Weekly Winners 2021 - 27

Modern Horizons 2 is still wreaking havoc in the prices of cards, but now we also slowly see Adventures in the Forgotten Realms having an impact. Now that spoiler season is over, the brewing can commence. Even though the release date is on July 23th, it has already been added to Magic Arena yesterday.

Like every week, just in time for FNM, I'll now tell you about the cards that will be the talk of the town tonight!

Come discuss this week's price movements with us on Reddit.

 

#1 Engineered Explosives $18.99 (+61%)

 

At the beginning of this year we featured Engineered Explosives in our "Cheap Pickups" where you could get a copy from Double Masters for just $3.24. Did you get your playset back then? Good for you and well done! It seems that for now that ship may have sailed for the time being, since the card shot up to between $15 and $20 depending on the version.

It has always been a strong sideboard card in both Legacy and Modern, and especially the latter. With the metagame shake-up since Modern Horizons 2 people have been putting together new decks and cards like Engineered Explosives are always popular since they can function as a "catch-all" against a lot of decks and strategies. Keep in mind that the reason this card doesn't seem more play is because it doesn't destroy Urza's Saga since that is a land.

 

Engineered Explosives
Ultimate Masters	CardKingdom $7.99	TCGPlayer $15.00
Double Masters	CardKingdom $9.99	TCGPlayer $16.00
Modern Masters	CardKingdom $9.99	TCGPlayer $18.99
Fifth Dawn	CardKingdom $12.99	TCGPlayer $23.99

 

 

#2 Aluren $124.69 (+42%)

 

So this probably isn't the largest jump this week. Let's begin by mentioning that this card is on the reserved list, meaning no new copies will ever enter the supply, and cards like this are therefore easier to move the needle on. We all know how cards from the reserved list occasionally jump just because it is on the reserved list. However, that doesn't mean there can't be an actual reason that a card like this goes up in price.

Aluren has seen play in Legacy for a long time already, and it has gotten some new support in Modern Horizons 2 with the printing of Endurance and Grist, the Hunger Tide, and has thus gotten some renewed love in the format. But we also see Aluren in a little more commander decks lately, and especially in decks with Aeve, Progenitor Ooze or Lonis, Cryptozoologist as commander.

But even with that, the biggest reason for the spike seems to come from a card printed in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. In this set we see the new Mythic Acererak the Archlich appear. Acererak bounces itself if you haven't completed the Tomb of Annihilation yet, meaning you can play it again with Aluren until you have completed the Tomb of Annihilation.

You don't have to venture into the Tomb of Annihilation. You can also venture and complete the others dungeons. This means that you can do the two other dungeons (theoretically) an infinite amount of times. So you can draw a lot of cards, create a lot of 1/1 goblins, and in the end finish off your opponent(s) with the combo of cards you have drawn. Or, you know, just kill your opponent with the Dark Pool from Lost Mine of Phandelver.

I am not entirely sure if this combo is good enough for Legacy, but I'm pretty sure we will see this in commander.

 

Aluren	CardKingdom $99.99	TCGPlayer $124.69
Acererak the Archlich	CardKingdom $9.99	TCGPlayer $12.99

 

 

#3 Endurance $34.00 (+55%)

 

There simply is no telling when the prices of Modern Horizons 2 start to settle. The set has proven to contain so many powerful cards that the entire meta of Modern, Legacy and Vintage are shifting somewhat, and it will take some time before the builds have been optimised and the metagame can finally settle.

Endurance is one of these cards that sees a lot of play in the several formats. We see this being played in Vintage Sultai Midrange, Legacy Miracles and Maverick, and Modern 4c Elementals, Amulet Titan, and Yawgmoth Sacrifice.

 

Endurance
Modern Horizons 2	CardKingdom $34.99	TCGPlayer $34.00

 

 

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.

 

Rings of Brighthearth $5.25 - Slowly trending down

 

Tyvar Kell $6.30 - Slowly trending down

 

Tinybones, Trinket Thief $29.40 - Trending down

 

Tinybones, Trinket Thief	CardKingdom $32.99	TCGPlayer $29.40
Rings of Brighthearth	CardKingdom $5.49	TCGPlayer $5.25
Tyvar Kell	CardKingdom $7.49	TCGPlayer $6.30