I'd like to say that this week in Magic was diverse, but it was mostly about Artifacts again, with a few spicy Commander cards sprinkled in for...flavor. Add a dash of spoiler season on top of a reformatted article, a new format, some delicious foils and you have the makings of This week in Magic. Come dine with me.
Bastion Protector has taken a mighty leap this week into the path of your wallet. What seems to be a solid, but narrow creature has sparked much interest. With the Partner mechanic, it's not far-fetched to have both of your Commanders getting pumped by this hard working girl. While yes, like most things, she dies to removal, she also protects your Commander(s) on the way out (provided it's a wrath effect, and not something like Blasphemous Act.) It is an impressive Commander card, but I don't think she is priced accurate to her use currently. We'll have to keep an eye on things.
Scourglass didn't see a huge spike, but it is quite interesting that there is movement with this card. Most notably, it plays very well with artifact themed decks. With the spoilers of Aether Revolt hinting at an artifact friendly set, I wouldn't be surprised if someone tried to cheat out this one sided wipe in Modern. 5 mana for a one sided wipe is a tad slow for Modern, so maybe things like Ensnaring Bridge or Norn's Annex can slow the board down. That's also taking into consideration that you're not up against Lantern Control or Affinity, in which case Scourglass is as dead as Urza.
In the same theme as Scourglass, Time Sieve has jumped a few bucks in mad rush for friendly artifact. I've seen Time Sieve used in both Standard and Commander, and it's almost always used in degenerate plays, like taking infinite turns. I think Time Sieve is very aggressively costed for Modern, but it just needs an efficient and quick way to pump out tokens, like Thopter Foundry. The Sword of the Meek/Thopter Foundry comeback was very short lived, and it would be fantastic to see that deck get some new help in Modern.
I want to talk about one of the most expensive mana dorks you've never heard of: Bloom Tender. With the onslaught of 4 color commander decks, it's no wonder some people have turned to this colorful elf. It can produce a ton of colored mana very quickly, but most people have forgotten about it. In most of the decks I run, I'd rather have Bloom Tender or Lotus Cobra than Birds of Paradise or Noble Hierarch out. Yes, I'd rather have 2 cmc mana dorks than 1 cmc. I'm strange.
Cheap pickups of the week!
While I'm on the topic of Lotus Cobra, I definitely think the card is a steal at $12. Yes, $12 isn't cheap for a card, but it's cheap for something as powerful as Lotus Cobra. Collective Brutality is such a beat down! I think it is good in Standard, fantastic in Modern and even strong enough for Legacy play. The card gets even better if you're discarding for your own benefit, and it seems underpriced for its power level. Fast lands like Blooming Marsh and Botanical Sanctum have to be the best land buy you can make right now. Under $4 can buy you Modern playable lands, and while most decks don't want a 4 of, I'd buy your play sets now while they are super affordable. Angel of Invention is a Standard bomb! Granted token decks aren't really the thing right now, if they ever fall into the meta, you can bet this angel will be at the helm. Finally, Traverse the Ulvenwald. I think this card is underused in Commander, playable in Modern or Legacy, and powerful in Standard. Most people forget that it becomes Sylvan Scrying or an upgraded Worldly Tutor with delirium. I mean, what more do you want for less than $3?
Foils of the week!
It's time to dig through your old foil box to see if you happen to have any of these treasures. Replenish took a $20 price leap this week, and is worth an eye watering $71! Fabricate from Mirrodin is nearly a $10 foil uncommon, and likely to be laying around somewhere. Ward of Bones is a hilarious prison card, and the foil is up around $10 now. Mishra's Bauble shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, as it has seen considerable amounts of Modern play. It's now a $70 foil. Repercussion is so much fun to use in Commander as a way to blast your opponents face and creatures at the same time. The foil is up to $20. All you merfolk players can rejoice! Well, you WOULD rejoice, but if you own a foil 7th edition Lord of Atlantis ($77,) chances are you will own it until you die. Merfolk players never sell their cards!
Conversation of the Week!
Since I often times have small issues to discuss, I figured that I would start a segment for discussion. This week, I want to talk about the soon to be ‘popular' Frontier format. Frontier, or postmodern is a format where cards are legal from Magic 2015 (M15) and up. Two large Magic shops in Japan, Hareruya and BigMagic, started holding weekly tournaments in the newly created format. While it's currently a casual format and hasn't really caught on in the States, I could see it gaining some popularity over time. The decks essentially play out as an extended life on rotated Standard decks. While I don't think the format is exciting enough for me to invest in right now, it's something to keep on your radar as more and more sets are released. It has the potential to impact most of us, as the general rule is to sell your Standard cards right before or as they rotate. I would probably hold off on selling Standard staples and maybe keep them in the back of a binder somewhere. Just in case…
Questions, comments and criticism is always welcome. Each week there is a Reddit discussion regarding This week in Magic. Come join our conversation!
