This Week in Magic - Week 44

We've had a little bit of everything in this last week. Several large tournaments involving all the major formats, plus final Commander 2016 deck lists. It seems that the newest addition to commander product has really given the format a shot in the arm. Let's dive into the crazy happenings this week!

 

Oh Pact of the Titan, I wish you were good. The funny thing is, when I was writing about Intervention Pact a few weeks ago, I looked at Pact of the Titan wondering if it would spike next. Being a red player, I've thought of ways to break Pact of the Titan. Heck, I'd settle for useable. Djinn Illuminatus plus Pact of the Titan equals infinite 4/4's, but you need something to stop the triggers on your following turn. That's about the only thing I could see using this Pact for, but maybe there is something that I'm missing. The above mentioned combo seems way, way too slow for any real format, but probably useable with Purphoros, God of the Forge to combo out in commander.

 

Steel of the Godhead's spike isn't anything that is going to break the bank, but it does come from a very sweet source. Caleb Durwald piloted Bant Spirits (deck list here) to take 1st in the SCG Modern Open Milwaukee. The deck was incredibly fun to watch in action, and it was also interesting seeing so many newer cards dominate a Modern field. Steel of the Godhead previously was only used in commander, but paired with Geist of Saint Traft, it was a beat down. I wouldn't call the deck budget by any means, as many of the spirit cards have spiked recently, but the deck is solid. Keep your eyes on other cards from this deck going up next.

 

A few of the Commander 2016 cards spiked hard, but Silas Renn, Seeker Adept seems to have the most outside of commander potential. It's probably not powerful enough outside of commander, but the idea of getting to recast an artifact seems very tempting, and he's costed aggressively. In regards to being a commander, I don't think he's ultra-powerful. I don't think we'll see a slew of cards become expensive from this set, but it's an amazing set nonetheless. As far as for what I'm going to be playing, he's definitely no Vial Smasher the Fierce...

 

Good news! My favorite vacation destination is on the list this week! Island of Wak-Wak was actually a really good card in its day. Blowing out your opponent's Serra Angel, Sengir Vampire or even Shivan Dragon always felt awesome. I'd even tell them to “take a Wak-Wak on the wild side” every time I would tap it. Island of Wak-Wak is on the almighty reserved list, so if you happen to get your hands on one, I'd keep it.

Let's talk about Standard, everyone's favorite format to hate. I think Standard is in a perfect place right now. It's diverse, card prices remain healthy and it's enjoyable to watch. Wizard's change to the rotation of sets seems to have given people more confidence in the format and the gradual rise in card prices is both a testament to the format's popularity and diversity. I think right now is the ideal place for Standard, financially. Card prices aren't so high that people won't invest in a new deck, but they are stable enough to not scare people away from Standard. Deck prices range from around $125 to $400 for a competitive deck of your choice, but it's even possible to brew your own list and hang with the big winners. I'm excited to see where things go in the future because I love building decks and right now, anything is possible.

If you've never played Pauper, I highly recommend it. Pauper is a format that only allows commons. The ban list can be found here. It's very cheap to get into, but some commons like Chainer's Edict are astronomical. For the most part, $40 - $50 can get you a complete competitive deck. I bring up pauper because it's a format that doesn't have a ton of players currently, so the good commons aren't insane. If pauper gains a larger following, you better believe the staples will go up. There is a lot of potential in the simplicity of common only format.