A cynical marketing ploy

February 10, 2015 28 Comments

EDIT (May 2015): The first shirt design is available for purchase!All profits go to our cynical prize fund.

Some very welcoming members of the Magic community. All comments from the Pro Tour album by @wizards_magic #mtg pic.twitter.com/C3ketq6nED

— Cary (@Vronos) February 10, 2015

The above tweet gave us at MTGPrice.com an excellent idea: we should cynically do something to promote women in MTG in order to ride this bandwagon and make Google-like profits from it.

This is a 100% capitalistic venture. In no way are we doing this because the above tweet encapsulates an attitude that is complete fucking bullshit. Let there be no mistake – the proposal below solely exists to make us money and for no other reason. (It’s certainly does not, for example, have anything to do with the fact that I’d like to take my daughter to a magic tournament one day and not have her see this kind of completely fucking appalling attitude.)

Anyway, we’d like to do the following:

Are you female? Do you want to play in a Grand Prix but need some urging (financial or otherwise)? Do you have a torso? Awesome!

We will come up with some kind of tasteful t-shirt featuring our logo in all its capitalistic glory. We will pay you to wear this t-shirt on your aforementioned torso and then play in GP Vegas.

The rules:

We will pay $50 to at least ten woman who wear our shirt at GP Vegas. More if we can afford it. (EDIT: We have increased the number of corporate shills to twenty!)
The participant who ranks highest in the main event will receive an extra $300 and the person who ranks second-highest will receive an extra $200.
You must wear our shirt for the entire day and play in at least five rounds of swiss to receive your money.
You must high-five any other shirt wearer you come across for the remainder of the day.
Email webmaster@mtgprice.com to sign up.

NOTES:

1. If you sign up, please actually attend the event. My plan is to send the shirts to the event itself for pickup.

2. Please be female, however you personally choose to define that. We don’t care if you are trans, gay or any other label you choose to affix to yourself. Remember, this is a cynical marketing ploy for us to make as much money from you as possible: being bigoted would get in the way of cash generation.

3. I have no idea if this is legal. If it isn’t, we’ll donate the money to some related charity instead. For the tax write-offs, obviously.

The Gilded Goblin

Fate Reforged Clash Pack Review

February 9, 2015 Jared Yost 4 Comments

By: Jared Yost

This week I would like to delve into the Fate Reforged clash pack to see if it is worth picking up in order to boost the value of your collection. I’ll look at both the MSRP versus retail value of the singles and then compare them to my opinions of what the future value of the cards will be after their rotation from Standard. I’ll also keep in mind that some of the cards from the decks are alternate art foil, which could reflect their future value.

For the alternate art foils, I am going to use the TCG Median price since MTGPrice does not yet track the value of specific clash pack foil versions of cards. I will note the special foils with an asterisk *.

Decklists:

POWER	$$$	PROFIT	$$$
1 Typhoid Rats	0.14	1 Baleful Eidolon	0.14
4 Satyr Wayfinder	0.64	1 Leafcrown Dryad	0.14
2 Necromancer’s Assistant	0.26	2 Brain Maggot	0.98
1 Herald of Torment	0.91	1 Nighthowler	0.46
1 Returned Centaur	0.13	1 Courser of Kruphix*	7.79
2 Sultai Soothsayer	0.48	1 Noble Quarry	0.19
2 Sultai Scavenger	0.30	2 Grim Guardian	0.42
1 Scuttling Doom Engine	1.48	2 Oakheart Dryads	0.30
1 Necropolis Fiend*	0.60	3 Nyx Weaver	1.68
1 Sultai Skullkeeper	0.13	1 Graverobber Spider	0.21
1 Merciless Executioner	0.28	1 Reaper of the Wilds*	0.83
1 Gurmag Angler	0.14	1 Eidolon of Blossoms	1.33
		1 Doomwake Giant	1.93
1 Despise	0.32	1 Loathsome Catoblepas	0.13
2 Taigam’s Scheming	0.20	2 Nemesis of Mortals	0.44
1 Set Adrift	0.24
1 Treasure Cruise	0.49	3 Commune with the Gods	0.60
1 Dead Drop	0.24	1 Reviving Melody	0.24
1 Annul	0.13	2 Dark Betrayal	0.44
1 Naturalize	0.15	1 Plummet	0.13
2 Sultai Charm	0.78	1 Defend the Hearth	0.14
2 Murderous Cut	1.52	1 Whip of Erebos*	3.00
1 Hero’s Downfall*	7.42	1 Font of Fertility	0.22
1 Sultai Banner	0.15	2 Vineweft	0.26
1 Sultai Ascendancy*	0.72	1 Debilitating Injury	0.17
1 Neutralizing Blast	0.23	1 Nyx Infusion	0.15
1 Monastery Siege	1.70
		2 Jungle Hollow	0.24
7 Swamp	0	12 Forest	0
5 Island	0	11 Swamp	0
5 Forest	0
4 Opulent Palace	1.88
2 Evolving Wilds	0.32
2 Dismal Backwater	0.28
Total	$22.26	Total	$22.56
		Deck Total	$44.82

The MSRP cost of the deck is $24.99, so picking up the clash pack seems like it offers you great value. However, the retail value of the singles versus the MSRP of the deck doesn’t necessarily mean its a great pickup. Let’s take a look at the more expensive pieces of the decks to see where the best value lies and if the the card is in a position to maintain value moving forward. Then, once all the information is laid out, we’ll have a better idea about the clash pack value.

Threats

Courser of Kruphix

Courser of Kruphix is a popular in card in both Standard and Modern, and this event deck offers an alternate art version of the card. I think that Courser has a very good chance of maintaining a stable price through rotation. I don’t think the card goes below $5 because of its eternal playability applications. The alternate art version will be even more desirable in the future if it stays a Modern, Legacy, or Commander staple.

Hero’s Downfall

I think that Downfall has some room to drop after rotation. Even though this card is capable of killing planeswalkers at instant speed in addition to creatures, there is more efficient removal in eternal formats. The alternate art version will probably stay around the same price as the pack version in the future. After rotation, I’m predicting about a halving in value retail wise.

Whip of Erebos

Whip has a decent chance of maintaining $3 even through rotation due to Commander applications. It is a decent artifact for black Commander decks that gives them lifelink and recursion, all in one neat package. Even picking up singles of the clash pack Whip might be a good play for the future if you can get them for $2.50 or less.

Doomwake Giant

I’m not sure how Doomwake Giant goes above $2 any longer at this point. It was reprinted several times in its Standard life, so if you have any extra copies I would be looking to out them as the Standard season approaches May to June. This card isn’t very good in eternal formats so I would not look to pick up the event deck just to get Doomwake Giant on the cheap.

Opulent Palace (a full play set)

Opulent Palace is a good pickup if you can find them for $0.40 or less. The shards lands, before being reprinted in the Commander decks, used to go for $2-$3 at their highest point. Since then they’ve dropped to around $1.50 but that should still tell you something – even after three or so reprints the shard lands are still above $1. Picking any wedge lands you can get for $0.50 or cheaper seems like a fine play to me.

Monastery Siege

This card has room to drop, or possibly grow depending on what type of Standard play it sees. I haven’t seen it do much in Standard yet maybe next year it could have potential. Similar to Doomwake Giant, this probably isn’t going to do much outside of Standard.

Nyx Weaver

Not really a reason to pick up a clash pack – this card is pretty much just a casual, Standard-only playable card that is used to some effect in graveyard-based strategies though more so at FNM than at bigger events.

Murderous Cut

This card has the potential to be higher priced come next Standard season. It seems to be one of the premier removal spell from Khans block, so I will be watching it closely throughout the year for an uptick in play time.

Scuttling Doom Engine

Not really played in Standard, more a casual fan favorite than anything else. Still, if the card drops to $0.50 or lower after rotation I will probably be a buyer since it really only has nowhere to go but up from there on the back of casual demand. In terms of the clash pack, not a compelling reason to pick it up.

Eidolon of Blossoms

See my Doomwake Giant reasoning. I don’t really see it going anywhere unless a breakout deck happens after Dragons of Tarkir for some reason. Not a reason to pick up the clash pack.

Answers

Is There Value For You? Yes, there are other decent commons and uncomons in this clash pack like Sultai Charm, Brain Maggot, and Nemesis of Mortals, but let’s be honest with ourselves – we’re really only incentivized to pick this package up for the alternate art foils of the better cards in the deck.

The only alternate art foils in the deck that are worth a significant amount are Courser of Kruphix, Hero’s Downfall, and Whip of Erebos – hardly a compelling case to pick up the clash pack for future financial value. These three together are only $18.21, seven dollars below the MSRP price of the package. The alternate art, foil Whip of Erebos might have potential in the future, yet at $3 and less I would much rather trade for copies or buy in cash rather than picking up the clash pack.

This clash pack is targeted towards casual players, and I would say for them yes, this package is quite the deal compared to buying singles. You get plenty of good cards, like a playset of Opulent Palace, and you do get cards like Courser of Kruphix and Whip of Erebos that will hold most (if not all) of their value through the Standard rotation of Theros block.

It is also possible that other cards in the clash pack could be breakouts, however it is better to target those on a singles basis rather than through purchasing the package. I would also recommend against picking these up for long term sealed product gains, as there isn’t anything I find compelling that would make players want to buy this years down the road.

So all in all, the price is great compared to retail prices of singles, but if you’re already a serious Standard player you most likely already have all of these pieces and shouldn’t have a desire to pick one up. For the casual players out there, I say this is a great product for you – you get a ton of solid cards for about half the retail price. For those looking for specs from the package, I would say that the best spec target is the Whip of Erebos due to Commander (and possibly cube) demand.

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Pro Tour Fate Reforged: Top 8 Coverage

February 8, 2015 James Chillcott 2 Comments

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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:

Abzan (Eric Froelich)
U/R Splinter Twin (Antonio Del Moral Leon )
U/R Splinter Twin (Jelger Wiegersma)
Burn (Seth Manfield)
Amulet of Vigor (Justin Cohen)
Jacob Wilson (Liege Abzan)
R/W Burn (Lee Shi Tian)
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.

ADVERTISEMENT: Get the Cube Starter Bundle with the 3rd Edition Grimoire Deck Box, the brand new Grimoire Deck Box designed specifically for the red mage in you.

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Pro Tour Fate Reforged: Day 2 Coverage

February 7, 2015 James Chillcott 1 Comment

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By James Chillcott (@MTGCritic)

End of Day 2 Wrap Up

Top 8 Modern Decks of Pro Tour Fate Reforged:

Abzan (Eric Froelich)
U/R Splinter Twin (Antonio Del Moral Leon )
U/R Splinter Twin (Jelger Wiegersma)
Burn (Seth Manfield)
Amulet of Vigor (Justin Cohen)
Jacob Wilson (Liege Abzan)
R/W Burn (Lee Shi Tian)
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.