Pro Tour has gone and past us by now. And with that, we have some stupidly high cards along with a few we never expected to see. Also, Wizards makes major changes to Standard rotations and a handful of stupid, non-nonsensical buyouts.
Weekly Highs
Weekly Lows
(*) - Reserve List
Pro Tour Findings
At the Pro Tour, the deck that made the biggest splash was Shota Yasooka's Grixis Control deck built around [mtg_card]Thing in the Ice[/mtg_card]. This deck made A significant impact on the top of the financial boards. The biggest winner of the week was also in this deck in [mtg_card]Torrential Gearhulk[/mtg_card]. The card was in 3 of the top 8 decks, including Shota's deck. The card is a straight blowout. Being able to cast a 5/6 body on your opponents turn AND counter a spell with [mtg_card]Void Shatter[/mtg_card] or blow up a creature with [mtg_card]Unlicensed Disintegration[/mtg_card] or [mtg_card]Harnessed Lightning[/mtg_card] is absurd. What makes Shota's deck so interesting is that he gets recursion with Thing in the Ice, which returns Torrential Gearhulk back to his hand. This might be a deck idea worth testing out in Modern with [mtg_card]Snapcaster Mage[/mtg_card]s instead. I'll use this moment to shameless promote Monday Nite TCG streams I plan on starting up Monday either playing The Elder Scrolls: Legends or decktesting MTG with Tok online.
I mentioned in the previous paragraph, but another big winner was [mtg_card]Harnessed Lightning[/mtg_card]. I figured since this card couldn't goto the dome, it probably wasn't very good. But, if you deck can take advantage of energy counter, this card is actually pretty good. Shota's deck play 2 copies of [mtg_card]Glimmer of Genius[/mtg_card]. The deck has no other use for the energy it provide so he can use it to get extra damage. Another note is that if your opponent buffs their creature to save it, you have the option to not spend energy to Harnessed Lightning. More of a play in limited formats, but probably pretty good when you get a chance to get a Harnessed Lightning up to 6 damage to kill of a Gearhulk or other giant doofus.
[mtg_card]Wandering Fumarole[/mtg_card] and [mtg_card]Thing in the Ice[/mtg_card] also made decent gain this week. They too were in Shota's deck. I think the real focus on these two cards is that they have more potential than other cards that got a boost for Modern play. While I think Thing in the Ice is a little outside of the range I'd be will to put into, Wandering Fumarole seems like it's still an OK card to jump on.
Other cards on notice from Pro Tour play were [mtg_card]Bristling Hydra[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Jace, Unraveler of Secrets[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Aetherworks Marvel[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger[/mtg_card], and [mtg_card]Gideon, Ally of Zendikar[/mtg_card].
The last batch of cards to discuss were lands. There were quite a few lands that made the list this week as people begin to predict what directions Standard starts to flow. Since control has such a great breakout at the event, the UR lands really jumped high. [mtg_card]Wandering Fumarole[/mtg_card] and [mtg_card]Spirebluff Canal[/mtg_card] both did very well. [mtg_card]Needle Spires[/mtg_card] also did well off the backs of WR Vehicles/Dwarfs and WR Tokens. [mtg_card]Game Trail[/mtg_card] also makes a showing despite not being in any top 8 decks, but my guess is that this isn't so much due to the Pro Tour, but various brewtastic decks that have been showing on MTGO that people want to try at a more casual level.
Everything Else in Standard
Want talk on even more Standard? Prior to Pro Tour, I know many pros was talking up [mtg_card]Aetherworks Marvel[/mtg_card] and [mtg_card]Metallurgic Summonings[/mtg_card]. In the end, that didn't come to be, but Aetherworks Marvel decks are quite popular on MTGO and casual circles. Aetherworks Marvel is also quite popular in Commander, which is why there has been so much movement on foil copies of the deck.
Lastly, the other card I will spend a moment to talk on is [mtg_card]Metalwork Colossus[/mtg_card]. Before in the set review, I noted that [mtg_card]Colossus of Akros[/mtg_card] was a selling for over $1 and that it was a really good trade target. What I neglected to mention was that Metalwork Colossus has a cost reduction mechanic. Something that has never in the history of MTG ever been considered broken. Anyway, there is some talk that there is a deck here. I doubt it myself, but I still think you can make really good trades with this card.
Recently, Wizards announced that Standard would contain sets from 4 separate blocks, going back to an 8 set formats instead of the 6 set format we were at in Shadows over Innistrad Standard. Previously this meant we had 2 three set blocks and 2 core sets. Now, that means we get 4 two set blocks. Rotations will occur more frequently, but Standard will be more stable than that awkward time where two core sets were legal before which lasted about 2-3 months. But what is important financially here, is that this means that Battle for Zendikar block will be standard legal for 2 years instead of 18 months. In fact, all Standard sets will be legal for 2 years from here on out, even through the Standard format will be rotating at a much faster rate. The result of this means more variety in Standard with more rotations, but also card will be worth holding to that much longer. So what does this mean for cards today? Well, fact is there aren't many cards in Battle for Zendikar block that are worth anything anyway. The big ones that even saw a boost from this announcement were [mtg_card]Gideon, Ally of Zendikar[/mtg_card] and [mtg_card]Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger[/mtg_card]. Other cards to watch out for are [mtg_card]Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Kozilek's Return[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Chandra, Flamecaller[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Nissa, Voice of Zendikar[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Thought-Knot Seer[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Eldrazi Displacer[/mtg_card], and [mtg_card]Sylvan Advocate[/mtg_card].
Other Dumb Buyouts
This week's Dumb Buyout of the Week goes to [mtg_card]Song of the Dryads[/mtg_card]. It was a tossup between this and the annual Halloween buyout of reserve list specialist [mtg_card]All Hallow's Eve[/mtg_card]. But Song of the Dryads hopped up to over $20. It was probably a pretty easy buyout being from a Commander set, but the card had no demand. I like for my cube as green removal but that's about it. It's a 3 mana removal spell that not legal in Modern.
[mtg_card]Arcane Denial[/mtg_card] was bought out too. There is one dealer with 21 copies. I think someone likes the art. The old edition goes for $0.50.
Weekly Highs
| Card | Foil | Set | New | Old | Change |
| [mtg_card]Torrential Gearhulk[/mtg_card] | Kaladesh | $27.40 | $8.71 | 214.60% | |
| Torrential Gearhulk | X | Kaladesh | $39.00 | $15.72 | 148.10% |
| [mtg_card]Harnessed Lightning[/mtg_card] | Kaladesh | $2.43 | $0.99 | 145.50% | |
| [mtg_card]Song of the Dryads[/mtg_card] | Commander 2014 | $11.58 | $4.91 | 135.90% | |
| [mtg_card]Metalwork Colossus[/mtg_card] | Kaladesh | $2.88 | $1.49 | 93.30% | |
| [mtg_card]Wandering Fumarole[/mtg_card] | Oath of the Gatewatch | $6.50 | $3.49 | 86.30% | |
| [mtg_card]Thing in the Ice[/mtg_card] | Shadows over Innistrad | $8.88 | $4.95 | 79.40% | |
| [mtg_card]Aetherworks Marvel[/mtg_card] | X | Kaladesh | $24.80 | $15.00 | 65.30% |
| [mtg_card]Harnessed Lightning[/mtg_card] | X | Kaladesh | $5.37 | $3.25 | 65.20% |
| [mtg_card]Bristling Hydra[/mtg_card] | Kaladesh | $2.74 | $1.67 | 64.10% | |
| [mtg_card]All Hallow's Eve[/mtg_card] (*) | Legends | $192.50 | $120.00 | 60.40% | |
| [mtg_card]Metalwork Colossus[/mtg_card] | X | Kaladesh | $7.40 | $4.94 | 49.80% |
| [mtg_card]Bristling Hydra[/mtg_card] | X | Kaladesh | $4.00 | $2.74 | 46.00% |
| [mtg_card]Jace, Unraveler of Secrets[/mtg_card] | Shadows over Innistrad | $7.54 | $5.19 | 45.30% | |
| [mtg_card]Arcane Denial[/mtg_card] | Commander 2013 | $9.97 | $6.97 | 43.00% | |
| [mtg_card]Pithing Needle[/mtg_card] | X | Saviors of Kamigawa | $99.95 | $69.97 | 42.90% |
| [mtg_card]Spirebluff Canal[/mtg_card] | Kaladesh | $9.99 | $7.00 | 42.70% | |
| [mtg_card]Needle Spires[/mtg_card] | Oath of the Gatewatch | $4.19 | $2.99 | 40.10% | |
| [mtg_card]Game Trail[/mtg_card] | Shadows over Innistrad | $2.95 | $2.12 | 39.20% | |
| [mtg_card]Aetherworks Marvel[/mtg_card] | Kaladesh | $12.00 | $8.75 | 37.10% | |
| [mtg_card]Needle Spires[/mtg_card] | X | Oath of the Gatewatch | $6.00 | $4.38 | 37.00% |
| [mtg_card]Chance Encounter[/mtg_card] | X | Odyssey | $7.76 | $5.81 | 33.60% |
| [mtg_card]Jokulhaups[/mtg_card] | Classic Sixth Edition | $2.49 | $1.87 | 33.20% | |
| [mtg_card]Living Plane[/mtg_card] (*) | Legends | $65.90 | $50.17 | 31.40% | |
| [mtg_card]Hellfire[/mtg_card] (*) | Legends | $21.99 | $16.79 | 31.00% | |
| [mtg_card]Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger[/mtg_card] | Battle for Zendikar | $16.63 | $12.73 | 30.60% | |
| [mtg_card]Gideon, Ally of Zendikar[/mtg_card] | Battle for Zendikar | $26.97 | $20.67 | 30.50% | |
| [mtg_card]Time Stretch[/mtg_card] | X | 10th Edition | $40.73 | $31.47 | 29.40% |
| [mtg_card]Windborn Muse[/mtg_card] | 10th Edition | $4.28 | $3.34 | 28.10% | |
| [mtg_card]Grand Abolisher[/mtg_card] | X | Magic 2012 (M12) | $15.49 | $12.18 | 27.20% |
| [mtg_card]Island of Wak-Wak[/mtg_card] (*) | Arabian Nights | $85.00 | $66.99 | 26.90% | |
| [mtg_card]Selfless Spirit[/mtg_card] | Eldritch Moon | $8.15 | $6.46 | 26.20% | |
| [mtg_card]Declaration in Stone[/mtg_card] | Shadows over Innistrad | $5.85 | $4.74 | 23.40% | |
| [mtg_card]Prismatic Omen[/mtg_card] | X | Shadowmoor | $33.36 | $27.67 | 20.60% |
| [mtg_card]Steely Resolve[/mtg_card] | X | Onslaught | $9.00 | $7.50 | 20.00% |
Weekly Lows
| Card | Set | Foil | New | Old | Change |
| [mtg_card]Electrostatic Pummeler[/mtg_card] | Kaladesh | X | $6.70 | $12.33 | -45.70% |
| [mtg_card]Metallurgic Summonings[/mtg_card] | Kaladesh | $6.27 | $11.50 | -45.50% | |
| [mtg_card]Brushland[/mtg_card] | 9th Edition | $10.25 | $14.44 | -29.00% | |
| [mtg_card]Sword of Body and Mind[/mtg_card] | Scars of Mirrodin | X | $16.83 | $23.25 | -27.60% |
| [mtg_card]Cultural Exchange[/mtg_card] | Odyssey | X | $13.99 | $17.99 | -22.20% |
| [mtg_card]Pillar of the Paruns[/mtg_card] | Dissension | X | $15.99 | $20.38 | -21.50% |
| [mtg_card]Saheeli Rai[/mtg_card] | Kaladesh | $8.45 | $10.57 | -20.10% |
(*) - Reserve List
Pro Tour Findings
At the Pro Tour, the deck that made the biggest splash was Shota Yasooka's Grixis Control deck built around [mtg_card]Thing in the Ice[/mtg_card]. This deck made A significant impact on the top of the financial boards. The biggest winner of the week was also in this deck in [mtg_card]Torrential Gearhulk[/mtg_card]. The card was in 3 of the top 8 decks, including Shota's deck. The card is a straight blowout. Being able to cast a 5/6 body on your opponents turn AND counter a spell with [mtg_card]Void Shatter[/mtg_card] or blow up a creature with [mtg_card]Unlicensed Disintegration[/mtg_card] or [mtg_card]Harnessed Lightning[/mtg_card] is absurd. What makes Shota's deck so interesting is that he gets recursion with Thing in the Ice, which returns Torrential Gearhulk back to his hand. This might be a deck idea worth testing out in Modern with [mtg_card]Snapcaster Mage[/mtg_card]s instead. I'll use this moment to shameless promote Monday Nite TCG streams I plan on starting up Monday either playing The Elder Scrolls: Legends or decktesting MTG with Tok online.
I mentioned in the previous paragraph, but another big winner was [mtg_card]Harnessed Lightning[/mtg_card]. I figured since this card couldn't goto the dome, it probably wasn't very good. But, if you deck can take advantage of energy counter, this card is actually pretty good. Shota's deck play 2 copies of [mtg_card]Glimmer of Genius[/mtg_card]. The deck has no other use for the energy it provide so he can use it to get extra damage. Another note is that if your opponent buffs their creature to save it, you have the option to not spend energy to Harnessed Lightning. More of a play in limited formats, but probably pretty good when you get a chance to get a Harnessed Lightning up to 6 damage to kill of a Gearhulk or other giant doofus.
[mtg_card]Wandering Fumarole[/mtg_card] and [mtg_card]Thing in the Ice[/mtg_card] also made decent gain this week. They too were in Shota's deck. I think the real focus on these two cards is that they have more potential than other cards that got a boost for Modern play. While I think Thing in the Ice is a little outside of the range I'd be will to put into, Wandering Fumarole seems like it's still an OK card to jump on.
Other cards on notice from Pro Tour play were [mtg_card]Bristling Hydra[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Jace, Unraveler of Secrets[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Aetherworks Marvel[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger[/mtg_card], and [mtg_card]Gideon, Ally of Zendikar[/mtg_card].
The last batch of cards to discuss were lands. There were quite a few lands that made the list this week as people begin to predict what directions Standard starts to flow. Since control has such a great breakout at the event, the UR lands really jumped high. [mtg_card]Wandering Fumarole[/mtg_card] and [mtg_card]Spirebluff Canal[/mtg_card] both did very well. [mtg_card]Needle Spires[/mtg_card] also did well off the backs of WR Vehicles/Dwarfs and WR Tokens. [mtg_card]Game Trail[/mtg_card] also makes a showing despite not being in any top 8 decks, but my guess is that this isn't so much due to the Pro Tour, but various brewtastic decks that have been showing on MTGO that people want to try at a more casual level.
Everything Else in Standard
Want talk on even more Standard? Prior to Pro Tour, I know many pros was talking up [mtg_card]Aetherworks Marvel[/mtg_card] and [mtg_card]Metallurgic Summonings[/mtg_card]. In the end, that didn't come to be, but Aetherworks Marvel decks are quite popular on MTGO and casual circles. Aetherworks Marvel is also quite popular in Commander, which is why there has been so much movement on foil copies of the deck.
Lastly, the other card I will spend a moment to talk on is [mtg_card]Metalwork Colossus[/mtg_card]. Before in the set review, I noted that [mtg_card]Colossus of Akros[/mtg_card] was a selling for over $1 and that it was a really good trade target. What I neglected to mention was that Metalwork Colossus has a cost reduction mechanic. Something that has never in the history of MTG ever been considered broken. Anyway, there is some talk that there is a deck here. I doubt it myself, but I still think you can make really good trades with this card.
Recently, Wizards announced that Standard would contain sets from 4 separate blocks, going back to an 8 set formats instead of the 6 set format we were at in Shadows over Innistrad Standard. Previously this meant we had 2 three set blocks and 2 core sets. Now, that means we get 4 two set blocks. Rotations will occur more frequently, but Standard will be more stable than that awkward time where two core sets were legal before which lasted about 2-3 months. But what is important financially here, is that this means that Battle for Zendikar block will be standard legal for 2 years instead of 18 months. In fact, all Standard sets will be legal for 2 years from here on out, even through the Standard format will be rotating at a much faster rate. The result of this means more variety in Standard with more rotations, but also card will be worth holding to that much longer. So what does this mean for cards today? Well, fact is there aren't many cards in Battle for Zendikar block that are worth anything anyway. The big ones that even saw a boost from this announcement were [mtg_card]Gideon, Ally of Zendikar[/mtg_card] and [mtg_card]Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger[/mtg_card]. Other cards to watch out for are [mtg_card]Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Kozilek's Return[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Chandra, Flamecaller[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Nissa, Voice of Zendikar[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Thought-Knot Seer[/mtg_card], [mtg_card]Eldrazi Displacer[/mtg_card], and [mtg_card]Sylvan Advocate[/mtg_card].
Other Dumb Buyouts
This week's Dumb Buyout of the Week goes to [mtg_card]Song of the Dryads[/mtg_card]. It was a tossup between this and the annual Halloween buyout of reserve list specialist [mtg_card]All Hallow's Eve[/mtg_card]. But Song of the Dryads hopped up to over $20. It was probably a pretty easy buyout being from a Commander set, but the card had no demand. I like for my cube as green removal but that's about it. It's a 3 mana removal spell that not legal in Modern.
[mtg_card]Arcane Denial[/mtg_card] was bought out too. There is one dealer with 21 copies. I think someone likes the art. The old edition goes for $0.50.
So I bought Thing in the ice for around $5 to build that mono blue prison deck last standard, I'm happy to see it rise. Not as happy as I was to see the playset of $9 Torrential Gearhulks I bought go up 214% though.
ReplyDelete#MakesUpForThe$15SaheeliRai?
Whenever we get back to Modern for decktesting, I think I'll try out a Thing in the Ice deck. Seems like it would be fun. I'd sell dems Torrential Gearhulks. They're not going to get much better than this methinks.
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