NationStates

Specifically, trading cards of your choice. This, of course, ruins the market for pretty much all cards if it exists. And if not, maybe this specific information will at least help track down the bug where cards of ex-nations can show up sometimes.

After checking out the ongoing sales page, I started bidding on this ex-nation card, which only had two owners, Bovidia and Destructive Government Economic System. Some time later, I noticed that a third copy of an ex-nation had been generated during the sale, for Pavakahir, who immediately threw it up for sale to undercut Destructive Government Economic System. Undeterred, I threw up a second purchase, intending to get both copies, when to my surprise, a fourth copy appeared under Korilon and also instantly went up for sale. Still committed, I bought that one as well. But I also did some digging. Both of those nations that managed to spawn the right ex-nation seem to be puppets of the same person. I won't directly name them, but a quick look at their trading histories makes it pretty clear.

I find it unlikely that two copies of a specific common card would show up within two minutes. I find it extremely unlikely that two copies of an ex-nation (which isn't supposed to spawn at all!) would do so. And I find it near-miraculous that it would be two of the same person's puppets who had it happen. I think it's much more likely that there's some kind of exploit, and that the person who controls those two nations knows how to do it.

And even if I'm wrong, two cards that weren't supposed to be able to appear in packs still appeared in packs, which is a lower priority bug, but still a bug.

EDIT: Oh, and ignore the one on GameFAQs Founder. That's one of the three that I bought, not another extra copy that came out of nowhere.

Zintai wrote:I find it extremely unlikely that two copies of an ex-nation (which isn't supposed to spawn at all!) would do so.

The original News post did say, "New packs don't contain cards of nations that no longer exist." But this was later amended to "rarely," and it actually can still happen.

There is a very slight bias in the system where you're more likely to get cards that are useful. There doesn't appear to be any exploit here.

What is useful? Have buy offers?

Might have something to do with the nation having been restored from the dead.

Rarely, eh? I got 1 ex-nation card in each of the 3 consecutively opened packs.

It happens often and i think it is designed to happen that way.

I, like many other collectors use "rare commons" (common cards with only a handfull copies in existence) to transfer bank from puppets to main nation. From time to time such a card, wich hasn't been pulled since april, is pulled again during the auction. It happened against me but i also managed to do this several times.

I guess this is designed to make bank transfers dangerous, no matter the rarity of the card used.

This also makes me curious how this will work in season 2...

Riemstagrad wrote:It happens often and i think it is designed to happen that way.

I, like many other collectors use "rare commons" (common cards with only a handfull copies in existence) to transfer bank from puppets to main nation. From time to time such a card, wich hasn't been pulled since april, is pulled again during the auction. It happened against me but i also managed to do this several times.

I guess this is designed to make bank transfers dangerous, no matter the rarity of the card used.

This also makes me curious how this will work in season 2...

Would you be able to elaborate on this method? I don't quite follow.

Riemstagrad wrote:It happens often and i think it is designed to happen that way.

I, like many other collectors use "rare commons" (common cards with only a handfull copies in existence) to transfer bank from puppets to main nation. From time to time such a card, wich hasn't been pulled since april, is pulled again during the auction. It happened against me but i also managed to do this several times.

I guess this is designed to make bank transfers dangerous, no matter the rarity of the card used.

This also makes me curious how this will work in season 2...

I mostly wonder if we can still trade season 1 cards after season 2 has started.

That would be interesting.

Aibohphobia wrote:

Riemstagrad wrote:It happens often and i think it is designed to happen that way.

I, like many other collectors use "rare commons" (common cards with only a handfull copies in existence) to transfer bank from puppets to main nation. From time to time such a card, wich hasn't been pulled since april, is pulled again during the auction. It happened against me but i also managed to do this several times.

I guess this is designed to make bank transfers dangerous, no matter the rarity of the card used.

This also makes me curious how this will work in season 2...

Would you be able to elaborate on this method? I don't quite follow.

Transferring bank from puppet states to main nation by using "mule" cards:

1) farm cards with puppet states and sell them or junk them for bank.
2) sell a card (usually a cheap one) from your main nation to your puppet for the amount of bank you wish to transfer to your main. The card sold is the mule.

Now, when selling a common for $1.50 from main to puppet, anyone else who owns that card can put it up for sale for $1.49, effectively stealing the $1.50 from you.
That's why the number of owners is important. A card with only 2 owners is safer for transfers then a card with 45 owners.
Many "rare commons" (common cards with only a few copies in existence) are real ex-nation cards (cards of nations that became ex-nations since april and were still ex-nations when the game was launched again in december). Those have the benefit that they normally do not appear in new card packs unlike ex-nation cards that were revived in december.

Because of this, those real ex-nation cards make good mules and are often used for this purpose.
However, in the hour that such a transfer is up for auction, there is a small chance that those cards appear in new packs. See [violet]'s post above in this topic.