful.

Clan Support

Setting Out From The Pack

There is a laundry list of things you can do to set your bot apart from others. It can be tedious at times but you should do your best to apply every advantage you can to improve your relationship with customers. Associating yourself and your bot chain with a prominent MTGO clan can lend some authority and respect to your business.

Clan support gives you a few advantages on competition. Clan members, clan events and a clans reputation all can have an impact on how people view your bot and influence the outcome of trades.

Clan Members

Clan members themselves can be a great source of inventory and sales for your bot. A clan that drafts will have plenty of cards they don’t need and want to offload. Many of them will want to support the clan bot even if it is not the best value for their cards because the spirit of comradely. Why give a faceless bot owner all your good cards when you can help out a clan member and help promote the clan?

Clan Events

Clan events can also lend some credence to your bot chain. By sponsoring or running events with your clan you can expand your sphere of respect to non-clan members. This also draws people to your bot who normally would never have visited.

Clan Reputation

A clan’s reputation also can have an impact on your bots performance. If you have a clan that is notorious for being particularly effective in standard for example, people may notice your bot within the clan and expect that you’ll have a respectable standard inventory. Of course this only introduces people to your bot and you will indeed have to have an exceptional standard inventory to keep people coming, but getting a foot in the door is half the battle.

Picking the right clan for your chain might be a difficult process but it may ultimately help you secure your corner of dominance in the MTGO marketplace. Post your experience with your bot and clan interaction in the comments! We’d love to know what kind of success and failure you’ve had!

Meta after new ban list

I know it's too early to say how meta will exactly look like in the future. Meta-clarification process takes some time, but within these 2 week time we can observe some trends in deck picking. Majority of people cannot be in the wrong. My analysis is based on recent daily events.

Pauper: 
I'd like to remind you that Invigorate, Empty the Warrens and Grapeshot were banned. Invigorate card was used only in Infect decks allowing them to get free +4/+4. As far as I have observed Infect deck without this card is dead deck. In last 7 Dailies there were only 2 Infect decks. Both of them doing 3-1. So, share of meta is exiguous. The Storm is dead too. How to win without a wincon? Cloudpost, MonoU Delver, Stompy, Affinity are definitely dominating. 

Modern:
Here Bloodbraid Elf and Seething Song were banned. Jund evolved. Bloodbraid Elf was replaced with Putrid Leech / Bloodhall Ooze / Kitchen Finks. Jund is not as popular as it was before, but we can't deny Jund is still Jund. The deck is almost as powerful as it was before the bans  Storm, which used Seething Song, didn't survive. Modern meta was always diversified and still is. No noticable trend here. I’m much less happy about the overall lack of stability in Modern, since stability is really what it needed to keep the format healthy.

For us botters, it is important to know which cards are heavily played. Thus, we are able to maximize our profits or at least better manage our stock. For instance, a card which is used in few decks and is heavily played we can set lower margin. In most cases, bigger turnover means bigger profits. In order to have big turnover you need a little bit lower prices than your competition. Contrary to card used only in just one tier2 deck. Such card will stay in our collection for some time until we sell it. You set higher margin here. It is your premium for risk, that this card will drop on value before you manage to sell it.

Motivation

This article will be about motivation. It is a crucial aspect of running business to be fully involved and absorbed in doing what you have to. Especially, old fogeys like me who are doing it for several years.

To be all the time motivated like it was your first day of botting. Do you remember this day? You made big plans, had big hopes and expectationes, saw first profits, but as the time went by you maybe dedicated less time to bots. For instance, updated prices less often.

In this job its imporant to be focused and don't neglect your duties. One month ago we experienced an unpleasant event connected with changing server by Albert. For sure, you did notice that after this break you had less trades than you had normally. It was caused by your absence and if a potential customer cannot get what they want to in this moment from your bot they will get it somewhere else. This situation demonstrates really well what would happen if you had updated your prices once per two days or updated your classifieds message just once a day or go for vacation.

The customer opens a trade with your bot and would like to buy a Snapcaster Mage, because he saw your ad on classifieds, but then he realized that there is no Snapcaster Mage in your collection, because you didn't update classified message. And if you don't have a will to do so now, stop it. Don't force yourself or face with a fact you will never be a successful botter. The conclusion is simple, the more often you pay attention to your bot, the better it is for your business. If you don't pay enough attention your regular customer will migrate to other botters, who are better than you. In this business there is no room for average botters. The competition is too big. Old, good v2 times gone where bots were not as popular as it is in v3. Unless small profits are satisfying you. Remember, providing the lowest prices won't make you number 1. It is all about repeating customers. CardBot has the highest prices, but all his bots are always busy.  Keep it in mind and tell me what are still doing here. Get back to your bot(s)
;)

Duel Deck: Izzet vs Golgari

The new duel deck "Izzet vs Golgari" comes online on September 7. It is exactly the same date as for paper version. These decks contain six new cards from Return to Ravnica. Prolly, the beginners don't read this webstite thus we will not discuss if this duel deck is good for them to start their adventure with Magic, what is the main intention of duel deck, but we will focus on making money. Right away we will answer the question if it is worth investing several tickets to complement your bot inventory. I have checked the declists (click here to see it) and I prepared the list of cards which are worth more than 1 Event Ticket. This list, though a word "list" doesn't suit well here, because it suggest us that it contains at least several listings and that is not quite true. There are 5 positions in alphabetical order: Brainstorm, Eternal Witness, Golgari Grave-Troll,  Life from the Loam, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind. I didn't take into account card Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord because it is from upcoming set Return to Ravnica and it is difficult right now to foresee if there will be any deck built around this card. The listed nuts above are worth about 13 Event Tickets. Therefore, our investment (4x duel deck) will cost us about ~30 Event Tickets (buy prices) and we will get some cards that already exist on MtGO. We freeze our money into not liquid assets. Tell me when your bot last time sold card like Niv-Mizzet. Additionally, for most players there is no difference if they use Eternal Witness card from Fifth Dawn, Theme Deck or Commander. It is only my personal point of view but I don't see why we should buy this specific duel deck, unless your bot politicy is to grant access to every card on MtGO.