A Penny Saved, an Altar Earned

Alright everybody, I’m back from the dark corners of our Premium Members-only areas with another score of cards from the Penny Stocks section. Each month I dig into the Penny Stocks feature and scour for the cards that are striving to achieve, but aren't quite as inflated yet as their brethren, and bring a few back for everyone to sample. Because why make a rule if it doesn’t occasionally get broken?

This month I continue a theme from my previous Penny Saved article, talk about a card I only just realized is in my collection, and humbly agree with the Professor that if you read your card, it does in fact explain the card. Or at least the name of it…

 

Darkslick Shores - Regular ONE and Borderless

 

Like I said, it’s apparently a theme with me that the borderless lands end up on this list, but this time it’s hand-in-hand with its regular art variant from the same set! The borderless version of Darkslick Shores is steadily rising, sitting now at $5.99, while its normal art version is sitting at $3.15, meaning that both versions are on the rise. It’s a "fastland", so you faster players will enjoy it, and it’s a continuation on the land cycle from the beginning of Standard’s current card pool. Where Innistrad: Crimson Vow and Innistrad: Midnight Hunt gave us "slowlands," this set gives us reprints of their quicker kin, opening up access to many colors of deck building. In addition, the borderless version is beautiful! Dark with a mild glow, like mist forming over cool waters. Spooky and efficient lands all day, please! Whether you’re an investor looking for a steadily rising card, whose price rise and fall you can gauge by its predecessors, or a control player looking for the prettiest possible version for your favorite deck, this card is it.

Darkslick Shores
Phyrexia: All Will Be One	CardKingdom $3.99	TCGPlayer $2.87
Phyrexia: All Will Be One: Extras	CardKingdom $4.99	TCGPlayer $4.70

 

Hardened Scales - Warhammer 40K

 

I found this little guy hiding in a trade binder I thought was empty. I was pleasantly surprised to see it not only had value, but was included in our Penny Stocks section. The Universes Beyond: Warhammer 40,000 set wasn’t exactly my favorite thing in the world, but the impact it’s had on the community by and large made it a set that I’ve grown to respect. The lovers of Wahammer tabletop who have joined our ranks make me smile as my LGS fills with fresh new players to beat the snot out of in a quick game of Commander. Sitting at $3.51, this copy of Hardened Scales ranks on the lower edge of what the previous iterations are holding at, but as I said about Darkslick Shores, the ability to wring growth from the companion information of other sets as easily as this makes it a card that is both easy to collect and to play in paper. This particular version has a very mechanical feel, so its artwork is sure to entice the gearheads in our crowd.

Hardened Scales
Universes Beyond: Warhammer 40,000	CardKingdom $10.99	TCGPlayer $3.53

 

Altar of Dementia - BRO Retro frame

 

I’m not going to lie, for about six weeks of drafting The Brothers' War I continued to open packs believing there were reprints in the set, and I was itching to get one. I read the card preview quickly, the sun was in my eyes, I was distracted by alien activity, whatever the excuse I could use it comes down very simply to that I misread the card. Fortunately for me, I realized that in all my pack cracking to find a playset of retro Ashnod’s Altars, I’d actually managed to pull a playset of Altar of Dementia, and that’s got me all aflutter! Weighing in at $4.90, these guys pack a big value for players looking for a good sac outlet as well as a pretty good way to mill, especially in aggro pump decks, while also being a good starter card to get a collection growing, considering its price has a pretty steady upswing according to our graphs. Jump on these for a steady price and a card with few severe price drops under its belt.

Altar of Dementia (Schematic)
The Brothers' War: Retro Frame Artifacts		TCGPlayer $6.87
The Brothers' War: Retro Frame Artifacts		TCGPlayer $4.75

 

Going through these tiny diamonds helps thin out the chump change for the whale collectors. So remember, if you want access to more of the cards on this list you’ll have to have a Premium Membership. Our Premium features seriously are fantastic and deserve at least a small looking at, even on a budget. So get signed up!

Thanks for reading, everyone! I can’t wait to do this again soon. Until next time remember, you didn’t see any Penny Stocks items, you definitely didn’t learn any valuable information, and you never even saw me. Capiche? I don’t wanna have to deal with the Magic fuzz… again. Damn you Cheeto dust and greasy fingers, why have you forsaken me?! See you all real soon!