O' commander, how do I love thee? Let me count thy colors. 1, 2, 3…4! New commander spoilers have started arriving and man I'm excited! I've already started building a new commander deck, and I'm definitely not alone. We've had some interesting movement this week related to commander players and of course Pro Tour results. Let's get started!
Strip Mine used to be the go to card when a land absolutely had to die, but since then we've had several replacement type cards join the Strip Mine Club (personally, I try to stay away from any Strip Mine Club!) Strip Mine has found itself with some positive gains across the various arts. There are actually 4 arts for the original Strip Mine, but most people don't know that. (Go check out the subtle differences.) Why these went up in price, I'm not certain. The Uneven Horizon art spiked the most, but the Tower art is worth a bit more. Regardless of your preference, I think every commander deck needs a Strip Mine in it.
If you haven't been paying attention to Standard this last week, there was a huge shift in the meta. Selfless Spirit led the charge with U/W Flash decks showing up in huge numbers. Large enough to scare some people into thinking that we've already found our "collected company" deck in U/W Spirits. At GP Kuala Lumpur 6 of the top 8 decks were U/W flash. One of the hallmark cards of the deck is Selfless Spirit. If you've never played against the deck, it can be quite frustrating trying to play around all the tools available to it. Luckily, the deck has a very poor matchup against B/G Delirium, which just so happened to dominate PT Rhode Island at the same time. 4 of the top 8 decks were Black/Green. All in all, I think the meta is still up in the air, so more spikes are definitely possible.
Commander season must be upon us if Howling Mine cards are going up in price. 6th Edition saw the biggest leap, and that's with over 10 printings available. Howling Mine effects are generally found in group hug commander decks (decks that like to help out fellow players.) I'm thinking that this is the reason group hug decks are going to see a resurgence. I could talk all day about what I think about the commander spoilers, but I think I'll wait until all the spoilers are revealed. Financially, I think Commander 2016 will be a huge hit! With the new partner mechanic, people are enticed even further to purchase more than one set. I've already seen a large movement of people interests in playing more commander locally, so I'm sure these will sell like hotcakes. If you have never played commander, I highly suggest trying a multiplayer game. It's a nice break from 60 card constructed decks.
Speaking of commander and finances, a certain percentage of Magic players want nothing to do with the casual aspect of the game. Likewise, a certain percentage of casual players want nothing to do with the competitive aspect of the game. As an example, look at Bribery or Seedborn Muse. They see no competitive play, but are $20 cards and very, very powerful in commander. Now look at something like Flusterstorm or any dual land. Extremely powerful in constructed, but not really ground breaking in commander. What makes Magic the Gathering financially lucrative is the alternate universes that exist among it. Pauper, commander, vintage, legacy, modern and standard all have their own markets that occasionally, but rarely overlap. I think Jace, Vryn's Prodigy is that closest we've had to a card that saw play in nearly ALL forms of Magic. I've heard people talking about Magic dying as both a game and a collecting investment since the late 90's, but I think that's because they view was narrowed. If your bubble is only one or two formats, then you're not seeing the full story on the entirety of the game. I think people should open their horizon to other formats to further appreciate the game. Granted, not everyone can afford to get into a format like vintage, but by increasing your radar scan size, you'll be able to profit better from cards you once thought were useless.
Foil time!! Why certain foils spike each week, I'll never know, but I can definitely be glad they do! Flickerwisp went up, but it sees play in Death and Taxes. Isamaru, Hound of Konda on the other hand is pure Voltron beat down. Leyline of the Void (Guildpact) went up quite a bit and it sees play in both casual and competitive decks. Darkwater Catacombs is an older foil, and man do I love the older style foil. I know some people hate the older foils where the frame was the only thing foil, but I love them. Speaking of foiling, From the Vaults foiling has always been a sore subject for most people, including me. I love that the cards have alternate art and a unique foiling process, but I just can't fall in love with the cards. The consensus (and prices) seems to show that the general population of Magic players don't like the foiling process. Of course Wizards knows this, but they choose to keep the process the same and I'm not really sure why. Honestly though, there is more than enough product to sate my appetite for other than normal cards, especially with Inventions being announced as an on going feature!