Special Mini Episode!

Every once in a while, something so noteworthy happens in the app that we just can't get our heads around it. The mini base cards certainly put us there. We headed straight to the Illuminerdy studios and hashed it out in an appropriately shorter-than-usual mini-episode. Michael doesn't pull punches, taking a strong stand against this set. "For the sake of the many, don't buy mini", even overturning his long-standing assertion that whatever variant Topps will release with Poggle on it, he will buy, insisting that no one at all should buy these cards to send a message that this is the line. And we explore many/mini possible directions this trend could go, from mini-Widevision (Vision?) to Mini-Relics (paint chips?) to mini-sigs (Initials?) to other sizes, pico to nano. #ForTheManyNoMini

A Year in SWCT, Sending 500 Blind Trades (to 7 people)

Happy Birthday SWCT! This week we talk about:

• Vote in Star Wars Podcast Awards if you haven't! We're in New Show, Trade Fed is in Collecting. Polls open through 3/24
• Michael's ease in resolving a multi-hundred blind trade bug (thanks Rhett and #WalkForTheFix!)
• Revisited fun
• Sneaking variants in base trades: Futility of flipping over cards in the trade offer
• Pi day in SWCT vs. other Topps Digital apps
• Primes
• Dejarik - we like this set
• Meditation Chamber card count update
• Djas Puhr found! Apparently we weren't in-depth-enough fans to recognize this character

Post-show:

• Ancient Aztec sports
• 90's baseball
• The Waffle Sandwich at Waffle House
• Sped-up cooking videos

Rhett's Login Woes, SWCT/Virgin Galactic Promotion

This episode includes talk including, but certainly not limited to:

- Rhett's technical problems...deleted the app and redownloaded, then locked out for 24 hours. He used to care a little that this was a problem, now he really does. #WalkForTheFix

- Vote for us and others, best new Star Wars Podcast of 2015

- Poggle hoarding with JB1127

- Discussing Virgin Galactic promotion

- New sets: Grafitti Splatter & its mechanic, Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Galactic Ships, Star Wars Card Trader: The Phantom Menace!

- Preppers

Election Coverage - Poggle vs Amedda in FC Showdown

Yes, we're back. Back again. I can't think of any bigger election news this week than the Fan's Choice voice. Star Wars Podcast Award-nominee Michael Nipp gives us a behind the scenes look at the ups and downs in an exciting election day.

We also touch on the 7-day Prospecting chase, discuss new sets and the ever-expanding rainbow of variants. Enjoy!

Hoarding, Gorging, and Prospecting

In this exciting episode we discuss:

The loss of a first attempt at the episode this week.

How Lifetime Network's Christmas movie Comfort and Joy starring The Facts of Life's Nancy McKeon stacks up against It's a Wonderful Life.

That the Meditation Chamber card seems to be part of the Pack Insert set...good luck to those completing it.

A possible "Life and Times of Qui Gon Jinn" set as a series of scenes depicting events in his life set in idyllic 1950's Americana, painted in the style of Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post covers.

The people shipping Yoda and Yaddle...or as they would refer to the couple, "Yodel".

Topps survey about about potential digital and physical Star Wars integration.

The need to distinguish among people acquiring quantities of white base cards for one or more characters:

• Hoarding - Passion and devotion to one character, amassing as many cards as possible
• Prospecting - Seeking to acquire enough white base to meld a gold should the opportunity arise, for (usually) many characters
• Gorging - Amassing a large quantity of white base for (what some would say) is too many characters, for an attempt at multiple monument awards.

Marathons-for-Money, and...White base-for-Money?!

If you enjoy listening, and you're reading this on or before Feb. 16, consider nominating us at starwarspodcastawards.com: direct link to nomination form here!

Big thanks to those who sent Jan Dodonna and info on why a card may not show up in your collection even if you trade for it. We also discuss the opposite problem, where a card does seem to be in the collection, but is not actually there, and has cost people awards cards. Frustrating to say the least...it's one thing to hem and haw about how a marathon for a few dollars devalues if not demoralizes the fun of chasing for an amount of credits that's much greater (and we spend plenty of time doing that in this episode), but it's a whole other level when you can't trust that the cards that appear to be in your collection may not be there! Also we discover the new-to-us phenomenon of people selling and buying white base, Rey in particular, for real actual money. Who knew?! Not us!

Marathon Awards, Fashion, and Cards You Have But Can't See

Another week in SWCT-land and we have a couple of new sets to talk about for the first time in a while. There's also a couple of new base variants, but only one costs money outright; the gold Qui Gon shows up for those who've gotten a decent start on hoarding. Also, we explore the "can't see them but they're there" phenomenon of cards you don't appear to have (in my case, a couple of series 1 white base cards), even when accepting trades for them and observing that the total collection card count appears as though you do in fact have them. We give a shout out to the rainbow-barfing cats, and in the post-roll dig into the minutiae of dying from a gut would vs. surviving being cut in half. Enjoy!