Category Archives: James Chillcott

James Chillcott, MTG Fast Finance

MTG Fast Finance Podcast: Episode 60 (Mar 24/17)

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MTG Fast Finance is our weekly podcast covering the flurry of weekly financial activity in the world of Magic: The Gathering. MFF provides a fast, fun and useful sixty 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: Mar 24, 2017

Segment 1: Top Card Spikes of the Week

A pretty quiet week in card spikes…that is up until the MM17 reveals wrapped up Thursday and people started moving on cards that weren’t included. (Expect to see those here next week.)

Pain's Reward

Pain’s Reward (SOK, Rare)
Start: $0.75
Finish: $6.75
Gain: +$6.00 (+800%)

Grasp of Fate (CMD 2015, Rare)
Start: $2.75
Finish: $16.00
Gain: +$13.25 (+481%)

Seismic Assault (Exodus, Rare)
Start: $2.00
Finish: $7.00
Gain: +5.00 (+250%)

Concordant Crossroads (LEG, Rare)
Start: $25.00
Finish: $70.00
Gain: +$45.00 (+180%)

Power Artifact (ANT, Uncommon)
Start: $53.00
Finish: $120.00
Gain: +$67.00 (+127%)

Negate (Magic Player Rewards)
Start: $12.00
Finish: $21.00
Gain: +$9.00 (+75%)

Caves of Koilos (APOC, Uncommon)
Start: $15.00
Finish: $23.00
Gain: +$8.00 (+53%)

James’ Picks:

Eldrazi Temple

  1. Eldrazi Temple (MM15, Uncommon)
  • The Call: Confidence Level 8: $10.00 to $18.00 (+8.00/80%) 0-12+ months)

2. Cyclonic Rift (MM17, Foil Rare)

  • The Call: Confidence Level 8: $10.00 to $20.00 (+10.00/+100%, 12+ months)

3. All is Dust (MM15, Rare)

  • The Call: Confidence Level 7: $13.00 to $20.00 (+7.00/+54%, 0-6+ months)

Cliffs’ Picks:

  1. Whir of Invention (AER, Rare)
  • The Call: Confidence Level 7: $1.00 to $5.00 (+4.00/+400%, 12+ months)

2. Winding Constrictor (AER, Uncommon Foil)

  • The Call: Confidence Level 6: $7.50 to $12.50 (+5.00/+67%, 6-12+ months)

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

Segment 3: Metagame Week in Review

Cliff & James went over the results from the Standard GPs in Japan and Brazil last weekend, spotlighting the Temur Tower decks as the main breath of fresh air.

Segment 4: Topic of the Week

The guys went over the current price points for key MM17 staples and discussed where we’re likely going from here.

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.

James Chillcott, Watchtower

Pro Trader: The Watchtower (Mar 20/17)

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By: James Chillcott
@mtgcritic

Don’t miss this week’s installment of the MTG Fast Finance podcast, an on-topic, no-nonsense tour through the week’s most important changes in the Magic economy. And if you enjoy playing Magic, make sure to visit https://scry.land to find PPTQs, SCG Opens, and more events on an interactive map with worldwide coverage. Find Magic near you today.

Note: Travis is on vacation this week, so I’m covering his slot.  – James

Let’s take a look at what the weekend results can tell us this week, shall we? There were two major Standard GPs outside North America this weekend, GP Shizuoka in Japan and GP Porto Alegre in Brazil.

GP Poroto Alegre featured a Standard meta of just 570 players, and a Top 8 with few surprises for those who have been following Standard since the release of Aether Revolt. Here’s what made the playoffs this weekend in Brazil:

  1. Temur Tower
  2. Mardu Ballista
  3. Golgari Constrictor
  4. Golgari Delirium
  5. 4Color Copycat
  6. 4Color Copycat
  7. 4Color Copycat
  8. Mardu Ballista

And here are the results for Japan, via the much larger 2719 player GP in Shizouka:

  1. Mardu Aggro
  2. Mardu Aggro
  3. Mardu Aggro
  4. Temur Tower
  5. Jund
  6. Mardu Aggro
  7. Mardu Ballista
  8. Mardu Ballista

Sadly for those of us excited by constant metagame shifts and fresh brews, this format continues to revolve around the Jeskai Saheeli deck and the Mardu or GB variants that can table enough disruption and early pressure to keep them off their combo. If we look deeper in the results Jund Energy Aggro, Temur Aetherworks Marvel and Dynavolt Tower decks are still fielding occasionally good results, but there’s no denying that thus far this is largely a two or three deck format for anyone serious about winning a tournament.

Nevertheless, this week it was Temur Tower that was able to take things down, a deck that also managed to Top 4 in Japan in the same weekend.

With a format this stale, odds are good that attendance is down across the continent as many players opt to focus on other formats leading up to Amonkhet. Once we have a new large set in the mix, and the likely banning of Felidar Guardian behind us, I would expect the format to open back up and to see some limited rejuvenation in Standard/FNM attendance. Thing is, after the shortening and subsequent lengthening of the Standard format last year, the bannings before Pro Tour Aether Revolt and the the solved nature of the current format, Standard is likely to offer up limited financial opportunities for the foreseeable future. That being said, there are a couple of cards on my radar for Standard based gains this year.

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James Chillcott, MTG Fast Finance, Travis Allen

MTG Fast Finance Podcast: Episode 59 (Mar 17/17)

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MTG Fast Finance is our weekly podcast covering the flurry of weekly financial activity in the world of Magic: The Gathering. MFF provides a fast, fun and useful sixty 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: Mar 17, 2017

Segment 1: Top Card Spikes of the Week

A pretty quiet week in card spikes…that is up until the MM17 reveals wrapped up Thursday and people started moving on cards that weren’t included. (Expect to see those here next week.)

Yawgmoth's Bargain

Yawgmoth’s Bargain (Urza’s Destiny, Foil Rare)
Start: $22.00
Finish: $100.00
Gain: +$78.00 (+354%)

Street Wraith (Future Sight, Uncommon)
Start: $2.75
Finish: $9.00
Gain: +$6.25 (+227%)

City of Shadows (The Dark, Rare)
Start: $13.00
Finish: $35.00
Gain: +22.00 (+170%)

Tyrant’s Familiar (C14, Rare)
Start: $2.00
Finish: $4.25
Gain: +$2.25 (+113%)

Traverse the Ulvenwald (SOI, Foil Rare)
Start: $12.00
Finish: $20.00
Gain: +$8.00 (+67%)

James’ Picks:

Saheeli Rai

  1. Saheeli Rai (KLD, Mythic)
  • The Call: Confidence Level 7: $5.00 to $10.00 (+5.00/100%) 24+ months)
  • Note: This pick assumes that the combo deck is banned out of Standard before the next Pro Tour and Saheeli gets cheap enough to move in as a Modern spec.

2. Panharmonicon (KLD, Foil Rare)

  • The Call: Confidence Level 8: $10.00 to $20.00 (+10.00/+100%, 12+ months)

3. Kari Zev’s Expertise (AER, Foil Rare)

  • The Call: Confidence Level 7: $5.00 to $15.00 (+10.00/+200%, 0-12+ months)

Travis’ Picks:

  1. Kaervek the Merciless (MM2, Rare)
  • The Call: Confidence Level 7: $2.00 to $8.00 (+6.00/+300%, 6+ months)

2. Liliana, the Last Hope (EMN, Mythic Foil)

  • The Call: Confidence Level 6: $55.00 to $90.00 (+25.00/+64%, 12+ months)

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

Segment 3: Metagame Week in Review

James & Travis went over the results from a fairly boring GP Barcelona (Standard) and a more diverse SCG Dallas Open (Modern), highlighting a few key cards.

Segment 4: Topic of the Week

The guys discussed the announcement of the TCGPlayer Pro software offering and the likely impact of their extended reach as a central MTG finance platform in North America.

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.

James Chillcott, MTG Fast Finance, Travis Allen

MTG Fast Finance Podcast: Episode 58 (Mar 11/17)

6 Comments

MTG Fast Finance is our weekly podcast covering the flurry of weekly financial activity in the world of Magic: The Gathering. MFF provides a fast, fun and useful sixty 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: Mar 11, 2017

Segment 1: Top Card Spikes of the Week

A pretty quiet week in card spikes…that is up until the MM17 reveals wrapped up Thursday and people started moving on cards that weren’t included. (Expect to see those here next week.)

Three Wishes

Three Wishes (Visions, Rare)
Start: $0.50
Finish: $4.25
Gain: +$3.75 (+750%)

Colossus of Sardia (Antiquities, Rare)
Start: $3.50
Finish: $28.00
Gain: +$24.50 (+700%)

Merchant Scroll (Homelands, Common)
Start: $2.00
Finish: $8.00
Gain: +$6.00 (+300%)

Yawgmoth’s Bargain (UZD, Rare)
Start: $2.50
Finish: $6.00
Gain: +$3.50 (+140%)

Fabricate (MRD, Foil Uncommon)
Start: $8.00
Finish: $19.00
Gain: +$11.00 (+137.50%)

City of Shadows (DRK, Rare)
Start: $5.50
Finish: $13.00
Gain: +$7.50 (+136%)

Tarfire (Lorwyn, Uncommon)
Start: $1.00
Finish: $2.00
Gain: +$1.00 (+100.50%)

Fulminator Mage (MM2, Rare)
Start: $20.00
Finish: $40.00
Gain: +$20.00 (+100%)

Note: Mox Opal and Karn Liberated were also up 30% or so this week.

James’ Picks:

Master of Waves

  1. Master of Waves (Theros, Mythic)
  • The Call: Confidence Level 7: $3.00 to $6.00 (+3.00/100%) 12+ months)

2. Aether Vial (Kaladesh Masterpieces)

  • The Call: Confidence Level 8: $75.00 to $100.00 (+25.00/+33%, 12+ months)

3. Ancient Stirrings (ROE, Common)

  • The Call: Confidence Level 9: $5.00 to $10.00 (+5.00/+100%, 0-12+ months)

Travis’ Picks:

  1. Leyline of Sanctity (MM2, Rare)
  • The Call: Confidence Level 7: $16.00 to $25.00 (+9.00/+56%, 0-6+ months)

2. Steely Resolve (ONS, Rare)

  • The Call: Confidence Level 6: $5.00 to $12.00 (+7.00/+140%, 0-12+ months)

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

Segment 3: Metagame Week in Review

James & Travis went over the result from the Magic Online World Championship and GP Brisbane (Modern).

Segment 4: Topic of the Week

The boys reviewed the recent announcement giving Channel Fireball control of all Magic: The Gathering Grand Prix worldwide.

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.