This Week in Magic - Week 38

Who’s ready for dinosaurs and pirates? I know I am! I’ve built a super sweet U/B pirates list and I can’t wait to play it on MTGO and in paper. We’ve had some expected movement in the reserved list segment, but also a hype train for a big bad dino. Hopefully everyone has a fun and safe pre-release, so let’s all board the ship to Ixalan, this week in Magic!

The very first card I pre-ordered was Carnage Tyrant because it is a giant, mage stomping machine. I was fortunate enough to get my playset on Ebay for $30 the day they were spoiled. I honestly don’t know why this would ever be under $10, as it will be THE creature to beat in Standard. The only way I can see this diving in price is if decks become fast enough to make this 6 drop too little too late.

While this is a reserved list card and subjected to unpredictable spikes, I’ve loved seeing Well of Knowledge across the table during EDH games. It makes for a great group hug card and at three mana it’s quite cheap. I’d like to think that the spike in price is the market meeting the demand for a cool group hug card, but it’s more than likely due to reserved list shenanigans.

I’ve always had a special place for faeries. That place is the donation bin. All jokes aside, Knacksaw Clique spiked this week and it reminded me just how much I disliked these little flying critters. I couldn’t find any specific reason why this one in particular went up, but it does have a fairly unique set of skills.

It’s time for your weekly Legends Commander spike! Ramses Overdark just goes to show us that no matter which legendary creature you’re looking at, if it’s from Legends, it will go up in price. A 4/3 for 6 mana that only kills enchanted creatures is spot on for the time this was printed, but it’s pretty bad today. Regardless of power level, the art alone makes this card worth buying.

It’s Déjà vu. The window for buying Urza’s lands is shutting firmly right now. Nearly all of the original tron lands have been jacked up in price, with Urza's Power Plant (Columns) earning its time in the limelight again. There’s not much else to say about everyone’s favorite/most hated land other than these are finally getting legit expensive.

Foils of the Week!

Back to back foils from Urza's Legacy spiked in Thran Lens and Phyrexian Reclamation. Both are fairly playable and really cool. Foil Coat of Arms decided to break my heart. I’m collecting 1x of each foil from 7th Edition and I hadn’t gotten around to buying this yet. Hopefully I can find one for cheaper later down the road. Cryptic Gateway is a great card in any tribal Commander deck, so it’s no wonder that it is moving up. Finally, one of the most fun cards ever printed, Maelstrom Nexus hit the foil charts. I’m bummed that I sold my foil 5 color deck now that all these sweet 5 color cards are being printed.

Cheap pickups of the Week!

Although Iconic Masters cards have been spoiled and are listed, the prices aren’t quite set in stone yet. Cards like Glimpse the Unthinkable are hard to nail down just where they will settle. I think right now is a great time to pick up any Iconic Masters cards you can find at a reasonable price. My guess is that this set won’t be opened as much as Eternal Masters or Modern Masters, based solely on conversations I’ve had with people and the level of interest in drafting it. One of the reasons Eternal Masters diluted the market so much was because it was a blast to draft. Also, I’d like to say that I’ve been testing with both pirates and dinosaurs in new Standard, and I was blown away at how good U/B Pirates can be. Initially I had thought dinos would be unbeatable, but cards like Hostage Taker, Ruin Raider, Fathom Fleet Captain and Siren Stormtamer are just bonkers. They are also crazy cheap right now. As of this writing, you can get a playset of each pirate listed above for around $35!

MTGStocks mystery chart of the Week!

Last week was Doran, the Siege Tower, and many of you were stumped! This week is a bit of an easy one.

Conversation of the Week!

In the not too distant past, I was starting to think that Wizards was jamming too much product down our throats. Commander product started to come out regularly, Masters product became annual and other supplemental sets started to become overwhelming. We are on the cusp of Ixalan being released, Commander 2017 just hit the shelves, the third Un set is coming and Iconic Masters was opened at Hascon. Despite all of this, I think Wizards has been doing a great job keeping their products diverse, interesting and most of all, playable. I will have to open and hold Iconic Masters cards before I pass full judgment, but I’d like to say thank you to Wizards for having a more exciting game now than any other time that I’ve played.

The best Commander card you’re not playing!

This week, one of my favorite hosers comes out to play. Stranglehold is a fun way to shut down people and really step into your role as the fun police. Not enough people play cards like this and Torpor Orb because it shuts them down so hard, but if you build your deck with these cards in mind, you’ll find that they become extremely powerful.