All posts by Cliff Daigle

I am a father, teacher, cuber and EDH fanatic. My joy is in Casual and Limited formats, though I dip a toe into Constructed when I find something fun to play. I play less than I want to and more than my schedule should really allow. I can easily be reached on Twitter @WordOfCommander. Try out my Busted Uncommons cube at http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/76330

PROTRADER: PucaPicks for 9/22/16

So Kaladesh is arriving this weekend, and here’s a piece of advice that has never ever failed me: Trade everything away this week. Someone wants that foil uncommon. Someone is dying to be the first one to play with that sweet rare you opened. Someone’s willing to trade you $4 in value for that booster pack.

Don’t be the one trading for Kaladesh this weekend. Trade it away. Demand is at its highest and supply is super small. This weekend, and this weekend only, scoop up leftover uncommons and commons, and send them out on Puca.

I agree with a lot of you that my trade velocity has gone down, but I think the Inventions are going to cause a lot of movement. Zendikar Expeditions led to a lot of points flying around, and I think we are in for another wild ride. I’ve certainly got a few on my wishlist, and I’m not the only one. I see most bonuses in the 10-20% range, and I wouldn’t fault you if you went higher.

This week, I want to talk Oath of the Gatewatch, along with a few early Kaladesh impressions.

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Rares of Kaladesh

Didn’t we just do this? We just had a new set, right? It feels like this has been a lightning-speed summer, with set after set after set. We also have the news about the Masterpiece series, a set of chase reprints that will help hold down values, as people crack boxes to get these absolutely gorgeous foils.

I love what the Inventions offer, and I want to reiterate what this means for the rest of the set: lower prices. Battle for Zendikar had very few pricey cards, because the Expeditions were in such demand and lots of product got opened. We are going to see this at work as well in Kaladesh, pushing all the rest of the set downward financially. My picks today reflect that; I don’t see a lot of value in the gold symbols. We haven’t seen it all, but so far, I like some foils and I expect a lot of cheap cards.

Kaladesh has had two more spoiled mythics, so let’s jump into those before I discuss the rares that are worth it.

Combustible Gearhulk – Big and packing a giant zap, your opponent should never let you draw three. I’ve played Browbeat, and your opponent will always take the damage. I love that this combos with Eldrazi Displacer to make someone very sad, but since no one will ever let you draw three, this will be about $4 tops.

Dovin Baan – This into Fumigate is going to be the control deck’s dream for the next eighteen months. This card does everything that deck could desire, drawing and life and delaying. It’s going to see a lot of play, but I think that the Inventions keep this under $20, but above $15. He’s not going to see as much play as Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, and that’s a best-case scenario for a big-set planeswalker.

Now, the rares!

Panharmonicon – This is likely the best long-term hold in the set, but it is also the most reprintable. Wizards keeps finding ways to reprint stuff and I think that I’m going to pick up lots of these as they approach $1 for the regular, but this is going to have a big foil multiplier, I suspect between $5 and $10. No matter, as the foils are going to be an excellent way to retain value going forward.

Animation Module – As the rare of this cycle, it’s got the most potential, especially in foil, but that’s a lot of hoops to jump through. Barely above bulk.

Aetherflux Reservoir – What’s not to love? This is a fantastic way for lifegain decks to have a plan to win the game. It’s also instant-win to get played alongside Exquisite Blood, gaining 50 each time you deal 50. This is going to have a similar trajectory as Panharmonicon, with an impressive foil multiplier and a card I want to have many of when the set is done.

Metalwork Colossus – Nonartifact creatures means mana rocks. Plan accordingly, but keep in mind this lacks trample or anything like it. Likely a bulk rare.

Padeem, Consul of Innovation – Four mana is a lot, especially to not get the extra card for a whole turn, but I think the casual appeal will keep foils well above bulk rates.

Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter – I want the regular copies to keep their price, but that won’t happen. She will be about $1, with a foil that jumps dramatically, past $5. She’s amazing in all the Doubling Season decks.

Insidious Will – I love this card in Commander and Cube. I don’t think this is good enough for Standard, at least not more than one or two for decks, but I think this will be a pretty foil and be able to ask at least $2-$3.

Fumigate – I have looked high and low and I can’t find a wrath that could gain significant life. I t suspect that it’ll see a lot of Standard use, but I’m sort of excited about the foils too. I can easily see a board wipe gaining 10 or more life, with the potential to be really disgusting. Foils should end up about $3-$4.

PROTRADER: PucaPicks for 9/15/16

I’ll be honest, I really miss the old Puca search tool. I miss it being a Puca creature, I miss being able to type in stuff in the different fields, the simple ease of what I knew went into a certain box.

I love the desktop site, it’s so pretty, but yeah, I’m still transitioning and I truly despise the mobile interface.

This week I want to look back at just Battle for Zendikar this week, because those are going to rotate out in six months and I expect these to start trending downwards. Oath of the Gatewatch will be following soon after.

I haven’t finished my research on the Inventions yet, but believe me, I’m super aware of what they offer on Puca. That should be ready next week, just in time for the Prereleases.

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ProTrader: Magic doesn’t have to be expensive.

The Mythics of Kaladesh

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.