By: Jared Yost

Welcome back to my rotation review everyone! Last week I covered cards from Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash that I think have long term appeal, either through casual demand or eternal playability. This is the second part to my rotation review that will cover Dragon’s Maze and M14. The best time to start looking for these deals is about two to three months after the latest set has been released in order for the prices from the old rotating sets to really dive.

The organization of the review is as follows:

Sets

• Return to Ravnica (previous article)
• Gatecrash (previous article)
• Dragon’s Maze
• M14

Order of Rarity for Sets

• Mythic
• Rare
• Uncommon (if applicable)
• Common (if applicable)

Foil vs Nonfoil – Mentioned per card if applicable. I will mention foil prices if the card has ubiquitous Commander or Eternal appeal.

Today I will finish the review, covering Dragon’s Maze and M14.

Dragon’s Maze

MYTHIC

 

Voice of Resurgence

FORMAT – Modern

Voice of Resurgence is the most expensive mythic from Dragon’s Maze, currently sitting around $18 retail. However, this price is misleading since you can find many for sale for around $13-$15 on TCGPlayer.

Voice is clearly the most powerful card from the set for eternal formats but he suffers from the same problem as Sphinx’s Revelation. That is, at best he is played as a two-of in Pod. Kibler managed to get a Top 8 playing four Voices in his Junk deck back in May of 2013 which is cool. Unfortunately, Voice hasn’t made a showing in that deck since then and the demand from Voice is coming only from Pod variants at this point.

Definitely wait before you pick up this card. His current price is heavily driven by Standard so there will be plenty of deals after rotation on Voice. I think if you can pick these up close to $12 or less that will be a great deal for the long term. I don’t see him ever going below $10 for long and he only stands to gain in the future as long as Pod isn’t banned in Modern.

Foils will be especially good in the long term. It is a huge buy in at $60 yet I don’t see the foil price budging too much upon set rotation. $50 for foils seems like a good deal if you can swing it after rotation.

 

Ral Zarek

FORMAT – Commander, Casual

Up next is Ral, currently sitting around $7 retail. I don’t think he can drop much further after rotation. If you can snag copies from $4-$5 a few months after rotation I think that will be a great deal. Planeswalkers are always a good long term investment because they will trade / sell well from casual demand alone.

 

Progenitor Mimic

FORMAT – Commander, Casual

Progenitor Mimic is one of the better clone variants out there. It provides a ton of value if left unchecked which makes it good for the Commander format. Being mythic will also help buoy the price going forward. It is pretty cheap already at $2.50 retail. I don’t think the floor is much lower than this so if you can snag copies for $2 go for it.

Foils will be an especially good long term investment. The $13 current retail for foils is low for a third set mythic that has lots of Commander appeal. Focusing on foils is also a good strategy with this card.

 

Savageborn Hydra

FORMAT – Commander, Casual

Wizards seems to be pushing green’s creature identify toward Hydras these days since I’ve seen so many pop up, both in and out of Greek themed sets. Let’s take a look at some other Hydra prices from the past:

Khalni Hydra – $13 TCGmid
Apocalypse Hydra – $9 TCGmid
Primordial Hydra – $6.50 TCGmid (despite two printings Primoridal Hydra still above $6!)

Looks like mythic rare hydras do quite well in the long run even with more than one printing. Pick up Savageborn Hydras because they will follow in the same vein.

 

Master of Cruelties

FORMAT – Commander

The only reason I mention Master of Cruelties is the popularity of Kaalia as a general in the Commander format. Connecting Master of Cruelties with someone in Commander is the definition of “the nuts”. $2 for nonfoil versions seem like the bottom for this card. I don’t think it is going to experience giant spikes in price for quite some time however the mythic rare status will ensure it maintains value going into the future.

Foils are also a good pickup for Kaalia or other Commander players looking to foil out decks.

RARE

 

Breaking // Entering

FORMAT – Casual

Mill cards are in the realm of casual and I am greatly familiar with how well these cards trade and sell to casual players. Right now, this card is a solid $1 retail without seeing a lick of tournament play (except maybe in a rogue Modern mill deck or something). Pick up copies and stash ‘em away for the future when they’re worth $2 or more.

 

 

Guild Champions (Not in Intro Decks)

FORMAT – Commander, Casual

OK, so first lets get the foils in the Dragon’s Maze intro decks out the way so you know not to target them – Lavinia, Teysa, Exava, Ruric Thar, and Vorel. There are an overabundance of these foils on the market so you shouldn’t target them since the intro packs will stabilize the pack foil price for quite some time. I think I might make an exception for Vorel though since his ability involves doubling counters which is a popular casual mechanic. $1.50 is pretty cheap for his foil, I don’t think it can get lower than that. However, his long term gains are going to be stifled by the intro deck foil so avoid picking up too many copies.

Forget about Emmara Tandris, too. Her ability is awful and reputation as a card tarnished beyond repair. I doubt she will ever be even close to $1.

Alright, so of the four remaining maze champions I believe that foils of Melek, Tajic, and Varolz will do the best in the long term and that nonfoils of Mirko Vosk are great targets. Varolz is currently the highest foil at $3.50 retail, with foils of Tajic at $3 and Melek at $1.50. These are all great buy in points that won’t budge much after rotation.

Mirko Vosk’s ability is all about mill, which we know the casual players salivate over. Foils of this will also gain nicely but non-foils will move much easier and will still gain value.

 

Plasm Capture

FORMAT – Commander

The closest we’ve come to Mana Drain, Plasm Capture is a great card for Commander and is included in many blue/green commander lists. Foils will be especially good pickups for the future.

 

 

Notion Thief & Beck // Call

FORMAT – Modern?, Legacy?

Notion Thief and Beck // Call are the penny stocks of Dragon’s Maze. They have some appeal in Commander but could potentially derive their future price from play in Modern or Legacy lists because they are powerful depending on the metagame.

Beck // Call doesn’t really have a deck right now. However, as more cards are added to Modern, Elves may eventually come together and Modern Elves could be a thing again. Notion Thief is played in decks already though generally just as a one-of in the sideboard.

If you plan on playing Beck // Call or Notion Thief in Modern or Legacy rotation will be a good time to pick them up. However, these are pretty risky calls so I won’t pick up too many copies of either card.

UNCOMMON

 

Unflinching Courage

FORMAT – Commander, Casual

Sadly, this slightly worse version of Armadillo Cloak is worth more than most rares in the set. I am still going to tell you to get your hands on some, including foils. Uril Commander decks will want to include this card and it is an uncommon from a third set that wasn’t opened much. You won’t be making a killing off Unflinching Courage though it will still be a solid pickup upon rotation.

 

Wear // Tear

FORMAT – Modern, Legacy, Commander

Wear // Tear is a widely played card in UWx lists in Modern, is played in UWR Delver Legacy sideboards, and is a great inclusion for any red/white Commander decks. This is the most versatile artifact/enchantment destruction spell we’ve seen in a while at a very efficient mana cost. I don’t think we’ll be seeing the fuse mechanic for quite a while so pick up copies here and there when you can as throw-ins for trades. Foils are also good targets at $9.50 since I believe they only stand to gain more value in the future from eternal and Commander play.

M14

MYTHIC

 

Archangel of Thune

FORMAT – Modern, Commander, Casual

Archangel is the most expensive mythic from M14. Standard does drive some of her demand however a lot of it comes from casual appeal. Casuals love angels, and due to this her price has never dropped below $15 even though she sometimes never saw any Standard play.

In the future, she will pop up from time to time in certain Pod lists that make use of her infinite combo along with Spike Feeder yet much of the demand will always be casual. I’m not sure if she will ever drop below $12 so if you can pick her up from $12-$15 I think she will trade well after rotation. Foils are a pricy $35 but will also do well.

 

Planeswalkers (All)

FORMAT – Commander, Casual

All the Planeswalkers from M14 are $5.50 to $8 at this point. Pick up Planeswalkers closer to the bottom of that range and you will do fine after rotation. All the Planeswalkers are powerful or popular and will maintain value from the casual crowds.

 

Kalonian Hydra

FORMAT – Commander, Casual

See my review for Savageborn Hydra from Dragon’s Maze in this article. Another mythic rare hydra, another great casual target for the long term. Kalonian has a higher buy in point than Savageborn at $7 but if you can pick them up for $5 or less they should do well in the long run.

 

Rise of the Dark Realms

FORMAT – Commander

This is a great Commander card that will have a ton of appeal in the future. Foils are also a good target for these going forward.

 

Darksteel Forge

FORMAT – Commander

Darksteel Forge was getting close to $20 before the M14 reprint. Now it is little more than $2.50 for an M14 version. This seems criminally cheap to me. Pick up copies of this and wait for it to break $5 or more in a year’s time.

RARE

 

Mutavault

FORMAT – Modern, Legacy, Commander

Mutavault is an incredible card, there’s no denying that. It hit highs of $40 earlier this year and has dropped significantly down to $18. Yet still, it is the most valuable card from M14. I don’t believe Mutavault is going below $12 due to Modern demand so if you can pick up copies close to $12 after rotation this is a good buy in point.

 

Scavenging Ooze

FORMAT – Modern, Commander

Scavenging Ooze made quite the appearance at GP Kobe. It seemed to fly under the radar due to Burn and Affinity taking down the tournament but Junk did quite well playing four copies of the Ooze main deck. Looks like there will demand from the Ooze for quite a while in Modern, since it is also played in Rock and Pod decks in addition to sometimes appearing in Tribal/Naya Zoo.

Ooze is a decent Commander card however it will derive most of its value from tournament play. $5.50 is the cheapest it has been in quite some time so pick up any copies you find around $5. Interestingly enough, media promo Oozes are also around $5 – I think it is a great time to pick up those foil versions if you want foils of Scavenging Ooze. Regular foils unfortunately will be stabilized for quite a while since there are a ton of media promo Oozes out there.

 

Door of Destinies

FORMAT – Commander, Casual

Door of Destinies was a $15 card before its reprint. This card has huge casual appeal, and once M14 rotates they will start to become hard to find again. It is around $2.50 right now. Expect it to be $4+ within the next year.

 

Tidebinder Mage

FORMAT – Modern

As long as Modern Merfolk is a deck I believe that Tidebinder will be played, at least in sideboards. She provides solid utility for Merfolk and extra distruption against red and green aggro decks. If you can pick up copies around $1 I think that’s pretty good.

 

Strionic Resonator

FORMAT – Commander

I like foils of Strionic Resonator for Commander because there are some wacky things you can do in the format, and Resonator amplifies those silly things. For example, if you stack the trigger right with Sands of Time I believe that you can have infinite untaps during your untap step if you have it and Resonator in play. Pretty neat huh? I’m sure more abilities will be printed in the future for Resonator, so if you can get them for bulk or foils for $1 or less I think that’s a good deal.

UNCOMMON

 

Young Pyromancer

FORMAT – Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Casual

Players have argued that Young Pyromancer is finally the completion of the broken two drop cycle for each color. The tournament results certainly back it up, as it has seen play in Top 8 decks across Modern, Legacy, and Vintage. I feel like it doesn’t complete the cycle because it isn’t a rare but to each their own. It is clearly a powerful card if not a member of the broken two drop cycle.

Nonfoils were included in event decks so $1.50 retail for this guy is going to stick for quite a while. I imagine there will be a reprint eventually in a Commander or supplementary product so focus on foils of Pyromancer. Foils are already around $20, yet based on all the play he is seeing in eternal formats that price could easily go higher.

COMMON

 

Shadowborn Apostle

FORMAT – Casual

People will collect Shadowborn Apostle like nobody’s business, since the card breaks one of the fundamental rules of Magic by allowing you to run as many copies as you want in a deck. If people try to build Commander with this card the estimated demand can only go higher. I don’t think you can ever lose with this common even at $0.50. People will want to collect them for decks so always having a few for those folks won’t hurt. Get them as trade throw ins and this guy’s price in the future might surprise you.

 

 

SLIVERS

FORMAT – Commander, Casual

I created a section just for slivers because many of my points for the slivers will apply at any rarity.

A favorite creature from Magic’s history, slivers made a comeback in M14 by having a face-lift and changing the wording around to “slivers you control” rather than “all slivers” for their abilities. I think all M14 slivers have potential due to collectors, especially the foil ones.

Galerider Sliver has recently seen a price spike in August, probably due to FNM players trying to make slivers work in Standard with Mana Confluence. I’m not sure if it will drop much after rotation since the deck is mainly driven by casuals and the new price could stick. Wait two to three months, and buy in then once the price dips if it decides to. Foils are also good at $10 for Commander.

Other good foils to target are Manaweft, Syphon, Thorncaster, and Bonescythe. Megantic, Predatory, Striking, and Blur Sliver also seem good to me but I don’t think they will see the gains that the first four will see.

Try to pick up common and uncommon slivers as trade throw ins like Predatory and Striking Sliver. They will hold value from casual Sliver appeal going forward.

Summary

Based on feedback from the first part of this set review, I will provide a Top 5 list from each set of top picks that I think will be the best performing cards once they hit their bottoms after rotation.This is the TL:DR of the article you can refer back to if you want to quickly know which cards I’m thinking will do the best in the future. I think all the cards I’ve mentioned will do well though I have the most faith in the ones listed below.

Dragon’s Maze Top 5

5. Savageborn Hydra

4. Progenitor Mimic

3. FOIL Wear // Tea

2. Ral Zarek

1. Voice of Resurgence

M14 Top 5

5. Archangel of Thune

4. Galerider Sliver

3. FOIL Young Pyromancer

2. Scavenging Ooze (especially Media Promos)

1. Mutavault

There are plenty of great options for cards in Dragon’s Maze and M14. Lots of people regarded Dragon’s Maze as a bad set but I believe in the grand scheme of Magic people will look back on it fondly like Kamigawa block. M14 was an awesome core set and provided many great cards to the Magic card pool, so there will be value in cards from that set moving forward as well. This wraps up my RTR Block and M14 rotation review. As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments.