Although the SCG Open in Philadelphia was cancelled this past weekend, and Grand Prix Denver along with Grand Prix Nagoya were Team Limited, there’s still data to look at. There always is thanks to sources like Magic Online.

I check this source on a daily basis since online Magic tends to shift a bit faster than paper Magic. This can give you insight as to where to metagame might be headed, which is an important part of shaping this article series.

This is by no means a get-rich-quick deal. It’s more of a how-to-grow your Magic collection and/or bankroll for tournament play over time with less money, to acquire the cards you need and get the most out of the cards you don’t need.

Article Series Main Focus Points

• Cards that you should hold on to or pick up for tournaments if you need them before they rise in price. These cards are either seeing increased play in one or more formats, the supply is drying up, or they’re pretty far from the next reprint.
• Cards that you should consider selling or trading away. Their prices are pretty much at the ceiling owing to inflation from speculation, reprint inevitability in the near future, a lull in tournament play, or some combination of these.

Recent Buys

Narnam Renegade - Aether Revolt (Foil)

Purchased Price
$1

I mentioned this towards the end of article #14 when talking about Pelt Collector, and decided to buy eight of them from Miniature Market since they were only $1 each. This just rotated out of Standard so you can probably find these at your local game store or in trade binders. They could go up to $3-5 dollars in a year or less.

Grisly Salvage - FNM Promos

Purchased Price
$1.25

We saw Necrotic Ooze pop like crazy last week because of decks like the one Ben Friedman talked about on Star City Games.

But the card the stuck out to me in this list was Grisly Salvage. There’s only the original printing from Return to Ravnica and the FNM promo that come in foil. Even more importantly, Salvage sees play not only here but also in the explosive Bridgevine deck that came to fruition earlier this year.

The thing I really like about this card is that it’s an enabler that’s also an instant, which gives this card a lot of flexibility. Not to mention, it’s in the same colors as Assassin's Trophy. This card does a lot. It digs for the critical creature or land you need all while feeding your graveyard, which is a very powerful resource to draw from.

They probably won’t print this artwork again very soon either, so you can pretty safely pick these up without too much investment and just store them away.

Shrine of Burning Rage - WPN & Gateway Promos

Purchased Price
$2.99

I mentioned Arclight Phoenix and Runaway Steam-Kin in Archangelic76‘s Mono-Red Modern deck in article #14. I also said I wasn’t sure how viable the deck is going forward, but it did pop up again on October 12 on Magic Online via egadd2894’s list.

Egadd2894 played two copies of Shrine of Burning Rage versus Archangelic76's three in the sideboard. But nonetheless, it’s still making the cut. There’s only the original New Phyrexia printing and this promo. Also, don’t forget that Loïc Le Briand won Grand Prix Birmingham a little over a year ago in 2017 with four copies of Shrine.

Folds

Allied Dual Creature Lands - Worldwake (Non-Foil & Foil)

Target Sell Prices
Non-Foil & Foil: Current Market Prices

This is the only printing of these cards since February 2010. They just recently peaked at an all-time high and have started their descent. If you don’t need these, particularly Celestial Colonnade, Creeping Tar Pit, and Raging Ravine, I would get rid of them and buy back in when they get reprinted.

Caustic Caterpillar - Magic Origins (Foil)

Target Sell Price
$5+

I have no idea why the foil version of this card is $7-8. The only thing I can think of is EDH/Commander. But even then, it only sees play in about 6,000 decks. This card is pretty easy to reprint and it’s a common. I would dump any copies you have. Card Kingdom is buying them for $4 cash right now.

Seekers' Squire - Ixalan (Foil)

Target Sell Price
$.50 to $1

Have you seen the Magic Online Standard PTQ results from October 14? Five of the six Golgari decks in the Top 8 played this card. Take a look at Tixis’s winning list.

I don’t think the card will ever see play outside of Standard, so I would get rid of these if you have any to lock in some value now.

Wildgrowth Walker - Ixalan (Foil)

Target Sell Price
$.50 to $1

The same goes for this card.

Shriekhorn - Mirrodin Besieged (Foil)

Target Sell Price
$5ish

Dredge has started to become more popular again with the printing of Creeping Chill. The deck is poised to prey on all the UW Control and BGx decks running around Modern. Shriekhorn is an integral part of the deck since it’s easy to cast and gives you the most efficient way of hitting as many Creeping Chills as possible. Take a look at Rvng’s list for the latest iteration.

There’s only one printing of this card and it’s also a common artifact, making it pretty easy to reprint in something like the next Masters set.

Recent Sells

Runaway Steam-Kin - Guilds of Ravnica (Non-Foil & Foil)

Sold Prices
Non-Foil Playsets: $19 & $21
Foil Playsets: $46

I was able to sell non-foil playsets pretty quickly. However, the foil playsets are much hard to sell. I’m probably stuck with these for a while, hoping that it sees more play in Modern. I played in a Standard PPTQ this past weekend and Steam-Kin seemed powerful, but the card that seemed to do the most work was Experimental Frenzy.

For those who are interested, I made a mistake in round four that cost me the tournament. If it weren't for that, I would've had a chance at Top 8 and potentially winning the tourney from there, so the deck has potential. But I'm just not sure if it'll be dominant going forward.

Mono-Red did well, as it often does right out of the gates when a format is the furthest away from being solved. It seems very medium right now in the face of all the Golgari and Jeskai decks.

If you have these and aren’t using them, I’d get rid of them and buy back in later when they drop in price. Or you can wait to see what happens this coming weekend at the SCG Open in Dallas, or maybe Grand Prix Atlanta in November.

Pelt Collector - Guilds of Ravnica (Non-Foil)

Sold Prices
Non-Foil Playset: $21.50

This is definitely showing up in many different archetypes in Standard but hasn’t really made waves with Vexing Devil in Modern yet. I’m still not sure how viable this is with Fatal Pushes and Assassin Trophies all over the place. And I’m not sure how this fares against decks that are doing broken things like Storm, Ironworks Combo, or Lantern Control.

I think the same goes for this as with Runaway Steam-Kin. If you don’t need them, get rid of them and buy them later on the dip.

Office Hours

I’ll be co-hosting Quiet Speculation’s Office Hours again. This will be the second time. You can catch the audio of the inaugural session with Sigmund Ausfresser and me here in case you missed it. Christopher Martin will be joining me for the second session. It’s set for Thursday, October 25 at 8pm Central, so mark your calendars and join us in the Discord channel.

Public Spreadsheet

Stay up to the minute on what I’m looking at on a daily basis via the Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em - Public MTG Finance Spreadsheet. Don’t forget to bookmark it because I update it on the fly so you can see what’s going on as the market moves and before articles about certain cards are published.

Summary

Recent Buys

• Narnam Renegade - Aether Revolt (Foil)
• Grisly Salvage - FNM Promos
• Shrine of Burning Rage - WPN & Gateway Promos

Folds

• Celestial Colonnade - Worldwake (Non-Foil & Foil)
• Creeping Tar Pit - Worldwake (Non-Foil & Foil)
• Raging Ravine - Worldwake (Non-Foil & Foil)
• Caustic Caterpillar - Magic Origins (Foil)
• Seekers' Squire - Ixalan (Foil)
• Wildgrowth Walker - Ixalan (Foil)
• Shriekhorn - Mirrodin Besieged (Foil)

Recent Sells

• Runaway Steam-Kin - Guilds of Ravnica (Non-Foil & Foil)
• Pelt Collector - Guilds of Ravnica (Non-Foil)

Public Spreadsheet

Hold ‘Em & Fold ‘Em Spreadsheet

Let me know what you think in the comments below. Agree? Disagree? Why? You can also connect with me on Twitter at @edwardeng. I’m also open to suggestions on how to make this series more valuable. Hit me up.

Have fun,
Eddie