This Week in Magic - Week 41

Pro Tour weekend is upon us, and I can't help but feel pummeled by the amount of potential decks floating around. I mean, the air is very electrostatic right now, so let's talk about the interesting card shifts that happened this week in Magic.

 

If you haven't seen it yet, a couple of possible pro tour decks hit the internet, and some cards went way up! Among them, Electrostatic Pummeler took the cake for the highest percentage. I feel like since this card was spoiled, people were trying to figure out the most efficient way to 1 shot their opponent. It's a fairly good energy value at 3 for 3 mana, and backed by R/G, it can quickly do well over 20 trample, double strike damage. (Deck list example.) While weak to removal, other than Blossoming Defense, the deck seems super-fast, consistent and almost has an infect-like feel to them. Bristling Hydra is also a card that has quietly been gaining steam in this type of deck. Overall, it's going to come down to the meta choices, but with deck choices still kept under wraps, anything is possible. I expect to see some fireworks this weekend with big beats!

 

On a much more interesting note, Metallurgic Summonings just hit $10, and it's because of some really neat synergies. Casting Part the Waterveil or Nissa's Renewal when this enchantment is on the board results in some really cute plays. Some lists are U/G, while others run R/U/G to take down early threats. (Here's an example of a list.) Oh, and the deck plays ZERO creatures. None. Interested yet? Ironically enough, it was originally built as a budget standard list, with the real power being in Metallurgic Summonings. I'm not sure a list like this will perform THAT well, but being that Metallurgic Summonings is 5 mana and not 4 (Fragmentize) there's a chance people won't be able to interact enough once it hits the board. Winning via spells? Sounds fun to me! If this enchantment was around the 4 mana range, it might even be considered for formats outside of Standard, as all your spells now become your win conditions.

 

Arabian Nights City of Brass jumped $40 this week, and I can't help but feel that it's because people like me prefer the original card to all the other printings. City is not on the reserved list, so a spike this hard in a card that has been reprinted 7 times is notable. It sees play in Legacy Dredge, so it's no stranger to seeing competitive play, but honestly, you can't beat the feel of Arabian Nights. Some people don't care which version or art they have in their deck, as long as they have their playset, then there are people who are pickier than a young child eating dinner. Those people make cards like this both Nostalgic and valuable.

 

Let's talk about Chandra, Torch of Defiance. Poor Chandra doesn't have a home yet, and it makes me both sad and happy. I'm happy that I can now get my playsets for under $100 (I've seen her as low as $23 each right now,) but I'm sad that such an awesome, pushed walker can't find a permanent home. More importantly, she can't find a permanent 4x home. A few Modern Jund lists run a one of, but at least the Mardu control standard deck ran 3x. Still, for what was deemed the red Mindsculpter, she has been left out in the cold. She's no doubt powerful in Standard, but clearly not situated properly right now. This brings me to card prices, deck building and Modern. I love playing Modern and definitely enjoy brewing decks. In Modern, Planeswalkers are fairly difficult to interact with on the board, so it would seem $25 for a 4 drop, hyper powerful red walker would be an auto include. Here's my dilemma: is new Chandra a $70 card with a $25 price tag that can't find a home, or worse, a sub $20 card that was over hyped into oblivion? I find it hard to believe that this card is cheap, but people tend to be short sighted. At the end of the day, this is an aspect of what makes Magic enjoyable to me: I can buy my play sets of Chandra's at $100 each and feel good that not only will I build a Modern deck in which she is a 4x, but maybe, just maybe, she'll see heavy play. Either way, I'm on the Flame Train!

With regard to the above paragraph, Pro Tour events are generally the big price motivators in Magic. Along with spoiler season for new sets, seeing cards played in new and/or unique ways (they probably should win too) on camera is a fantastic way for a card's stock to rise. It's always interesting for me to see how wrong or right I am when it comes to which cards will surprise the masses. People like to say thing like "well, of course the Eldrazi Winter decks were broken," yet no one was buying out the cards prior to it. I think it's our mentality, along with a natural reaction that doesn't want to be wrong, keeping us from guessing right all the time. That, and our wallets. The cards are spoiled, speculated and priced. Where they go from there is dependent upon who can break the formula. Personally, I pre-order/spec on cards that I would play, regardless of power level. Sure, some cards never quite make it, but much like gambling, scoring a hit is always a rush. I'm excited for this weekend, and I will be tuning in to see how my "stocks" are performing.