Why do people like foreign cards? - Magic Online Trading League Bulletin Board

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Author	Topic: Why do people like foreign cards?
Skwirlnutz Member	posted December 21, 2011 08:24 AM I never understood why someone thinks it's cool to have a card they personally cannot read. Why do people like them so much?
anklbreka20 Member	posted December 21, 2011 08:27 AM Other than the fact that the foreign printings are more rare, I personally like Korean, Japanese, and Russian because the writing looks like art. I also like Chinese because I can read it, so I find it interesting how they interpret the different abilities and such.
Bagbokk Member	posted December 21, 2011 09:50 AM I like the look of the text. I couldn't care less about the rarity. That's actually part of why I actually don't like Japanese quite that much, though I still like it better than English. I like consistency, so having Kanji/Hiragana/Katakana all on the same card kinda sucks. Korean looks much better to me. The only reason I wouldn't play with all Korean cards or something similar is that I haven't actually played Magic in forever and would need to look at the text to remember what every card actually did. It'll similarly be a problem if I play against someone with a pimped out deck--I can't remember off the top of my head what JTMS does, for example. But that's nothing to do with the aesthetic reasons for using foreign cards.
iccarus Member	posted December 21, 2011 10:04 AM quote: Originally posted by Skwirlnutz: I never understood why someone thinks it's cool to have a card they personally cannot read. Why do people like them so much? It's all a matter of personal taste as to what you feel makes your deck unique. People want to do something that personalizes their deck. Cards in your native language are fine, but there's a story in how you tracked down that foil Japanese Genesis or whatever, which could easily be the only one in your area. If people play a deck long enough, such as an EDH or Legacy deck, chances are they want something to spice it up. There's only so much you can do when tweaking a list, so the only other option is to find rare or interesting versions of the cards that you don't see every day. __________________ Wisconsin - smells like dairy air! I collect Granite Gargoyles. Send them my way.
Volcanon Member	posted December 21, 2011 10:08 AM I can read Japanese and Chinese, and it looks cool. And S.Chinese cards are often dirt cheap on ebay so even better.
fluffycow Member	posted December 21, 2011 10:15 AM I never understood either. Unless you can read the language, a foreign card seems strictly worse than its read-able counterpart. So the only logical explaination I can think of is that people have too much money and time on their hands.
southparker2002 Member	posted December 21, 2011 10:33 AM quote: Originally posted by Skwirlnutz: I never understood why someone thinks it's cool to have a card they personally cannot read. Why do people like them so much? I collected them because I COULD read all the languages. lol They were also easier to come by for me because nobody around my area wanted them so I got them cheap.
Vegas10 Member	posted December 21, 2011 10:51 AM It's like a novelty alot of people like them because they are rare in the non native country, others may think a language looks cool ( like the oriental languages looking like runes for example). Also you can get black border forgien duals much cheaper than there beta/alpha counterparts as well.
harbingerofthevoid Member	posted December 21, 2011 11:50 AM Because my Portuguese Enchantress's Presence let's me draw two. __________________ NEQUAQUAM VACUUM My girlfriend does good work Give me your Sleight of Minds M:tG set printing and spreadsheet utility
choco man Member	posted December 21, 2011 12:04 PM I've met players who play with foreign cards just to confuse opponents. At best they got a small edge, but at worst they cheated tourney-newbs when they got the chance.
Nyarlathotep333 Member	posted December 21, 2011 12:23 PM I never got into foreign cards to play with, but I've collected a few here and there because I thought the cards looked nice, particularly the Korean and Chinese BB 4th edition(?) cards. Animate Dead and Dark Ritual stand out as two of my favorites that I own from that set. Usually I don't go out of my way to pick up foreign cards but I have acquired some when I've bought collections from folks in the past. Generally I won't play with a foreign card unless it is common enough that everyone knows what it does without having to look up the text. I think the only foreign card I've got decked right now is a chinese counterspell. It would be cool to learn to read a foreign language well enough to build a deck with the cards though.
Heresy19 Member	posted December 21, 2011 12:25 PM I'm a huge fan of French cards.... because I'm a french Canadian and they print the french cards with the Euro-french :P So instead of ''pigez une carte'' like I would say, it's written ''piochez une carte''... it just sounds dumb. Also, instants.... ''instants'' is also in french, but they changed it to ''éphémère''....I never even heard that word :/ Also, my personal favorite : Delay (''Retard'' but it's pronounced ''Re-tawr'' )
lordofthepit23 Member	posted December 21, 2011 01:50 PM I refuse to acquire foreign cards, unless I can flip them really easily (and keep in mind I'm really lazy, so "really easily" means there's a follow up trade to be made right away at the local store). But to answer your question, those who like foreign cards like them for the same reason people like rims that spin backwards.
blackmoon74x9 Member	posted December 21, 2011 02:19 PM quote: Originally posted by choco man: I've met players who play with foreign cards just to confuse opponents. At best they got a small edge, but at worst they cheated tourney-newbs when they got the chance. But if your playing foreign cards dont you have to have at least one English one on you so you can show your opponent? Or just call the judge if you dont trust them.
southparker2002 Member	posted December 21, 2011 02:29 PM quote: Originally posted by blackmoon74x9: But if your playing foreign cards dont you have to have at least one English one on you so you can show your opponent? Or just call the judge if you dont trust them. yeah, i thought rules stated you had to have an english copy tableside to show your opponent if they questioned it
Thanos Member	posted December 21, 2011 02:35 PM Foreign cards are much better than god awful hack job alters.
Demilio Member	posted December 21, 2011 02:37 PM I love Italian and Spanish because some things just sound so much cooler in those languages
sicsmoo Member	posted December 21, 2011 05:11 PM Because they look cool. Asian and Russian ones, specifically.
iccarus Member	posted December 21, 2011 05:16 PM quote: Originally posted by southparker2002: yeah, i thought rules stated you had to have an english copy tableside to show your opponent if they questioned it No, there is no such rule. You can ask a judge to give you the oracle text of a card though. __________________ Wisconsin - smells like dairy air! I collect Granite Gargoyles. Send them my way.
coolio Member	posted December 21, 2011 05:27 PM because my customers pay more for the shiny ones © __________________ Since it is obviously inconceivable that all religions can be right, the most reasonable conclusion is that they are all wrong. -Christopher Hitchens Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. -Seneca the Younger
Sovarius Member	posted December 21, 2011 09:03 PM I get every card i like in a foreign language if possible, just cause for the most part i'm the only one i know in person who does that. I didn't know it was a trendy "thing" when i started and i just wanted to make my cards pop out sort of for a laugh. Some people take it too far. There's a big difference between grabbing a foreign or foil version of your favorite cards for collection purposes, and spending 10x as much on a card than need be. At a certain point i wonder if maybe some people just have too much time and money on their hands.
caquaa Member	posted December 21, 2011 09:49 PM quote: Originally posted by Sovarius: At a certain point i wonder if maybe some people just have too much time and money on their hands. I'm pretty sure thats the whole point of having a hobby.
Mr.C Member	posted December 21, 2011 09:58 PM quote: Originally posted by harbingerofthevoid: Because my Portuguese Enchantress's Presence let's me draw two. No it doesn't. Edit: To answer the OP, I like Portuguese cards because they are stupidly hard to find. __________________ #2 in posts from British Columbia! Got any Portuguese Foils? Post on my list or email me at valter.cid@gmail.com ! [Edited 1 times, lastly by Mr.C on December 21, 2011]
Volcanon Member	posted December 22, 2011 12:58 AM quote: Originally posted by Mr.C: No it doesn't. Edit: To answer the OP, I like Portuguese cards because they are stupidly hard to find. Especially in at least VG+ condition. Most Portugese tournaments play without sleeves on rough stone tables. A popular Brazilian custom is to put sandpaper on playing surfaces as well.
Hermann -ICE- Member	posted December 22, 2011 01:30 AM quote: Originally posted by Volcanon: Especially in at least VG+ condition. Most Portugese tournaments play without sleeves on rough stone tables. A popular Brazilian custom is to put sandpaper on playing surfaces as well. This might actually be a legitimate claim. Of the handful of cards I have in Portuguese most look like casualties of quasi Iron Man games.

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