By James Chillcott (@MTGCritic)

5 Winners of the Week

1. Lantern of Insight (Fifth Dawn, Uncommon): $2.00 to $4.99 (+150%)

As a true Timmy to the core, I am always excited to see another random bulk card hit the big time when someone uncovers a previously unnoticed set of interactions. Even better is when the deck in question represents an entirely new archetype, as was the case with the Lantern of Insight/Ensnaring Bridge deck that caught our attention at recent Modern tournaments of note. Though the deck isn’t quite established as a Tier 1 option, it has proven to be more resilient to disruption than previously thought, and a combination of speculative activity and players legitimately trying out the deck has resulted in our largest spike of the week. As Lantern is highly unlikely to be reprinted anytime soon, I think you can feel fine with unloading any copies you had lying around, while holding back a few for possible increases to hedge your bets.

Verdict: Sell/Trade

Format(s): Modern

2. Arcbound Ravager (Modern Masters, Rare): $18.00 to $39.99 (+122%)

Ravager is jumping as part of widespread increase in Modern staples that were not reprinted in Modern Masters 2015. Affinity continues to be a consistently competitive deck in the format, and it was also one of the more affordable decks, all of which set this card up for a spike. I’m in no rush to unload my copies as any future bannings are more likely to benefit Affinity than hurt it as an archetype, and it’s always a core 4-of in the deck.

Verdict: Hold

Format(s): Modern/Casual

3. Nettle Sentinel (M14/Eventide, Rare): $1.54 to $3.18 (+94%)

Driven by the power of Collected Company and Chord of Calling in Modern Elves, several key components are now on the rise, including this previously innocuous one-drop. Being called out as a spike target by members of our team didn’t hurt its’ prospects, but I’d think that the top line here is about $5. Feel free to bail out if you’re holding a bunch.

Format(s): Modern/Legacy

Verdict: Hold

4. Ancient Stirrings (ROE, Common): $1.49 to $3.49  (+75%)

Like Affinity, Tron has been a consistent top table contender in Modern for longer than most people have been playing the format. Also like Tron, any core components not recently reprinted are fair game for price increases. It’s just the latest in a long line of commons to start life below $1 and reward those of us that are hoarding them, but there is some slight risk of a reprint in Battle for Zendikar this fall so I’m fine bulking these out.

Format(s): Modern

Verdict: Sell/Trade

5. Horizon Canopy (Future Sight, Rare): $45.00 to $70.00 (+56%)

Future Sight continues on towards its manifest destiny of one of the greatest MTG Finance sets of all time. Here we have a decade old rare land that’s usually played as a 1 or 2-of, though in multiple decks. The ability to cash in an unneeded land for an extra draw phase provides enough utility to provide a price foundation, but it’s the age of the home set and the lack of a reprint that is floating this price. If you got in under $30 there is no good reason to hold out for more as $60-70 is already quite high for a card of this type and play usage.

Format(s): Modern

Verdict: Sell

 

3 Top Losers of the Week

1. Congregation at Dawn (Ravnica, Uncommon): $3.41 to $2.00 (-41%)

Congregation spiked as a potential Modern component alongside Collected Company, but as that card has found new friends, this uncommon has fallen back to a lower price. Hopefully you got out during the spike earlier this spring so that you don’t have to fret now about what to do with your extra copies now that you’re facing lower demand.

Verdict: Hold/Sell

2. Icefall Regent (Dragons of Tarkir, Rare): $2.26 to 1.89 (-16%)

This is a mild and natural drop on a card that hasn’t found a sweet spot in the Standard metagame but could end up seeing more play in either a rejuvenated blue devotion strategy or some other tempo/control style build in the next few months. Either way, feel free to trade these out at your leisure, as they are highly unlikely to spike in the face of so many freshly interesting Origins cards.

Format(s): Standard

Verdict: Buy below $4

3. Shorecrasher Elemental: $2.82 to $2.38 (-16%)

Unlike the frosty dragon above, I actually think it’s reasonable to acquire a few sets of Shorecrasher Elemental at this price. Maybe Harbinger of Tides sets off one last hurrah for blue devotion, or maybe that deck is retrofitted for Modern success, but either way, casuals could easily make this a $5 card a year or two down the road if the other options don’t pan out. It’s not an important spec, but I’ve got 20 copies or so lying around.

Verdict: Buy/Hold

James Chillcott is the CEO of ShelfLife.net, The Future of Collecting, Senior Partner at Advoca, a designer, adventurer, toy fanatic and an avid Magic player and collector since 1994.

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