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

Khans and Fate Rotations

By: Cliff Daigle

With everyone looking their eyes full of the new set (with glee, I’m doing the same) I want to think about the things that are about to rotate when Shadows over Innistrad arrives in April.

Khans of Tarkir and Fate Reforged are going to be gone in three months, so it’s time to get out of some things and prepare to get into others.

Khans of Tarkir

Fetchlands ($14-$22): These have already seen a spike thanks to the battle lands and it’s possible that they won’t go down at all. Modern has already soaked up a lot of the supply, and casual players got great lands at a good price.

I’m getting rid of mine now, and after rotation, I do not expect them to go up or down significantly. I am going to pursue a strategy of seeking them out in trade, though, because turning several smaller cards into a fetch land will give me good trade fodder.

Sorin, Solemn Visitor (currently $8): I would expect him to take a minor dip in price but not very far. Get rid of extras now, but keep the ones you’ve already put into Cubes and EDH decks.

Everything else in Khans is quite low in price, as befits a set that is about to rotate. So let’s see where the deals are:

See the Unwritten ($1): Guo wrote an article a while back that detailed a philosophy about cards that can only get better. With every big creature printed in the future, See the Unwritten gets better. It’s not going to be huge, but the foil multiplier indicates that this has had big casual demand. I love picking this up at $1 and just being patient. It’s certainly not going to go lower.

Clever Impersonator ($2.25): Another card that has a 4x foil multiplier, instead of 2-3x, I like having a few of these to spare. It’s just amazing in any casual format, copying anything at all. The better your opponents are, the better this will be. I would expect slow but steady growth from this card.

Foil Feed the Clan ($5): I mentioned this card as a sideboard option, and the 10x multiplier on the foil says that this is worth having. Ten life is worth three to four cards against a Burn deck and while it’s almost exclusively a Modern sideboard option right now, It might get a huge bump in price if it shows up in a Legacy event.

Empty the Pits ($0.75): There is such low risk in picking this card up. Yes, it’s more expensive than Secure the Wastes, and they are tapped, but the tribal appeal cannot be overstated. Get a few, sock them away, and move on. It’s also worth noting that there are only two Delve spells with X in the cost, though this one cannot be used in a combo turn. The other is a counterspell, so not really relevant.

Foil Become Immense ($6.50): It’s a mainstay now in Infect decks, though not quite good enough for Legacy builds that get to abuse Invigorate. Nowhere to go but up, and the Temur Battle Rage combo might get popular again.

Foil Stubborn Denial ($4): I’m very surprised that this hasn’t seen more play in Modern and Legacy yet. When I can Tasigur on turn two and have this up (off fetches and Thought Scours) the world would seem to be my oyster.

Fate Reforged

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon ($48): This is a very high price, but he’s the chase mythic of a small set. Thankfully, there’s a promo version out there taking some of the pressure off the high end, giving Commander and Cube players a special card to go after. I think that his price goes down some but not a lot, and certainly not enough to make it worth the play of ‘sell now, buy again in three months’. Ugin sees a fair amount of Modern play, so I won’t be surprised when he dips down to $35-$40 and then climbs back upwards.

Tasigur, The Golden Fang ($4/$37): One mana for a 4/5 on turn two after a Delver turn one (presuming fetches and Thought Scour) is really good, even before the ability puts your worst spell back in hand. I know several of my cohorts here have trumpeted the foil as well, and the multiplier of nearly 10x is a very strong indicator of demand post-Standard.

Monastery Mentor ($16): A first-class finisher, one that demands a sweeper or an immediate answer. Given the relatively small number in circulation, I would imagine this goes down to maybe $12 at rotation before starting to creep upwards.

Temporal Trespass ($1.75): Extra-turns cards are always going to have a certain group that they appeal to. The foil has a normal ultiplier up to $5.50, so this is a stable price to get in at. The $1.75 price is despite seeing no play anywhere, so it’s unlikely to go down.

Whisperwood Elemental ($1.25/$7): Foil alert! I can tell you that this card is a house in Commander games, where you can flip up whatever you manifested each turn and just stockpile cards in hand, all while having a free insurance policy against having your board wiped. Six times the regular price means that it is being picked up by those who like shiny things, and I think the foil could be $15 in a year.

Foil Gurmag Angler ($10!!): Yup, the Delve decks love this guy and some of them play this and Tasigur. I’ll leave it to the brewers to decide who is right, because the price of self-mill to make this good is a price that was already being paid. I’d also like to point out its cousin Hooting Mandrills at $3.50 for a foil, though being a 4/4 is not quite big enough.

Ranking Expeditions

By: Cliff Daigle

The spoiler has landed, and before I dive into what I want to buy (lots of foils, I suspect) I want to look at the other pretty toys Oath of the Gatewatch is giving us: twenty more Expeditions.

I’m going to rank them based on casual appeal, as the financial value has a lot of variation. Trade appeal is also a consideration.

ancienttomb

Ancient tomb: For people who build cubes, there’s already a special foil version out there. It’s not hard to find, but putting one of these in your commander deck is a powerful thing to do.

It’s also going to sting, so be aware.

Desirability: six out of 10.

 

manaconfluence

Mana Confluence: There is no shortage of lands that will enable you to be five colors. City of Brass, Rupture Spire, Unknown Shores, Shimmering Grotto, and lots lots more. This is from a very recent sent, before oil is not hard to find, but the art is more appealing as these things go.

Desirability: five out of 10.

 

wasteland

Wasteland: Financially, this is likely to be among the pricier Expeditions. Even the Tempest uncommon is up to $70 and there’s a couple of special foils. This will be a card lots of people want to have, and you should treat it as such.

I think every Commander deck should have a plan to deal with problem nonbasics (Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, Diamond Valley, Maze of Ith) and Wasteland is a great answer.

Desirability: 9 out of 10

 

dustbowl

Dust Bowl: Speaking of great answers in Commander! I confess I didn’t know this had gotten up to almost $10, and its only foiling was the set, so that means it’s pretty hard to find.

I’m not sure the demand is there, though. The Bowl is a nice trick to have in EDH games but it’s hard to abuse like Strip Mine or Wasteland is. Fair cards tend to have fair prices, and I’d expect this to keep a fair price.

Desirability: 4 out of 10

 

forbiddenorchard

Forbidden Orchard: Another five-color land, and one that gets used in tricky scenarios where you want to give your opponent creatures. Something like Defense of the Heart, perhaps?

It sees a marginal amount of Legacy play, and a small amount of Commander use. Yawn.

Desirability: 3 out of 10

 

tectonicedge

Tectonic Edge: The existence of this as a promo makes me want to play a variation of “Flip it or Rip it” called “Rip it to pieces and set them aflame.”

Desirability: negative a billion out of ten

 

stripmine

Strip Mine: I was surprised to learn that there is only one foil version of this card, and that’s the From The Vault printing of 2009.

It is notable that Wasteland is legal for Legacy but this isn’t. Would making it legal in that format to degenerate decks? Aren’t the decks already degenerate? Looking at deck lists, the case could be made that this is much worse than wasteland. Most Legacy decks are only playing one or two basics, unless the deck plays almost all basics.

Does this mean we are about to see an unbanning? Logically, maybe, but as I’ve noted, I’m done trying to figure out what Wizards has decided to do.

Desirability: 6 out of 10

 

horizoncanopy

Horizon Canopy: A third-set rate from forever ago, two colors of mana immediately and can be cashed in for a card. Value all over the place!

Canopy sees play in a lot of decks in a range of formats. As such, this will be fighting for the title of “most valuable” among the Expeditions and one of the main ones you want to open.

Desirability: 9.5 out of 10

 

korhaven

Kor Haven: People assume this is Maze of Ith all the time. It’s not. It’s more expensive and more one-sided, and produces mana! The effect it generates prevents only the damage that would be dealt BY the creature, not to the creature. So you can block with lots of creatures and lose none.

Don’t overlook how good tapping for a colorless is about to become, either.

Desirability: 7 out of 10

 

eyeofugin

Eye of Ugin: This just went through a spike and it’s going to make a big splash in Modern. This one is perfectly timed and might be something people chase really hard, in addition to the Tron players already making it popular.

Desirability: 7 out of 10

 

cascadebluffs

Ten Filter Lands: I’m lumping these together even though there’s going to be a very wide spread on them.

These are due to bump a little because the use of colorless activation and spells is going to go up in all the formats. Other writers have said this but I’ll repeat it: your best choices are now filter lands and pain lands, because shocks, duals, fetches, etc., can’t make colorless mana. Filter lands have been due for a reprint, and this is perfect.

If you open one and you don’t want to put it in a Commander deck, just tuck it in your binder. It won’t take long for you to find a trade partner.

Desirability: between 5 and 10 out of ten, depending on what colors you play in Commander.

Resolutions Revisited

By: Cliff Daigle

Almost a year ago, I made a set of resolutions, which can be found here.

Today, 51 weeks later, I want to go over how I’ve done and make some new ones. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m big on self-reflection.

2015

#1: Play More Magic

I have played more and I’m on track to do even better this year. My kids are a year older and a GP is coming to my area this month!

It’s also been a lot of fun to try out a lot of different card shops. Different events, different people, but the same great goal.

#2: Don’t Cash Out

I did not live up to this, as I sold off my Kaalia deck and a few other pieces to get a security deposit. It happens, but I’ll try not to have it happen again. Plus, it gave me an excuse to build Surrak Dragonclaw.

Some of the prices are just wow. As I’ve noted, Cavern of Souls is a ridiculous card and you should move your spare copies before the inevitable reprint.

#3: Reorg Binders

I failed at this too, and I have a fifth binder now: PucaTrade. Argh. I definitely need to stop carrying them all with me, too.

#4: Introduce a New Player to Magic

I’ve gotten several of my students interested. Big hit this year. Maybe a Magic club next year.

It’s easiest when they already play Hearthstone or other CCGs but Magic is the best of them all.

#5: Watch More Magic!

I would say I have been successful at this, especially if you ask my wife. The replays and archives on YouTube are easy and accessible and my only beef is that it’s hard to see all the cards in a MTGO pack.

Perhaps that’s why I find I enjoy watching the real life drafts more than I do the online ones, but there’s just not as many.

And like many others, I’m going to miss Patrick Sullivan on coverage.

#6: Continue not Playing Online

I have to admit, the various incarnations of Cube have been tempting. The legendary cube especially, that is something designed to get me out of my usual space. Powered cubes aren’t as interesting to me, especially when I’m paying for the privilege of losing on turn three.

It has not yet been worth the actual money and the investment of time.

#7: Get That Foil Foreign Akroma, and Foreign White Border Scrublands & Badlands

I ended up selling this deck not long after the year started so this became moot. Alas.

#8: Use eBay More

I have done this more but not as much as I likely should. I did more selling on eBay than buying, that always feels nice.

The simple truth remains that I don’t have the high levels of disposable income to be an eBay wizard, and I’m okay with that.

With that review in mind, let me make a few new ones for this year:

2016

#1: Use PucaTrade to Acquire a Gaea’s Cradle.

I wrote about my misgivings for Puca a few weeks ago and I’ve had more than a few good conversations about it. I’m still wary of the purchasing power but I’m going to give it a shot. Getting the points won’t be hard (Cavern of Souls is 4000!) and Cradle is a card that I desperately want.

I haven’t yet signed up for the paid tiers of Puca, but I want foils badly and so I just might start that soon.

#2: Have a Regular Magic scene

I’ve moved four times in the past five years. It’s been hard to have a regular thing but this is a goal, a very attainable one.

My goal this year is to be part of a regular Commander group. I’ve been sporadically attending and I want to build that community again. I don’t think I want to have to tune all my decks for a local meta, but I would love to have a regular group without a lot of infinite combos or resource denial decks.

#3: Trust my reads more

Sometimes when I write an article and highlight a card, I pick up a few copies. Kolaghan’s Command is the first time I had the impulse to go super deep and I ended up being shallow.

Granted, I have big stacks of other cards that haven’t panned out at all (Aurelia the Warleader, Thespian’s Stage, Prophet of Kruphix, etc.) but I KNEW it was underpriced and I didn’t move very much.

#4: Get and stay organized

I have multiple binders still. I have rows of I sorted cards. I have a paper box marked Puca. I have packed away my old decks filled with random treasure, like TurboThallid holding a set of Earthcraft.

I need to get everything sorted and accessible.

That’s my breakdown for this year. What are some of your goals?


 

Read These Again

By: Cliff Daigle

This being the end of the year, I wanted to share with you all the pieces I am most pleased with, in chronological order.

Next week, it’s time to review how some New Year’s resolutions went!

2/6 – The Vendors’ Views

Normally at a GP between rounds, I’m searching for trades or looking for an EDH game. This time, I was chasing down vendors and trying to find out everything I could. What I found out was a lot more than what’s hot or not, and this was one of the first indicators of how 93/94 is really affecting the market for older cards. I’d hardly heard of the format at this point!

4/10 – We All Lose At Pack Wars

Every once in a while, I like to go back and review a basic concept of Magic finance. In this case, it’s the terrible value of a single pack. It is something I don’t always succeed at, especially when there’s foreign packs dripping with potential value.

For example, there was a card shop in New York I went to once, they had Japanese Shadowmoor packs. Only five of them left, and I bought them all to find the foil rare of…Stenchskipper. Yeah. Be envious.

5/15 – Watching the Sideboards

The philosophy here is valid, and comes with its own built-in proof: When I wrote this, the card Kolaghan’s Command was at $2/$6 for a foil, and if you’d bought in then (I picked up a few foils) then you’re up to $14/$30.

Not everything on that list has the same growth potential, but foil Rending Volley is still a great pickup right now, especially as anti-Twin tech in Modern. Kills Deceiver Exarch, Pestermite, even Restoration Angel if that variation is around. Can’t be countered and Spellskite is useless against it.

6/19 – Being an MTG Dad

By far, my favorite piece ever. I’m going to struggle with a lot of these questions over my daughters’ entire lives.

How much of my enjoyment of the game comes from being the accepted gender and race? Will I want to play less when I notice how many men spend less time casting spells and more time ogling them?

It is also the least financially relevant piece I’ve written for this site, as there’s no buy or sell advice within.

8/7 – Are you a Terrible Trader?

This piece spawned an interesting set of thoughts and comments on Reddit, and it has a lively set of examples in the comments.

One thing I want to make clear about my use of Hero’s Downfall as an example: if someone wants a card that will be rotating, trade it away at its current value. But when someone tries to push that card onto you, especially if it is not what you’re asking for, that’s when you should be leery.

10/2 – Awesome! Expedition! Now What?

The premise is simple: what to do if you open an Expeditions in Battle for Zendikar? How do you treat it? Keep it? Sell it? There’s a lot of potential options and all of them have advantages.

The new set of Expeditions, if the spoilers are to be believed, will have the most fascinating mix of very expensive and very cheap promo editions. It’ll be interesting to watch.

10/9 – The Lessons Origins Taught Us

Finally, this is a piece that I thought a lot about. How were so many of us so wrong? What lessons are here that we can learn from, in order to be ready for the next time a standard card approaches $80?

A lot of predictions were very right about the set. But the one we missed most on, Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy, offered the greatest financial windfall and that’s what I looked at.

I hope you enjoyed my year of writing, as well as this selection of highlights!