We have some fun cards this week. Two of them are because of speculation about the upcoming March of the Machine set. And the number one winner is because of a fringe format.
Like every week, just in time for FNM, I'll tell you about the cards that will be the talk of the town tonight! Come discuss this week's price movements with us on Discord.
Articles
Harvey wrote another installment in his The Big Things series. This week he wrote about the World Championship Decks. Good read if you want to know about the history of these cards and where they are, from a financial standpoint.
And who doesn't like fetchlands? Corey wrote about them this week in his Modern Times series. Is it a good time to pick up fetchlands now? Read the article to find out.
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Onto the Weekly Winners!
#1 Dandân $3.81 (+505%)
Only a few short weeks ago we spoke about Dandân in the Weekly Winners 2022 - 51. Back then we talked about the card Crystal Spray that went up by 45% because of the very same reason that Dandân is moving up as well. And, not coincidentally, Crystal Spray is also found in the Interests of last week moving up with 95% to $13.63. But did you know that Dandân is not just the name of a card, but also of an entire (unofficial) Magic format?
Dandân, also known as Forgetful Fish, is a game format for two players that uses a shared 80-card deck and graveyard. Apart from this unique feature, the game follows the usual rules of Magic: reducing your opponent's life total from 20 to zero, or decking them out (which can be particularly difficult in this format since the deck is shared). To play, all you need is the deck provided below and some dice to track your life totals.
So the big question now is : why did this card all of the sudden spike? The format is not new, and it's not competitive. The main reason seems to be that popular YouTuber Rhystic Studies put out a video where he talks about not only the format, but also the history of "Dandan". But also there's DandanGPT.
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| Chronicles |
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| Fifth Edition |
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| Arabian Nights |
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| Timeshifted |
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I am sure some of you must know Vampire Hexmage. This creature, which only costs , can sacrifice itself to remove all counters from a target permanent. It occasionally sees play in Legacy in decks in combination with Dark Depths. By sacrificing Vampire Hexmage to remove all counters from Dark Depths will get you a 20/20 Indestructible Flying Marit Lage Token. Since you can do this at instant speed, you can do it at the end of your opponent's turn and start swinging with the Avatar on your turn.
And while the card still sees play in Legacy, that doesn't seem to be the main reason for moving up this week. For those not paying attention to the March of the Machine spoilers, a new type of card has been introduced: battles. Battle is a novel card type in Magic. All battles in March of the Machine share the Siege subtype. While future subtypes may function differently, we currently only know how Sieges work. They're all double-faced cards and when played, they're placed on the battlefield with the battle side face up. Their controller selects an opponent to be the protector of that battle. As it enters the battlefield, it receives defense counters equal to the number in the lower right corner of the card. Any player other than the protector may launch creature attacks against the battle during combat, while the protector may assign blockers for that battle. Battles can also be damaged by non-combat damage that can specifically target them or be directed at "any target." When damage is dealt to a battle, it loses an equivalent number of defense counters. Once the last counter is gone, the battle is defeated, and its transform ability triggers. The battle is then exiled, and its back face is cast for free, as it has no mana cost.
Now the important part about this is the defense counters. Do you see the interaction yet? So with a battle on the field, let's say Invasion of Ikoria, and Vampire Hexmage, you can simply sacrifice the Vampire to remove all counters from the battle and cast the other side for free. In this example, that would give you an 8/8 that can let your other creatures "trample" over damage.
Keep in mind that Vampire Hexmage can still be had for $0.50 when you look at other versions of the card. We do however see another card spiking this week because of the very same reason.
Hex Parasite has moved up with 80% to $8.93. It can also very effectively remove counters from a permanent. Since it's had no reprints since its printing in New Phyrexia, the price is easier to manipulate up. Some people speculate that Hex Parasite may also benefit from the previewed card Tom Bombadil. Since a deck built around Tom will most likely involve a lot of Sagas, you can use Hex Parasite to replay chapters by removing counters from them.
| Vampire Hexmage |
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| Vampire Hexmage |
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| Hex Parasite |
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In the upcoming Commander: March of the Machine set we see the new Cavalry Charge precon which revolves around Knights, with Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir as commander.
Since the deck revolves around Knights, with a strong commander that can grant an effect to attacking knights even when it isn't on the battlefield, thanks to Eminence, people are looking for cards that may fit nicely as an upgrade in this precon. In this case the Kinsbaile Cavalier has been chosen as a card that will most likely be added by people looking to upgrade. Giving all your Knights double strike is nothing to sneeze at. In the same vein we also see the Secret Lair version of Knight Exemplar showing up in this week's Interests, moving up to $19.92 with 105%.
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.
Platinum Angel has been identified by the MTGStocks Premium Penny Stocks feature as a card that has reached its bottom and is starting a consistent uptrend.
Tiller Engine $5.03 - Slowly moving down
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| Platinum Angel | |
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| Auntie Blyte, Bad Influence | |
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That's it for this week. Make sure to check back next week for more Weekly Winners!
