A lot of people are freaking out about Eldrazi.  The deck with 2 reprinted lands in Modern Masters 2015 and a bunch of Standard legal rares apparently has everyone running scared.  This is my way of dealing with it:

For anyone who doesn’t get this, you need to go spend some time and watch Shaun of the Dead.

Either way, my position from last week hasn’t changed.  I’ll just take a break from Modern until someone smarter than me figures out how to beat the tentacle menace.

The State of Standard

If you’re not playing a deck that could also be named “Revenge of the Sand People,” then you’re probably trying to play something to beat it.  I think we have already seen the power of Collected Company and Reflector Mage as well.  So what happens from here?

The Short term (next 3 months)

Rally is good, Collected Company is good, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet is good. But what about in 3 months when rotation happens?  Despite coming out very recently, I think it’s correct to sell Kalitas before rotation.  My aim would be the week before Shadows over Innistrad spoilers officially start.  Kalitas doesn’t actually act very favorably with the self-mill themes that were popular during original Innistrad.  His wording is different than Anafenza, the Foremost.  With the rotation of Rally the Ancestors I don’t think there will be as big of an emphasis on exiling creatures.

If you play Abzan aggro you’re liking paying $40 to keep your Siege Rhinos, Warden of the First Tree, and Anafenza, the Foremost until rotation as that will be a minimal cost to continue playing.

Collected Company will stay good unless the mana is really bad in Shadows over Innistrad. The shell of Collected Company, Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy, and Reflector Mage will be intact until the fall.

So if you’re worried about the feet coming out from under your Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy we’re slowly coming to the last 6 months of him being legal in Standard.  With the release of the unannounced fall set he will rotate.  If wisdom from Khans of Tarkir taught us anything, we will see the last spike during the release of Shadows over Innistrad (6 months before rotation).  The hype for new madness cards could certainly put him over $100 and his recent lack of Modern play leads me to believe that would be the time to get out.

I’m not sure there Hangarback Walker will go out with a band or a whimper (like our old friend Siege Rhino) but it is important to note that this card is one of very few cards with multiple card types that are Standard playable.  This is important for Delirium cards, like the one confirmed in Blessed vs Cursed duel deck.

My last bit of advice is in these next 3 months find some time to grab all of the Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch dual lands.  We will need to find a way to make Battle land / Man land mana bases work and it will likely involve a lot of them (since we are losing fetches, which make up a larger portion of many mana bases today).

Do you own 4 of these yet? I know it’s uncommon (pun intended) for uncommons to become very expensive but this guy is the real deal.  He punishes fair decks and unfair decks alike, making it unlikely any real strong reanimator strategy is in our future.  Once we start moving away from 3-4 color decks I could see him teaming up with Harbinger of the Tides for some sick tempo action.  I don’t think it would particularly hard for him to become a $3-4 uncommon if the dominance levels continue.

Also this little Ghostway upgrade could also cause more groans from the audience.

The Long Term

Yeah it happened.  Missed the announcement? Check it out here.

I’ll share with you the information I’ve compiled from various sources that should answer most of your questions:

• No reserve list cards
• $9.99 MSRP
• 24 packs per box
• 1 foil per pack
• No recyclable packaging (like used for Modern Masters 2015)
• It is designed to be drafted and will be on MTGO
• It will include Modern legal cards but that is not the focus Source
• It will have a limited print run (like Modern Masters)

These cards are in it:

By the time you’re reading this Underground Sea has probably become significantly pricier than last weekend but I think that is to be expected.  Unless something happens to the Reserve List, people will continue to purchase those cards knowing they won’t be reprinted and subject to huge price drops.  Right now my advice is buy reserve list cards you may need otherwise just “wait and see.”  I don’t think the new card availability will do a ton to revitalize the Legacy community.

Final Thoughts

• Use this time to clean up your collection.  We’re about to head into a rotation with a lot of powerful cards leaving Standard.  Some bulk rares will rebound
• Watch tournament results.  Blips in the standings are the best times to get in.
• Enjoy playing Magic.