This week is apparently a reserved list edition. We are seeing some crazy spikes in reserved list cards. So while the consensus on why these cards spike is generally known, this may be a pretty boring Weekly Winners. But fortunately we have prepared a "Cheap Pickups: Double Masters edition" for you.
Like every week, just in time for (digital) FNM, I'll now tell you about the cards that will be the talk of the (digital) town tonight!
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Maybe not the biggest spike this week percentage wise, but it is in absolute dollar value and social-media drama. Gaea's Cradle has spiked to over $900 and briefly almost touched the magical $1000 barrier. So what's going on here? Let's first discuss why Gaea's Cradle is a good card, since it partially warrants a higher price.
It sees play in Legacy and Vintage: decks that aim for a creature-based strategy can insanely profit from the mana generation the Cradle provides. Getting 2 or 3 mana from this land on turn 2 is really easy, making it a very viable and hard to interact with, mana ramp. But it is also a very popular EDH staple. Since EDH decks often revolve around having creature on board and getting quickly to large payoffs, Gaea's Cradle is demanded by commander players as well.
But now to the real reason: not only does Gaea's Cradle have a large demand, there's a limited supply because of the notorious reserved list we all love to hate. There will never ever be reprints of this card, making it a really solid investment. So people owning it are hesitant to get rid of it. Do keep in mind that this card should not have a spike like this all of the sudden. I expect it to come down somewhat. The market price still sits around a "mere" $540.
In Ixalan Wizards has tried to print some "fixed" or alternative versions of popular lands: the flip lands. Amongst them is Growing Rites of Itlimoc that can flip into a Gaea's Cradle once you have 4 creatures on board. Since it's the only real alternative for Gaea's Cradle it costs around $19.
Don't hoard the copies of this card just yet. Ancestral Knowledge is also part of, what seems to be, a targeted reserved list buyout. The card is not that good and it being from Weatherlight gives it a moderately large supply. Of course its fun to filter your top 10 cards for only , but with the cumulative upkeep there are probably better ways to do some card selection. Also EDHREC barely has any decks playing this card.
Another reserved list card... Shocking... I actually wanted to discuss this card because I didn't want to spend $30 on it in 2016 to build a Legacy Lantern deck. That was a wrong decision apparently. The card is, as stated earlier, on the reserved list and all it does is make each player play with the top of their library revealed. But it being from Legends gives it a low supply, and since it has seen play at some point, it makes it a target.
This isn't even the card's highest price. In May 2018 it briefly spiked to over $300!
Cheap Pickups: Double Masters Edition
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.
Double Masters is well on its way into the hands of the players and investors alike. Since the rest of the week is almost exclusively reserved list cards, let's have a look at some of the notable reprints in Double Masters that used to be very expensive at some point in time and are now more affordable.
The hasty goblin has been a staple in Legacy and Modern decks since it came out first in Zendikar. The average price used to soar around $45 in February 2016. The Zendikar version now is around $13, so you can grab the Double Masters one for less than half of that.
Ensnaring Bridge is seeing play in Modern, Legacy, and Vintage, often as sideboard card. But it can really hose a lot of aggressive strategies. The prints from 7th, 8th and Stronghold still are around $26 but they used to go for $60 in June 2019. The price has come down a lot and you can now get them for less than $20.
Two cards that were both printed in Portal Three Kingdoms and didn't saw a viable reprint for a long time. Rolling Earthquake didn't see a lot of tournament play and the price was mostly warranted because of the very limited supply. Its peak was $214 in May 2014, but has come down to $67. Now in Double Masters it will only cost you $2.
Imperial Recruiter is a bit different, since it saw play in Legacy Painter decks. It is able to tutor for several combo pieces or combo enablers. It being only printed in Portal Three Kingdoms made it a $340 card at some point. While it now sits at a "mere" $130, you were able to get them from Masters 25 for about $30 (these are $45 now). However, the Double Masters reprint will cost about $25.
Noble Hierarch's price has come down a lot by the reprints in Master-sets, but still used to be $80 to get a single one, while decks often ran the full playset. Our noblest of hierarchs sees play in Modern and Legacy. It not only ramps but is also able to pump a creature if it attacks alone. The Conflux costs $29, but you can now buy a full playset from Double Masters for less than a single one when it was at its peak.
This cards is controversial both in its price as it is in what it does. People have often debated whether Blood Moon should be legal in formats since it can really destroy a deck easily. It's so powerful that decks have ran it mainboard when decks with greedy manabases are rampant in a format. A copy from The Dark has been $85, while 9th Edition version was $68. Because of many reprints the prices has come down and you could have gotten them recently for around $15. Now in Double Masters you can get them for less than $10.
Spellskite sees play in Modern, Legacy, and Vintage and is used to defend your permanents or yourself from a spell. Since it's an artifact it can fit in any color and since it's ability can be paid with you don't have to play blue to use it. But this card used to be $40 at its peak while now you can get them for as low as $3.
Sees play in Legacy and Vintage to cheat out a 20/20 indestructible flying Marit Lage into play. It does this by combining Dark Depths with either Thespian's Stage or Vampire Hexmage. A copy from Coldsnap is now $32, but was around $60 at some point. The reprint from From the Vault or Ultimate Masters is $25. But in Double Masters you can get one for $16.
