Weekly Winners 2024 - 23

Pioneer, Commander, and Reserved List shenanigans determine the Weekly Winners this week. Catch up on what's been driving the market!

Like every week, just in time for FNM, I'll tell you about the Magic: the Gathering cards that'll be the talk of the town tonight! Come discuss this week's price movements with us on Discord.

Articles

• Matt dives into the Spring Secret Lair Drop, criticizing its thematic mismatches and lackluster value across several new releases, and questions whether the sets appeal broadly enough to justify their purchase. Discover more about the surprises and disappointments in What's Good in the Spring Secret Lair Drop?.
• In Everything You Need to Know About Card Grading, Harvey delves into the specifics of card grading, highlighting its importance for certifying the condition and authenticity of trading cards, thereby enhancing their market value. He explains the grading process, the criteria used by major grading companies, and discusses why collectors might choose to grade their cards, especially those that are rare or highly valuable.
• Corey explores the standout cards from Modern Horizons 3, offering an in-depth analysis of their potential impact on current meta strategies and formats. He breaks down how these cards might shift gameplay dynamics and introduce innovative mechanics that could redefine your deck-building approach. To discover which cards are set to become game-changers in the Modern format, don't miss The Top 10 Cards from Modern Horizons 3.

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Onto the Weekly Winners!

#1 Outcaster Trailblazer $4.00 (+365%)

Another card spiking from Outlaws of Thunder Junction. This week we're talking about Outcaster Trailblazer. This Human Druid costs and gives you a mana back when it enters. But you can also plot it for the same cost, meaning it will ramp you a little bit when you play it the following turn. It has another ability though. Whenever another creature with power four or greater enters the battlefield, you get to draw a card. We've seen this last ability before on a card that saw play in a particular archetype. That card is Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner. Kiora also netted you (at least) one mana, assuming you used her untap ability on a land. 

That's right, we're talking about Nykthos devotion in Pioneer. In the early days of the Pioneer format, this was a very dominant archetype and was one of the best decks for a long time. And since the deck did so incredibly well, it had led to bans to make this deck less powerful. Cards like Veil of Summer, Once Upon a Time, and ultimately Karn, the Great Creator paid the price for the deck's success. 

$0.77$0.79

$6.96$6.99

By no means is Outcaster Trailblazer a replacement for Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner. It seems to be functioning mainly as four extra copies of the effect to draw cards. Being able to draw these extra cards means the deck is able to keep up in grindier matchups. Keep in mind that the Druid, contrary to Kiora, isn't legendary and thus you can have multiple on the battlefield, resulting in additional cards.

The card also sees some play in Standard decks, and while these decks seem to be performing, the main rise of the price seems to stem from Pioneer.

Outcaster Trailblazer	CardKingdom $3.99	TCGPlayer $4.00
Outcaster Trailblazer (Extended Art)	CardKingdom $3.99	TCGPlayer $14.35
Veil of Summer	CardKingdom $8.49	TCGPlayer $5.97
Karn, the Great Creator	CardKingdom $6.99	TCGPlayer $6.96
Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner	CardKingdom $0.99	TCGPlayer $1.33

#2 Reparations $31.80 (+75%)

This rare from Mirage has one really important feature, and that is that it's on the Reserved List. This means that Wizards has promised to never reprint it ever again, and thus there will be no additional supply added. This makes Reserved List cards more prone to price jumps, because most of these cards stem from a time when Magic had a lower player base and thus fewer packs being opened, making the cards relatively rare.

This enchantment costs you three mana and says that whenever an opponents casts a spell that targets you or a creature you control, you may draw a card. You can imagine that in Commander games there may be a lot of removal and it's always nice that you get to draw a card whenever your creature gets removed. Especially since a lot of cards have come out that revolve around "committing a crime," there may be more cards that specifically target you or your creatures.

But for now this card seems to mainly be going up because of speculation, since it doesn't see a lot Commander play. Some of you may remember or know that on December 10th 2020 Wizards banned several cards because of their offensive depictions or references. A content creator has mentioned that this card may be next to be added on that list, with no proof to back that up. But it seems like people picked up on it, and with Reserved List cards, there may be little downside to have a few copies if you got in for cheap.

Reparations

CardKingdom $34.99

TCGPlayer $31.80

#3 Darksteel Monolith $13.99 (+81%)

Darksteel Monolith is a rare artifact from Commander Masters, and I don't think we'd have to search long to understand what type of deck this card would work well in. It does cost to play, but can make the cost of a single colorless spell per turn only , including the turn that it's played. So it could actually be saving you mana on your next colorless spell the turn you play it, making it potentially mana positive already.

$3.36

$8.58$24.99

As we know by now, one of Modern Horizons 3's themes is Eldrazi. The card is not new in Commander and already saw play in decks revolving around big scary Eldrazi monsters like Zhulodok, Void Gorger, Kozilek, the Great Distortion, and Kozilek, Butcher of Truth. But in the Commander: Modern Horizons 3 we see the introduction of the Eldrazi Incursion precon with Ulalek, Fused Atrocity as commander. And that spiked renewed interest in the creature type to build around.

Darksteel Monolith	CardKingdom $10.99	TCGPlayer $13.99
Darksteel Monolith (Extended Art)	CardKingdom $10.99	TCGPlayer $13.11
Ulalek, Fused Atrocity	CardKingdom $24.99	TCGPlayer $8.58
Zhulodok, Void Gorger	CardKingdom	TCGPlayer $31.79

Cheap Pickups

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

Case of the Locked Hothouse $3.78 - Moving up!

Case of the Locked Hothouse has been identified by the MTGStocks Premium Penny Stocks feature as a card that has reached its bottom and is starting a consistent uptrend.

Lost Jitte $7.23 - Moving down

Teferi, Time Raveler $7.00 - Moving down

Case of the Locked Hothouse	CardKingdom $4.99	TCGPlayer $3.84
Lost Jitte	CardKingdom $7.49	TCGPlayer $7.22
Teferi, Time Raveler	CardKingdom $8.49	TCGPlayer $7.00