Monthly Archives: September 2016

Spoiler Coverage

Masterpiece Series and Kaladesh Inventions

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Just when we thought we were at peak excitement regarding Kaladesh, Wizards unveiled Kaladesh Inventions, an entry in the new Masterpiece Series!

In Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch, ultra-rare cards appeared occasionally in booster packs. These cards were reprints of some of the best lands Magic: The Gathering has ever seen, printed with brand-new frames and custom art. In the year since their release, they’ve been spotted all over coverage tables, and are an exclusive collector’s item for those with deep pockets.

After taking the Shadows Over Innistrad block off, Wizards is bringing back these special promo cards in a big way, starting with Kaladesh Inventions. Kaladesh Inventions is similar to Zendikar Expeditions in that they’ll show up very rarely; roughly 1 in every 140 booster packs. There are 30 that will appear in Kaladesh, and another 24 will come with Aether Revolt. Each of the 54 in these two sets will be an artifact. What’s especially amazing is the border — these cards are beautiful! Players across the continuum have been raving about how excellent they look.

Perhaps the bigger news is that Kaladesh Inventions is only part of a larger feature which is the Masterpiece Series. When Zendikar Expeditions was revealed we all wondered whether it would become permanent. Well, now we have our answer! Going forward, each new block will come with its own special run of cards tied thematically to the world of the set. Battle for Zendikar’s entry was all lands. Kaladesh’s are all artifacts. If we ever return to Theros, that will likely be all enchantments. Next year’s Amonkhet will almost definitely feature some Nicol Bolas-inspired entries.

For more information, check out Mark Rosewater’s article here. You can view all of the revealed cards in Kaladesh Inventions here. And check back on Wednesday when Travis goes in-depth on what impact Kaladesh Inventions will have on the secondary market!

Accumulated Knowledge

PROTRADER: Champions of Kaladesh

Okay, so I’m going to say something that is going to sound a little extreme and “hot take”-sy, but hear me out, okay?

Kaladesh looks to me like another Kamigawa block.

This is not a slight. The Kamigawa block had a lot of issues, but the crux of a lot of them was that the block, from a development perspective, was extremely insular. Even though Spirits became a somewhat supported tribe1, things like Arcane, Samurai, and …Fox Offering (!) have yet to be seen again. Now, with regards to Standard, this does not mean that Kaladesh will not be able to have a robust impact- R&D has gotten MUCH better since CHK, so I trust them to take big swings on new blocks. This DOES mean that we are not likely to see Kaladesh mechanics have a wide impact on larger formats. What that means is going to be our focus for today, but I want to start with a couple crucial definitions that I just made up.

The Three Degrees of New Card Impact on Existing Cards/Decks:

The First Degree: Direct Support, or ‘More of a Thing’. The best example of what I’m talking about here is “tribes”. If you like to play Elves in Modern, then any new set featuring cards with elves on them is giving you new potential options. The other most common instance here is when WotC brings back an existing mechanic.

The Second Degree: Indirect Support, or ‘Similar/Related Things’. Okay, so think about Become Immense in Infect. Technically, Become Immense (or any other Giant Growth effect) is not an “Infect card”, but any new version of that type of effect is at least a consideration in Infect. This is where we are looking for related characteristics of effects, not literal uniformity. We get more second degree impact than first degree impact.

The Third Degree: Minimal Support, or ‘Standalone Things’. So this is where things get sketchy, just because most things at least interact with something. This is where we are going to plug in Energy (the new Kaladesh mechanic), because it is a fundamentally new form of resource management that has almost no relation to anything prior in Magic’s history2. Vehicles probably also fit in here, even though they are a new innovation on a long-existing card type. This is also where plane-specific tribes wind up, like the aforementioned foxes of Kamigawa, the Cephalid of Otaria, and the Gremlins of Kaladesh.

So I think that by just laying out those definitions I somewhat made the point about Kaladesh. I don’t expect Vehicles (and their associated mechanic ‘Crew’) or Energy to become evergreen staples in the Magic vocabulary, and they have little application in the world that they are entering into. The result, as it was in Kamigawa, will be that individually powerful cards will thrive outside of Standard only in instances that maximize their essential uniqueness (Gifts Ungiven, Kiki-Jiki, the Mirror Breaker). What’s nice for us on the finance side is that artifacts still play a major role on this plane, and cool and flavorful artifacts can have appeal in formats as disparate as Commander, Cube, and Vintage. Foils of Ceremonious Rejection, for example, could be very rewarding long-term holds in Vintage circles while simultaneously hitting both Tron and Eldrazi in Modern.

Good card is good.
Good card is good.

It’s possible that some cards involving Energy Counters could be playable in Commander, but expect them to be higher rarity and essentially standalone cards. Take, as a perfect (and potentially only) example, Aetherworks Marvel:

This doesn't take any work, which is all you want.
This doesn’t take any work, which is all you want.

Because this card is able to eventually produce the effect on its own, the Es essentially operate as better Charge Counters that don’t go away when the card is destroyed. If you are able to get it back into play again later (or make a copy), then it may actually start off ahead of schedule. The checklist here is going to break down as the following:

  • The card in question can make Energy counters on its own.
  • The card in question has a desirable effect independent of Energy Counters.
  • The card in question is unique enough to warrant play over existing options.

Aetherworks Marvel is probably best compared to Temporal Aperture, although it is able to function without any additional mana investment (although it is likely much slower). Because cards like Temporal Aperture are very few and far between, it’s likely that this is worth consideration, but be wary of something with much more mainstream comps.

I’m not going to do a “traditional” set review for Kaladesh, partially because of the reasons we outlined today, and partially because I think that WotC is printing enough product now that a card REALLY needs to be a hit in Standard to maintain a good mid-term value. So come back next week for my Standard-Centric Kaladesh Set Review, starting next week.

In the meantime, FOOTBALL IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!

DUUUUUUVAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL,

Ross

1Although not really outside of UW, and that was only after Innistrad.

2I think you can technically proliferate Energy Counters, but let’s not be too nit-picky.

Casual Fridays

The Mythics of Kaladesh

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Oh that new set smell!

Right now, we know almost all of the mythics. As of this writing, there are still two to go, and I’ll add those in next week. It’s a curse, having the Friday article!

I’m going to go over these thirteen cards and give my predictions of what it’ll be when Aether Revolt is done in six months, when supply on these will be at their maximum.

Saheeli Rai – Preordering for $20 or so, and that sounds about right. She’s cheap at three mana, and we keep having to learn this lesson about three-drop planeswalkers. However, while I like what she does, I don’t think she keeps this price. She doesn’t defend herself at all, but is fantastic when you can keep her safe. She also requires a deck with artifacts in order for her ultimate to be good.

That being said, I have to add a caveat: red-blue artifact shenanigans made Dack Fayden good enough for Vintage play, so that’s on my radar. I freely admit that I don’t know enough about that format, but I do know that Commander demand alone will keep her price above $10, though not to $15.

Rashmi, Eternities Crafter – This is a crazy good card. At worst, she adds ‘reveal and draw a card’ to all spells. At best, she gives every spell cascade. I can’t wait to jam her into every Simic deck, and the card advantage she offers will keep her right between $5 and $10, though I suspect the foils are going to be quite pricey, likely $30+.

Skysovereign, Consul Flagship – A very powerful card, especially since you get the three damage on the first cast. It’s preordering for around $5, and I feel that’s a pretty stable price range. It might go down a buck or two, but it’ll see just enough play to keep this price.

Angel of Invention – I love an instant army, and it’s great to have the flexibility of counters or Servo tokens. This is also in the $5 range, and I actually think it’s going to creep upward in price a little as these are fantastic in multiples. I don’t think it’ll be breaking $10 though.

Metallurgic Summonings – Hang on to your hats, I think this is one of the most impactful cards in the set. It offers spell-heavy decks an incredibly powerful benefit. It’s five mana, meaning it might not make Legacy waves. It would be amazing with just the ‘gain some tokens’ ability, but it also offers the mega-Regrowth effect once you’ve cast enough spells! This is going to jump into lots of Commander decks, and the foil is going to be $20+ easily.

Demon of Dark Schemes – Fantastic card, but tough to cast and slow and grindy. The definition of an awesome Commander card, and one that will hold its $3 price pretty well.

Chandra, Torch of Defiance – There’s no doubt the card is flexible and incredibly powerful. What’s in doubt is this price tag. It’s preordering for fifty, even sixty dollars, and that’s too high. She’s going to have to prove herself in Modern and Legacy to have a prayer of holding that price, as she’s a big-set mythic. Liliana, the Last Hope is going to stay high as a small-set card, but Chandra is going to have a much greater supply. I think she’s going to drop significantly, and will be between $20-$25 when we are done with this block.

Nissa, Vital Force – Sure, she’s able to ultimate the turn after you play her, and that’s nice, but it doesn’t affect the board. Her plus ability does let you accelerate a turn of mana, and getting things back is nice, but she’s five mana. I think she’s going to follow a path like Sorin, Grim Nemesis, and drop a bit below ten bucks.

Cataclysmic Gearhulk – If your biggest problem is a swarm of creatures, this is amazing. If you’re dying to one big flier, this does nothing. It’s not a wrath, and don’t confuse it with one, because their best creature is staying. As a result, I don’t think this will see a lot of play, and drop into the $2 range.

Torrential Gearhulk – Snapcaster Mage is better, let’s get that out of the way. It’s relatively rare to have hugely expensive instants that need to be recast. Gather Specimens? This is a fun card, and can be built around for value, but I don’t think it’ll ever be unfairly powerful. Most likely scenario is blue-black, casting this to recast a removal spell. The quality of instants directly affects the quality of this card, and I expect this to drop to below $3.

Noxious Gearhulk – This is a great big awesome creature, catching you up on the board, gaining you life, and requiring two blockers. Really impressive, and something that is going to make people figure out how to do this and Eldrazi Displacer in the same deck. It’s preselling for about $6, and I don’t see that falling more than a buck or two.

Verdurous Gearhulk – Another great Displacer target, this is, at worst, five mana for an 8/8 trample. It’s preselling for a couple bucks more, but because it can’t do much on its own, I expect to see the price tumble significantly, landing below $5.

ProTrader

PROTRADER: PucaPicks for 9/8/16

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So we are neck-deep in excitement over Kaladesh, and it looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun.

I made my Eldritch Moon picks a couple of weeks ago, and my logic stands, though I’m going to be watching some of these prices closely. If Liliana, the Last Hope doesn’t lower in price by Christmas, I think we’re going to have a new pattern in Standard pricing, reflecting the paradigm of an 18-month cycle.

The final data will be in when Gideon, Ally of Zendikar rotates, and what his graph looks like.

However, this week, I want to look at Conspiracy: Take the Crown and examine what’s worth picking up. The set has had a big initial release and maybe it’s got another week or two of play, but I know I’m burning out on the set. I’ve done a lot of drafts and had a good time, but it feels like a lot of durdling and a lot of delaying, and that’s not always fun.

I think that we are near the highest point of supply on these cards, and that means it’s time to get the ones you want. Some of these picks are growth picks, likely to slowly increase, but some of these are speculative, because they are very good and are waiting to be broken.

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