This Week in Magic - Week 43

Pro Tour Ixalan is upon us, and it is happening after the meta has been cemented, which stands to have decks break out of the dark and surprise us all. There were a number of interesting spikes this week thanks to a new Modern deck taking over, and we discuss some awesome foil spikes. Without further ado, I give you, this week in Magic!

Now this is an old school spike that I can get behind! I know for a fact that I have a ton of these hiding out in a box, and I’m sure many of you do as well. This doesn’t care about bolt or red creatures, and is actually fairly costed given that it’s so old. Repentant Blacksmith is not on the reserved list, so this price spike probably won’t hold and sustain like some RL cards, but it’s still a cool spike nonetheless.

Both printings/arts for Meddling Mage spiked hard thanks to 5 color humans destroying everyone in Modern. I think that the deck will be a mainstay, much like Merfolk, only this is hitting the scene at tier 1 level. Unfortunately for people interested in the deck or this card, you will probably have to pay a premium to acquire what you need as it appears there’s not slowing down.

While the promo version and the regular version of Ancient Ziggurat saw immense gains, it’s notable just how underplayed these were until humans came along. I’ve used this land many times in Commander decks, as I like to play creature heavy decks and this acts like an additional Command Tower. The only thing that worries me is that I could see this getting reprinted at any time given that in a Standard environment, it’s not particularly busted.

The non-foil version of Bloodbraid Elf caught up to the speculation buyout on the foil version. The writing is on the wall: Wizards will more than likely unban something in Modern post Pro Tour, so there’s going to be massive movement when that day comes. Fortunately for players, there are more than enough printings of good ol’ BBE (Bloodbraid Elf) to go around if it gets unbanned. The money will be made mostly in the foils and the promo.

Following the lead of other tron lands, Urza's Tower (Plains) came to bat swinging and hit it out of the park. Until tron gets banned (it won’t,) all of these original tron lands will continue to go up in price. The real question is: Where’s the ceiling on the price?

Creepy art? Check. Weird combination of power and toughness on a red creature? Check. Hard to cast and even harder to read? You got it! Ydwen Efreet is…a card? I mean, it does things, but it’s such a bizarre card throughout that you find yourself lost in the entirety of it. A 3/6 for RRR isn’t bad value at all when playing in a mono red deck. For old school magic, those are some pretty solid numbers. I’m still not sure if this is an aggressively costed defensive beater, or a poorly costed bad blocker.

Foils of the Week!

We had some casual foil spikes and some competitive ones, but all in all we had a ton of foil movement this week. Foil Golem-Skin Gauntlets topped the list and is great in Voltron type decks. It also works well with cards like Kemba, Kha Regent. Blind Obedience doesn’t see any heavy play, but it’s a great hoser and can help end the game as well. The foils took quite a leap this week. Biorhythm shaman, aka Shaman of Forgotten Ways has had ups and downs, but the foils are up now. Foil Ancient Ziggurat spiked because, well, all of the printings spiked. Also featured in the 5c humans deck, foil Meddling Mage was bought out in all printings/versions. Not on the reserved list, but foil Iron Maiden decided to get bought out anyways. Lastly, Devoted Druid has started seeing an uptick in Modern play again, so the foils are up, yet again.

Cheap pickups of the Week!

Voice of Resurgence has never really been cheap, but it is at the lowest it has ever been, which is saying something considering it still sees Modern play. If you ever wanted a Vindicate for your Commander or casual deck, it’s starting to look like a great time to move in. They have been tanking for quite some time and will soon bottom out. Vedalken Shackles is another card that has never really been cheap, but there really isn’t a replacement for it. They are at an all-time low and probably worth getting for your own use. Lastly, I think getting Kopala, Warden of Waves before Rivals of Ixalan comes out is a good thing. If/when merfolk get support in the next set, you can bet Kopala, Warden of Waves will spike.

MTGStocks Mystery Chart of the Week!

Last week’s chart stumped many people. The correct answer was: Doomsday. The hints were subtle, so it was a challenge. This week, a slightly less difficult chart.

Conversation of the Week!

This week, I want to talk about becoming a better Magic player via intake of Magic content. I strongly believe that if you want to become a better player, or just understand that game at a different level, you need to watch/read content. There are many streamers and YouTube personalities that offer countless hours of content just waiting for you to click. Even a casual Commander player can find places to step their game up, or just find new and janky cards that they never thought of using. Personally, I tend to have either podcasts or other Magic content playing in my car so that I can listen and digest while I drive. There are a million options out there, so start taking advantage of it!

The best Commander card you’re not playing!

This week, I picked a card that shouldn’t be on this list, but it often misses seeing play thanks to its color combination. Corpsejack Menace is a terrific counter doubler, but most people that build counters decks usually go Simic, or U/G. I had a Daghatar the Adamant that cared about counters and the deck was very powerful, and the reason I built it was Corpsejack Menace.