Category Archives: Corbin Hosler

Corbin Hosler

Battle for Zendikar Event Deck Revealed!

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We finally got a full look at the Battle for Zendikar Event Deck list today, and it’s a doozy.

BFZ Event Deck

Smothering Abomination. Whisperwood Elemental. Tasigur, the Golden Fang. Hangarback Walker. Llanowar Wastes. That’s a lot of value packed into these decks, and you can be sure they’ll be selling at above MSRP for the next few weeks.

Now, before you completely pull the panic cord, I want to note a few things. Yes, the price on these chase cards will suffer, no doubt about it. But it’s also not the death knell for them, and chances are if you need these cards to play with, you’re likely supposed to hold them. Back in the day, we saw Thragtusk—which occupied a similar “all over Standard” role as Hangarback—shrugged off multiple reprints and remained more than $20. I don’t expect Hangarback to do quite that well, but it’s worth taking note of. Furthermore, Windswept Heath lost about 30 percent of its value after its own reprinting, so unless you’re getting more than 70 percent of retail for these chase cards, you’re not going to “profit” in the long term by selling yours now with the intent to rebuy in a month.

Still, this is very much going to inhibit the prices of these cards, and while I still like Tasigur as a long-term spec, this does damage its ceiling a bit and push that timeline out even further.

One final note, even if it seems obvious: if you can find these at MSRP, it’s very much worth your time to buy them and trade out the contents from inside, at least for the first few weeks.

Happy prereleasing this weekend!

Thanks for reading,

Corbin Hosler

@Chosler88 on Twitter/Twitch/YouTube

Corbin Hosler, ProTrader

PROTRADER: Battle for Zendikar Set Review – Green

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Battle for Zendikar has arrived! There’s been a ton said about this set already, from how Expeditions will push all the other prices down (they will), to whether or not the rest of the set “sucks” (the power level is down for sure, but I’m okay with this), to whether there actually is any financial opportunity in the set (Fathom Feeder is quietly up to $3, which I advocated getting in at a buck).

Anyway, that’s all big-picture stuff, and frankly is the typical complaining of Magic players, who are literally complaining about the way $100 bills (Expeditions lands) are being folded inside packs. I’m not here to talk about all that. Instead, I’m here to talk about the green cards we’re getting in Battle for Zendikar, so let’s dig in.

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ProTrader: Magic doesn’t have to be expensive.

Corbin Hosler

PROTRADER: The Golden Age of Modern

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It’s a bold statement, but it’s one I believe to be true. We are living in the Golden Age of Modern.

I made a video saying as much, and before I go deeper I figure I may as well post it, as well as a rough transcript for those who can’t watch right now (remember to subscribe if you want more of this content, and I’d love any feedback!)

Eight different decks made the top eight of Grand Prix Oklahoma City last weekend.

I want that to sink in. Magic is an incredible game full of tons of interesting options and interactions, and still we almost never have that many different decks make it to the top eight of a tournament. Not only that, but a deck that has never even made a top eight before won it! Lantern Control is one of Modern’s most unique decks, and the odds of Zac Elsik winning the Grand Prix with it are truly unbelievable.

There’s no doubt about it: we’re in the Golden Age of Modern. Patrick Chapin summed it up best when he told me on Saturday at the Grand Prix that there was a tiny difference between the best deck in Modern and the 20th-best. And he’s right. More than 40 different decks made it to day two of Grand Prix OKC, and there were some pretty awesome new ones among those. Not only did new builds of Scapeshift and Elves pop up, we had some old standbys like Storm and White-Black Tokens advance to the second day.

Of course, all of this merely scratches the surface. The list of new decks that appeared last weekend is even more impressive. Freaking Naya Allies, people. Naya Allies is good enough to make day two of a Grand Prix. Soul Sisters. Suicide Zoo. Faeries. Jund Scapeshift. Ad Nauseam. The list goes on and on, and I haven’t even touched on Merfolk, my favorite deck and the one that Paul Rietzl called the best in the tournament on this way to the top eight with the fish.

Simply put, there is no better format in Magic right now than Modern. With more 50 decks capable of finding success in the format, this is the format Wizards of the Coast envisioned when it was created. All the decisions – bannings and additions – since have served to create the deckbuilder’s paradise we have now. This is the Golden Age, and I’m enjoying the ride.

Gild

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ProTrader: Magic doesn’t have to be expensive.

Corbin Hosler

PROTRADER: Battle for Zendikar – First Impressions

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The Eldrazi have returned. So too have the allies. The world of Zendikar is still under assault, and the denizens have rallied to try and fend off their otherworldly invaders. It’s an epic struggle that will almost certainly end in drama, tragedy, and possibly heroics.

Also, we’ve got some cool cards.

It’s the latter I’ll talk about today. Battle for Zendikar has a lot of things going for it (and spoiler season isn’t even over!), and I want to touch on some of the major ones today.

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ProTrader: Magic doesn’t have to be expensive.