Weekly Winners 2018 - 20

17 May

by Peter

After weeks and weeks of extremely interesting weeks in Magic finance, this week turned out to be filled with little spikes. That gives us a great position to explain spikes that normally fly just under the radar.

#1 Wayfarer's Bauble $3.79 (+260.95%)

Wait! I need to stop you before you think that a common with a $3.79 is an inferior #1 winner. It's actually the other way around. A $3.79 price tag for a common that has been reprinted six(!) times is a huge accomplishment. Remember that the Magic market is just like any other market: driven by the supply & demand mechanic. And the supply of Wayfarer's Bauble is big. Even considering that it got reprints in Commander and Masters sets.

This can only mean one thing: the demand for Wayfarer's Bauble is huge as well. And it is. The card is a staple in EDH. It is not in the top 100 most played cards, but it is not far off. 6% of all EDH decks play Wayfarer's Bauble. And that number might increase some more in the coming weeks. The reason for that is also the reason for Wayfarer's Bauble's spike. Magic can be an expensive hobby, but the fun thing about this lovely game is that you can make the magic happen on a tight budget as well. YouTube channel The Commander's Quarters makes a sport out of featuring budget EDH decks that you can buy into for just $25. Their latest video featured Wayfarer's Bauble and some other cards you might find in our interests as well.

Wayfarer's Bauble
Fifth Dawn	CardKingdom $1.29	TCGPlayer $1.75
Duel Decks: Venser vs. Koth	CardKingdom $1.49	TCGPlayer $2.27
Commander 2013	CardKingdom $1.49	TCGPlayer $2.00
Commander 2014	CardKingdom $1.29	TCGPlayer $2.70
Modern Masters 2015	CardKingdom $0.99	TCGPlayer $1.88
Commander 2015	CardKingdom $1.49	TCGPlayer $2.13
Commander 2017	CardKingdom $1.29	TCGPlayer $3.79

#2 Trinisphere $64.90 (+111.88%)

When an already expensive card like Trinisphere more than doubles in price, something very interesting has just happened. It might be new deck tech, a spoiler, or.. like in this case both. The big driver behind Trinisphere's spike is Karn, the Great Creator (JP Alternate Art). A card that can be used in Modern Tron decks. But the big question remains: is it better than the "old" Karn (Liberated)? Check out this video and explanation from Magic Aids for more on that.

If you see the decklist from the video, you might have seen that Trinisphere is only in the sideboard as a oneoff. That would also mean that the impact on the demand for the card is not huge. But make no mistake: any price movement on Trinisphere will catch the eye of both speculators and players that postpone buying a card until it starts moving in price. That last dynamic happens more often, especially with more expensive cards.

Remember that Trinisphere is a well known and valued card in every format it is legal in. It sees competitive play in Legacy, Vintage and Modern. On top of that it sees some play in EDH and Casual as well. If this new Tron strategy sticks, expect Trinisphere to remain around $60 in price.

Trinisphere
Darksteel	CardKingdom $39.99	TCGPlayer $64.90

#3 Tropical Island $347.22 (+15.65%)

Last summer, all duals (and many other reserved list cards) saw a dramatic price increase. Not really spikes, but some prices almost doubled in just a few months. Tropical Island was no exception. It went from $230 in January to $400 in july. That's a $170 price increase. But don't think that the only way is up for dual lands. After Reserved List Summer, winter came. And it came fast. At the and of winter, Tropical Island was back at $280 again.

In spring, new life blooms. And the same is true for Tropical Island and other duals. Prices started to increase once again. Amounting to a 15% increase over just the past week! Supply is extremely low and demand is absurdly and constantly high. Tropical Island seems to be starting a new price surge.

Tropical Island
Revised Edition	CardKingdom $309.99	TCGPlayer $347.22

Cheap Pickups

Please note: for our 'record low' we consider the price of the card over the past 7 years. Many cards have been even cheaper (a) decade(s) ago. Also note: some cards are still going down, and might be even cheaper pickups next week.