So far, for the last couple weeks or so, a new item has hit the smuggler’s den each day. Whether it is a new card or a new schematic, the action in the Den remains quite lively. Some of the shred lists require golds as a 1 to 1 trade in, but you cant build any of the ships without resources. There is a case to be made for acquiring as many resources as possible, but there is also a case to be made to trade them away. Here are some thoughts.

The Case for Trading Away

I think this is one of those points in the game where people have to take inventory of their desires for playing along with the game. If collectors determine that they love the build mode, and want as may of the ships as possible, then this section probably wont be for anyone like that.

On the other hand, if you still dont know if the ships are for you, is it better to cash out now and get some great offers for your resources knowing that the market will be volatile over the next few months.

Here is my take. If you are even lukewarm to excited about the ships, trade now. The market of people who want your resources are strong, and right now there are still a relative shortage of cards in circulation. With shredding removing card counts, and people ripping packs, the balance hasnt reached a point of oversaturation. Given a few weeks, depending on the cool factor for cards released, resources could become cheaper than ever.

Considering that you can easily acquire more resources through the guaranteed resource packs, there is a big reason to trade for cards that have a limited amount of availability, or at least more intrinsic long term value. Lets be honest here, there will always be more fuel cards, but there will only be a certain amount of any given insert you are looking for. If you can package together your good resources, and pick up a few nice things as a result, its definitely worth the trade – especially if you arent a fan of building ships.

The Case for Hoarding

So far, we have yet to even scratch the surface of what is coming through the den. If you havent put two and two together, and figured out that stuff like XWings and Millennium Falcons are likely going to hit the Den, you need to wise up.

There will be some awesome stuff in the works, and I know for a fact that what we have seen so far will likely pale in comparison. For that reason alone, its almost worth hanging onto your cards just to see what happens.

Similarly, as the resource pool grows, its likely that the shred lists for each cards will increase to meet the supply. Where something may cost 1 resource or 10 resources now, there is very little evidence to support that there wont be major increases expected for future builds.

Popularity of the cards that are likely going to be coming is a huge factor as well, only to be exacerbated if the ship or vehicle is rare. We have already seen our first Gold Ship, which incorporated a non-guarantee shred as a ploy to get the needed schematic to build. You only had a 10% chance to get a hold of the gold when shredding the blue Slave, something that only speaks to how important it is to continue participating and build a nice hoard.

Overall, its just about what you think is fun. If you want to do both, that’s the beauty of the game. Trade some, hoard some, it really doesnt matter. Just be prepared to freak out when they eventually release some of the big guns.