Modern content? In my articles? It’s more likely than you’d think. I love Modern and I think that it’s always got some good opportunities for specs, especially with so many viable strategies in the format at the moment. Week to week there are different decks on top, and it leaves a lot of room open for brewing and building variations on established decks.

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Conspicuous Snoop (FEA)

Price today: $5
Possible price: $15

I wrote about the Goblins deck in Modern a few weeks ago, and although it hasn’t quite taken over the meta yet it’s still been putting up decent results here and there, and deserves at least some of our attention. Munitions Expert foils have been drying up and Boggart Harbinger foils are already over $20, so it’s clear that some of these foils with fewer printings are popular enough across Modern and EDH to drive prices.

Conspicuous Snoop FEAs are close to 18 months old now, and although you can still pick a few copies up around the $5 mark, there aren’t many of those left and the ramp up to $10 doesn’t take long. Snoop is in around 5000 EDH decks listed on EDHREC as well, unsurprisingly in almost all of the Goblin tribal decks, and with cards like Skirk Prospector that can generate a load of mana you can just churn through all the Goblins in your deck, not to mention Snoop enabling combos off the top of your library.

The Modern deck can go off as early as turn three by casting Snoop and then tutoring Kiki-Jiki to the top of your deck with Boggart Harbinger, creating infinite hasty copies of the Snoop to attack for lethal. This of course works in EDH as well but might lose you some friends if you keep doing it, but either way Snoop is an important part of any Goblin deck now and the FEAs are going to be heading up in price soon.

Grief

Price today: $14
Possible price: $30

Solitude has arguably been one of the top cards in Modern for a little while now; it may technically only be the fourth most popular creature in the format, but it’s such an important part of so many decks at the moment that its impact cannot be understated. Grief isn’t quite on the same level but it’s not far off, and I think that it’s set to be on a similar price trajectory to Solitude before long. It’s become a staple in the Reanimator and Living End decks (with the new Reanimator deck becoming more and more popular over the past couple of weeks), as well as featuring in various Yorion and Rakdos midrange builds.

Early hand attack is super powerful in a fast format like Modern, and doing it for no mana is even better. Regular versions of Solitude are $45 and up now, and with Grief only at $14 I think it’s got a decent run ahead of it. A Mythic from MH2, I think it’s in the same boat as Fury at the moment, and both cards look like they should be set to reach the $30 mark in the next 12 months or so.

Prismatic Ending (OBF)

Price today: $10
Possible price: $20

I’ve written about Prismatic Ending before, but I think it’s worth revisiting now because you can still pick up some OBF versions for around $10, and for the most played card in Modern (yes you read that right), I think that’s just too cheap. 43% of decks are playing an average of 3.3 copies of this card right now, and honestly those are some wild numbers for a removal spell. Ending deals with so many relevant threats in the format at the moment, and although it’s only sorcery speed it’s still much better than Path to Exile; it doesn’t ramp your opponent and can remove things like Æther Vial, Chalice of the Void and Sigarda’s Aid rather than just hitting creatures.

Europe already has these closer to $12 and so I think that anything you can snag under $10 is a sure thing, whether it be personal or spec copies. We probably won’t see the OBF version reprinted for a long time and so you should get a good run out of these foils, as I doubt its popularity will dip much in Modern any time soon.

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David Sharman (@accidentprune on Twitter) has been playing Magic since 2013, dabbling in almost all formats but with a main focus on Modern, EDH and Pioneer. Based in the UK and a new writer for MTGPrice in 2020, he’s an active MTG finance speculator specialising in cross-border arbitrage.

Innistrad: Crimson Vow is just around the corner now and we have the full spoiler out, so I thought that whilst everyone is looking the other way this would be a perfect time to go back and consider some of the best pickups that Midnight Hunt still has to offer us.

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Vanquish the Horde

Price today: $5
Price I want to buy at: $3-5
Possible price: $10

Wraths and boardwipes of one sort or another seem to be very commonplace nowadays, but just because there are lots of different options doesn’t mean that they’re all the same – some are definitely leagues better than others. I think that Vanquish the Horde is one of those that will prove to far outstrip a lot of the current options we have, specifically at the EDH table. I think that it’s directly comparable to Blasphemous Act, a card that is in over 92,000 decks listed on EDHREC and the second most popular red card in the format as a whole.

I think that if Blasphemous Act hadn’t been printed 19 different times (or close to that anyway), then it would easily be a $10+ card due to its popularity and power amongst the more casual formats Magic has to offer us. As it is, the back-to-back reprints in Double Master and Commander Legends put the price in the ground for a fair while at least – but Vanquish the Horde might be a new challenger on the block.

Already one of the most popular cards from MID, I’d like to see Vanquish get a little lower than the $5 it’s at right now, but I’m not sure if that’s going to happen or not. My advice is to stock up on a few copies for now and keep a close eye on it – if it dips then feel free to buy down the ladder, and if the price starts creeping upwards then I don’t think it’ll be coming back down before a reprint. EDH and casual players are faster on their feet than they used to be, and that leaves less time to buy future staples before everyone else realises how good they are. Nevertheless, I think that there’s still ample opportunity to get in on this and ride it up over $10 before too long.

Malevolent Hermit (FEA)

Price today: $8
Possible price: $20

Another card that’s already been making waves on EDHREC, Malevolent Hermit might seem relatively unassuming at first but in the right deck it can be very powerful. If you’re thinking that this is more geared towards higher powered decks then you’d be right, and I think that this could even find a spot in some cEDH decks. The Manaleak effect on the front side is strong in its own right; forcing your opponents to either play around it or play into it can really hamper their strategies, and then if you’re able to Disturb it the card becomes a gargantuan problem for anyone trying to disrupt the combo that I assume you’re about to try and pull off.

Even outside of high power and cEDH decks, I think that Hermit is a strong inclusion in pretty much any blue deck – you’re playing blue so it’s likely you’re going to be casting counterspells and not wanting your own spells to be countered, so this is the perfect card to help with that.

FEAs are currently around $8 on TCGPlayer, and I think that the premium versions of this card are the ones you want to be looking at. The more entrenched and competitive EDH players are likely to want the fancier versions, and this is a card for them so the FEAs are where your money is best placed. I can see this as a $20 without much trouble even in a few months’ time; there are currently only 23 NM foil listings on TCGPlayer and there’s a decent ramp upwards.

Galvanic Iteration (Regular/FEA)

Price today: $0.50/$2
Possible price: $5/10

Finishing things off this week with more of a bulk pick (although I like the look of the FEAs too) – Galvanic Iteration is reminding me somewhat of Narset’s Reversal back in War of the Spark and what a good pickup that was below $0.50. Now a $5 non-foil, I think that Iteration is going to perform similarly, being a card that slots very easily into all UR spell-focused EDH decks and probably a few others besides that.

It’s naturally most popular with commanders like Veyran, Voice of Duality and Zaffai, Thunder Conductor that reward you for casting and copying Instants and Sorceries, and will be very at home in your classic Mizzix decks as well. At a little over 1100 EDHREC inclusions it’s not the most popular card from MID, but far from the least either. I expect to see it become a relative staple in spell-based EDH decks just as other copy spells have been, both in the casual and more serious scenes.

Regular copies can be had in bulk at $0.50 right now, and I think that they will be a great buylist play 12-24 months out. The FEAs are $2 right now too, but with only 40 TCGPlayer listings for those it won’t take much to move the needle, and I think they will post up close to $10 in a shorter timeframe.

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David Sharman (@accidentprune on Twitter) has been playing Magic since 2013, dabbling in almost all formats but with a main focus on Modern and EDH. Based in the UK, he’s an active MTG finance speculator specialising in cross-border arbitrage.

I thought I’d give last week’s article an unofficial ‘part 2’, and flip the switch on it. There are a bunch of new decks and new variants popping up in Modern at the moment and I think that there are some good opportunities for pickups here, so let’s dive in!

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Unburial Rites (Foil)

Price today: $2
Possible price: $10

The Reanimator deck in Modern has been picking up a bit of popularity over the past couple of weeks, and noted MTGO grinder aspiringspike took down a Modern Challenge with it last week. The main reanimation pieces of the deck – Unmarked Grave and Persist – have been talked about previously both by myself and James and Travis on the podcast, but Unburial Rites has started to find its way into lists as well.

This card has long been a staple of reanimator decks in multiple formats, and although those kinds of decks haven’t traditionally been at the top of the tables, with the new tech from MH2 I think that could be changing (in Modern at least). Faithful Mending from the new Innistrad set is in the mix there too, and I like this deck’s chances moving forwards in Modern – it’s fast, it’s streamlined and it’s got some decent protection too in the form of Teferi, Time Raveler and Ephemerate.

Unburial Rites may have had three different foil printings, but there are only 17 NM Foil listings across all of those versions on TCGPlayer right now, and I think that now is a great time to sweep up the last dregs. Seeing as we’re getting a slightly different version of Flashback in these Innistrad sets, I don’t think we’ll be seeing a foil reprint of this for a little while, and so if you want any personal copies then now is definitely the time before it’s too late. There are a few more available in Europe, but not too many so don’t hang around for long on these.

Vendilion Clique (Judge Foil)

Price in Europe: €37 ($43)
Price in US: $58
Possible price: $75

Another interesting deck that’s been popping up in Modern is a UW control variant based around flickering your creatures. Of course it plays Yorion as the companion, as well as a stack of Restoration Angels to blink your Wall of Omens, Solitudes and Vendilion Cliques. It’s a control deck with a value engine strapped on, and it’s been putting up some solid results, taking down a Modern Challenge along with some other high finishes.

Vendilion Clique drops in and out of Modern popularity all the time, and although it might not be the most prevalent card in any particular format, I’m focusing on the Judge Foils here because of low supply and arbitrage opportunity. It’s also a Cube favourite, and anyone foiling out their cube is likely to have this printing pretty high on their tier list – it’s the only version with this art and the foiling on Judge Foils is generally pretty great.

There are only 24 NM foil listings on TCGPlayer right now, but over in Europe you can pick these up a good deal cheaper, and I think you should if you can ship them for sale in the US. TCGPlayer has a steady price slope upwards and I think that in 6-12months this could easily have gone up to $75, making the $43 copies in Europe look pretty attractive. I doubt we’ll see Clique with this foiling/art again any time soon, so you should be safe for a longer hold if need be.

Grist, the Hunger Tide (Borderless Foil)

Price today: $20
Possible price: $40

For my last pick today I’m drawing inspiration from the Yawgmoth combo deck that’s seeing a small resurgence in Modern at the moment. This was an archetype that saw a decent amount of success soon after Yawgmoth, Thran Physician was first printed back in MH1, and has seen a small amount of success since then but never been a particularly dominant force in the meta. With the printing of Grist, the Hunger Tide in MH2 though, the deck might just have some legs again.

You can Chord of Calling and Eldritch Evolution into Grist, and Grist is both a token generator for Yawgmoth value as well as a handy piece of removal for problematic creatures or planeswalkers. What’s more is that if you’re looking to play it in EDH, you can actually use Grist as your commander due to its ability that makes it a creature when not on the battlefield – i.e. in the Command Zone.

When it comes to the different versions of this card we have the regular, the Sketch (Showcase) and the Borderless, and I think that the Borderless is a clear winner. The regular art and frame are fine, the Sketch doesn’t look great in my opinion, but the Borderless has some spectacular art and the foils look great. You can pick these up either in Europe or the US for around $20 at the moment and I think that due to Grist’s unique ability and status as a Mythic from MH2, it should be good for a double up over the next 12-24months.

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David Sharman (@accidentprune on Twitter) has been playing Magic since 2013, dabbling in almost all formats but with a main focus on Modern, EDH and Pioneer. Based in the UK, he’s an active MTG finance speculator specialising in cross-border arbitrage.

Continuing on from my article a couple of weeks ago, I’m back with more Modern content this week, and there have been some interesting decks popping up in the metagame that I want to take a look at. New and old decks in the metagame means new cards to spec on, and although this week’s picks might be a little more speculative than I usually go with, I like the look of them nonetheless.

Fractured Sanity (Foil)

Price today: $2.5
Possible price: $8

Mill has been picking back up in Modern over the past couple of weeks, having been gifted new tech both from Modern Horizons 2 and Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. The deck has gained resources in the form of Tasha’s Hideous Laughter and Fractured Sanity, both of which have been appearing as four-ofs in almost all current Mill lists. I talked a little bit about Tasha’s Hideous Laughter a few weeks ago and mentioned that I wanted to see it down towards $1-2 before grabbing a bunch of copies, and it’s gotten close to that but I’m not sure that it’ll quite hit that low any more – $3 might be your best entry at this point.

However, Fractured Sanity is looking like a much more enticing prospect right now, also a four-of in all the Mill decks and yet the foils have been somewhat languishing down at $2.50. I think that these are a prime target to head upwards pretty soon, and I can’t see it staying cheaper than Tasha’s Hideous Laughter for too much longer. With around 63 listings on TCGPlayer there are no major walls of copies; most listings are single or duo copies.

I want to mention the sketch versions quickly here – I think that these are another one that missed the mark in terms of the art, and that’s being reflected in prices – these are both cheaper and more readily available than the regular versions, and are probably worse targets than the regular copies for picking up at the moment.

Svyelun of Sea and Sky (Retro & Showcase Foil)

Price today: $7
Possible price: $20

Another deck making waves (pun fully intended) in Modern at the moment is Merfolk – an archetype that hasn’t seen much time in the sun for quite a while now, but might be back as a real player thanks to a couple of additions from Modern Horizons 2. Svyelun of Sea and Sky and Tide Shaper have both brought a lease of new life to the tribal deck, and could help push the old deck back to the forefront of the meta.

Tide Shaper acts as a replacement for Spreading Seas that hits for damage instead of drawing a card, and Svyelun giving Ward to all your Merfolk is pretty big game when cards like Solitude and Prismatic Ending have become so popular in Modern at the moment. On top of that Svyelun drawing cards and gaining indestructible really pushes it over the top, and as such has been showing up as a consistent three-of in the new Merfolk lists.

Prices for both the Retro frame and Showcase foils for Svyelun are both sat around $7 now, which I think could easily move up significantly if the Merfolk deck starts to gain some more traction in Modern. Aside from that, this is a card you can expect to see in almost all Merfolk EDH decks that get built, either as the commander or part of the 99, and being a Mythic form MH2 supply won’t last for too long once people start to pick copies up. Modern players will be grabbing them 3-4 at a time and certainly won’t mind paying $30-40 for a playset of premium copies, pushing the price up as they go.

Prismari Command

Price today: $6
Possible price: $15

I’ve spoken about Prismari Command before, when I called the FEA copies to go from $10 to $30 (and they’re currently sitting at $20 so well done if you bought some when I said to), but now that the more premium versions are getting expensive, I want to take a look at the regular copies. You can get them for around $6-7 in the US at the moment and they’re actually more expensive than that in Europe, although across the board foils and non-foils seem to be around the same price, so take your pick.

Prismari Command has been popping up here and there in Modern, seeing play across a few different kinds of decks – Crashing Footfalls, Indomitable Creativity and control variants. It’s also a relatively popular EDH card, in over 5000 decks listed on EDHREC, and in the top ten cards from Strixhaven. I think that this will continue to show up here and there in Modern, and that coupled with its EDH popularity should mean that it will keep climbing in price.

If you can get FEAs under $20 then I think they’re still a decent buy, certainly for personal use if not as a spec. I expect to see those crest $30 within a couple of months or so and could well continue up to $40.

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David Sharman (@accidentprune on Twitter) has been playing Magic since 2013, dabbling in almost all formats but with a main focus on Modern, EDH and Pioneer. Based in the UK, he’s an active MTG finance speculator specialising in cross-border arbitrage.