Weekly Winners (26)

Due to time constraints a shorter version of the Weekly Winners this week. Due to popular demand I will be bringing back the loser(s) of the week (but that will be from next week onward). So, once again,  I present you the cards that will be the talk of the town tonight.

 

Want to join or follow the discussion? Check out this article's Reddit Thread.

 

 #1 Dramatic Entrance +389.9% ($4.49) 

Progenitus. That's the beast (or Hydra Avatar) you cheat into play with Dramatic Entrance. The rise in price of this card is unusual. Let me take you through what happened: 

1. Some interesting results were posted, containing a deck using Dramatic Entrance. (Which were rumored to be fake)
2. In the beginning of june Dramatic Entrance was picking up steam in European and US stores due to -what seemed- normal demand.
3. Magic Card Market was bought out
4. This strange post on Reddit appeared. At the time the card was still $0.60. These posts usually follow a spike, and not precede them. Also, the chronology of the post is off. It says it started with a buyout. But the post was made on the day of the spike. Not before.
5. Nothing really happens
6. On June 22 the card actually spikes

This is all very strange. There are almost always people reacting to the Weekly Winners saying a certain card is still very cheap on Magic Card Market (European site). I have never seen the opposite happen before. The card was bought out on MCM first, but is now back to EUR 1,96. That Reddit post is also strange, and could be a way to get the bandwagon running. But I have no way to check or validate that speculation. 

Prior to the June 22 spike I have heared no chatter on Dramatic Entrance in speculators' channels. But it went up anyway. It is very hard to say if there is any real demand for this card at all. But it was a buyout. But a very strange one indeed. 

My advice is to not buy the card at its current price. I will probably dwindle in price and there is no real competitive deck to support its spike. Being a Progenitus fanboy, I think I will be picking up a playset whenever the price is reasonable though. Dramatic Entrance seems a fun card to play with.

 

#2 Wanderwine Hub +273.7% ($13.49) 

This deck won GP Copenhagen. And when a deck wins a GP, it will get a lot of attention. Aside from the winning deck Merfolk with a white splash is instantly hot. And what do you need to splash a color? Right. A land that makes to types of mana. A card like Wanderwine Hub. So no wonder that this card was sold out very quickly. Due to both real demand and speculation Wanderwine Hub is now up to new highs.

 

#3 Tendo Ice Bridge +110.4% ($12.73) 

Tendo Ice Bridge is another card in a long line of Modern cards that got bought out. As these buyouts progress I can now tell you with increasing certainty that speculating on cards is now happening a lot more, and also outside the usual channels. Spikes seem more sudden and look a lot more unpredictable.

I have no idea if this trend will continue, but it worries me. I mean, Tendo Ice Bridge is a card that is used as a one-off in Hive Mind decks. It does its job, but it is not $12.73 good.There is no real reason why anyone would or should pay $50 for a playset.

When people buy out a card you need to have a real demand to back it up. You can't just buy out a card nobody wants and expect to make a profit. You can buy all copies of Aventurer's Guildhous and see the price of the card go up. But who is going to buy the card? Nobody. So the price will fall until supply meets demand. 

But the sad thing is that there is a real demand for Tendo Ice Bridge. And that demand will probably not change if its price is twice as high. If you like Hive Mind and want to play in a Grand Prix or another tournament you will have to buy the card. It's like gasoline. Everybody thinks it is too expensive, but you won't stop refueling. And that's how this speculation is hurting magic. Not in its collectible spirit, but in our collective wallets.

 

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