Where Are They Now? - July 2023

Hello everyone! Ryan here again to show you how Weekly Winners from this time last year are doing with their titles. 

Each of our picks today dropped from their places last year, and I’d like to tell you all why. So without delay, let’s get into it!

Maybe Take That Driving Test… 

$3.33$5.99

Unlicensed Hearse was taking over as everyone's preferred method of graveyard hate in July of last year, and its price reflected this. The problem was that the card hadn’t really been out long enough for its price to truly stabilize. On top of that, once it was Crewed, any removal spell that didn’t say “nonartifact creature” could be used to easily dismiss it from the board. Don’t get me wrong, Hearse still has great utility and is being played in many decks that need to deal with graveyard synergies, but the price has finally come down to a place that can be called stable.

An Unearthed Gem Was Really Just Glass…

$1.00$1.29

Arjen said it best last year, most of Argivian Find’s value came from having no other printings. With it only being legal in eternal formats, the card already had a niche place in the game. Once The Brothers' War came out with good artifact recursion in Standard, Pioneer, and Modern, and then March of the Machine added Argivian Find to The List, the sustainability of this card’s price point suddenly became untenable. The decks that would play this card just have better options at this point, and it’s been reprinted to boot. I don’t see this one seeing another such day in the sun.

Gardeners Saw No Rain…

$9.64$6.99

In Seedtime we have a card that perfectly embodies why my Commander decks are low tier: it depends on an opponent in order to function properly. I’m frequently told that this is an error I make while building.

After being talked about by Commander’s Quarters, Seedtime's price jumped up by a mile. But the simple fact is that if your opponent(s) is/are not playing blue then this card is simply dead in your hand, and nobody's happy to hold a dead card. Its effect is amazing and I immediately want one for my own Commander deck, but that reliance on my opponent to be playing blue can’t always be counted on. So it doesn’t deserve a place in my deck, or in anyone else’s deck, unless they have reliable and plentiful color change effects.

That’s all I have for you today. So remember: do not speculate on cards close to their first printing; old doesn’t always equal worthwhile; and if a card needs another card, or worse yet, another player, to function properly, it probably won’t be worth your investment. I hope everyone enjoys this article, and if you do, head on over to our main page to check out our other articles, as well as sign up for your own Premium account! We have loads worthwhile here, and I hope you all try to see that for yourselves! Until next time!

Check out these other articles:

History, Restapled - Un- For the Money by Steve Heisler

New Horizons - Secret Lair Summer Superdrop 2023 by Matt Grzechnik

Crunch Time by Jason Alt