Weekly Winners 2019 - 12

Another very interesting week in the world of Magic prices. Modern, Legacy and EDH are causing cards to increase in price. Speculation on what's going to be in Moden Horizons might push an old time Magic Classic to a three year record high.

 

#1 Nether Traitor $29.75 (+171.44%)

 

Our #1 winner is part of an infinite mana combo with Phyrexian Altar. And if you read the cards, you might think something is missing. You are right. Just add Teysa, Orzhov Scion and you have your combo. With all three cards on board you can sacrifice Nether Traitor using Phyrexian Altar. You get a mana and a token due to Teysa, Orzhov Scion's ability. You sacrifice your token for another and you have in your mana pool. Pay to return Nether Traitor to play. Now you have floating and you can again sacrifice it on Phyrexian Altar. Infinite mana!

And there are only two formats where you can play a 3 card combo reliably: Casual and EDH. Demand for the card in EDH has driven up the price this week. Also, Nether Traitor doesn't only see play in decks commanded by Teysa, Orzhov Scion. This is the top 5 of EDH decks that run Nether Traitor.

1. Teysa, Orzhov Scion
2. Yahenni, Undying Partisan
3. Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper
4. Savra, Queen of the Golgari
5. Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

Organic demand is the biggest driver in Nether Traitor's spike this week. But the card is also interesting for speculators to buy into as well. The card has been coined as a target in several articles and forum posts concerning speculation. The reason is pretty straightforward: Nether Traitor has shadow. And that is a keyword from the Rath Cycle (Tempest) block. It is far from an evergreen keyword. So for the card to get reprinted, it needs to be in either a "Masters"-type set (and we don't get those anymore) or we need a "Return to Rath" block. I would love to see that, but it does not seem likely at all.

Speculators can therefore be fairly sure that Nether Traitor won't ret reprinted and an inflated price would probably stick for quite some time. At least as long as people are playing the card in EDH.

 

Nether Traitor	Buy on  CardKingdom $24.99
Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper	Buy on  CardKingdom $0.39
Teysa, Orzhov Scion	Buy on  CardKingdom $7.99
Savra, Queen of the Golgari	Buy on  CardKingdom $1.99
Phyrexian Altar	Buy on  CardKingdom $25.99
Yahenni, Undying Partisan	Buy on  CardKingdom $2.49
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow	Buy on  CardKingdom $8.99

 

#2 Force of Will $99.99 (+17.65%)

 

Ah yes, good old Force of Will. One of the most iconic and powerful cards in Magic. The only reason that the card is so cheap compared to the other Magic classics that see competitive play is that Force of Will was first printed as an uncommon. So that means a bigger supply in cards and therefore a lower price than usual.

But as of today, you need to dig out almost $100 to get your Force of Will. The card is now in the same price range as winter 2015-2016. In February 2016 Eternal Masters was announced by sharing the picture of the card, now as a Mythic. That reprint pushed the card price back to around $75.

Three years later and here we are! Force of Will is once again at the same price point as before it was reprinted. Again, with no real option for a reprint. Or is there? Soon we will see the first spoilers of Modern Horizons. A set that will have 50 Legacy cards that will skip Standard and go straight into Modern. Some are speculating about Force of Will getting reprinted in Modern Horizons. That might be a reason that we see a sudden and sharp increase in its price.

It is not likely that Force of Will will get reprinted in Modern Horizons however. It is one of the most powerful Legacy cards around. Its impact on Modern could potentially be enormous. But; Modern Horizons does need a good, reliable, blue counterspell. Other options that fit the power level are Counterspell and Daze. Want to know a little more about this? Check out the video by Tolarian Community College (around 11:00 mark for FoW).

 

Force of Will
Alliances	Buy on CardKingdom $99.99
Judge Promos	Buy on CardKingdom $299.99
Eternal Masters	Buy on CardKingdom $119.99
Masterpiece Series: Amonkhet Invocations	Buy on CardKingdom $279.99

 

#3 Plow Under $4.92 (+154.92%)

 

Plow Under sees some, albeit very little, play in Modern. I've read that the card is a 'pet card' of the original creator of the Mono Geen Land Destruction deck. In that deck Plow Under works as a card that you can almost see as a double "Time Walk". It destroys the next two draws your opponent has, and sets him/her back 2 lands. It essentially buys you two turns (except that your opponent can attack, block and interact with you).

But, as said, not many players run Plow Under in the deck. This is an example of a decklist that runs the card:

The 8th edition printing of the card has not moved a lot. And that is interesting. Normally, you'd see movement on both cards. Its original printing is much rarer and harder to come by. What I can say for sure is that Plow Under is sold out. And maybe even bought out. I'll put my money on an organic increase in demand. If it is a buyout, it is not a very intelligent one. Players can easily grab a much cheaper copy of the card from 8th. Also note that Plow Under's market price has not moved. Which means that the current average is not what people are actually willing to pay for the card.

Plow Under
Urza's Destiny	Buy on CardKingdom $2.79
8th Edition	Buy on CardKingdom $3.49

 

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.

 

Gamble $5.12 - Record low and falling hard

 

Karakas $24.99 - Record low and going down hard

 

Tarmogoyf $79.97 - Record low and going down

 

Show and Tell $19 - Record low and going down

 

Tarmogoyf	Buy on  CardKingdom $74.99
Show and Tell	Buy on  CardKingdom $17.99
Gamble	Buy on  CardKingdom $4.49
Karakas	Buy on  CardKingdom $24.99