Weekly Winners 2019 - 27

One day late this week. Life has been busy, but as usual there's a Weekly Winners! Kind of excited for this instalment, since we're only discussing cards from Core Set 2020. This means that people are actively brewing with the new core set, and we may see some awesome new deck archetypes. Slightly to late for FNM, I present you the cards that were the talk of the town yesterday evening!

 

#1 Risen Reef $2.90 (+753%)

 

Personally, I really like to write about this card, and mainly because it has been a sleeper in Core Set 2020. Last week the market price of Risen Reef was a mere $0.20, and it has gone up quite a bit. Last week I was watching Gaby Spartz, and later Jeff Hoogland , play different takes on Temur Elementals on Arena, and found the decks super entertaining. Risen Reef is, and especially together with Omnath, Locus of the Roil, a real value machine.

Risen Reef helps you ramp and draw cards for each elemental that enters the battlefield. Since Wildgrowth Walker is an elemental, it also makes sense to include explore creatures like Jadelight Ranger. But my personal favourite include is Chandra, Acolyte of Flame. Her second 0-loyalty ability puts two elementals into play, triggering Risen Reef twice. This either adds more cards into your hand or ramps you. Either way, the two extra elementals can help you doing more damage with Omnath, Locus of the Roil's enter the battlefield ability, or putting lands into play with Risen Reef grows your dorks.

Another Chandra include in Hoogland's deck is big Chandra, Awakened Inferno, who's -3 ability is a one-sided sweep. The last notable interaction in his deck is Rekindling Phoenix. When it dies, you get to put a 0/1 elemental into play. An elemental that triggers, you guessed it, Risen Reef.

In Gaby's deck we see Standard all-star Nissa, Who Shakes the World also make an appearance. Not only because she's an absolute powerhouse, but she also makes your lands into elementals, which you can buff with Omnath, Locus of the Roil. It can be no surprise that Omnath, Locus of the Roil has also gone up to $14.94 (+115%) last week.

All-in-all a bunch of fun interactions in both decks, and I'd encourage you to watch both videos to get an idea of what Risen Reef is capable of. I will most likely play a deck on Arena with it, and I hope it will become a playable competitive deck in the format!

Rekindling Phoenix	CardKingdom $8.49	TCGPlayer $10.49
Chandra, Acolyte of Flame	CardKingdom $7.99	TCGPlayer $8.24
Chandra, Awakened Inferno	CardKingdom $29.99	TCGPlayer $49.99
Risen Reef	CardKingdom $2.49	TCGPlayer $2.49
Omnath, Locus of the Roil	CardKingdom $14.99	TCGPlayer $14.88

 

#2 Cavalier of Thorns $14.78 (+207%)

 

Since this week's article is a day late, and we usually discuss price changes of the last week on Fridays, I actually shouldn't be discussing Cavalier of Thorns since it really spiked today. But since this is also a Core Set 2020 card, there is a chance it may actually be real demand and will see play in decks.

Cavalier of Thorns is an Elemental, which makes it play nice with our #1 winner, Risen Reef. Both of these cards see play in several types of Flood of Tears and Omniscience combo decks.

There's a chance green decks may want to play Cavalier of Thorns anyway. It has a high power, high toughness, it digs, it fills the graveyard, and it even blocks flying creatures. Sure, the mana cost may be a bit steep, but if there's anything is good at, it's ramping and the Cavalier can be played on Turn 3 if you really want to.

Omniscience	CardKingdom $8.99	TCGPlayer $7.99
Flood of Tears	CardKingdom $0.99	TCGPlayer $1.44
Cavalier of Thorns	CardKingdom $14.99	TCGPlayer $14.38

 

#3 Dread Presence $2.25 (+110%)

 

Sure, $2.25 isn't really high, and a 100% increase was slightly more than a dollar, but I felt it was necessary to include this card. Why? Because Scapeshift decks are coming to a Standard tournament near you! Not only is Scapeshift in Modern, it's also playable in Standard. With the addition Dread Presence you can sweep your opponent's board, draw a bunch of cards, or simply fling some damage to your opponent's face.

Resolving Scapeshift means that you can search up Swamps, that all trigger Dread Presence. But also before resolving the combo, you can net some serious advantage from Dread Presence. Simply playing it on Turn 4, and then playing a swamp already is some value right there. If your opponent can not answer it immediately, there is a chance you're shooting down their creatures or drawing cards every turn.

There's still to be seen how competitive this combo really is, and keep in mind that in a few months time Core Set 2019 will rotate out of Standard, meaning Scapeshift is no longer in the metagame. So I wouldn't bet my money on this combo, since it is definitely not staying. But until then, I think it may be several people's jank deck.

Scapeshift	CardKingdom $15.99	TCGPlayer $14.99
Dread Presence	CardKingdom $1.49	TCGPlayer $2.14

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.

 

Karn, Scion of Urza | Currently $18.04

 

Karn has hit his all time low, which is kind of surprising to me since it still sees play in Legacy, Vintage, Modern and Standard. It may go somewhat lower as it rotates out of Standard, but I found it interesting to note that a card that sees this much play is going down.

 

Sword of Sinew and Steel | Currently $12.47

 

Card was preselling at some point for over $65, but is slowly settling. I can see it going somewhat lower if it doesn't find a home in a deck.

 

Maelstrom Pulse | Currently $4.26

 

The price of Maelstrom Pulse has really dipped the past few months. Market price is even $3.41 at this moment. It does still see some play, so perhaps this is a nice time to pick some up?

 

Biogenic Ooze | Currently $5.70

 

This card has always felt strong to me, and I can see it being a casual favourite as well. Surprised to see it go this low.

Maelstrom Pulse	CardKingdom $4.49	TCGPlayer $5.69
Karn, Scion of Urza	CardKingdom $15.99	TCGPlayer $18.00
Biogenic Ooze	CardKingdom $4.99	TCGPlayer $5.73
Sword of Sinew and Steel	CardKingdom $10.99	TCGPlayer $12.33