MTG Fast Finance: Episode 18

by Travis Allen (@wizardbumpin) & James Chillcott (@mtgcritic)

MTG Fast Finance is a weekly podcast that tries to break down the flurry of financial activity in the world of Magic: The Gathering into a fast, fun and useful thirty minute format. Follow along with our seasoned hosts as they walk you through this week’s big price movements, their picks of the week, metagame analysis and a rotating weekly topic.

Show Notes: Feb 26th

Segment 1: Top Movers of the Week

Greater Gargadon (Foil, Modern Masters)
Start: $4.50
Finish: $7.25
Gain: +$2.75 (+60%)

Realms Uncharted (Rise of the Eldrazi)
Start: $1.75
Finish: $3.00
Gain: +$1.25 (+70%)

Junun Efreet (Arabian Nights)
Start: $5.00
Finish: $9.50
Gain: +$4.50 (+90%)

Gavony Township (Foil, Innistrad)
Start: $12.00
Finish: $24.00
Gain: +$12.00 (+100%)

Iroas, God of Victory (Foil, Journey Into Nyx)
Start: $15.00
Finish: $30.00
Gain: +$15.00 (+100%)

Library of Alexandria (Arabian Nights)
Start: $445.00
Finish: $1,150.00
Gain: +$705 (+160%)

Segment 2: Cards to Watch

James Picks:

  1. Force of Will (Foil, Eternal Masters) Confidence Level 8: $275 to $400 (+45%, 0-12+ months)
  2. Mana Crypt Foil, Eternal Masters, Confidence Level 7: $225 to $300 (+33%, 0-12+ months)
  3. Wasteland
  4. Natural Order
  5. Shardless Agent
  6. Sensei’s Divinging Top (Eternal Masters)

Travis Picks:

  1. Day’s Undoing">Day’s Undoing, Magic Origins, Confidence Level 6: $2 to $8 (+300%, 12+ months)
  2. Daretti, Scrap Savant">Daretti, Scrap Savant, Commander 2014, Confidence Level 7: $2 to $10 (+400%, 12+ months)
  3. Titania, Protector of Argoth">Titania, Protector of Argoth, Commander 2014, Confidence Level 8: $2.50 to $10 (+300%, 12+ months)
  4. Sealed Eternal Masters boxes, MSRP, 12+ months

Disclosure: Travis and James may own speculative copies of the above cards.

Segment 3: Metagame Week in Review

Between GP Minneapolis and GP Manchester, humans were all over Standard. While Minneapolis was nearly nothing but, Manchester provided some additional color, including an exciting build including Jace’s Sanctum that landed in 25th place.

 

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.

Brainstorm Brewery #195 – Stitched Together

Brainstorm Brewery #195 – Stitched Together

 

Corbin had to leave early and Marcel had to show up late. It wasn’t ideal but neither was skipping another week. What were we to do? Record in two separate pieces and stitch it together with audio magic, that’s what! With Eternal Masters to discuss, a Merfolk deck winning a GP and e-mails to finally read, there was a lot to cover. Someone on reddit this week said he doesn’t think the cast of Brainstorm Brewery likes each other. I don’t even know how to respond to that other than to say having Ryan and Jason record two separate episode halves like Marcel and Corbin are divorced is pretty funny given the timing. Strap in and listen to your favorite podcast, why don’t you? This is Brainstorm Brewery.

 

 

Contact Us!

Brainstorm Brewery Website – E-mail – Twitter Facebook RSS iTunes Stitcher

Ryan Bushard – E-mail – Twitter Facebook

Corbin Hosler – E-mail – Twitter Facebook MTGPrice

Jason E Alt – E-mail – Twitter FacebookMTGPrice

Marcel White – E-mail – Twitter

 

PROTRADER: EMA Aftershocks

A few weeks back, I openly pondered whether Eternal Masters would be able to serve as a better reprint vehicle than something like Commander or Conspiracy- each set prioritizing what makes it unique, rather than trying to fit “staples” of each format into three sets. While we haven’t seen what the Conspiracy or Commander offerings will look like yet, it’s fair to say that EMA has quite a few cards in it that are not strictly masters of eternal formats. We are also going to discuss the distribution issues surrounding this set, and how it might be best to approach acquisition early and in the long term.

The rest of this content is only visible to ProTrader members.

To learn how ProTrader can benefit YOU, click here to watch our short video.

expensive cards

ProTrader: Magic doesn’t have to be expensive.

Eternal Masters: The Rares

Here’s the list of rares in Modern Masters 2015 that are currently worth the MSRP of a pack:
Noble Hierarch $47
Spellskite $33
Fulminator Mage $29
Leyline of Sanctity $15
…and that’s it. Only four rares worth the retail of $10, and that doesn’t account for any markup you paid along the way.

I am pretty sure that there will be a similar trajectory for the rares of Eternal Masters, though some of the foils will have amazingly high prices. I’m expecting low things, much more in line with Modern Masters 2015: a few chase mythics, a little value at rare, and a lot of $5 and under cards.

I’m not going to go over every card, just the ones that I think will be near, at, or above the $10 mark by the time we get to Eldritch Moon.
Enlightened Tutor – Currently, this is solidly at $16 for the two nonfoil versions. Supply is tiny, though, and a lot of these are going to get put into Cubes and decks. I think this ends up just about $10.

Karmic Guide – The original is at $6, the Commander 2013 version is $3 and even the Judge Foil is barely at $20. This is the nail in the coffin, and will settle around $2.

Mother of Runes – Three printings keep this between $3 and $5, and I see no reason for that to change. The foils on this are interesting, as this art is more appealing than the other two foils, so we may see $25 or more on the foils.

Mystical Tutor – This is $8 with a From the Vault lurking at $25. It won’t be higher than $10, but it will be more than $5. The foils will easily be $25 or more, though, as people will get rid of the FtV foil and the unusual look those have.

Serendib Efreet – It’s never been good enough, though the stats alone are impressive. It’s a 3 /4 flyer for a mere three mana! It’ll be a dollar rare, unfortunately.

Ichorid – I’m inclined to say this takes a dive. Currently at $11, I’m pretty sure it’ll fall to $6 or lower. It’s just not popular enough. It’s possible that people open this and want to build a Dredge/Bridge from Below deck, but I highly doubt it.

Sinkhole – Let’s get this out of the way: It’s not going to stay $30. This was a judge foil in 2010, and while it was a common, it was last printed in Unlimited. I would be fascinated to know if there were more Judge versions out there than Alpha and Beta ones. I suspect it’s close, though I don’t know for sure. This is best friends with Hymn to Tourach, but as a rare, I think this is going to end up very close to $10 out of pure price memory.

Toxic Deluge – It’s played rarely but it was nudging up to $20 before the reprint news cut it to $10. I think it falls all the way to $5, and at that point, it’s intriguing as a pickup.

Gamble – There are enough decks that want this to keep the price high, though I feel it will fall to $15 or so. Losing half of its value is still painful. Foils on this could be quite silly, though, because a lot of Commander decks will love it.

Sulfuric Vortex – This will put all the versions to bulk, though the foils might make it to $5.

Heritage Druid – Elf players need to brace themselves, because this is going to drop like a rock. Three dollars, but the foil will be about $15.

Regal Force – This is a surprisingly awesome card in a range of creature decks, which you might not expect for its stats. Financially, though, this is going to be a $5-$7 card with the foils about $20.

Shardless Agent – The buylist on this has already dropped by $5 in the last couple weeks, and that’s a very bad sign for anyone who has these in stock. Once pushing $25, these will end at about $10.

Vindicate – That’s a scary graph for a card, gradual declines over the last couple of years and now this. It’s a universal answer, though, and you can never have enough of those. I want it to be higher, but this won’t be above $10.

Vindicate

Isochron Scepter – Once, this was expensive and amazing with split cards, but it’s gotten supplemental products here and there and this will put it to $2.

Sensei’s Divining Top – The top has dropped nearly $10 since being spoiled and that’s a very telling indicator. I personally can’t stand people running this in Commander, as it is incremental advantage in a battlecruiser format, and it just takes so long! I expect this to settle at about $10, but I’m prepared for foils to carry a big multiplier, likely to about $40-$50.

Maze of Ith – I love to think about cards where the FTV version is less expensive than the original. Is it the art? The foiling process? Maybe it’s amazing in 93-94? Thirty dollars is not where it’s going to stay, but I do think we are going to see some odd price disconnects with this. The Eternal Masters version will likely settle between $10-$15.

Mishra’s Factory – First off, I think your original four seasons versions are perfectly safe. Every other version is going to be just above bulk.

Wasteland – A Tempest uncommon, a Judge Foil, a Player Reward, a Zendikar Expedition, and now this. It’s had that many extra printings and I think all the specials are relatively safe. They will feel a bump, but the Tempest version has lost more than $20 so far and it’s going to fall farther. I think it ends up about $30, and that’s a price I’m going to think about buying a few at.