Weekly Winners (21-2016)

After some slow weeks the Eternal Masters spoilers finally came in. The spoilers haven't had a huge effect on the markets yet, but there is surely some interesting movement to report about. So, once again,  just in time for FNM, I present you the cards that will be the talk of the town tonight.

See something interesting, or do you have a question? Send me a tweet: @MTGPeter

#1 Shelldock Isle +198.6% ($8.57)

Shelldock Isle spiked this week because of the good results of a budget modern deck on the Grand Prix Los Angeles. Jinlin Li piloted a budget UB Mill deck into the 13th place. Budget decks rarely net these kinds of results, and when it happens, the deck in question attracts a lot of attention.

Traders and speculators are always on the lookout for cards that can be deemed underpriced. And $2.84 for a card that lets you play spells for free is pretty cheap. Shelldock Isle actually sees very marginal play in Legacy. Some Doomsday and Reanimator decks play it as a surprise sideboard strategy. Boarding in a Shelldock Isle plan lets them play around the sideboards of their opponents.

Shelldock Isle is already falling deep after its initial spike. This usually happens with cards that have little real demand behind them. But do expect the card to settle into a price that is higher than its original $2.80 price tag.

#2 Mesmeric Orb +63% ($11.62)

Different card, same story. Just like with Shelldock Isle, Mesmeric Orb sees play in the UB Modern deck. However, Mesmeric Orb spiked higher, because the card has a lot more casual and EDH appeal. A lot of permanents tend to get untapped in a massive multiplayer deck, so Mesmeric Orb makes a big difference. 

#3 Golgari Grave-Troll +48.5% ($8.24)

Always keep your eyes on opponents that start dredging their Golgari Grave-Troll, especially on their first or second turn. Getting 6 cards in your graveyard in a dredge deck is virtually the same as drawing 6 cards in any other deck. Getting cards in your hand is a nuisance, when you don't have a spell to discard it with.

In both legacy and modern dredge decks see play. Golgari Grave-Troll also spiked due to a good tournament result on the GPLA. Austin Bach finished in the top 16 with his Dredgivine deck. 

Cut-Rate Cards - EMA Edition

Some time ago, I concluded most of my articles with the 'cheap pickups'. And -I don't know why- suddenly people started to get irritated about the fact that not all cards mentioned are cheap. Is Tarmogoyf ever cheap? Is a card on a downward trend cheap? I have thought long and hard about a new title for the section that shows you cards that are interesting to report because of their low(er) price.

Cards with a cut-rate. They might get cheaper, or they might be $300+ in price, but they are still holding a price that is low compared to what it used to cost, the play it sees or its popularity. But do note: I never give investment advice, I never tell you what to buy, to sell or to hold. I just give you information upon which you can base your own, intelligent, independent choice.

With this explanation, and new title, I hope to give you a section that gives you a headsup on low priced cards. 

And, I would love to kick off with the cut-rate cards featuring only the cards that see a drop in price because of their reprints in EMA. Do note that reprinted cards usually lose value over time, don't overestimate the first figures that come in. But those first figures do show what cards are reacting to the reprints, and what cards see no -or little- change.

Also note that I use the same timescale in every graph, staring on January 1 2016, up until May 27 2016. The prices scales differently for each card.

Sneak Attack ($39.78)

 

Force of Will ($76.24)

 

Karakas ($142.88) 

 

Jace, the Mind Sculptor ($86.54)

 

Sensei's Divining Top ($26.99)

 

Enlightened Tutor ($14.29)

 

Wasteland ($54.70)

Both Force of Will and Wasteland were spoiled months ago. The price drops on these cards is an indicator for what might be in store for the other reprints. And also note that not all reprinted cards show a sudden fall in price. Most of them drop a little, but some more than others. Sinkhole for instance, the reprint I myself are most exited about, did not show any price changes yet.

See something interesting, or do you have a question? Send me a tweet: @MTGPeter