Where Are They Now? - April 2023

Hello all. Ryan here to once again talk about the cards from 12 months ago that had such a good price movement that our founder Arjen included them in his Weekly Winners feature.

My job is to track down the cards that either skyrocketed or fell in the intervening year, and show them off to you as either great cheap pickups, or comically misjudged cards that make you cringe for the ownership thereof.

This month I have one jump and two dives. So let’s get underway!

 

Collective Defiance - ($7.44 - $0.90)

 

This one kind of hurts, and sits unhappily in that comical slot I mentioned earlier with a 94.927% decrease from last year's price. Its mana value isn’t exactly the stuff of dreams, nor does its versatility inspire thoughts of winning in a profound way.

Being a three drop in burn is already a downgrade, and the fact that you have to pay even more to have it go off with more than one mode seriously hinders this card from being a great choice in any format of burn. It seems that last year saw this card being utilized in Pioneer decks and doing well at it, but its wheel effect can be easily replicated with other cards. Its burn is too expensive, in spite of the power of that burn against both player and creature, and it has been left to wane like every moon does. If you're looking for a three-drop wheel and a little bit of versatility on a budget, this may be the card for you. But there are better ways to play and the masses saw that.

 

Scarblade Elite - ($15.99 - $2.61)

Next up we have Scarblade Elite, which took a dive over the past year due to the deck model that it was run in turning sour. The new Streets Of New Capenna commander Mari, the Killing Quill had players at the time roaring for the build that sees their beloved Assassins taking center stage. But the model wasn’t exactly versatile, and those who played it were sourly displeased with the outcome of decks running a tribe with so few members, as Assassins.

 

With an 83.677% decrease in price over the past year, it looks like Assassins weren’t the way to go. Not yet, at least. I’m still sure my black/blue Assassin buddies can catch a break someday. If you love Assassins and still decide that this build is the right one for you and use this card among the batch, I’ll be playing at my local game shop. I would love to see how you make it work. Plus, my win percentage is down and I need an easy win!

 

Fable of the Mirror-Breaker - ($5.65 - $24)

 

Do I really need to say anything here? This card wasn’t exactly an immediate slam dunk for the set, but when people started putting it on the field in their Izzet decks, the world saw itself in the mirror and cried to be part of the swarm instead of sitting on the receiving end of this bad boy. Three mana gets you a Treasure-making 2/2, the ability to cycle through some possibly bad cards for a potential draw of two on its second step, and another 2/2 that makes copies of all those creatures you can play that exile opponents’ creatures, create a creature, or cause card draw as an ETB trigger. And no matter who you are or how you play, you can’t say this one isn’t a home run, especially with a 324.78% increase in price over the last year.

I hope you listened to the big man when he wrote his Weekly Winners last year, because buying a playset now is going to cost you an arm and TWO legs!

 

Fable of the Mirror-Breaker	CardKingdom $29.99	TCGPlayer $25.98
Scarblade Elite	CardKingdom $1.29	TCGPlayer $2.00
Collective Defiance	CardKingdom $0.49	TCGPlayer $0.90

 

 

That’s it for this one. I hope the info I handed out today helps you with your gameplay, your portfolio, or simply your knowledge base. And that you had a good time reading it! Check out my Penny Saved articles if you want to hear about the cards I dug out of our Members Only backrooms for you all, and stay tuned for our other authors as well! If you see me coming out of the back with a bundle of cards, just turn the other way and we’ll be fine. Hope you all have a wonderful month and I’ll see you again soon!  

Check out these other articles:

 

Modern Times - March of the Machine by Corey Williams  

History, Restapled: Power Creep Before Dollar Creep by Steve Heisler  

New Horizons: March of the Machine by Matt Grzechnik