Casual Fridays

Amonkhet Accessories

I love this time of year so very much. We have a new set that we are all drooling over and eagerly brewing with. We are amazed at the cards that are seeing print and we are full of bad predictions about prices. (I’ll get to some of those next week.)

This week, though, I want to look at some cards that I think will have strong potential with the new cards, and hopefully these will gain in value when new decks get played and get some camera time.

Lupine Prototype + Hazoret the Fervent: Is this obvious? Sure. Both of them want the same thing but that’s what we are being pushed to. Embrace it. I don’t think that Noose Constrictor is going to grow in value, though it’s the logical partner for dumping your hand rapidly. Call the Bloodline is another contender, but the Prototype has the best growth potential because it’s a rare you can acquire for very little.

The foils are intriguing, because they are eight times the price of the nonfoil. That indicates to me that either there’s a very high casual demand for the card, or someone is stockpiling foils for future spikes. You can get in on this card for a ridiculously low price, so this is safe even if the combo doesn’t take off.

Anafenza, the Foremost + Rhonas the Indomitable: There’s a surprising number of cards that come pre-loaded with the right amount of power for Rhonas to be active, but this is one of my favorites, given the rise of Abzan in Modern. I’m aware that Anafenza has had some spikes and rises already, but of the cards I want to play with Rhonas, this is a strong one.

An honorable mention has to go to Greenwheel Liberator, as a card that can come down cheap and be big enough for Rhonas. It’s easy to find four-drops that match well with the green god, but early drops are just as important. This is another one that can bump up in price significantly, since it’s under fifty cents currently.

Bloodfury Militant + either of the above: I want to point out that this uncommon is great with both of the above cards. What’s truly special is the lack of sacrifice clause. If you cast this as the last card in your hand, then you’re golden! I want this card to be good, I really do. I’m going to be going after foils fairly aggressively after the first week or two that the set is out, because the value is real. Do I think it’s going to revolutionize a format? Not at all, but this is a lot of card and a lot of potential.

White Sun’s Zenith + Regal Caracal: This is a casual combo, but what a combo it is. The Zenith is a solid card, if a touch expensive to get started, but in Cat decks, it’s awesome and might get cast more than once. We have surprisingly few Cat lords, and giving a boost to size and lifelink at the same time is going to make a lot of Cat cards better.

The Zenith is a very cheap and very good card, and seeing it pick up in value seems like a reasonable thing. Get the card in the range of a quarter or thirty cents, and watch it hit a dollar or more. The foils already have a 10x multiplier, and I would be surprised if there was another foil printing anytime soon. Seeing this foil price double wouldn’t shock me at all.

Black Sun’s Zenith + Nest of Scarabs: Black Sun’s Zenith hasn’t had much of a bump yet even though it got some attention when this card was spoiled. There’s not much better than killing all of their creatures and then getting a swarm of your own, and this is a combo that’s going to have your Commander table both envious and angry.

It’s worth calling out Carnifex Demon and Midnight Banshee as dirt-cheap spec targets that could well spike if Nest of Scarabs becomes a build-around casual card. The Banshee is a true delight to combo together, as the Insect tokens are black and won’t get counters every turn.

Splendid Reclamation + the cycling duals: Yes, this card has already had a spike when these lands were spoiled. It’s not a huge bump, and I think that the card has some room to grow. The graveyard synergies are really strong in this new set, and this is one of the most powerful things you can do if set up properly. I also really like the casual potential of this card, so feel free to stock up.

 

Cliff is a high school teacher, father of two, and newfound Cube enthusiast. While Commander will always be his first love and greatest value engine, long-term foil investments are always going to be his stock-in-trade. He prefers to diversify over a wide range of cards, rather than overload on one, as a box full of Prophet of Kruphix can attest to.

Rachel Agnes, The Collector

Do Judge Me

7 Comments

By: Rachel Agnes
@baetog_

Hello everyone! I am back to talk about some juicy foils today! I am going to discuss a series of foils that have been produced for almost 20 years now. I am speaking of none other than the judge foils. As of April 2017, there are currently 109 different judge foil cards produced for Magic back from 1998. The popularity of the judge program foils has only grown over the years and you can expect this type of promotional foil to be around for many years to come.

So what are these foils? Judge foils are exclusive promo foil reprints of cards from Magic: the Gathering history that Wizards has deemed worthy of reprint or upgrade. Many have the judge logo printed at the bottom of the card (akin to the FNM promo logo).  A decade ago, the cards were selected based on popularity and rarity. Now, they are leaning more towards powerful, expensive EDH reprints as well as much needed Portal: Three Kingdoms overpriced cards. A mixture of rarity and desirability tend to be the deciding factor on which cards become Judge Foils. They are often legal or viable in various formats but not necessarily universally playable. There have been several methods of distributing these foils over the years from attending conferences to the more current Exemplar program. I will not delve into the method of distribution. Rather, I will be reviewing my top 10 favorite fudge promos and giving details on price and where to use them.

  1. Balance
    Price: $21.00
    Released in 2004 as a Judge Rewards Mailed Gift

Balance is one hell of a Magic card. Since the days of 1993, this card has been touted as white’s most powerful spell. Only being legal as a 1-of in Vintage, Balance joins the ranks of only several cards that are too powerful for Legacy AND Commander. Balance’s name may be a misnomer regarding its functionality, but the amazing artwork here by Kev Walker shows a powerful scene. This is one of the cards that truly evokes the feel of a “Judge” foil to me because when I look at it I am reminded of the crucial role that judges play in balancing our game. Without judges, there would be no Magic events and this amazing artwork as well as the subtle foiling and colors leads to the stern, but fair feel you can get from officials.

I use Balance in my Cube and it performs as one of the most overpowered White spells. Aside from Cube, some players play it in control decks in Vintage. Not being legal in other formats makes this card relatively cheap for a somewhat rare promo, but if it was legal in say, EDH, I would wager this to be the best version to use. Of course Alpha/Beta versions are pricier and the artwork is more nostalgic and iconic, but this version is the only viable foil version. We won’t talk about the FTV abomination.

  1. Sol Ring
    Price: $146
    Released in 2005 as a Judge Rewards Card given at Pro Tour London

You can’t play much Magic without hearing about Sol Ring. From the most cutthroat and powerful formats like Vintage to the more casual but vast format of Commander, Sol Ring has touched more players than most cards on this list. Sol Ring sees play in my Cube as one of the best cards and top picks, which is quite a title. Many Vintage decks also include it as an additional way to boost mana. This is also the MOST played Commander card by far showing up in over 60% of ALL EDH decks.

Sol Ring is a frequently sought after foil, and since the judge foil printing there have been 2 other foil versions. The judge foil Sol Ring uses the incredible Mark Tedin artwork from Alpha and it doesn’t get much better than that. The FTV foil displays the newer Commander artwork, and while nice, it doesn’t do justice to the original. There is also the Masterpieces version of Sol Ring done by the talented Volkan Baga. His artwork is stunning and the attention to detail he learned from his master Donato Gaincola is wonderfully displayed on the Masterpieces version. Currently, I replaced the Judge Sol Ring in my cube for the Masterpieces but it is still super close. The powerful alternative to this judge foil is why this card only Rings in at number nine.

  1. Survival of the Fittest
    Price: $258
    Released in 2009 as a Judge Rewards Card

Survival of the Fittest is one of many judge foils on the Reserved List. In fact, an older stipulation of the Reserved List allowed for foil promotional versions of its cards to be printed as long as they were not mass produced. This seemed to go by fine with players and collectors alike until the mass production of the From the Vaults: Exiled (and the printing of other reserved list cards en mass) caused one final revision to the list to not allow reprints of any kind. Luckily for us, some cards previously unavailable in foil were made as judge foils, and sadly, these will be the last.

Survival of the Fittest is one of green’s most powerful spells ever printed. Released in Exodus, there were no official pack foils of this card available yet. Its status on the Reserved List indicates that the two options we currently have for this card are the only two we will ever get. While I do enjoy the artwork on the original Pete Venters version, the artwork on this foil is absolutely beautiful as well. There is a test print foil version with the original Exodus artwork but that is not reasonable to acquire for most.

Survival of the Fittest sees play in my Cube where its ability to tutor for utility creatures and combo with reanimation spells is paramount. This card also sees heavy play in Commander where it serves a similar function. As Survival is banned in Legacy and not powerful enough for Vintage, you will be restricted to these two formats for the most part to use this card. I love this judge foil but it’s inferior artwork is what prevents it from climbing the list higher than number eight.

  1. Mana Drain
    Price: $161
    Released in 2016 as a Judge Rewards Card

Mana Drain is one of the strongest blue spells ever printed. It was an uncommon in Legends so it is safe from the clutches of the Reserved List. The biggest story of this particular promo is its price. When it was first spoiled it was also released to a select few individuals. The first copies of these Mana Drains sold for over $1000 each which was absolutely crazy for a judge foil. In early 2016 these were still selling for around $800 at the few dealers who had them. Upon its official release copies of Mana Drain started off at $350-400 before falling to $250. Now, Mana Drain judge foil currently sit around $150-175 where I believe they will remain for the coming years. It is still prone to additional reprints.

The Mana Drain judge foil comes with amazing artwork shown off originally in the Magic Online Holiday Cube. The original Legends artwork from Mark Tedin is a classic, however it sports no foil version. The colors on this foil are amazing and I recommend if you have to stick to one color for Judge Promos, go with the blue ones.

Mana Drain is the best counterspell in Commander by far. Although, like the previous cards on this list, it is banned in Legacy, Mana Drain is also played in Vintage. I currently have a judge foil Mana Drain in my Cube and I don’t suspect it will ever be removed.

  1. Noble Hierarch
    Price: $129
    Released in 2012 as a Judge Reward Card

Noble Hierarch is one of six judge foil released in the older frame. All six cards previously only came with the new border introduced in Eigth Edition, and because they have the same artwork as their original printings, Wizards wanted a way for them to stand out. Of these old framed foils, Noble Hierarch is my favorite. The foiling process is a flawless replication of old green foils and the colors are perfect.

Noble Heirarch sees play as 4-of copies in Modern, Legacy, and even occasionally Vintage. It is nothing short of a staple and most likely the best mana dork ever printed (usurping the title from Birds of Paradise). Only Deathrite Shaman could give Noble a run for it’s money, but it is certainly close. Noble Hierarch is a cube staple as well and fits into any EDH deck that can slot Bant cards in.

There are currently no other options artwork-wise for Noble Hierach, but I am not complaining. This piece by Mark Zug is nothing short of a masterpiece and I am a sucker for the old borders. This certainly gives the edge to the judge foil over its Conflux and Modern Masters 2015 printings.

  1. Fetchlands  
    Polluted Delta Price: $115
    Flooded Strand Price: $113
    Bloodstained Mire Price: $114
    Wooded Foothills Price: $98
    Windswept Heath Price: $93
    Released in 2009 as Judge Rewards Cards

Fetchlands are absolutely the best mana fixing cycle in all of Magic. Original dual lands be damned, fetchlands have changed the landscape of the game forever. There is no format that exists where fetchlands aren’t the most used mana fixing and because of this, they have been printed numerous times.

Unfortunately, for those of us who enjoy uniformity, there are only five judge foil fetchlands. They were printed for the allied color combinations right around the same time the enemy colored fetches from Zendikar were being released. Sporting the original artwork from Onslaught, these lands look amazing on the battlefield and the image itself glows extremely bright on the Delta and Strand.

Because of the Expeditions series released in Battle for Zendikar, there are now alternatives to these judge foils. Additionally, the original frame from Onslaught (the last block with this frame) is simply amazing and blows even this judge foil out of the water. These fetchlands, while outclassed, just look incredible when played and I hold them in high regards with a number five spot.

  1. Lightning Bolt
    Price: $230
    Released in 1998 as a Judge Rewards Card

And here we have Lightning Bolt. If you asked a person who hasn’t played Magic in 20 years what Lightning Bolt does they would still remember. Lightning Bolt just simply is Magic. This is the most powerful Red spell ever printed and a staple removal spell in every format it is legal in. Needless to say, every Magic player will need to own a playset of this amazing common.

Lightning Bolt currently has over a dozen printings, so choosing the version for you can be tricky. Artwork-wise there are three different ways to foil your bolt. Christopher Moeller’s Core Set Bolt is a great piece, but the price is minuscule and it has been reprinted into oblivion. There is also the digitally illustrated Player Rewards Promo which is more affordable than the judge foil and extremely detailed. However, Christopher Rush’s artwork is iconic and combined with that juicy old 90’s frame THIS is how you deal 3 damage in style.

Bolt also gets bonus points for being the very first judge foil ever released all the way back in 1998. Number four is a prized spot on a list of such powerhouses but it might come as a surprise that Lightning Bolt isn’t even the highest ranked common on this list…

  1. Basics
    Plains Price: $61,
    Island Price: $145,
    Swamp Price: $62,
    Mountain Price:  $50,
    Forest Price: $90
    Released in 2014 as Special Judge Rewards Cards

As far as foils go, these are the most expensive basic lands in the game. Illustrated by the extremely talented and oft-considered best artist in Magic, Terese Nielsen, these judge foil basic lands combine to create a beautiful panorama artwork. Needless to say, they look amazing side by side. The rarity of these basics in large numbers, along with the demand for basics (hey we all need them) make acquiring these basic lands a journey in and of itself.

Naturally, there are endless options when it comes to basic lands (an article for another time) and these are quite pricey. The foiling process on these is pristine and the nature of them being full-art also adds to their appeal. Wizards will have a very hard time ever topping these if they ever return to make more Judge Basics.

I absolutely LOVE Judge Basic lands and am always looking to acquire more. Basic lands tell us a lot about a player and these basic lands certainly indicate opulence and good taste. Number three is a great place for these beauties.

  1. Gaea’s Cradle
    Price: $569
    Released in 1998 as a Judge Rewards Card

Here is it. The holy Grail of judge foils. Gaea’s Cradle commands the highest price tag of any judge foil and for good reason. Gaea’s Cradle is on the reserved list, so you can bet this is the only way you will ever be able to acquire a foil one. The artwork by Mark Zug would be impossible to best anyways as I consider it a top 25 MTG artwork of all time.

Gaea’s Cradle sees play in Legacy in Elves and is arguably the best land in Commander. I currently own one of these gorgeous Cradles in my Cube where it will live the rest of its long life. You are looking at spending close to $600 for one of these prestigious foils and I don’t expect that price to go down ever. This judge foil was released almost 20 years ago as one of the first of its kind and Urza’s Saga was the last expansion that didn’t include set foils. Wizards luckily managed to find a way to sneak Gaea’s Cradle in as a foil and we are all luckier for it. This beauty is worthy of its number 2 spot.

  1. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
    Price: $515
    Released in 2014 as a Judge Rewards Card

It may seem impossible to beat out Gaea’s Cradle but here we are. When making this list I could think of no other card for the number one slot. The judge foil Elesh Norn is truly a work of art from the amazing artwork by Igor Kieryluk to the Phyrexian text on the card. This process is unique solely to this Elesh Norn, and with its popularity, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this again in the future.

This Judge Promo is hard to find and super desired by casual players and avid collectors alike. For this reason it demands the second highest price tag of all judge foils, only behind Gaea’s Cradle. You will be paying around $500 a pop of these so it’s a good thing most players will only need one copy. Elesh Norn is used in Legacy Reanimator and Dredge decks as well as Modern Gifts and EDH decks aplenty. If I could own NO other judge foil ever, this is the one I would choose as there is simply no alternative to me. This Phyrexian Princess currently resides in my Cube, and despite having real Power Nine cards present in the Cube alongside it, I always have a hard time not just sleeving this up in a binder and never taking it out. Elesh Norn blows away the competition and I hope we see more Phyrexian cards in the future!

I hope you enjoyed my Top 10 judge foil rankings. I am eager to hear which foils are your favorites and which ones you think should have made my list. Thanks for reading!

Rachel Agnes is a VSL Competitor, Phyrexian Princess, Collector of all things shiny and a Cube, Vintage, Legacy, and EDH enthusiast.
Catch on Twitch and Twitter via Baetog_.

 

Jason Alt, Spoiler Coverage

Unlocked Pro Trader: The Amonkhet Stuff EDH Cares About – Part 1

4 Comments

The set isn’t fully spoiled and I imagine there will be stuff spoiled between this article and the end of spoilers that will be relevant. Instead of waiting for that, I’m just going to get started and we’ll wrap up later. First, though, let’s take a look at how Aether Revolt is doing financially.

17 cards over $2. This is what we’re hoping the Invocation Masterpieces will do to prices in Amonkhet but it’s hard to say. Also, I was surprised to find that the 4th most expensive card is not even in regular boosters – it’s a durdly Planeswalker from the Planeswalker packs. Its high price is only surprising because I didn’t think it was that good – being in the Planeswalker deck means Masterpieces had no effect on its price.

 

So what I’m seeing is that basically 25% of the people who preordered Walking Ballista and hardly anyone else made money pre-ordering. Prices go down on just about everything 3 months later due to more boxes than ever being opened. Does it make sense to have a $7 uncommon in that context? Maybe, maybe not. What is EDH going to do?

Looking at Aether Revolt prices, we see Paradox Engine, Planar Bridge, Baral and Mechanized Production which seem to be expensive solely because of EDH. In the case of Paradox Engine, we have a card that’s one of the most expensive in the set solely because it’s bannably good in EDH and is basically warping that format. Could it be banned? Maybe. But until it is, it’s going to continue to be one of the most valuable cards in the set. Everything else got smashed down to like a buck and while that is good long-term, you’re looking to see what to pre-order (if anything ) and/or how much of a bath you’re going to take on the stuff you buy early. Do you need cards to play with right away? Then suck it, up; you’re going to lose some money, it happens. Are you willing to wait a minute? I think I can help you, there. Let’s look at what we should care about and what it will be worth in a few months.

Annointed Procession

This card is pre-selling for $3 on SCG and I think that may be too little and too much. Long-term, I think this has chops and can really get there because it’s a carbon copy of a card that is already expensive. I also think this goes down before it goes up.

Parallel Lives was under $3 for a minute and that was a while after it was printed. Parallel Lives is also in more appropriate colors for this effect. That said, lots of white token-based decks that never had access to green have been waiting for this. I think Parallel Lives’ price helped establish the preliminary price for this card but it can’t maintain it. At peak supply for this card, it will be very hard-pressed to maintain even $1 unless it’s directly impacting Standard, which I doubt. This is this set’s Dictate of Erebos, which means we’ll have time to get these for cheap and we’ll be getting $3-$5 for these in a year or two. This is a great opportunity, just don’t buy in too early.

Cast Out

I don’t see this being quite as expensive as Fatal Push (or as secretly rare – I have seen boxes of Aether Revolt with 2 copies of multiple rares and only one Fatal Push) so I think a good target for this is “free in draft chaff” if you can get them. EDH plays effects like this and tacking cycling onto it makes this pretty attractive. Get foils while the base price and multiplier are both low.

Regal Caracal

Cat lord. Maybe EDH doesn’t want this (a non-zero number of people absolutely will) but 60-card casual overlaps with EDH sometimes and obscures where the demand is coming from. The advantage of appealing to 60-card casual is that they can snap four of these up at a time. I think once this is bulk, you set it aside when you process bulk rares and that’s all you need to do. Forget these in a box and find them in two years when you can buylist these for like $1.50 each and use the proceeds to buy your family’s freedom from the marauding gangs of paramilitary thugs or Spam or air filters or whatever we’ll need money for in two years.

It’s going to look like I’m omitting “As Foretold” but since that’s not EDH-exclusive, the price won’t be affected by anything we do so it’s not really worth discussing. $25 is probably too much, but I don’t know if it will ever get so cheap that we’ll be glad later we paid that price. This card is just going to straight ruin prices on a lot of cards for a minute.

Kefnet the Mindful

This card is better than anyone thinks, probably. Still, it’s going to have a tougher time finding a home than most Sea Drake variants. I don’t want to pay $6 for this for sure. In general, these gods are way worse than the Theros ones and those prices are still low on some of them. I don’t expect this to ever be worth enough that we’re glad we bought in before these rotate out of Standard.

New Perspectives

This is just another bulk rare which likely languishes at bulk for a minute, but currently Lifecrafter’s Bestiary is a bulk rare and we know that can’t stay cheap forever. This card is good, albeit narrow. I feel like EDH will use its first ability as often as its second, especially in decks like Roon and Brago. Pull this out of bulk and box it up and wait.

Pull from Tomorrow

The marginal upside of being “allowed” to discard a card for certain decks isn’t enough to pay $3 for this right now. This will be bulk eventually but it will also be worth getting because it’s got more utility than some other cards that do this (though you can’t make them draw out like you can with Stroke of Genius, etc). In a world with a ton of cards that do this exact thing, this differentiates itself slightly by letting decks like The Mimeoplasm discard and that gives it longterm upside that Standard players won’t understand. Get these at bulk.

Liliana’s Mastery

How long do we expect casual gold like this to be a bulk rare? I sound like a broken record, but get these in bulk and hold onto them. It’s fine to sound like a broken record during preview season considering there are only one or two cards that won’t go down in price, and usually one of those cards only reveals itself after pro players have done significant testing.

Lord of the Accursed

“Why is an uncommon worth $4?” – Someone on reddit in two years

Champion of Rhonas

No, I didn’t forget red, I just don’t have any red cards to talk about because, like always, there are no good red EDH cards in sets other than Commander

This is better than Elvish Piper in some situations. It’s also not worth $6. I think this will probably get very cheap. Will this be one of the 17 cards worth more than $2 in a few months? I tend to doubt it. Here’s what I do – I ask myself “Am I more excited about this card than I was Aethersphere Harvester” and when the answer is inevitably “No” I decide that I don’t want to pay more than $2 for it.

Channeler Initiate

At $3, this may actually be underpriced, I don’t know yet. What I do know is that this can put -1/-1 counters on creatures other than itself which is not always a bad thing and this can grow itself while it helps your mana.  This card is really stupid. Then I remember that Somberwald Sage is stupid in EDH and that’s like $1.50. Who knows? If this goes up before like 3 years, it’s probably because Standard wanted it, which I can see. This is a better Werebear.

Shefet Monitor

This is not a 6 mana creature. This is a 4 mana spell that says “Search your library for a basic land or, I guess, a Desert, put it into play untapped, shuffle up then draw a card. Put a dead lizard in your graveyard that you may end up putting back in your hand or accidentally reanimating.” and that’s a pretty decent spell.

Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons 

This could be a sweet general, but I expect it to get played less than Baral. What’s Baral going for? Scroll up and check, then buy accordingly.

Neheb the Worthy

Whether you try to buy this guy or buy other Minotaur cards that might go up, I think you’re screwed no matter what you didgeridoo.

I may or may not write the second part to this before next week if they wrap up the spoilers, soon. To review, I think there is probably one slam-dunk opportunity in the set so far and that’s Annointed Procession. The good thing about there only being one sicko target is that we can all focus on it and ruin the price for everyone like the dirty finance mafiosos that we are. Got a card you’d like me to discuss that I omitted? Leave it in the comments section. Until next (week?) time!

Watchtower

UNLOCKED PROTRADER: The Watchtower 4/3/17

By: Travis Allen
@wizardbumpin

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.

Amonkhet spoilers keep rolling, and so far, it seems the community’s reaction is muddled. With Invocations having left such a bitter taste in the mouth of many, it seems players are receiving the set a tad more cynically than normal. That’s impressive, considering how cynical Magic players are to begin with. 

So far, the money card appears to be As Foretold. While the card itself is far too expensive right now to consider, it’s all the things that it does that people are eager about. The rules change I griped about last week hoses split cards, but the free cards like Restore Balance and Living End got a huge boon in that card. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, and once the set is legal, it will be exciting to see what crops up on MODO and beyond.

Amonkhet spoilers finish this week, and then will begin the exciting month before the Pro Tour. I’ll be watching the first SCG Open eager to see something compelling. (I’ll probably turn it off after round two.)

Krark-Clan Ironworks

Krark-Clan Ironworks

Price Today: $10
Possible Price: $25

This is probably the first time I’ve talked about Krark-Clan Ironworks (KCI) in this article series, but it isn’t the first time I’ve discussed the card in general. KCI is a long fringe favorite in Modern, solely enabling the Eggs archetype that we’ve seen crop up in various formats. While KCI wasn’t involved in the version of the deck that got banned, it’s been the clear successor to the deck. At a few events both in the meatspace and online it’s managed success, but nothing large enough to push it too far. The recent printing of Breya, Etherium Sculptor jumped it from $4 to $10, and after a month off, it’s back to climbing again.

Recently Michael Jacobs, a semi-pro player that’s been on the quieter side of things, tweeted that he’s 18-5 with a new KCI build. This one makes use of Scrap Trawler to create cascading chains of value, and I’m sure all sorts of devious tricks await those who make the effort to dive into the deck.

KCI has a current price tag of $10 and there’s very little supply out there. Add to that that it’s already spiked twice before, which means there isn’t a lot of liquid copies left to flood into the market on the back of a price spike. Vegas is in two months, and a lot of players are going to have Modern on the brain. If this particular strain of KCI Eggs takes off, expect the namesake to claim healthily.


Mistbind Clique

Knight of the Reliquary

Price Today: $10
Possible Price: $25

That these two cards happen to basically have the same price and outcome profile doesn’t mean I’m just being lazy ok.

Nobody was really paying attention to the Modern Classic this weekend. It’s not surprising; it was a Legacy Open, which is one of the few times necrophiliacs can publicly enjoy their vice. If you had made a point of stopping by the Modern results though, you may have noticed that UB Faeries came in not only 3rd, but also 13th.

When Fatal Push was spoiled several canny players noted that it could mean big things for the disgraced Lorwyn tribe. With four main deck copies in both lists, it would appear it has had at least a small impact on the deck’s viability. What’s even more interesting is the relative lack of Ancestral Vision, with only two copies in a sideboard between both lists. That means there’s a lot of other room for prices to grow, since there isn’t a playset of a corner $60 mythic capitalizing budget space.

Like most cards I discuss, supply on Mistbind Clique is already extremely low. I’m not sure exactly when this will trip, or even if it certainly will, but it’s definitely got the profile and the potential to make brave investors a fair return.

Travis Allen has  been playing Magic: The Gathering since 1994, mostly in upstate New York. Ever since his first FNM he’s been trying to make playing Magic cheaper, and he first brought his perspective to MTGPrice in 2012. You can find his articles there weekly, as well as on the podcast MTG Fast Finance.

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