Weekly Winners 2021 - 04

Kaldheim is ready for release! The coming weeks will be filled with new brews, gameplay and strategy. This week marks the end of this spoiler season, with some interesting movers to report on.

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!

 

See something interesting in the world of card prices? Be sure to pitch me a tweet: @MTGPeter

 

#1 Desolation $7.48 (+87.47%)

 

Whenever you see obscure rares from old sets spike, there must be a recent reason why. And that proves to be true in this case as well. Desolation is a card that sees some play in EDH, but not a lot. At any rate, it seems mediocre at best. If you ever happened to have one against you on the battlefield, you probably know how irritating Desolation can be. Sacrificing a land every turn you tap a land means you will not be able to grow your manabase, unless you want to practically 'skip a turn'. For decks with mana dudes, elves or other ways of generating mana, this is a hurdle you could overcome. Again, Desolation is mediocre at best.

But what if a new card sees print that upgrades your Desolation from mediocre to good? Just that happened with the new Commander Tergrid, God of Fright. The reason is straightforward: the lands your opponents need to sacrifice are brought into play under your control with that commander in play. So you don't feel the drawback your opponent has, since you will get a land from them almost every turn. Especially in multiplayer games!

We've seen more cards related to Tergrid, God of Fright spike over the past weeks, and that new commander is probably going to be one of the hottest commanders with the release of Kaldheim.

 

Desolation	TCGPlayer $7.48
Tergrid, God of Fright	TCGPlayer $10.99

 

#2 Tergrid, God of Fright $10.99 (+109.33%)

 

We usually don't cover cards before the official release of a set. Pre-release prices are notoriously bad predictors of the actual value cards will have. But sometimes there is an exception. And that's the case with Tergrid, God of Fright. As I wrote above, we've seen quite some cards spike over the past weeks in anticipation of this new commander.

Tergrid, God of Fright is a great new addition to the arsenal of commanders for EDH. Of all news cards in this set, this new mono black commander has caused the most spikes. Even compared to other commanders from previous sets, Tergrid, God of Fright is surely in the top three of the most 'influential' new commanders.

The reason is simple and straightforward: Tergrid, God of Fright is an extremely accessible commander in the sense of strategy and synergy. It's just two easy steps. Get your commander on the battlefield first. And then make your opponents discard or sacrifice something. The rest is pure profit.

Since there are many, many discard and sacrifice spells around, it is very easy to build a deck around Tergrid, God of Fright. Sure, you can pay top dollar for the best discard and (sacrificial) removal, but the lesser played (and cheaper) spells can do a lot of work too. And no need for an expensive mana base, since it is a mono black deck. Unless you want really want to play snow covered swamps and Cabal Coffers.

In other words: a simple, cheap and accessible strategy. And a strategy that's fun for new players and for seasoned ones too.

 

Tergrid, God of Fright
Kaldheim	TCGPlayer $10.99

 

#3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor $57.39 (+6.34%)

 

With an increase of only 6.34% our third winner is not a spike. But it is one of the most interesting movers in our weekly interests. For a long time Jace, the Mind Sculptor has been going down in price. After several reprints its price went down (original printing) from $145 to under $70. And even though its Worldwake printing seems to be on a downtrend; that's not the case for its other printings.

The Masters 25 printing has been stabilizing and even going up since January 1. The same is true for the market price. It seems that the card is finally beyond its bottom price and is moving up again.

The cheapest versions tend to bottom out first, and can function as solid indicators for the other printings too. Take the Worldwake version. It will never (under normal circumstances) become as 'cheap' as the Masters 25 printing. And the bottom of that last one is $52. The original printing is now at $70. It can drop some more, but will probably reach a bottom somewhere in the sixties.

But for those of you who are already planning on (finally) buying a playset: be aware. Jace, the Mind Sculptor has been reprinted before and could be reprinted again. And if that happens any time soon, prices will fall again. Will that happen, or not? That's your call.

 

Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Worldwake	TCGPlayer $68.96
Masters 25	TCGPlayer $57.39

 

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. Also note: some cards are still going down, and might be even cheaper pickups next week.

 

Master Transmuter $5.36 - Record low, trending down

 

Opposition Agent $17.09 - Record low, bottomed out

 

Breya, Etherium Shaper $6.24 - Record low, trending down hard

 

Master Transmuter	TCGPlayer $5.36
Breya, Etherium Shaper	TCGPlayer $6.24
Opposition Agent	TCGPlayer $17.09