Weekly Winners (33)

This week I'm back after a long summer holiday. The past few weeks have shown some very interesting movement, and especially concerning the Zendikar and now also the Khans fetchlands. So, once again, I present you the cards that will be the talk of the town tonight.

  

 #1 Polluted Delta +16.9% ($21.58) 

Last week we got the news that the Zendikar fetchlands are not getting reprinted in BFZ. This week, a fetchland from a different set broke the $20 mark and seems to be going steadily up. Polluted Delta is on the rise, together with other KTK fetches (see below).

The playrate of Polluted Delta is not up. There are no new cards that make fetchlands even more powerful than they already are. So, why is Polluted Delta up so much? Well, it is a kind of a mystery if you ask me, and people don't agree on the real//best reason why.

It might be sheer panic. Since the ZEN fetches will not see a reprint in BFZ, this might indicate that Wizards is not reprinting fetches whenever they see an opportunity. Some have even speculated that Wizards returned to Zendikar, just to be able to reprint the other fetches. If Wizards doesn't reprint the ZEN fetches easily, that would also count for the KTK fetches, making them a safer investment, and that can increase prices. 

I think the high fetch prices just might be a bubble. It is still extremely likely that Wizards will reprint the ZEN fetches. And I would like to remind you again that the big reason for Wizards to switch to 2 set blocks was to make every new expansion a hot item, and not just the big first set and the small second set. If Wizards wants to get that message across (every new set is worthwhile to buy the hell out of) the best way to do it might be to reprint the fetches in the second set. Nobody will ever forget that every second set might contain sweet new toys, nobody was expecting to get. 

 

#2 Flooded Strand +9.7% ($17.99) | (and the other KTK fetches) 

It is not just Polluted Delta. Other fetchlands are also gaining in price significantly. I was considering to make 'all KTK fetches' the #1 winner this week, but only Polluted Delta broke that $20 mark. For your convenience I have this combined graph, with all KTK fetches:

Windswept Heath seems to be the odd man out, since it decreased in price, rather than increased over the last few days. It still sees a lot of play, especially in Standard. 

Another interesting fact: the original Onslaught printings of the fetches are not increasing in price: 

And since we are discussing fetches, I can also give you the combined graph for the Zendikar fetches as well: 

Scalding Tarn and Misty Rainforest are losing value after the spike, where the other, less popular, lands are stable or increasing. All cards are back to their pre-KTK prices. 

To wrap things up concerning fetches: I think that the prices are inflated right now and are bound to go down. First of all, KTK fetch will rotate out of standard. Secondly, Zendikar fetches will be reprinted. It might be 2015 or 2016. Maybe 2020. But I think there is no doubt about it. If you have the luxury of time, just wait it out, enjoy the show, grab some popcorn and watch the discussions about reprint policy, card prices and accessible formats. Until the reprints are announced. But if you don't have the luxury of time and you are buying into magic, a deck or a format, you will have to bite the bullet and pay a high price.

 

#3 Sphinx's Tutelage +116.4% ($2.25) 

Sphinx's Tutelage is the card with the highest percentual price increase this week. But please note that means that it is $1.21 up in price. The reason is simple: Grand Prix San Diego. Michael Majors piloted his mill deck to a first place, and that means that his decklist will be analyzed and picked apart. One of the cards that deck is Sphinx's Tutelage.

But mill is not the only deck using the card. It sees play in Jeskai Combo, UB Control and Esper Control. Check out all recent decks running the card.

 

Cheap Pickups

 

Goblin Piledriver

 

Dark Confidant

 

Noble Hierarch

 

 Grindstone

 

Containment Priest

 

Mana Confluence

 

Remand

 

 Stifle

 

 

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