menu

Jason’s Archives: Avacyn Restored Speculation Fest, PAX Recap & Ryan Bushard IAmA

Are you a Quiet Speculation member?

If not, now is a perfect time to join up! Our powerful tools, breaking-news analysis, and exclusive Discord channel will make sure you stay up to date and ahead of the curve.

Greetings, Speculators!

Jason Alt here, back again and ready to hit you with another week's worth of gems lovingly selected for your reading pleasure. A lot has happened since last time and I want to dive right into it. It's been a very eventful week so strap yourself to something secure because I'm about to hit you with a Lavalanche of internet goodies, where X equals as much as you can handle.

Ryan Bushard IAmA on Reddit.com

Anyone who's been reading Quiet Speculation  for a while or who has a Psyduck in the front of their trade binder will recognize the name Ryan Bushard.

Ryan recently sat down and answered some of reddit's burning questions. By all accounts, Ryan had a great time, and he took a lot of time to give in-depth and thoughtful answers to the questions. This is probably the most exhaustive IAmA I've seen in the Magic subreddit and it is well worth the longish read.

Click away to get some insight into the thought process of a value trader and financial writer. Ignore the advice of a guy who tripled his investment on Death's Shadow at your peril!

Avacyn Restored Speculation

Basic Lands Restored

Nice catch, Sephiroth912

Redditor Sephiroth912 noticed something strange when he was looking at the visual spoiler for the basic lands in Avacyn restored.

Sephiroth's post

It looked as though the basic lands from Innistrad were all being brightened, as if restored by Avacyn herself!

Redditor Saldonzo was good enough to compile all of the images into one handy graphic for your perusal here.

Nice work, guys!

Editor's Edit: Since the article went live this morning, we now have a full clear image Moonsliver Spear here.

Avacyn Restored Promo Card

A trip over to the mothership confirms that the promo card for the Avacyn Restored Prerelease will be "Moonsilver Spear." Unfortunately, the image on that site, seen here, is too small to make out any of the text, but it's almost certainly an equipment.

It's the spear wielded by Avacyn herself. How bad could it be? If Mayor of Avabruck, Phyrexian Metamorph and Wurmcoil Engine are any indication, Moonsilver Spear could be an excellent pickup and worth a trip to the prerelease.

Pax East Revelations

For those not in attendance (myself included), PAX East was last weekend and there was wall to wall Magic. There's a lot to talk about, so let's dive right in.

Nicol Bolas in 2013?

From the looks of the swag at PAX East, all signs point to Nicol Bolas, either as a brand new walker or as a reprint being in M2013. There's no precedent for a gold Planeswalker in a core set. It's also possible he figures heavily into Duel of the Planeswalkers 2013 and not the Magic set M2013.

What do you think?

Exhibit A
Exhibit B

New Mechanic revealed

Miracle: A New Mechanic

PAX East also spoiled a powerful new mechanic: Miracle. I guess I know what to first pick in draft now.

SCG Des Moines Decklists

  • Check out the Standard Top 8 decklists here.
  • Check out the Legacy Top 8 decklists here.

Finally, SCG Open Des Moines was this past weekend and the Standard Top 8 may surprise you.

The only Delver deck to crack the Top 8 took 8th. Meanwhile, RG continues to make very strong showings both as an aggro variant and in the form of card]Birthing Pod[/card] decks.

Another pleasant surprise was my pet card, Glissa, the Traitor, as the focal point of Jeff Hoogland's Glissa Control deck. I got a big kick out of this list, and it looks like a blast to play. How can Glissa possibly not be amazing when recurring Ratchet Bomb and [card]Nihil Spellbomb[card] is gg for the best decks in the format? It can't be bad, that's how.

In Legacy we have Minnesota's Ryan Overturf defeating Maverick with RUG Delver in the finals. Five sets of Stifles in the Top 8. A little bit of an anomaly perhaps?

That's all

I have for you this week!

Join me next week where I will dive into some more Avacyn Restored spoiled cards and show you what goodies a week spent surfing the net can turn up.

Jason Alt

Avatar photo

Jason Alt

Jason Alt is a value trader and writer. He is Quiet Speculation's self-appointed web content archivist and co-captain of the interdepartmental dodgeball team. He enjoys craft microbrews and doing things ironically. You may have seen him at magic events; he wears black t-shirts and has a beard and a backpack so he's pretty easy to spot. You can hear him as co-host on the Brainstorm Brewery podcast or catch his articles on Gatheringmagic.com. He is also the Community Manager at BrainstormBrewery.com and writes the odd article there, too. Follow him on Twitter @JasonEAlt unless you don't like having your mind blown.

View More By Jason Alt

Posted in Avacyn Restored, Free, Web ReviewTagged , , ,

Have you joined the Quiet Speculation Discord?

If you haven't, you're leaving value on the table! Join our community of experts, enthusiasts, entertainers, and educators and enjoy exclusive podcasts, questions asked and answered, trades, sales, and everything else Discord has to offer.

Want to create content with Quiet Speculation?

All you need to succeed is a passion for Magic: The Gathering, and the ability to write coherently. Share your knowledge of MTG and how you leverage it to win games, get value from your cards – or even turn a profit.

5 thoughts on “Jason’s Archives: Avacyn Restored Speculation Fest, PAX Recap & Ryan Bushard IAmA

  1. The link to the Bushard IAMA is a must read for any player/trader in magic. I hadnt seen it before looking over this article. Once again Alt shows me a corner of the mtg community i hadnt seen. Cant wait to see what he shows us next week.

  2. A trip over to the mothership confirms that the promo card for the Avacyn Restored Prerelease will be “Moonsilver Spear.” Unfortunately, the image on that site, seen here, is too small to make out any of the text, but it’s almost certainly an equipment.

Join the conversation

Want Prices?

Browse thousands of prices with the first and most comprehensive MTG Finance tool around.


Trader Tools lists both buylist and retail prices for every MTG card, going back a decade.

Quiet Speculation