My name is Jason Swistoski. I’m not a professional magic financer and I am in no way a professional Magic player. I’m just a regular guy that’s been playing Magic since 1994 and loves value. When I sit down at my LGS, the locals always want to paw through my binders. Why? The usual response is “I just want to see all of these cool, expensive cards.” When I tell them that I will be happy to trade them whatever they want I get a look of horror.
“I can’t afford those cards,” or, “I can’t get into Legacy. It’s WAY too expensive.”
How many times have you heard that phrase at your local game store? If your store is anything like mine, the answer is a lot! This got me thinking… why can’t the normal player let their cards and time work for them? Let the cards get them what they want.
I remember my first dual land (Unlimited Taiga) and my first Mox (Beta Mox Jet). Back then, they didn’t mean as much as they do now. You used to trade those cards for Shivan Dragons. Now, I see the look on the kids faces when one of the youngins at my local game store opens the small binder of mine and see the duals, goyfs, bobs… It’s something to be proud of. But that moment when they realize that I will trade anything in my binder for anything they have as long as everything matches up value-wise. Knowing that I get to make some value in the trade AND they get to get a crazy card they’ve only dreamed about… Whatever it might be that gleams in their starry eyes. That’s something special to me. It shows them and anyone else they play with that you can, in fact, get those cards.
I try to explain to anyone that asks about legacy that they can play it if they want. All anyone has to do is try. I point out how much they are spending on their standard or modern decks. I try to point out decks they can build using cards they already have in their binder. It doesn’t usually click. I get the same old response. “Legacy is too expensive.” This response was starting to frustrate me.
I remember being in their shoes. I remember having to sell my collection after a particularly nasty divorce. The person I sold my collection to told me point blank, “Are you sure you want to do this? You know you will be back. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.” Of course I told him that I was done but I still kept my EDH deck and a handful of cards to build that new EDH deck I’ve been working on. Now, looking back, well… he was right. To put a little perspective on this, he was the person who got me interested in the finance side of Magic. The first time we met, I dropped from an IQ to hangout with him while he went through my cards I brought with me that day. I had to have that altered Library of Alexandria! After that I dumped a ton of my stuff on him for dual lands, a German Foil Zur, Imperial Seal, etc, etc, etc. He was always there to take whatever I had for him. I never had any trouble finding stuff I wanted. He never had trouble finding stuff he wanted. It was perfect. It moved into taking orders from my locals for stuff I didn’t have instock and calling him to get it sent over for the next FNM. I would always ask him questions about the finance side of things. I would take his advice and snag those cards we talked and then trade them out when they went up in price as expected. I would try and buy collections. I would use his buylist in my local area to try and grind out some profits. When his podcast started, I would listen religiously, looking for the next tip. He always made sure to tell me that my ideas about a given card were right, because I wouldn’t dare suggest something to him without doing my research first. He was the expert. He was the professional. He was an idol and a mentor. One of the things that stuck out to me was his reputation in the community, and how many foil Thorn Elementals he had in his binder.
When I got back into the game, as we all knew I would, I thought about all of those conversations we had and I thought about all of the conversations I would have in my local shop. Those conversations led me to this project.
“How can I teach people that they can play legacy.”
I want to show everyone that they can afford the cards; however, it will take time and effort to get to the end result. Jonathan Medina, a legend in the finance community, had FNM Hero, “The journey of a new player.” Legacy Hero takes it to the next step. I’m chronicling the journey of an established FNM Hero getting into Legacy and becoming a Legacy Hero.
In the beginning we need to assume that the player is at least of novice level. In the interest of fairness, we are going to assume that I have been grinding FNM like a champ, have a Tier 1 Standard deck, a reasonable trade binder, and a little store credit.
What tools do I have to use? How am I going to make this a reality? I plan on taking advantage of buying and selling on Ebay, TCGplayer, buylisting, value trading, mtgprice.com’s ProTrader (arbitrige), specing, and of course the profits of winning local tournaments. For example, If I had bought/traded for 20 Jeskai Ascendancy at release (.99) and buylisted them to Channel Fireball at $4 each on the Monday following the Pro Tour, that’ would have been a quick $60 in cash (less expenses) or $104 in store credit. Now what if I took that credit and bought a few things that I expected to increase in value? Then that is a quick and easy example of success.
Over the course of this series I will document the trades, specs, and everything else I do to become the Legacy Hero. This project is community driven. I will ask for a lot of feedback and look to you guys for the major decisions. Everything I will talk about here is something that anyone can do. The goal is to show, in detail, that mtgfinance isn’t something to be afraid of and it is something anyone can do if they put their mind to it. I will include pictures of transactions and a monthly state of affairs assessing the value of the Legacy Hero’s portfolio and a recap of how close we are to the goal.
Let’s recap what tools our Legacy Hero will start with:
1 Tier one standard deck (Jeski Tempo)
Trade binder equaling $300-$400 in value
“Store credit” in the amount of $50
Let’s get started! What Legacy deck am I going to build? Click on the strawpoll and cast your vote for your favorite deck!
Next week we will go over the results and go over the plan of attack.
I want to give a shout out to the Godfather, Jonathan Medina here. He said his ego was dying so I need to offer some more CPR. I miss you man. We all miss you.
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There are many ways Magic decks appeal to players. The archetypal GR list that is a pile of nasty monsters, each capable of winning a game when left unchecked, appeals to players who just want to beat the snot out of their opponent with heavy-hitters. Slow UW decks that seek to slowly gain complete control of the game with counterspells, removal, and card advantage appeal to those who want to leverage their play skill over their opponent in a long, drawn out process. Combo decks tickle the fancy of players that want to do cool things very quickly, ending with a critical turn in which the actually or virtually win the game on the spot. Burn decks appeal to sociopaths.
Everyone is drawn more strongly to one type of deck, and some are drawn more strongly than others. A severe spike may find one archetype more interesting than another, but will never play anything other than the deck that gives him or her the best chance of winning. Other players will stick to discard decks exclusively, despite the fact that they’re bad in every format, because they derive perverse pleasure from seeing their opponent empty-handed. Regardless, while everyone has their preferred method of winning, there still exists sexy decks that at the very least will momentarily capture the attention of nearly any player.
Sexy decks are ones that can claim to do something wild and unique. What does sexy in the world of Magic look like? It’s drawing your entire deck in a single turn. It’s a screenshot of your opponent at -20,000 life. It’s killing them on turn zero. It’s hitting the token limit on MTGO. (Which is only 200, by the way. That is a heinously low token limit, and further evidence of how garbage the software really is. What if your opponent is playing some stupid Rhox Faithmender deck and gets to 370 life before you go off and make infinite 1/1 hasty tokens on the last turn of time? “Sorry, even though you win in paper Magic, you lose online.” I’d be pissed.) Sexy is not things like casting Mana Leak or activating Deathrite Shaman to dome someone for two life at the end of their turn.
We’re all momentarily enthralled by sexy decks and sexy plays. It’s human nature. Even if we know that it isn’t good or reliable, it’s still fun to see the extremes of the game. It’s a great reminder of how flexible the world of Magic really is, which is a welcome reminder when staring down the seventh Siege Rhino of the day in round two.
Sexy decks are usually defined by sexy cards. One or two hot cards pull the whole package together and make it look desirable. Birthing Pod is a sexy card. Goryo’s Vengeance is a sexy card. Villainous Wealth is a smoldering, tight black dress in an upscale hotel bar, my-girlfriend-would-be-upset-if-she-knew-what-I’m-thinking-about sexy card. Sexy cards are perfect for letting us entertain our darkest, filthiest, magical christmasy-land fantasies. As such, they’re also prone to exciting our wallets as well.
Work horse cards can be expensive, but it usually takes time to get there. They’re boring and dependable. People buy them because they have to, not because they’re excited to. Sylvan Caryatid, a AAA Standard staple, has taken nearly two months to go from $6.50 to $16.50. Caryatid is powerful and format-defining, but it’s not exactly sexy. Sexy is Glittering wish, which went from $2.50 to $20 in twenty-four hours.
Everyone can appreciate a sexy deck, and sexy decks contain sexy cards. Sexy cards see drastic movements in price.
You go to Pat Chapin for Grixis decks. You go to Craig Wescoe for white weenie decks. Who do you go to for sexy decks? Travis Woo.
It must be the name, because he and I share a love for brews that do very sexy things. I’m playing Jeskai Ascendancy in Modern right now, and I’ve cast more Goryo’s Vengeances in my lifetime than most men. I was trying to get Tooth and Nail to work as soon as Modern was announced, and even when I play real decks like Scapeshift I shoehorn a Gifts Ungiven/Elesh Norn package into them. We both like sexy decks. We both like claiming crazy things. We both like playing on the edge of the format.
Travis Woo enjoys his creations and he wants you to enjoy them as well. When I consider his proselytizing I am reminding of Mike Flores. They both share unbridled enthusiasm for their creations, convinced that they will turn the world of Magic on its ear. Each new deck they unveil is, in their eyes, a game-changer that will Make Them Take Notice, and Set the Format On Fire. Their unadulterated exaltation of their creations is a key component of their public identity. Neither of them writes about a deck and says “This seems decent in testing and I’m looking for ways to make it better.” They say things like “cash in your 401k to buy Primal Commands because this deck is unreal.”
The excitement Woo exudes when discussing and showing off his creations, along with the fact that they often utilize cards that have been sitting in dusty boxes for years, has a tendency to generate powerful hype when a new model rolls into the showroom floor. Stream a few games of sacrificing Summoner’s Egg at the end of T3 and then killing your opponent with the Emrakul that was underneath and people get into a tizzy. Cries about Woo breaking it circulate amongst the echo chamber, and before you know it there are no copies of the eponymous card left on TCGP. This has become known as the Woo Effect.
Without fail, these brews end up being far too unstable to reliably perform in large events. A few diehards will actually sleeve them up and take them to local Modern events where they’ll realize that UR Delver is just too real a deck and too miserable to play against for the concoction to succeed. The deck is desleeved, the marquee cards put into the trade binder, and the player returns to Channel TWoo eagerly awaiting the next revolution.
Do you know what isn’t sexy? Slowing your combo down to play around removal. Boarding out the turn-one kill and instead beating down with a few 2/1s. Getting disrupted by a turn one Thoughtseize and spending the rest of the game durdling around while your opponent does you in with a Tarmogoyf. Consistency isn’t sexy. Losing to sideboard cards isn’t sexy. Low prices aren’t sexy.
Waves of Aggression is the most recent recipient of the TWoo fervor machine, and the impetus for me to write this article. It was $.50 to a dollar on CFB for the longest time, yet now I can barely find a copy under $6.
This is hardly the first time this is happened, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Let’s look back at the last few times a card has seen such a drastic rise in response to inclusion in a TWoo article.
The next most recent occurrence that I can recall was Summoner’s Egg. In typical TWoo fashion, this image was included in the article in which he writes about Summoner’s Egg.
This stands in contrast to the price graph.
Like Waves of Aggression, it hovered in the $.50 to $1 range before he wrote about it. The spike here was slightly less, only hitting roughly $4, but the fall more severe: back to $1.50 CFB; up a whopping $.50 from where it started.
Following Egg is a pair of green cards that seemingly held great potential. I seem to recall TWoo advising you take out loans to buy into Primal Command.
Primal Command faired a bit better. I was on the train on this one as I’m a sucker for a good green card. I remember picking them up between $2.75 and $3.25. The best buylist is as high now as it’s ever been at $5. It’s worth noting that while the spike on Primal Command first occurred in January, it wasn’t until May that the buylist actually got to $5. I spent weeks watching Command, hoping it would rise enough in price that it would be worth cashing out. It took months before there was actual realized profit to be had. I guess at this point, eight months later, I’ve made a profit of $2 a copy. Hooray?
Genesis Wave saw roughly comparable success. Copies were $2 on CFB right up until January 1st, when they jumped all the way to $7. The buylist didn’t follow immediately though. It ended up hitting $4 a copy, but not until February, and it only lasted two or three weeks. It dropped to $3 shortly after, and remains there today. I can recall shipping a few sets for $20 on eBay, but I think all said and done I made maybe $10 a playset. You’re certainly pleased with that, although the window of opportunity to do so was short; maybe a two or three days at most. There was no way you could have moved more than a handful of sets in that time period.
Finally we come to what would have been the most lucrative of TWoo’s recommendations: Disrupting Shoal.
Disrupting Shoal was $2 before Ninja Bear Delver Whatever, and managed a respectable $12 afterwards. A 500% increase is for sure a healthy profit margin. The buylist didn’t do a great job of keeping up, spending only days north of $5, but the private market would have been good to you. The heydey didn’t last forever, but NM copies are about $5-$6 on TCG right now which is still more than the $2 you would have paid for them.
Living End is perhaps the card most connected with Woo, although I don’t think he can claim responsibility for its price today. According to his CFB bio he T8’d with it in 2010, but the price spike isn’t until mid-2013, shortly after Modern Masters was released. While he certainly put the card on the map, buying in when he “broke” it would have meant a three year wait on getting paid.
What’s the takeaway from all of this? First I want to remind you of the costs of flipping cards.The short version of the story is that a card has to see a substantial rise in price in order for you to make any profit whatsoever, and even then it can be difficult to make more than minimum wage.
Next I want to point out that really, with the exception of Disrupting Shoal, you really wouldn’t have made much money buying cards Woo recommends. If you bought the night the article was published, before any movement had occurred whatsoever, you stood a chance to make a profit. It would have required not only being the first in line at TCGP, but also not having your order cancelled, receiving the cards before the hype died down, and actually getting them sold somewhere. If you were a day late to buy your copies or dragged your feet listing them after they arrived, any margin of profit would have been entirely erased.
Keep in mind too that the buylists almost never move quickly with these sorts of spikes. Vendors know that these are flashes in the pan, and therefore demand will die off rapidly. They aren’t in a rush to buy your Waves of Aggression if they expect that nobody is going to want to buy the card a week later. This means that in order to out your copies you’ll need to go to somewhere like eBay or TCG. While you often sell the cards for more money in those venues, there are also greater transaction costs, greater risk, and they require a larger time investment.
I also notice that the two cards that sustained the largest percentage increases, Disrupting Shoal and Living End, are both free spells. Perhaps the lesson here isn’t to watch what Woo is playing, but rather just to assume any free spell will eventually be broken. (I personally have a pile of Soul Spikes that’s just waiting for the day.)
It’s easy to look at cards like Waves of Aggression spike so hard and wish that you had gotten in on the train, but the stark reality is that it’s nearly impossible to turn a profit from these types of spikes unless you were already holding a pile of copies when it happened. Without copies in-hand on day zero, your best approach to Woo spikes is to observe bemusedly while putting your MTG funbux somewhere more reliably lucrative.
On a separate topic, I’ll be a bit quiet for the next two months. Expect only two articles or so out of me between now and the first of the year. Don’t fret though; I fully intend to return full time in January, hopefully with tales about buying and selling across the sea in Tokyo. I’ll also still be active on Twitter – @wizardbumpin – to the chagrin of all of my followers.
Have you heard of the new turn 2 kill in Modern? Well, the Narset Combo deck is probably not news to most of you anymore. But for those who haven’t heard of it, it is a deck that exploits Goryo’s Vengeance to cheat in the hexproof Narset, Enlightened Master and chain a series of attack phases which results in Enter the Infinite and Omniscience being ‘casted’ with Narset’s ability. It is a Johnny masterpiece designed by Gabriel Jones who handed the list to Travis Woo for maximum exposure. You can read more about it and see it in action here.
The Narset deck may be a bit too wombo combo to be tier one, but it reminded me of a theory proposed by a friend and fellow Magic finance enthusiast about Goryo’s Vengeance while we were discussing if it was worth investing in our own playset of Goryo’s Vengeance:
Goryo’s Vengeance gets better as more legendary creatures are printed.
Back then in 2012, when we bought our playsets of Goryo’s Vengeance, it was a $4 card.
Today I am going to discuss how the theory could apply to other cards in similar veins to Goryo’s Vengeance, cards that allows you to cheat-in creatures. This is the Increasing Savagery theory and credit goes to Reza Baharin (@rezaaba on Twitter) for coming up with it. The theory is named after Dark Ascension’s Increasing cycle of cards that get more powerful as the game progresses; likewise the cards the theory attempts to explain increase in potential as more Magic sets are released.
A Lannister Always Pays His Casting Cost. That Doesn’t Means You Must.
Through the years, Wizard’s design paradigm shifted towards encouraging interactivity and board-based game states and creatures are bestowed with a higher power level than those of Magic of yore. Regardless of the changes in Magic’s design priorities, one aspect remained the same throughout Magic’s design history: there are always splashy creatures.
Splashy creatures are monsters that shout ‘Wow!’, be it because they are a big flying spaghetti monster, or they possess some insanely cool ability (double cascade anybody). Splashy creatures usually come with a prohibitive mana cost, for great power is a reward deserved only by those who goes through the pain of assembling the required mana.
From Lord of the Pit of the days of yore to Eldrazis of today, splashy creatures remain the mainstay of Magic. Their sheer size makes Timmies shudder with excitement, their unique abilities rev up the brew engine of Johnnies and occasionally, reaches through the breach from kitchen table play to the competitive tables of Spikes.
Legendary creatures add to the lot as well. While Wizards does not specifically design legendary creatures in normal sets to appeal to Commander players, legendary creatures are designed to be cool. Plus, the legend rule allows Wizards to push the power level of legendary creature. Characters in Magic’s storyline manifest themselves in cardboard form as legendary creatures or Planeswalkers, and as every Magic set comes with a story, it is a pretty safe assumption that most sets will contain legendary creatures.
Thus the first premise of the Increasing Savagery Theory: the number of splashy and/or legendary creatures increases with the number of Magic sets.
The next premise the theory rests on is that Wizards’ design and development teams are continually inclined to push boundaries for creatures they design, so as to keep players excited for new cards. Sometimes this manifested itself as an undercosted creature. Other times this manifest itself as a creature with an awesome ability counteracted by a prohibitive casting cost, a la Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Griselbrand and Avacyn, Angel of Hope.
So we can also safely assume that we will continue to see powerful creatures with prohibitive mana costs and this forms the second premise of the Increasing Savagery Theory.
The third premise is pretty straightforward: cards like Goryo’s Vengeance and Through the Breach are only as good as the fatties you can cheat into play with them.
Put all three premises together and you get:
Cards that allow you to circumvent a creature’s casting cost gets better as more Magic sets are released.
Counter Arguments
The counter argument to this theory is that new big game-breaking creatures will displace the current targets for the cheat cards, making the demand for cheat-into-play cards remain relatively stable. Those decklists are tight, and there is no reason to play the old fatties if the new ones are strictly better.
While it is true that better win condition targets would replace the incumbents, the replacement itself could potentially bolster the existing archetype. Prior to Griselbrand, Legacy Sneak and Show decks were running Progenitus alongside Emrakul as Show and Tell fodder five to seven. While Emrakul is susceptible to Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Progenitus to board wipe, Griselbrand provided a strict upgrade to the deck as the big bad demon technically possesses an ETB ability as he grants an extra seven to fourteen cards upon touching the board.
While Show and Tell was already an expensive card at $40 prior to the adoption of Griselbrand, it spiked to mid-$60s in July 2012 when four-of Griselbrands propelled Sneak and Show decks to the next level.
Let me show you my value.
Modern Goryo decks could benefit if a more efficient fatty were to be printed in the future. Say a fatty that comes with a game-breaking enter-the-battlefield ability that does not require you to pay seven life. Modern players take a lot more damage from their manabase compared to Legacy players and sometimes cheating a Griselbrand into play is not enough to turn the board around. Perhaps the a new splashy creature were to be printed that conveniently stays in the graveyard for reanimation purposes. Perhaps a new fatty negates the need for Fury of the Horde as a win condition, freeing up four slots in the deck for cards to improve the deck’s resilience.
The other counter argument is that the Achilles heel of Modern Goryo decks is the decks’ susceptibility to discard and countermagic rather than a lack of creatures to cheat into play. That is an issue that the printing of new fatties would not shore, but the printing of new spells might. For example, the addition of Izzet Charm injected an extra dose of consistency into the Griselbrand Reanimator by giving it more dig spells, discard outlet and counter protection.
Furthermore, new fatties or legendaries could instigate new archetypes or twists on existing archetypes; both could potentially increase demand for the cheat-into-play cards that are key to making those decks work. A breakthrough or a bust, the Narset Combo deck supports the Increasing Savagery theory in that it creates another deck that relies on Goryo’s Vengeance. Who knows, perhaps sometime in the near future, a Todd Anderson might pilot a tuned Narset Combo into 11th place at a Grand Prix, or a Jan van der Vegt might add on a few copies of an old, forgotten card and make that deck the talk of the Grand Prix.
Now to the Financial Side
While there are a plethora of cards that allows you to circumvent pesky casting costs, the cards I am going to discuss in this article are cards that are themselves costed low enough to be considered cheating a creature into play (sorry Omniscience, Tooth and Nail) and is not too conditional (sorry Summoning Trap), and Modern-legal (the Legacy ship for cards in this category has long sailed, adios Show and Tell!).
That leaves us with pretty much the cards that are used in the various incarnations of Modern Griselbrand Reanimator: Goryo’s Vengeance, Through the Breach and Fist of Suns. And the oft-overlooked Quicksilver Amulet.
Pros: The card that inspired the Increasing Savagery theory and one of the most powerful cards in Modern, Goryo’s act of revenge is the reason why Modern Reanimator decks can execute turn two kills. It is key to the archetype and is likely to be the first card brewers turn to when a new splashy legendary creature is spoiled.
The card contains “Goryo” in its name, is an Arcane spell and Champions of Kamigawa’s popularity mean Goryo is probably not coming back for a vengeance anytime soon.
Cons: Goryo’s Vengeance is the cheat-into-play candidate with the highest chance meeting the banhammer. It also has a pretty hefty price tag at $11. Goryo’s price didn’t really sink the way Fist of Suns’ did when the deck that ran them didn’t top 8 the Grand Prix they were causing so much furore at.
Pros: Through the Breach has a flavor-tied name and is also an Arcane spell, giving it a low chance of being reprinted. It is also ran as a two-of in Legacy Sneak and Show sideboards, which could be another factor pushing its price.
Cons: Like Goryo’s Vengeance, Through the Breach is not exactly cheap to buy in at $11. Well, at least its unlikely to face the hammer anytime soon, so its got that goin’ for it, which is nice.
Pros: $5 is a pretty good buy in after its precipitous drop from $12. Fist of Suns is a card that is begging to be broken. It ‘casts’ your fatty as well, so brownie points for synergy with Emrakul.
Cons: Fist is more vulnerable compared with Goryo’s Vengeance and Through the Breach, mainly because you don’t often cast Fist of Suns and use its ability on the same turn, making it susceptible to artifact removal. Plus resolving a Fist does not guarantee the resolution of your beast. Unless it’s Emrakul.
And you’ll need all your colors to abuse this one.
Pros: Featured in the latest iteration of Griselbrand Reanimator by Tatsushi Tsukamoto who finished 23rd in the recent Grand Prix Kobe. It is the only truly colorless route to summon a creature without paying the creature’s mana cost. The amulet is currently at $7 and is slowly trending up.
Cons: Probably the weakest cheat card of all the cheat-into-play cards. The Amulet does not grants haste (though you could technically drop the creature at the end of your opponent’s turn) nor does it casts the card, thus missing out on Emrakul’s Time Walk trigger. Quicksilver Amulet also does not see much Commander play. Amulet it may be, but with two printings, this card may not have much room to grow. Nevertheless, I am still surprised to see this once bulkish rare trending at $7.
The Supreme Verdict
The cards that subscribe to the Increasing Savagery theory are long-term investment targets rather than fodder for quick speculation. We do not know when the next innovative tech will emerge to trigger another spike in the price of those cards, but we know that every new set adds to the chance of a breakthrough innovation happening. The Modern cheat-creatures-into-play archetype is one breakthrough away from being tier one.
Goryo’s Vengeance and Through the Breach at $11 are steep, however those cards are likely to increase in value over time as more fatties and legendary creatures enter the card pool. Securing your own playset of those cards now would seem prescient when their next spike comes with the next breakthrough tech. They are cards you could probably take your time to amass rather than going all out right on acquisition now. I would prefer to trade for them rather than buy them outright.
While I am comfortable holding Through the Breach for a long time, I would be inclined to sell Goryo’s Vengeance the next time it spikes. Goryo’s power level is sitting on the borderline of bannable and shall the next iteration of Goryo decks prove to be more resilient than the current lists, the next spike might just be Goryo’s last. Taking a leaf off Travis Allen’s recent article, being too greedy might just result in missing the Treasure Cruise.
If there are any cards on the veins of the Increasing Savagery theory that is worth buying now, it would be Fist of Suns at the paltry $5 it is valued at as of writing. It is a card that is begging to be broken, plus unlike the rest of the Increasing Savagery cards, Fist of Suns could cheat in any spell. Any spell.
While Quicksilver Amulet is just $7 and is gradually climbing in value, I am skeptical about picking it as a good target mainly because it sees little to no play in Modern and casual formats and has multiple printings.
Bonus
Wizards designs cards to synergise with upcoming sets. Mutavault in M14 supported mono-colored Devotion strategies in Theros, and Courser of Kruphix in Born of the Gods works in tandem with Khans of Tarkir fetchlands.
Writing on the bones?
Could you see what the future holds for See the Unwritten? Outside of Hornet Queen and Ashen Rider, there aren’t any good See the Unwritten targets in Standard right now. Even Hornet Queen and Ashen Rider are decent targets at best. Powerful, but not Tooth and Nail into Darksteel Colossus powerful.
Dragons of Tarkir is potentially the third set of the Khans block. Call me an optimistic Timmy, but that name sounds like a set that could bring us some sweet, maybe-even-legendary flying fatties. Going back to a time where dragons are aplenty in Tarkir fits right into the time travel story of Khans.
Currently valued at $4.50, See the Unwritten holds a lot of potential. Don’t wait until the dragons return before you see the unwritten value of the card.
Drawing inspiration from my coverage of Khans uncommons and commons, I decided to put together a list that was slightly more… ambitious. I figured, if there was value in deciding which uncommons and commons from the latest set have financial implications, why not look into even more sets for other gems that have maintained or increased in value over the years?
I also wanted to expand a bit more on my work for modern buylist data crunching, which involved seeing which vendors that MTGPrice tracked (I later completed a review of Card Kingdom) offered the highest buylist prices on average. However, some players aren’t really going to care about shopping around – they have a buylist that they use and will continue using that buylist because it is convenient for them rather than always splitting up orders between multiple buylists. So the question becomes, instead of which buylist offers the best prices what are the cards I should be looking out for in general that will sell well to almost any buylist? Odds are you are going to be selling lots of bulk picks to a buylist, so I wanted to see what the most valuable Modern uncommons and commons that go to buylists in general are.
I hope this article will prove useful to bulk pickers, those tireless souls that spend hours upon hours looking through bulk boxes for the gems that the rest of us find useful. If there is enough interest, I can continue tracking the value of uncommons and commons for the remaining older sets in the Magic (barring sets like Alpha, where basically every card is worth $5 or more).
For now though, I think Modern is a good starting point because it is the newest eternal format that is gaining interest again due to the Onslaught fetchlands being reprinted in Khans. There are many uncommons and commons on the list (see appendix) that have popped up in Modern builds over the past year and have gained some value due to being discovered as useful in the format.
However, a large majority of the uncommons and commons on this list have maintained value due to casual demand. Casuals drive a large part of the demand from the market, so when you see cards like Salt Marsh, Zombify, and Mirrodin’s Core being listed on buylists you really shouldn’t be that surprised. As Anthony Capece recapped in a groundbreaking MTG finance piece last November, cards from newer sets are printed in vastly higher quantities than older sets. Starting with Innistrad, the card printers that Wizards contracts to make Magic must have been jumping for joy from the amount of work that Wizards (Hasbro, really) sent their way.
This is also reflected in the pricing data. Before arriving at Innistrad, I could find numerous uncommons and commons from the pre-Innistrad sets that retailed for $0.50 or more on TCGPlayer. The number of post-Innistrad uncommons and commons that retail for $0.50 on TCGPlayer (barring Modern Masters and Conspiracy, of course) are noticeably lower. Khans being the only exception, since the set is so new still that we’ll need a year for the uncommons and commons to be printed into oblivion and decrease in price too.
OK, so you’re probably wondering what trends I’ve found after glancing through that appendix. Let’s first start with the most expensive uncommons and commons by retail price that are legal in Modern. I will refer to as Tier 1 uncommons and commons.
TCGPlayer Retail – Tier 1 Modern Uncommons and Commons
Not surprising here is that many of these card are Modern or Legacy tournament staples, such as Sensei’s Divining Top and Aether Vial. However, cards like Ghostly Prison, Lightning Greaves, Imperious Perfect, and Harmonic Sliver are the casual gold I was talking about that usually comes out of these bulk boxes because players focused on tournament play don’t care about them. If you continue on to the next 25 or so cards with higher retail values you will continue to see more casual cards show up in the list. These are your Tier 2 Modern uncommons and commons.
TCGPlayer Retail – Tier 2 Modern Uncommons and Commons
This list is where we start seeing cards like Hedron Crab and Mind Funeral – cards that might be tournament playable under the right circumstances but really are just popular with casual mill players looking to build sixty card mill decks, using only the best mill cards available from Magic’s history. I can keep going like this, tiering cards out based on price, though again I will emphasize that all of my research is located in the appendix which is the reference that you can use to take a look at the multitude of cards I’ve found.
Instead I would like to showcase the highest buylist prices and lowest spreads that I found. I’ll cover the highest buylist prices out of the data set next.
TCGPlayer Retail – Highest Buylist Modern Uncommons and Commons
I wanted to see what the most valuable cards on a buylist were, on average, for Modern uncommons and commons. Yes, Aether Vial and Sensei’s Divining Top made this list again, no surprises there. But did you know some stores are paying $3.50 for Stoke the Flames, an M15 uncommon? That seems like pretty easy money to me there – take out all those Stokes that you drafted during M15 and make a nice bit of cash from them, especially since when it rotates from Standard that price is going to tank really hard. There is no way in the long run that Stoke the Flames has a higher buylist price than Heritage Druid, Imperious Perfect, and Path to Exile.
Something that jumped out to me right away is that Isochron Scepter has arbitrage right now – there is a buylist out there buying Isochron Scepters for more than TCGPlayer retail. Seems like a good time to pick up some Scepters before TCGPlayer retail catches up with the demand. Speaking of which, let’s see from the appendix data which cards have arbitrate opportunities or low spreads.
I’m betting this is the list that surprised most of you. These are the cards that have arbitrage and the lowest spread out of the entire list. Yes, that’s right – Psychotrope Thallid, a card that I didn’t even know existed, currently has the lowest spread amongst all Modern legal uncommons and commons. Card Kingdom is buying these guys for more than what TCGPlayer is selling on average. Also among the negative spread club are Mirrodin Isochron Scepters which are also being bought by Card Kingdom. Again, these numbers tell me that I should probably pick up some copies of these uncommons in anticipation of a climb in retail price in the future. However, this is definitely much riskier than a rare or mythic rare arbitrage opportunity because a reprint of an uncommon will kill the current price and wipe out the arbitrage.
Bile Blight and Banishing Light seem to be very popular Standard uncommons, so any extras of these you have can be sent back to buylists and give you good value. Random casual uncommons and commons with low spreads include such cards as Talisman of Dominance, Harmonic Sliver, Leatherback Baloth, Pathrazer of Ulamog, Swarm of Rats, Telekinetic Sliver, Gilder Bairn, Terminate, Drove of Elves, and Ancient Ziggurat.
Final Thoughts
Always be on the lookout for hot Modern uncommons and commons. There are certain casually popular uncommons and commons especially that fly under the radar but at the same time are flying off the shelves of game stores around the country (and even the globe!). Picking bulk has always been a good path to gaining value out of your collection, or a recently acquired collection, and I hope that this article shows that value through exhibiting both tournament and casual retail and buylist prices.
Arbitrage is present, however unlike rares and mythics uncommons and commons are much more risky to try and make profits by buying single cards in mass quantities. At any time Wizards could reprint that uncommon or common if the demand is present. Feel free to pick up undervalued uncommons and commons but make sure you time your offloading them correctly.
Finally, here is the appendix I have been referring to throughout the entire article. Please feel free to print it out and reference it the next time you are sit down to pick through Modern bulk.
All pre-Innistrad cards from sets have a TCGPlayer retail value of $0.50 or more. All Innistrad and later set cards have a TCGPlayer retail value of $0.25 or more.
Sets cover Eighth Edition through Khans of Tarkir.
Set
Card Name
TCGPlayer Value
Buylist Value
Spread
10th Edition
Chromatic Star
1.43
1.25
0.12587412587413
10th Edition
Treetop Village
1.47
1.13
0.2312925170068
10th Edition
Mind Stone
0.75
0.54
0.28
10th Edition
Telling Time
0.53
0.29
0.45283018867925
10th Edition
Primal Rage
1.47
0.8
0.45578231292517
10th Edition
Soul Warden
0.76
0.4
0.47368421052632
10th Edition
Shatterstorm
3.25
1.65
0.49230769230769
10th Edition
Whispersilk Cloak
0.69
0.34
0.50724637681159
10th Edition
Sylvan Scrying
3.13
1.38
0.5591054313099
10th Edition
Spark Elemental
0.59
0.26
0.55932203389831
10th Edition
Relentless Rats
1.66
0.73
0.56024096385542
10th Edition
Aura of Silence
1.94
0.79
0.59278350515464
10th Edition
Rule of Law
1.32
0.48
0.63636363636364
10th Edition
Faerie Conclave
1
0.36
0.64
10th Edition
Ornithopter
0.56
0.09
0.83928571428571
10th Edition
Mogg Fanatic
0.59
0.09
0.84745762711864
10th Edition
Blanchwood Armor
0.73
0.09
0.87671232876712
10th Edition
Diabolic Tutor
0.65
0.06
0.90769230769231
8th Edition
Swarm of Rats
0.75
0.64
0.14666666666667
8th Edition
Choke
1.34
0.89
0.33582089552239
8th Edition
Urza's Power Plant
1.58
0.99
0.37341772151899
8th Edition
Urza's Tower
1.61
0.9
0.44099378881988
8th Edition
Urza's Mine
1.54
0.59
0.61688311688312
8th Edition
Coastal Piracy
0.56
0.18
0.67857142857143
8th Edition
Story Circle
0.95
0.3
0.68421052631579
8th Edition
Noble Purpose
0.54
0.17
0.68518518518519
8th Edition
Serra Angel
0.51
0.08
0.84313725490196
8th Edition
Merchant Scroll
0.99
0.15
0.84848484848485
8th Edition
Zombify
0.59
0.07
0.88135593220339
8th Edition
Fecundity
0.56
0.06
0.89285714285714
8th Edition
Curiosity
0.65
0.06
0.90769230769231
8th Edition
Ambition's Cost
0.73
0.05
0.93150684931507
8th Edition
Salt Marsh
0.53
0.02
0.9622641509434
9th Edition
Blackmail
1.83
1.32
0.27868852459016
9th Edition
Serra's Blessing
1
0.72
0.28
9th Edition
Summer Bloom
1.56
1.09
0.30128205128205
9th Edition
Urza's Mine
1.5
1.03
0.31333333333333
9th Edition
Gift of Estates
2.49
1.67
0.32931726907631
9th Edition
Urza's Tower
1.75
1
0.42857142857143
9th Edition
Swarm of Rats
0.97
0.5
0.48453608247423
9th Edition
Urza's Power Plant
1.86
0.84
0.54838709677419
9th Edition
Kird Ape
0.98
0.43
0.56122448979592
9th Edition
Sleight of Hand
2.43
1
0.58847736625514
9th Edition
Seething Song
1.09
0.39
0.64220183486239
9th Edition
Soul Warden
0.74
0.2
0.72972972972973
9th Edition
Rewind
0.56
0.09
0.83928571428571
9th Edition
Cruel Edict
0.58
0.07
0.87931034482759
9th Edition
Zombify
0.71
0.07
0.90140845070423
9th Edition
Diabolic Tutor
0.53
0.05
0.90566037735849
9th Edition
Blanchwood Armor
0.53
0.03
0.94339622641509
Alara Reborn
Terminate
0.99
0.78
0.21212121212121
Alara Reborn
Mind Funeral
2.99
2.06
0.31103678929766
Alara Reborn
Lorescale Coatl
1.81
1.21
0.33149171270718
Alara Reborn
Qasali Pridemage
1.5
0.8
0.46666666666667
Alara Reborn
Mage Slayer
1.01
0.5
0.5049504950495
Alara Reborn
Bloodbraid Elf
1.62
0.78
0.51851851851852
Alara Reborn
Wall of Denial
1.66
0.65
0.60843373493976
Alara Reborn
Zealous Persecution
0.84
0.13
0.8452380952381
Alara Reborn
Ardent Plea
0.88
0.12
0.86363636363636
Avacyn Restored
Lightning Mauler
0.33
0.09
0.72727272727273
Avacyn Restored
Blood Artist
1.8
0.48
0.73333333333333
Avacyn Restored
Wolfir Avenger
0.3
0.05
0.83333333333333
Avacyn Restored
Thunderous Wrath
0.29
0
1
Betrayers of Kamigawa
Flames of the Blood Hand
6.02
4.2
0.30232558139535
Betrayers of Kamigawa
Sosuke's Summons
0.52
0.26
0.5
Betrayers of Kamigawa
Throat Slitter
1.05
0.52
0.5047619047619
Betrayers of Kamigawa
Sowing Salt
2.59
0.92
0.64478764478764
Betrayers of Kamigawa
Ninja of the Deep Hours
0.69
0.07
0.89855072463768
Born of the Gods
Bile Blight
0.59
0.53
0.10169491525424
Born of the Gods
Searing Blood
0.92
0.44
0.52173913043478
Born of the Gods
Drown in Sorrow
0.88
0.42
0.52272727272727
Born of the Gods
Springleaf Drum
0.52
0.22
0.57692307692308
Born of the Gods
Archetype of Courage
0.49
0.2
0.59183673469388
Born of the Gods
Fanatic of Xenagos
0.33
0.05
0.84848484848485
Born of the Gods
Ragemonger
0.34
0.05
0.85294117647059
Born of the Gods
Kiora's Follower
0.29
0
1
Champions of Kamigawa
Lava Spike
1.49
1.16
0.22147651006711
Champions of Kamigawa
Desperate Ritual
0.79
0.5
0.36708860759494
Champions of Kamigawa
Squelch
2.93
1.8
0.38566552901024
Champions of Kamigawa
Sensei's Divining Top
25.99
14.78
0.43131973836091
Champions of Kamigawa
Ghostly Prison
6.94
3.46
0.5014409221902
Champions of Kamigawa
Time of Need
0.85
0.38
0.55294117647059
Champions of Kamigawa
Hinder
3.75
1.3
0.65333333333333
Champions of Kamigawa
Kodama's Reach
0.77
0.1
0.87012987012987
Champions of Kamigawa
Sakura-Tribe Elder
0.8
0.09
0.8875
Coldsnap
Counterbalance
9.67
6.92
0.28438469493278
Coldsnap
Coldsteel Heart
1.67
1.16
0.30538922155689
Coldsnap
Rite of Flame
1.73
1.2
0.30635838150289
Coldsnap
Mishra's Bauble
2.52
1.7
0.32539682539683
Coldsnap
Stromgald Crusader
2.28
1.25
0.45175438596491
Coldsnap
Martyr of Sands
1.21
0.49
0.59504132231405
Coldsnap
Lightning Storm
0.57
0.2
0.64912280701754
Coldsnap
Rune Snag
0.79
0.24
0.69620253164557
Coldsnap
Arctic Flats
0.83
0.24
0.71084337349398
Coldsnap
Blizzard Specter
0.93
0.22
0.76344086021505
Coldsnap
Frost Marsh
0.94
0.22
0.76595744680851
Coldsnap
Juniper Order Ranger
1.18
0.19
0.83898305084746
Coldsnap
Tresserhorn Sinks
0.64
0.06
0.90625
Coldsnap
Boreal Shelf
0.68
0.06
0.91176470588235
Coldsnap
Jötun Grunt
0.74
0.06
0.91891891891892
Coldsnap
Krovikan Mist
0.51
0
1
Conflux
Ancient Ziggurat
3.15
2.27
0.27936507936508
Conflux
Path to Exile
5.82
2.95
0.49312714776632
Conflux
Reliquary Tower
2.48
1
0.59677419354839
Conflux
Hellspark Elemental
0.95
0.24
0.74736842105263
Conflux
Countersquall
0.76
0.09
0.88157894736842
Conflux
Volcanic Fallout
0.79
0.09
0.88607594936709
Conspiracy
Mortify
0.42
0.27
0.35714285714286
Conspiracy
Swords to Plowshares
2.27
1.22
0.4625550660793
Conspiracy
Brainstorm
0.98
0.5
0.48979591836735
Conspiracy
Deathreap Ritual
0.26
0.12
0.53846153846154
Conspiracy
Volcanic Fallout
0.3
0.1
0.66666666666667
Conspiracy
Squirrel Nest
0.75
0.25
0.66666666666667
Conspiracy
Victimize
0.32
0.1
0.6875
Conspiracy
Breakthrough
0.43
0.12
0.72093023255814
Conspiracy
Fact or Fiction
0.55
0.06
0.89090909090909
Conspiracy
Split Decision
0.3
0.02
0.93333333333333
Conspiracy
Sakura-Tribe Elder
0.37
0
1
Dark Ascension
Immerwolf
0.42
0.16
0.61904761904762
Dark Ascension
Stromkirk Captain
0.47
0.08
0.82978723404255
Dark Ascension
Chalice of Life
0.36
0.06
0.83333333333333
Dark Ascension
Thought Scour
0.33
0.05
0.84848484848485
Dark Ascension
Diregraf Captain
0.45
0.05
0.88888888888889
Dark Ascension
Lingering Souls
0.47
0.05
0.8936170212766
Dark Ascension
Tragic Slip
0.41
0.02
0.95121951219512
Dark Ascension
Strangleroot Geist
0.42
0.02
0.95238095238095
Dark Ascension
Drogskol Captain
0.29
0
1
Dark Ascension
Pyreheart Wolf
0.28
0
1
Darksteel
Skullclamp
5.24
3.92
0.25190839694656
Darksteel
Genesis Chamber
2.4
1.75
0.27083333333333
Darksteel
Æther Vial
21.93
15.64
0.28682170542636
Darksteel
Coretapper
0.94
0.43
0.54255319148936
Darksteel
Darksteel Citadel
1.47
0.2
0.86394557823129
Darksteel
Mirrodin's Core
0.51
0.05
0.90196078431373
Darksteel
Arcbound Crusher
0.73
0.07
0.9041095890411
Dissension
Spell Snare
3.57
2.95
0.17366946778711
Dissension
Plaxcaster Frogling
1
0.5
0.5
Dissension
Coiling Oracle
0.94
0.41
0.56382978723404
Dissension
Utopia Sprawl
2.08
0.76
0.63461538461538
Dissension
Trygon Predator
0.99
0.32
0.67676767676768
Dissension
Simic Growth Chamber
1.08
0.15
0.86111111111111
Dissension
Ghost Quarter
0.84
0.1
0.88095238095238
Dragon's Maze
Far // Away
0.39
0.1
0.74358974358974
Dragon's Maze
Wear // Tear
0.45
0.1
0.77777777777778
Dragon's Maze
Spike Jester
0.27
0.05
0.81481481481481
Dragon's Maze
Putrefy
0.43
0.05
0.88372093023256
Dragon's Maze
Unflinching Courage
0.75
0.07
0.90666666666667
Dragon's Maze
Warleader's Helix
0.39
0
1
Dragon's Maze
Sin Collector
0.32
0
1
Dragon's Maze
Turn // Burn
0.31
0
1
Eventide
Gilder Bairn
3.45
2.77
0.19710144927536
Eventide
Batwing Brume
0.89
0.58
0.34831460674157
Eventide
Spitemare
0.6
0.31
0.48333333333333
Eventide
Quillspike
0.84
0.34
0.5952380952381
Eventide
Wistful Selkie
0.95
0.34
0.64210526315789
Eventide
Slippery Bogle
1.42
0.5
0.64788732394366
Eventide
Unmake
0.85
0.25
0.70588235294118
Eventide
Crumbling Ashes
0.91
0.26
0.71428571428571
Eventide
Flickerwisp
1.06
0.29
0.72641509433962
Eventide
Voracious Hatchling
0.63
0.09
0.85714285714286
Eventide
Nettle Sentinel
0.64
0.08
0.875
Fifth Dawn
Eternal Witness
2.47
1.75
0.2914979757085
Fifth Dawn
Serum Visions
6.97
4.5
0.35437589670014
Fifth Dawn
Relentless Rats
1.54
0.9
0.41558441558442
Fifth Dawn
Krark-Clan Ironworks
2.27
1.3
0.4273127753304
Fifth Dawn
Cranial Plating
2.24
1.17
0.47767857142857
Fifth Dawn
Night's Whisper
1.3
0.66
0.49230769230769
Fifth Dawn
Blasting Station
2.3
1.05
0.54347826086957
Fifth Dawn
Magma Jet
1.39
0.61
0.56115107913669
Fifth Dawn
Energy Chamber
1.15
0.5
0.56521739130435
Fifth Dawn
Grafted Wargear
1.1
0.4
0.63636363636364
Fifth Dawn
Steelshaper's Gift
2.9
1.03
0.6448275862069
Fifth Dawn
Condescend
0.58
0.16
0.72413793103448
Fifth Dawn
Paradise Mantle
1.49
0.24
0.83892617449664
Future Sight
Aven Mindcensor
11.98
7.5
0.37395659432387
Future Sight
Tolaria West
4.8
3
0.375
Future Sight
Dryad Arbor
5.99
3.5
0.41569282136895
Future Sight
Utopia Mycon
2.19
1.25
0.42922374429224
Future Sight
Llanowar Reborn
0.53
0.19
0.64150943396226
Future Sight
Epochrasite
0.76
0.27
0.64473684210526
Future Sight
Narcomoeba
1.03
0.35
0.66019417475728
Future Sight
Street Wraith
1.53
0.48
0.68627450980392
Future Sight
Sword of the Meek
1.41
0.3
0.78723404255319
Future Sight
Spin into Myth
0.53
0.1
0.81132075471698
Gatecrash
Duskmantle Guildmage
0.46
0.22
0.52173913043478
Gatecrash
Alpha Authority
0.35
0.15
0.57142857142857
Gatecrash
Burning-Tree Emissary
1.3
0.5
0.61538461538462
Gatecrash
Vizkopa Guildmage
0.27
0.1
0.62962962962963
Gatecrash
Skullcrack
1.06
0.35
0.66981132075472
Gatecrash
Boros Charm
2.38
0.47
0.80252100840336
Gatecrash
Ghor-Clan Rampager
0.31
0.06
0.80645161290323
Gatecrash
Rapid Hybridization
0.81
0.15
0.81481481481481
Gatecrash
Experiment One
1.15
0.19
0.83478260869565
Gatecrash
Firefist Striker
0.31
0.05
0.83870967741935
Gatecrash
Wight of Precinct Six
0.43
0.05
0.88372093023256
Gatecrash
Simic Charm
0.79
0.09
0.88607594936709
Gatecrash
Boros Elite
0.49
0.05
0.89795918367347
Gatecrash
Orzhov Charm
0.35
0.03
0.91428571428571
Gatecrash
Wasteland Viper
0.35
0.03
0.91428571428571
Gatecrash
Cartel Aristocrat
0.26
0.02
0.92307692307692
Gatecrash
Thrull Parasite
0.28
0.02
0.92857142857143
Gatecrash
Ætherize
0.33
0.02
0.93939393939394
Gatecrash
Dimir Charm
0.33
0.02
0.93939393939394
Gatecrash
Madcap Skills
0.28
0
1
Guildpact
Electrolyze
2
1.65
0.175
Guildpact
Shattering Spree
3.5
2.08
0.40571428571429
Guildpact
Souls of the Faultless
1.45
0.62
0.57241379310345
Guildpact
Mortify
0.81
0.1
0.87654320987654
Guildpact
Gelectrode
0.89
0.1
0.8876404494382
Innistrad
Delver of Secrets
1
0.55
0.45
Innistrad
Trepanation Blade
0.31
0.09
0.70967741935484
Innistrad
Full Moon's Rise
0.29
0.07
0.75862068965517
Innistrad
Reckless Waif
0.38
0.09
0.76315789473684
Innistrad
Diregraf Ghoul
0.31
0.06
0.80645161290323
Innistrad
Midnight Haunting
0.26
0.05
0.80769230769231
Innistrad
Invisible Stalker
1.04
0.19
0.81730769230769
Innistrad
Intangible Virtue
0.3
0.05
0.83333333333333
Innistrad
Ghost Quarter
0.33
0.05
0.84848484848485
Innistrad
Dissipate
0.34
0.02
0.94117647058824
Innistrad
Unburial Rites
0.39
0
1
Innistrad***
Curiosity
0.3
0.05
0.83333333333333
Journey Into Nyx
Banishing Light
1.95
1.75
0.1025641025641
Journey Into Nyx
Brain Maggot
0.69
0.35
0.49275362318841
Journey Into Nyx
Nyx-Fleece Ram
2.36
0.75
0.68220338983051
Journey Into Nyx
Dakra Mystic
0.32
0.1
0.6875
Journey Into Nyx
Nyx Weaver
0.49
0.12
0.75510204081633
Journey Into Nyx
Gnarled Scarhide
1.13
0.25
0.7787610619469
Journey Into Nyx
Eidolon of Rhetoric
0.27
0.02
0.92592592592593
Khans of Tarkir
Monastery Swiftspear
1.75
0.99
0.43428571428571
Khans of Tarkir
Abzan Charm
0.71
0.3
0.57746478873239
Khans of Tarkir
Despise
0.37
0.15
0.59459459459459
Khans of Tarkir
Hordeling Outburst
0.35
0.11
0.68571428571429
Khans of Tarkir
Murderous Cut
0.8
0.25
0.6875
Khans of Tarkir
Sandsteppe Citadel
0.61
0.18
0.70491803278689
Khans of Tarkir
Treasure Cruise
0.34
0.1
0.70588235294118
Khans of Tarkir
Seeker of the Way
0.51
0.13
0.74509803921569
Khans of Tarkir
Suspension Field
0.27
0.05
0.81481481481481
Khans of Tarkir
Nomad Outpost
0.5
0.07
0.86
Khans of Tarkir
Opulent Palace
0.51
0.07
0.86274509803922
Khans of Tarkir
Jeskai Charm
0.66
0.09
0.86363636363636
Khans of Tarkir
Mystic Monastery
0.52
0.07
0.86538461538462
Khans of Tarkir
Mardu Charm
0.53
0.07
0.86792452830189
Khans of Tarkir
Frontier Bivouac
0.57
0.07
0.87719298245614
Khans of Tarkir
War-Name Aspirant
0.31
0.02
0.93548387096774
Khans of Tarkir
Stubborn Denial
0.33
0.02
0.93939393939394
Khans of Tarkir
Sultai Charm
0.53
0.02
0.9622641509434
Khans of Tarkir
Temur Charm
0.5
0
1
Lorwyn
Shriekmaw
1.5
1
0.33333333333333
Lorwyn
Imperious Perfect
4.54
2.95
0.35022026431718
Lorwyn
Jagged-Scar Archers
1.67
1.01
0.39520958083832
Lorwyn
Elvish Harbinger
1.58
0.93
0.41139240506329
Lorwyn
Elvish Promenade
2.59
1.5
0.42084942084942
Lorwyn
Silvergill Adept
3.75
2
0.46666666666667
Lorwyn
Knight of Meadowgrain
2.25
1.2
0.46666666666667
Lorwyn
Treefolk Harbinger
1.56
0.66
0.57692307692308
Lorwyn
Merrow Commerce
1.18
0.44
0.6271186440678
Lorwyn
Merrow Reejerey
5.5
2
0.63636363636364
Lorwyn
Ponder
0.96
0.33
0.65625
Lorwyn
Flamekin Harbinger
1.58
0.43
0.72784810126582
Lorwyn
Vivid Marsh
0.61
0.15
0.75409836065574
Lorwyn
Vivid Creek
0.53
0.1
0.81132075471698
Lorwyn
Vivid Meadow
0.61
0.1
0.83606557377049
Lorwyn
Springleaf Drum
1.05
0.16
0.84761904761905
Lorwyn
Vivid Crag
0.62
0.09
0.85483870967742
Lorwyn
Lys Alana Huntmaster
0.53
0.06
0.88679245283019
Lorwyn
Wren's Run Vanquisher
0.86
0.09
0.8953488372093
Lorwyn
Mad Auntie
0.7
0.06
0.91428571428571
M10
Lightning Bolt
1.89
1.36
0.28042328042328
M10
Ponder
0.95
0.41
0.56842105263158
M10
Fabricate
1.89
0.77
0.59259259259259
M10
Relentless Rats
1.49
0.6
0.59731543624161
M10
Soul Warden
0.69
0.14
0.79710144927536
M11
Lightning Bolt
1.85
1.2
0.35135135135135
M11
Liliana's Caress
3
1.93
0.35666666666667
M11
Pyretic Ritual
0.95
0.5
0.47368421052632
M11
Preordain
0.71
0.29
0.59154929577465
M11
Cultivate
0.87
0.24
0.72413793103448
M11
Relentless Rats
1.48
0.2
0.86486486486486
M11
Ajani's Pridemate
1.03
0.13
0.87378640776699
M11
Whispersilk Cloak
0.59
0.02
0.96610169491525
M12
Buried Ruin
0.51
0.34
0.33333333333333
M12
Ponder
0.93
0.38
0.59139784946237
M12
Goblin Grenade
0.53
0.2
0.62264150943396
M12
Spirit Mantle
1.68
0.63
0.625
M12
Swiftfoot Boots
0.75
0.15
0.8
M12
Timely Reinforcements
0.55
0.09
0.83636363636364
M13
Rancor
1.52
1.01
0.33552631578947
M13
Reliquary Tower
2.49
1.19
0.52208835341365
M13
Murder
0.52
0.17
0.67307692307692
M13
Jace's Phantasm
1.3
0.37
0.71538461538462
M13
Vampire Nighthawk
0.98
0.24
0.75510204081633
M13
Mind Sculpt
0.39
0.09
0.76923076923077
M13
Oblivion Ring
0.4
0.09
0.775
M13
Fog Bank
1
0.22
0.78
M13
Rewind
0.28
0.05
0.82142857142857
M13
Knight of Infamy
0.29
0.05
0.82758620689655
M13
Knight of Glory
0.46
0.05
0.89130434782609
M13
Searing Spear
0.3
0.02
0.93333333333333
M13
Tormod's Crypt
0.31
0.02
0.93548387096774
M13
Elixir of Immortality
0.33
0.02
0.93939393939394
M13
Flinthoof Boar
0.5
0
1
M13
Augur of Bolas
0.45
0
1
M13
Clone
0.38
0
1
M14
Young Pyromancer
1.99
1.4
0.2964824120603
M14
Manaweft Sliver
1.74
1.1
0.36781609195402
M14
Shadowborn Apostle
0.94
0.19
0.79787234042553
M14
Diabolic Tutor
0.27
0.05
0.81481481481481
M14
Elixir of Immortality
0.28
0.05
0.82142857142857
M14
Banisher Priest
0.35
0.05
0.85714285714286
M14
Brave the Elements
0.49
0.06
0.87755102040816
M14
Domestication
0.28
0
1
M14
Encroaching Wastes
0.26
0
1
M15
Serra Angel
0.54
0.43
0.2037037037037
M15
Stoke the Flames
4.91
3.5
0.28716904276986
M15
Furnace Whelp
0.48
0.33
0.3125
M15
Sengir Vampire
0.48
0.33
0.3125
M15
Garruk's Packleader
0.52
0.33
0.36538461538462
M15
Ensoul Artifact
1.68
1.04
0.38095238095238
M15
Illusory Angel
0.4
0.2
0.5
M15
Darksteel Citadel
0.99
0.45
0.54545454545455
M15
Military Intelligence
0.29
0.1
0.6551724137931
M15
Shrapnel Blast
0.33
0.1
0.6969696969697
M15
Venom Sliver
0.43
0.13
0.69767441860465
M15
Diffusion Sliver
0.37
0.11
0.7027027027027
M15
Ajani's Pridemate
0.4
0.1
0.75
M15
Reclamation Sage
0.27
0.02
0.92592592592593
M15
Sunblade Elf
0.29
0.02
0.93103448275862
M15
Leeching Sliver
0.4
0.02
0.95
M15
Ulcerate
0.29
0
1
Mirrodin
Isochron Scepter
4.51
4.6
-0.019955654101996
Mirrodin
Talisman of Dominance
0.53
0.5
0.056603773584906
Mirrodin
Great Furnace
0.73
0.58
0.20547945205479
Mirrodin
Fabricate
1.83
1.43
0.21857923497268
Mirrodin
Molten Rain
1.19
0.92
0.22689075630252
Mirrodin
Lightning Greaves
5.99
4
0.3322203672788
Mirrodin
Loxodon Warhammer
1.17
0.57
0.51282051282051
Mirrodin
Sylvan Scrying
2.85
1.22
0.5719298245614
Mirrodin
Wrench Mind
1.24
0.5
0.59677419354839
Mirrodin
Rule of Law
1.27
0.5
0.60629921259843
Mirrodin
Seething Song
0.9
0.34
0.62222222222222
Mirrodin
Seat of the Synod
1.11
0.39
0.64864864864865
Mirrodin
Thoughtcast
0.99
0.33
0.66666666666667
Mirrodin
Ancient Den
1.33
0.43
0.67669172932331
Mirrodin
Cloudpost
1.16
0.25
0.78448275862069
Mirrodin
Crystal Shard
0.78
0.15
0.80769230769231
Mirrodin
Shrapnel Blast
0.61
0.1
0.83606557377049
Mirrodin
Myr Retriever
0.61
0.05
0.91803278688525
Mirrodin
Vault of Whispers
0.64
0.05
0.921875
Mirrodin Besieged
Plague Myr
0.26
0.1
0.61538461538462
Mirrodin Besieged
Goblin Wardriver
0.31
0.05
0.83870967741935
Mirrodin Besieged
Signal Pest
0.49
0.07
0.85714285714286
Mirrodin Besieged
Go for the Throat
1.95
0.05
0.97435897435897
Modern Masters
Thirst for Knowledge
0.5
0.5
0
Modern Masters
Rift Bolt
1.2
0.9
0.25
Modern Masters
Eternal Witness
2.44
1.65
0.32377049180328
Modern Masters
Mulldrifter
0.5
0.33
0.34
Modern Masters
Manamorphose
2.37
1.56
0.34177215189873
Modern Masters
Spell Snare
3.49
2.25
0.35530085959885
Modern Masters
Path to Exile
5.74
3.5
0.39024390243902
Modern Masters
Mind Funeral
2.85
1.55
0.45614035087719
Modern Masters
Narcomoeba
0.93
0.5
0.46236559139785
Modern Masters
Kitchen Finks
3.88
2.05
0.47164948453608
Modern Masters
Lightning Helix
2.89
1.52
0.47404844290657
Modern Masters
Myr Retriever
0.49
0.25
0.48979591836735
Modern Masters
Electrolyze
2.1
1.06
0.4952380952381
Modern Masters
Street Wraith
0.81
0.32
0.60493827160494
Modern Masters
Sporesower Thallid
0.29
0.1
0.6551724137931
Modern Masters
Mogg War Marshal
0.39
0.13
0.66666666666667
Modern Masters
Lava Spike
1.59
0.49
0.69182389937107
Modern Masters
Vivid Meadow
0.51
0.15
0.70588235294118
Modern Masters
Relic of Progenitus
1.29
0.36
0.72093023255814
Modern Masters
Epochrasite
0.45
0.1
0.77777777777778
Modern Masters
Krosan Grip
0.69
0.15
0.78260869565217
Modern Masters
Mad Auntie
0.33
0.07
0.78787878787879
Modern Masters
Spellstutter Sprite
0.46
0.09
0.80434782608696
Modern Masters
Raven's Crime
0.36
0.07
0.80555555555556
Modern Masters
Vivid Creek
0.48
0.09
0.8125
Modern Masters
Desperate Ritual
0.88
0.16
0.81818181818182
Modern Masters
Auriok Salvagers
0.35
0.06
0.82857142857143
Modern Masters
Paradise Mantle
1.27
0.2
0.84251968503937
Modern Masters
Trygon Predator
0.83
0.12
0.85542168674699
Modern Masters
Shrapnel Blast
0.55
0.07
0.87272727272727
Modern Masters
Kodama's Reach
0.81
0.1
0.87654320987654
Modern Masters
Tidehollow Sculler
0.5
0.06
0.88
Modern Masters
Flickerwisp
0.9
0.09
0.9
Modern Masters
Murderous Redcap
0.8
0.07
0.9125
Modern Masters
Etherium Sculptor
0.58
0.05
0.91379310344828
Modern Masters
Echoing Truth
0.4
0.03
0.925
Modern Masters
Reach of Branches
0.28
0.02
0.92857142857143
Modern Masters
Tribal Flames
0.28
0.02
0.92857142857143
Modern Masters
Worm Harvest
0.3
0.02
0.93333333333333
Modern Masters
Pestermite
0.41
0.02
0.95121951219512
Modern Masters
Vivid Crag
0.48
0.02
0.95833333333333
Modern Masters
Vivid Grove
0.49
0.02
0.95918367346939
Modern Masters
Vivid Marsh
0.49
0.02
0.95918367346939
Modern Masters
Grapeshot
0.48
0
1
Modern Masters
Empty the Warrens
0.41
0
1
Modern Masters
Dakmor Salvage
0.31
0
1
Modern Masters
Myr Enforcer
0.3
0
1
Modern Masters
Plumeveil
0.27
0
1
Modern Masters
Masked Admirers
0.26
0
1
Morningtide
Heritage Druid
5.17
2.28
0.55899419729207
Morningtide
Shard Volley
1.33
0.55
0.58646616541353
Morningtide
Oona's Blackguard
0.6
0.17
0.71666666666667
Morningtide
Bramblewood Paragon
0.97
0.2
0.79381443298969
Morningtide
Thornbite Staff
0.52
0.07
0.86538461538462
New Phyrexia
Gitaxian Probe
2.22
1.25
0.43693693693694
New Phyrexia
Mindcrank
2.32
1.28
0.44827586206897
New Phyrexia
Dispatch
1.56
0.85
0.45512820512821
New Phyrexia
Dismember
1.25
0.65
0.48
New Phyrexia
Beast Within
1.99
1
0.49748743718593
New Phyrexia
Noxious Revival
0.8
0.37
0.5375
New Phyrexia
Vapor Snag
0.77
0.29
0.62337662337662
New Phyrexia
Deceiver Exarch
0.68
0.25
0.63235294117647
New Phyrexia
Shattered Angel
0.68
0.25
0.63235294117647
New Phyrexia
Mental Misstep
0.62
0.19
0.69354838709677
New Phyrexia
Tezzeret's Gambit
0.83
0.24
0.71084337349398
New Phyrexia
Gut Shot
0.6
0.06
0.9
New Phyrexia
Shrine of Burning Rage
0.6
0.05
0.91666666666667
New Phyrexia
Whipflare
0.6
0.05
0.91666666666667
Planar Chaos
Psychotrope Thallid
0.99
1.04
-0.050505050505051
Planar Chaos
Rebuff the Wicked
1.61
1.16
0.27950310559006
Planar Chaos
Necrotic Sliver
3.3
2.31
0.3
Planar Chaos
Big Game Hunter
0.54
0.31
0.42592592592593
Planar Chaos
Pongify
0.93
0.5
0.46236559139785
Planar Chaos
Sinew Sliver
1.44
0.76
0.47222222222222
Planar Chaos
Keen Sense
3.8
2
0.47368421052632
Planar Chaos
Harmonize
1.46
0.75
0.48630136986301
Planar Chaos
Æther Membrane
0.75
0.32
0.57333333333333
Planar Chaos
Dawn Charm
0.52
0.21
0.59615384615385
Planar Chaos
Simian Spirit Guide
2.86
1.15
0.5979020979021
Planar Chaos
Frozen Æther
0.76
0.25
0.67105263157895
Planar Chaos
Dash Hopes
0.82
0.25
0.69512195121951
Planar Chaos
Essence Warden
0.93
0.24
0.74193548387097
Planar Chaos
Phantasmagorian
0.68
0.13
0.80882352941176
Planar Chaos
Kavu Predator
0.77
0.09
0.88311688311688
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Remand
11.39
9.5
0.16593503072871
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Lightning Helix
2.92
1.25
0.57191780821918
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Telling Time
0.56
0.22
0.60714285714286
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Suppression Field
1.94
0.72
0.62886597938144
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Golgari Thug
1.91
0.6
0.68586387434555
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Darkblast
0.75
0.19
0.74666666666667
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Congregation at Dawn
0.66
0.1
0.84848484848485
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Dimir Aqueduct
1.39
0.21
0.84892086330935
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Muddle the Mixture
0.67
0.09
0.86567164179104
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Watchwolf
0.59
0.05
0.91525423728814
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Putrefy
0.69
0.05
0.92753623188406
Return to Ravnica
Shrieking Affliction
0.41
0.25
0.39024390243902
Return to Ravnica
Sphere of Safety
0.41
0.12
0.70731707317073
Return to Ravnica
Golgari Charm
0.69
0.19
0.72463768115942
Return to Ravnica
Selesnya Charm
0.43
0.06
0.86046511627907
Return to Ravnica
Guttersnipe
0.39
0.05
0.87179487179487
Return to Ravnica
Izzet Charm
0.63
0.08
0.87301587301587
Return to Ravnica
Ultimate Price
0.26
0.03
0.88461538461538
Return to Ravnica
Judge's Familiar
0.85
0.09
0.89411764705882
Return to Ravnica
Azorius Charm
0.74
0.07
0.90540540540541
Return to Ravnica
Rakdos Cackler
0.31
0.02
0.93548387096774
Return to Ravnica
Syncopate
0.47
0.03
0.93617021276596
Return to Ravnica
Ethereal Armor
0.4
0.02
0.95
Rise of the Eldrazi
Pathrazer of Ulamog
1.94
1.69
0.12886597938144
Rise of the Eldrazi
Inquisition of Kozilek
5.99
3.69
0.38397328881469
Rise of the Eldrazi
Not of This World
0.86
0.5
0.41860465116279
Rise of the Eldrazi
Wall of Omens
1.42
0.76
0.46478873239437
Rise of the Eldrazi
Distortion Strike
0.99
0.42
0.57575757575758
Rise of the Eldrazi
Joraga Treespeaker
1.33
0.49
0.63157894736842
Rise of the Eldrazi
Soul's Attendant
0.95
0.33
0.65263157894737
Rise of the Eldrazi
Artisan of Kozilek
1.93
0.66
0.6580310880829
Rise of the Eldrazi
Hyena Umbra
1.27
0.39
0.69291338582677
Rise of the Eldrazi
Ancient Stirrings
0.64
0.14
0.78125
Saviors of Kamigawa
Hand of Honor
0.88
0.5
0.43181818181818
Saviors of Kamigawa
O-Naginata
0.56
0.24
0.57142857142857
Saviors of Kamigawa
Manriki-Gusari
0.97
0.24
0.75257731958763
Scars of Mirrodin
Palladium Myr
0.87
0.33
0.62068965517241
Scars of Mirrodin
Ichorclaw Myr
0.89
0.33
0.62921348314607
Scars of Mirrodin
Memnite
1.1
0.38
0.65454545454545
Scars of Mirrodin
Exsanguinate
1.25
0.43
0.656
Scars of Mirrodin
Myr Galvanizer
0.77
0.07
0.90909090909091
Shadowmoor
Drove of Elves
1.82
1.41
0.22527472527473
Shadowmoor
Spectral Procession
1.62
1.25
0.2283950617284
Shadowmoor
Umbral Mantle
1.99
1.2
0.39698492462312
Shadowmoor
Firespout
1.15
0.65
0.43478260869565
Shadowmoor
Smash to Smithereens
3.66
2
0.45355191256831
Shadowmoor
Shield of the Oversoul
1.52
0.83
0.45394736842105
Shadowmoor
Guttural Response
0.94
0.5
0.46808510638298
Shadowmoor
Leechridden Swamp
1.2
0.6
0.5
Shadowmoor
Cursecatcher
8.36
4.12
0.50717703349282
Shadowmoor
Boggart Ram-Gang
0.86
0.4
0.53488372093023
Shadowmoor
Beseech the Queen
3.23
1.5
0.53560371517028
Shadowmoor
Mistveil Plains
2.26
1.04
0.53982300884956
Shadowmoor
Kitchen Finks
4.19
1.91
0.54415274463007
Shadowmoor
Manamorphose
2.22
1
0.54954954954955
Shadowmoor
Bloodmark Mentor
0.82
0.33
0.59756097560976
Shadowmoor
Kulrath Knight
1.21
0.48
0.60330578512397
Shadowmoor
Prison Term
0.89
0.35
0.60674157303371
Shadowmoor
Inkfathom Infiltrator
1.3
0.5
0.61538461538462
Shadowmoor
Steel of the Godhead
0.85
0.25
0.70588235294118
Shadowmoor
Cerulean Wisps
1.54
0.29
0.81168831168831
Shadowmoor
Murderous Redcap
0.91
0.15
0.83516483516484
Shadowmoor
Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
0.74
0.05
0.93243243243243
Shards of Alara
Wild Nacatl
0.98
0.3
0.69387755102041
Shards of Alara
Seaside Citadel
1.71
0.52
0.69590643274854
Shards of Alara
Savage Lands
1.08
0.24
0.77777777777778
Shards of Alara
Crumbling Necropolis
1
0.22
0.78
Shards of Alara
Blightning
0.83
0.18
0.78313253012048
Shards of Alara
Relic of Progenitus
1.29
0.27
0.7906976744186
Shards of Alara
Arcane Sanctum
1.61
0.31
0.80745341614907
Shards of Alara
Jungle Shrine
1.07
0.19
0.82242990654206
Shards of Alara
Bant Charm
0.67
0.1
0.85074626865672
Shards of Alara
Etherium Sculptor
0.62
0.07
0.88709677419355
Shards of Alara
Tidehollow Sculler
0.54
0.05
0.90740740740741
Shards of Alara
Sigiled Paladin
0.75
0.06
0.92
Theros
Magma Jet
0.56
0.37
0.33928571428571
Theros
Dissolve
0.95
0.4
0.57894736842105
Theros
Favored Hoplite
0.29
0.06
0.79310344827586
Theros
Phalanx Leader
0.31
0.06
0.80645161290323
Theros
Fanatic of Mogis
0.33
0
1
Theros
Lightning Strike
0.29
0
1
Time Spiral
Harmonic Sliver
4.25
3.96
0.068235294117647
Time Spiral
Telekinetic Sliver
0.6
0.5
0.16666666666667
Time Spiral
Rift Bolt
1
0.67
0.33
Time Spiral
Spinneret Sliver
0.63
0.38
0.3968253968254
Time Spiral
Gemhide Sliver
0.98
0.5
0.48979591836735
Time Spiral
Paradox Haze
1.93
0.9
0.53367875647668
Time Spiral
Dread Return
1.25
0.58
0.536
Time Spiral
Might of Old Krosa
3.81
1.75
0.54068241469816
Time Spiral
Sidewinder Sliver
0.53
0.16
0.69811320754717
Time Spiral
Chromatic Star
1.26
0.36
0.71428571428571
Time Spiral
Krosan Grip
0.69
0.15
0.78260869565217
Time Spiral
Return to Dust
1.19
0.24
0.79831932773109
Time Spiral
Might Sliver
0.7
0.1
0.85714285714286
Time Spiral
Vampiric Sliver
0.55
0.05
0.90909090909091
Worldwake
Leatherback Baloth
0.68
0.63
0.073529411764706
Worldwake
Tectonic Edge
3.79
1
0.73614775725594
Worldwake
Everflowing Chalice
0.92
0.21
0.77173913043478
Worldwake
Groundswell
0.78
0.16
0.79487179487179
Worldwake
Explore
0.81
0.08
0.90123456790123
Zendikar
Hedron Crab
2.65
1.5
0.43396226415094
Zendikar
Spell Pierce
2.22
1.2
0.45945945945946
Zendikar
Vines of Vastwood
1.91
0.85
0.55497382198953
Zendikar
Gatekeeper of Malakir
0.79
0.29
0.63291139240506
Zendikar
Spreading Seas
0.6
0.21
0.65
Zendikar
Vampire Nighthawk
0.96
0.32
0.66666666666667
Zendikar
Expedition Map
1.43
0.42
0.70629370629371
Zendikar
Brave the Elements
0.56
0.04
0.92857142857143
MAGIC: THE GATHERING FINANCE ARTICLES AND COMMUNITY
