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By James Chillcott (@MTGCritic)

And we’re back for round by round MTGFinance coverage of the Top 8 matches at Pro Tour: Fate Reforged! Stick with us all day as we explore the potential financial implications of the early 2015 Modern metagame based on how the rounds play out.

3:59pm: Finals: Amulet (Justin Cohen) vs. Splinter Twin (Antonio Del Moral Leon)

• Antonio takes the next few games on the back of Blood Moon and some bad draws from the Amulet deck and Splinter Twin is our Pro Tour Champion
• Justin Cohen shows the importance of deck practice, navigating a tricky Game 1 to a victory with poise
• Splinter Twin called out as favored in the matchup

3:24pm: Antonio takes down Jelger to proceed to the finals

1:40pm Semi-Finals: Amulet of Vigor (Justin Cohen) vs. Jesse Hampton (Abzan)

• Cohen plays tight facing pressure and wins despite an Aven Mindcensor hampering his Primeval Titan
• If Hornet Queen doesn’t win it, it’ll be about Tasigur. Love it.
• Hornet Queen may be the pivotal card in Game 3. Yes, in Modern.
• Justin Cohen manages to start going off on Turn 3 to take Game 2
• Jesse Hampton overcomes 2 Primeval Titans to take Game 1

12:28pm Quarterfinals: Abzan (Jacob Wilson) vs. Splinter Twin (Jelger Wiergersma )

• Jelger Dispels past a Path To Exile to face the Twin mirror match and guarantee Splinter Twin makes it into the finals
• Despite a timely Anger of the Gods by Jelger, Jacob Wilson gets a game as his opponent fails to find his combo
• Wiergersma gets his combo early to take Game 1 in a hurry.
• Both remaining Abzan decks need to get past combo decks to win. Seems unlikely.

11:16am: Quarterfinals:  U/R Splinter Twin (Antonio Del Moral Leon) vs. R/W Burn (Lee Shi Tian)

• Antonio Del Moral Leon gets one step closer to winning the first Pro Tour he has ever attended, and gives Splinter Twin a better shot at winning the day.
• Tight play by Lee Shi Tian takes us Game 2 on the back of an Eidolon of the Great Revel
• Antonio takes down Game 1 in convincing fashion

10:21am: Quarterfinals: Burn (Seth Manfield) vs. Amulet of Vigor (Justin Cohen)

• Cohen pilots well through Game 3 to survive his encounter with Burn and move on to the semi-finals
• A well-timed Molten Rain out of the sideboard for Seth Manfield helps take down Cohen in Game 2
• Justin Cohen steals Game 1 with a timely Simian Spirit Guide into Hive Mind to stick a Pact that Manfield can’t pay for
• Key cards from the Amulet deck for the MTGFinance minded include: Amulet of Vigor, Hive Mind, Primeval Titan. See our reviews below.

9:20am: Quarterfinals: Eric Froelich (Abzan) vs. Jesse Hampton (Abzan)

• Tasigur again playing a key role towards the end of Game 3 based on the ability to ensure attrition swings the way of he who holds the Bananas by recursing key cards. Jesse Hampton takes down the first match of the day, reducing to one the number of discard focused Abzan decks in contention for the win.
• Maelstrom Pulse top deck called out as the winning card for Jesse Hampton in Game 2.
• Siege Rhino and Tasigur defining the shape of this 1st game and highlighting the future of both cards in Modern and the strong likelihood that foils of both cards will continue to increase.
• EFro takes an easy Game 1 on the strength of timely discard.

9:05am:

After 16 tense rounds of Modern and Draft, it’s all down to 2 Twin, 3 Abzan, 1 Bloom and 2 Burn decks.

Here are the potentially financially relevant cards for each archetype:

Abzan

Siege Rhino (Foil)

12 copies in the Top 8! 4 months ago, very few players realized just how good this card was. Sure, the horned one was clearly set up as a major player in standard, but only the mad genius types had yet started testing this swingy and efficient creature for older formats. But then, a single copy started showing up in Pod decks and some of us started accumulating foils in the $10 range. Soon enough the Pod decks went to 4, but then Birthing Pod was banned, and the naysayers said it would fall of the table. Well, as it turns out, this card is plenty powerful in it’s own right and seems destined to have a long and storied career at the top tables in Modern for much of 2015 and possibly beyond. As a Khans of Tarkir rare in plentiful supply, 4-of demand from dual formats should keep the non-foil below $12 all year, but I like foils for continued growth up towards $40 on a strong finish today.

Lingering Souls (Foil)

This is the other Abzan staple with upside appearing as a 4-of in all three of the contending decks, for a total of 12 copies in the Top 8. The card already has a few reprints at uncommon, but only one foil printing outside promo versions, which gives it a shot to make a run for new highs if it takes a trophy today and stays relevant in the meta as a great way to present threats that are resistant to point removal.

Tarmogoyf

There are 8 copies of this creature in the Top 8, but they play against each in the first round. Tarmogoyf has hung out in the $180-$200 range for quite a while, and is unlikely to move much based on the results of this tournament. Rather, the issue will likely hinge on whether the card shows up again in Modern Masters 2015, a possibility I now peg at roughly 50/50. On the one hand Wizards would certainly like to see the price of the card come down as they had originally intended by their reprint release in Modern Masters. On the other hand, this means printing the card yet again, which may not have been on their mind when they went to the presses. I’m staying away.

Lilianna of the Veil

In the presence of the powerful blue/red Treasure Cruise decks leveraging Young Pyromancer tokens and the ability to shrug off discard spells, LOTV was sidelined. With those decks booted from the metagame however, Lilliana of the Veil has already started climbing back from her recent prices in the lows $50s. Folks who got in 6 weeks ago, are already facing 50% increases, with the card testing new highs around $85-$90 this morning. With a promo printing this spring, and no possibility of a reprint in MM2, only an outside chance of an appearance in M16 would be likely to stop the card from topping $100 again if she wins this tournament.

Noble Heirarch

This card was previously key to the dominant pre-bannings Pod Decks last season, but had fallen from $80 highs down to the current $55 levels on the assumption that Birthing Pod getting banned would hurt demand for the card in Modern. Instead we see 7 copies out of 3 relevant decks in the Top 8 and a chance for this sweet aggro/ramp creature to take home another trophy. Specing on this card is a short term play however as the card is very likely to appear in Modern Masters 2015 early this summer. Note that the card does not appear in the Jesse Hampton version of the deck, so pay attention to which version wins here.

Abrupt Decay

7 copies of this card appear in the decks of the Top 8, but there is little doubt that this card can find a new high in the $15-20 range this year on consistent demand all the way back to Legacy and no reprints on the horizon.

U/R Twin

Splinter Twin

As the key element of the two Twin decks in the Top 8, Splinter Twin stands to benefit in the short-term if the deck takes the tourney. The mid-term outlook is muddied by a likely appearance in Modern Masters 2015 in June, which should hold the card down below $10 for a while if it’s reprinted at rare, which seems likely.  At present, the card is hovering around $16, but it’s been as high as $35 last summer, and we should be able to retest at least $25 for a month or two if the deck earns another trophy today.

Snapcaster Mage

Available for as little as $20 after it rotated out of Standard, Snapcaster Mage was always destined to be a staple in Legacy and Modern, but hit a rough patch when the sheer power of Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time made delving the graveyard better than recasting it. With those two cards now banned in Modern, Snapcaster is again primed to succeed. The card has gained ground early in 2015 and is now hanging out around $35. However, as a card that will not be reprinted this year, and which fits into WUR Control and Aggro builds as well as Splinter Twin decks, there’s a good chance Snapcaster Mage can hit and hold $50+ this year. A win today could spark that fire.

Remand

This uncommon staple from Ravnica: City of Guilds recently saw a reprinting in the Jace vs. Vraska Duel Deck but I still worry that it’s coming back again in Modern Masters 2 in June.  Another printing at uncommon will make this a $3 card. As such, I’m selling, not buying, despite the key role this card plays in Splinter Twin and other viable Modern decks.

Burn

Goblin Guide

Goblin Guide spiked to $40 last fall on it’s role in the punishing U/R Delver decks, but has since fallen down under $20, partly on the assumption of lessened play after the banning of Treasure Cruise, and partly on the assumption that the card will be reprinted in Modern Masters 2015 later this summer. A win for a Burn deck today (both are running the card) could boost the Goblin into the $20-25 for a short while as people move toward the deck to take down their local tourneys. Part of the strength lies in the fact that all of straight red, R/W and R/B versions are all viable in the metagame right now.

Eidolon of the Great Revel

Initially dismissed as unplayable, it didn’t take long last summer for Burn players to demonstrate that Eidolon of the Great Revel is likely one of the best red creatures of all time. The appearance of the card on the table puts Modern and Legacy decks on tilt given their plethora of cheap spells, while simultaneously providing a clock. Foils have already enjoyed a big jump in recognition of the play as far back as Legacy, but the regular copies are almost certain to follow a path similar to Abrupt Decay post-rotation, making them one of the best pickups on this list. I’m holding 60+ copies, and intend to pick up another 40 or so under $7.

Amulet

Amulet of Vigor

The last time this deck did well in a big tournament, it spiked from $2 to $10, falling all the way back to $3 after some of the early birds reaped some profit off the hype. This time, with the deck guaranteed a fresh Pro Tour Top 8, I suspect it will regain $10, and possibly push $15 if it wins. As a Zendikar block card, it is possible to appear in MM2, but there is room to grow before that point. Foils were bought out under $10 yesterday, and are likely to reappear this week around $25-30, depending on what happens with the regular copies.

Primeval Titan

Titan was briefly a $40 cards during it’s most dominant period in standard, but post rotation it struggled to find a home in an older format, and has fallen towards $10. With a key role to play in the Amulet deck however, this beating of a ramp creature could easily challenge $15-20 if the deck wins and becomes popular in local metagames.

Hive Mind

Previous versions of this deck played less copies as their alternate win condition, but with 3 copies now becoming the standard, Hive Mind is poised to regain some ground towards previous highs in the $5-6 range. Foils are also out there around $10, which seems pretty solid right now, as this card is almost certainly not getting reprinted in MM2 due to awkwardness in limited.

————————————————————

Here are the Top  8 Quarterfinal Matchups:

• Abzan (EFro) vs. Abzan (Jesse Hampton)
• U/R Splinter Twin (Antonio Del Moral Leon) vs. R/W Burn (Lee Shi Tian)
• U/R Splinter Twin (Jelger Wiegersma) vs. Anti-Abzan (Liege Abzan)
• Burn (Seth Manfield) vs. Amulet of Vigor (Justin Cohen)

———————————————————————

First, a recap of the Top 8 Modern Decks of Pro Tour Fate Reforged:

1. Abzan (Eric Froelich)
2. U/R Splinter Twin (Antonio Del Moral Leon )
3. U/R Splinter Twin (Jelger Wiegersma)
4. Burn (Seth Manfield)
5. Amulet of Vigor (Justin Cohen)
6. Jacob Wilson (Liege Abzan)
7. R/W Burn (Lee Shi Tian)
8. Abzan (Jesse Hampton)

 

James Chillcott is the 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.

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By James Chillcott (@MTGCritic)

End of Day 2 Wrap Up

Top 8 Modern Decks of Pro Tour Fate Reforged:

1. Abzan (Eric Froelich)
2. U/R Splinter Twin (Antonio Del Moral Leon )
3. U/R Splinter Twin (Jelger Wiegersma)
4. Burn (Seth Manfield)
5. Amulet of Vigor (Justin Cohen)
6. Jacob Wilson (Liege Abzan)
7. R/W Burn (Lee Shi Tian)
8. Abzan (Jesse Hampton)

Catch us Sunday morning for the final rounds of Pro Tour Fate Reforged coverage.

Round by Round Coverage

6:15pm: Rnd 16: Cohen (Amulet) vs. Bursavich (Infect)

Cohen puts Amulet of Vigor into the Top 8 and the specs are live!

6:12pm: Rnd 16: Sam Black (Amulet) vs. Jesse Hampton (Abzan)

Tasigur may be the backbreaker that puts away Sam Black. Did you buy your foils yet?

5:38pm: Sam Black on camera breaking down Amulet deck. Amulet of Vigor buyout is clearly ongoing online with copies drying up everywhere under $5, likely to land in the $5-8 range after the weekend. Just bought another 12 copies myself at $4.

5:20pm: Lee Shi Tian (Burn) vs. Nathan Smith (Burn)

More burn! How many Eidolon of the Great Revel do you own? Lee Shi Tian played Kor Firewalker in his R/W burn build out of the board to handle the mirror. Nice one. Foils are under $2.

Plenty of thinking required in this mirror. Burn as the “dumb deck” definitely a bit unfair. Lee Shi Tian just qualified for his 3rd PT Top 8 in the last year (4 total), pulling out a tight game against Smith.

5:19pm: Seth Manfield (Burn) vs Jacob Wilson (Liege Abzan)

Jacob got down a Leyline of Sanctity in Game 2 to steal the game, a card that could see new highs if Burn stays popular in the Meta.

5:08pm: Sam Black (Amulet) vs. Justin Cohen (Amulet)

Lol, an Amulet mirror match in the final rounds is hardly going to help dampen hype around Amulet since it virtually ensures one of these players makes Top 8 with the deck. Both players end up intentionally drawing to avoid knocking each other out of contention.

4:59pm: Seth Manfield (Burn) vs Jacob Wilson (Liege Abzan)

Manfield makes great use of Eidolon of the Great Revel to put away game 1 against Wilson.

4:09pm: Eric Froelich (Abzan) vs Jacob Wilson (Liege Abzan)

Jacob Wilson’s metagame call to run anti-discard cards in Loxodon Smiter and Wilt-Leaf Liege was looking pretty good vs. the more mainstream Abzan build. In game 3 however a flurry of Zealous Persecutions on both sides of the table leads to a dramatic combat step and EFro takes the match.

3:57pm: Round 14: Sam Black (Amulet) vs. Jon Finkel (Infect)

Amulet of Vigor is moving from $3 to $5-$6 so far on the camera time as players and speculators realize that this deck is no longer Tier 2. Last time this deck did well it hit $10 so be ready to sell in to the hype. Sam Black beat Finkel and the hype check is on for Amulet of Vigor and Primeval Titan as key cards in the deck that could rise, along with perhaps Gemstone Mine.

3:22pm: Cifka breaking down B/W Tokens deck for Randy. 3 copies of Sorin, Solemn Visitor especially notable.

3:12pm: Rnd 13: Frank Karsten (Affinity) vs. Jelger Wiegersma (Twin)

Remember folks, Mox Opal is being reprinted in MM2, so don’t go specing on it no matter how far Frank pushes.

3:05pm: Rnd 13: Seth Manfield (Burn) vs. Eric Froelich

Eidolon of the Great Revel may be due for price boost if this burn deck makes Top 8.

2:51pm: Marco Lombardi (Merfolk) vs. Sam Black (Amulet)

Merfolk back on camera! Sam Black wins this one too.

2:39pm Yuuki Ichikawa (Jund) vs Alexandre Bonneau (Living End)

First time we’ve seen these decks on camera this weekend. Fulminator Mage being highlighted.

2:21pm: Jakob Wilson on camera discussing the Wilted Abzan build, with Wilt Leaf Cavalier and Loxodon Smiter in place to blank Thoughseize and LOTV.

1:45pm: Round 12: Seth Manfield (Burn) vs. Jelger Wiegersma (Twin)

Manfield takes the match, staying undefeated on Burn.

1:44pm: Round 12: Sam Black (Amulet) vs. Robin Dollar (Abzan)

Primeval Titan and Hive Mind in the spotlight in the Amulet deck. Sam Black wins the match demonstrating Amulet as a non-fringe strategy.

1:33pm: Round 12: Jon Finkel (Infect) vs. Willy Edel (Abzan)

 

Round 11: 12:54pm: Martin Mueller just looked like a boss taking down Zvi Mowshowitz in the 3rd round of today’s draft portion.

11:58am: Seth Manfield on Burn is now 10-0, and looking very likely to take red spells into the Top 8

And we’re back for round by round MTGFinance coverage of Day 2 at Pro Tour: Fate Reforged!

Day 1 Summary

After 3 exciting rounds of FRF/KTK/KTK drafts, Day 1 saw Abzan dominate the Modern field with a whopping 30% of the metagame, as many of the relevant cards from the Birthing Pod decks saw play even without their namesake counterpart. Also at the top of the standings thus far are multiple are multiple Burn and Infect decks as aggressive strategies proved capable of taking advantage of the slower combo and untuned rogue decks throughout the first 5 rounds of constructed play.

Many interesting Rogue cards did appear on camera, though most have yet to prove their mettle. Here are some of the most exciting of the new ideas:

• Wild Defiance was being put to use in Infect decks as a method for providing recurring access to the final boost often needed to win the long game
• Humble Defector showed up in a Grixis Splinter Twin list, providing massive value as an early speed bump and minor card drawing engine, with the pilot rarely caring if his opponent got a couple of cards out of the deal.
• Tasigur, The Golden Fang was all over the place but it was Pat Chapin who demonstrated his deck building master by showing up with Gurmag Angler to trump an expected field of 4/5 Siege Rhinos, Tarmogoyfs and Tasigurs. Sadly, the deck did not perform for Patrick and he failed to make Day 2, casting shadows on the people that were buying out foil Anglers Friday afternoon.
• Sorin, Solemn Visitor showed up in the W/B tokens decks that showed up to check out the post-Treasure Cruise scene, demonstrating that it has the chops to find an ongoing home with tokens in Modern over Elspeth, Knight-Errant.
• Lingering Souls was also all over the top tables, playing a key role against Infect decks for both Abzan and W/B Tokens
• Chord of Calling showed up in an Elves deck and looks criminally undervalue right now.

James Chillcott is the 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.

By James Chillcott (@MTGCritic)

Fate Reforged continues to make its’ presence felt across Standard, Modern and even Legacy this week, with plenty of hits and misses arising from the latest set. Standard is awash with new and innovative deck ideas, resulting in plenty of card movement, and new format Tiny Leaders is also riding a hype wave, generating a handful of significant price spikes.  Here’s the down low on the major price shifts in the world of paper Magic: The Gathering this week.

5 Winners of the Week

1. Temur Ascendancy (Khans of Tarkir, Rare): $.38 to .$70 (84%)

There are few things more fun in the world of Magic: The Gathering than having a jank rare come out of nowhere late in the Standard season as the centerpiece in a brand new combo deck. If you haven’t heard, the deck is mono-green, leveraging Nykthos, Karametra’s Acolyte and Voyaging Satyr to generate infinite mana with Temur Sabertooth. Basically you need to be able to generate 1 more mana with whatever you’re tapping, bouncing and replaying than it’s costing you to bounce (1G) and play it (1G-3G). Temur Ascendancy gives the mana dork haste, enabling the whole combo, along with providing random cards off your big guys when you need to dig to go off. As a bulk rare, there is some upside still be to be had here if the deck continues to do well, but unlike Jeskai Ascendancy it isn’t likely to find a home in other decks, and it would be hard pressed to break $3 as a previously unloved and heavily opened rare. That being said, there may be locals who aren’t turned on to the card and will throw some into trades to add value to your trade binder.

Format(s): Standard

Verdict: Acquire in Trades

2. Valorous Stance (Fate Reforged, Uncommon): $0.89 to $1.39 (+56%)

Many pros are saying that this flexible spell is the most important card in Fate Reforged for Standard purposes. That gives it an outside chance of achieving Stoke the Flames status as an overpriced uncommon from a small set, especially given the easy casting cost and plethora of decks in the format with access to a single white mana and the need to kill big guys and protect their own threats. It’s more likely that we see this settle around $2, but heading into the fall, I could see it boosting again because of the relatively scarcity of Fate Reforged (driven by the short period before the appearance of Dragons of Tarkir and then Modern Masters 2). I like this one as a throw-in target, but I won’t be buying any for now.

Format(s): Standard

Verdict: Acquire in Trades

 

3. Yavimaya Coast (10th Edition, Rare): $4.72 to $6.03 (+28%)

With Sultai control/mid-range builds looking like the deck to beat in post-Fate Reforged Standard, plenty of players are looking to pick up lands that work in the deck. You should be selling or trading into this pricing, along with Shivan Reef, as the fall rotation of M15 will send painlands crashing back to $1-2.

Format: Standard

Verdict: Sell/Trade

 

4. Anafenza, the Foremost (Fate Reforged, Mythic): $5.82 to $6.72 (+15%)

In mid-December during the usual fall set price lulls, I was picking up copies of Anafenza around $2 in the hopes of long range Modern play and possible Tiny Leaders play. Both of these scenarios have become real, and sooner than expected, and this goat loving mythic dame is also looking pretty useful in Abzan decks increasingly interested in reducing graveyard card counts to hamper opponents delve strategies. Foils especially are on the rise, with a cresting wave of Tiny Leaders hype over the last 2 weeks, and I think you want to be snapping up any copies you can find locally at last week’s prices wherever possible and looking for options to cash out at $5-10+/copy, or just hold for mid-term gains. Non-foils may have a couple of dollars left in them, but if you got in around Nov/Dec, you may just want to out them and move into something overlooked for Tiny Leaders or Modern play.

Format: Standard/Modern/Tiny Leaders

Verdict: Sell/Trade (Buy/Trade For Foils At Lagging Prices)

 

5. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx (Theros, Rare): $2.91 to $3.25 (+12%)

I’m sitting on about 60 copies of this powerful mana generator so I’m always happy to see it’s prospects rise, even if they’re unlikely to impact the long term game I’m playing. In Standard, the increased interest is sourced from the sudden feasibility of both Red and Green devotion strategies, based on new cards in Fate Reforged that help get more mana symbols on the table in a hurry. Even so, both of those decks will need to put up results for this card to break $5-6, and I’m much more interested in continuing to acquire for a future $10+ sell point 2-3 years down the road, when the supply has dried up. There’s always the possibility of a reprint on this card, but it isn’t easily slapped into most supplemental products and won’t find a home in any main set releases for several years yet, so I like the odds that this finds a peak before a post-rotation trough.

Format: Standard/Modern/EDH/Tiny Leaders

Verdict: Buy/Trade

Bonus Pick: Zirilian of the Claw (Mirage, Rare) $2.00 to ???

Zirilian of the Claw searches Dragons out of your library for 5-mana, an effect that is only ever going to see play at kitchen tables by Dragon-happy EDH players and little kids. Given that we’re headed into a heavily hyped set called Dragons of Tarkir however, it was perhaps inevitable that someone would try to spike this card by buying out the limited supply across the Internet. At the time of this writing there are a mere 9 copies left on TCGPlayer, with prices ranging from $10 to $18. This card going to $6 would have been reasonable on casual demand, but this price is bonkers, so dig up any copies you have in your bulk box and out them immediately to buylists or via Ebay/TCG to reap the rewards from the hype train, that is, assuming there are even buyers to milk.

 

3 Top Losers of the Week

1. Temporal Trespass (Fate Reforged, Mythic): $3.92 to $3.11 (-21%)

Time Walk sounds so sexy. In fact, some folks thought it sounded so sexy they were pre-ordering this card over $20. This is a sad time for those people, because the consensus is that this card is as unplayable as the last few similar cards. I fully expect this to show up in a Woo Brew in a few years, but until then, you should be dropping these like they’re hot.

Format(s): Casual/Modern (one day?)

Verdict: Sell

2. Warden of the First Tree (Fate Reforged, Rare): $8.67 to $6.96 (-20%)

He’s not as good as we hoped, now get over it. Though he is seeing some play in Abzan decks, he’s not greatly improving those decks, they aren’t expanding in the format, and I fully expect this card to hit $3-4 within the month. Get out however you can and into something with more upside.

Format(s): Standard

Verdict: Sell/Trade

3. Torrent Elemental (Fate Reforged, Mythic): $5.58 to $4.78 (-14%)

This card was on my “sleepers” list a couple of weeks back when there were whispers that it would find a home in Sultai lists. That premise has come to pass, but even the decks that are playing it aren’t running more than a single copy typically, and many builds aren’t even bothering since those decks already have plenty to do each turn. I think this settles back around $3-4 for now, but watch for a breakout performance to pump it back up.

Format(s): Standard

Verdict: Sell

Quick Hits:

• Rings of Brighthearth is also spiking from a likely buyout, possibly related to Tiny Leaders hype. Time to sell.
• Tiny Leaders is well into hype engine mode, with a plethora of new #mtgfinance and strategy articles written by pros and finance writers over the last 2 weeks. Finding overlooked cards that are good in the format and stockpiling foils is looking like a solid play, even if the hype dies out longer term. Cards like Unearth, Varolz, the Scar-Striped and Doran, the Siege Tower have already spiked hard. Find a target.
• Tasigur did damage on camera in Legacy this weekend, attacking alongside Tarmogoyf and further increasing the likelihood that foils are a good buy. Remember Snapcaster Mage is a big set staple that hit $100+ on strong Modern/Legacy play. Tasigur is from a small set, but not quite as powerful, and also a legend. Even still, I can see his foils hitting $40 this year, from the current $21-$23. I’m buying.

James Chillcott is the 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.

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