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Uncommon Report #6 – Theros Block

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Theros Block

Theros block, with its mono-colored and enchantment themes, was an interesting block thanks in large part to a dramatic shift away from its predecessor Return to Ravnica and its multi-colored focus. The Devotion mechanic proved powerful enough to justify players switching to mono-colored decks, mainly blue and black, and using the newly introduced scry lands simply for the scry and ignoring the second color source. It was also one of the first blocks after the playerbase explosion, and that growth seemed to plateau around this time. This means that print runs were quite large for Theros block and there are minimal speculation opportunities. However, just because the print runs for Theros were much larger than those of sets just a few years prior, doesn't mean there is no opportunity for speculation. It just means we need to be pickier because the supply is so much larger. It takes a lot of demand to cause any reasonable gains.

Theros

There are no uncommons that meet our $1.49 or greater TCGMarket price requirement for this section.

Theros- Watchlist

There was an error retrieving a chart for Kragma Warcaller

Theros brought us a lot of new minotaurs, which unsurprisingly caused a temporary spike in Didgeridoo. Again unsurprisingly, Didgeridoo collapsed back down, only to jump anytime a new minotaur is printed. While not the most favorite of tribes amongst casual players, minotaurs do have their fans and they do build decks. Kragma Warcaller hasn't been reprinted and is a strong minotaur lord. Due to the large print run of this set, this is definitely the type of card I would sell into any demand caused by some new minotaur being spoiled.

There was an error retrieving a chart for Prowler's Helm

Given how few commander decks include any walls, Prowler's Helm essentially makes a creature unblockable. This is the type of card that will continue to rise in value slowly so long as it dodges a reprint. It will likely max out in price in the $2 range. Prowler's Helm is a card that many likely pass by when picking bulk assuming it is not a $1 card.

There was an error retrieving a chart for Burnished Hart

Burnished Hart used to regularly sell for $1.49 for me. its current price has plummeted thanks to its recent Commander Legends and Mystery Boosters printings. It's also been included in almost every Commander product since its original release. That said, this card is just too much of a staple to stay down forever. If Wizards were to stop adding it to every Commander product for a year or two I could see its price rebounding back to the $1 range.

Born of the Gods

There was an error retrieving a chart for Springleaf Drum

This was one of the more hyped reprints from the set when it was first spoiled, and saw an additional reprint in Double Masters. Its price has bounced back recently thanks to the new Hammer Time deck in Modern. This is one of those cards that six months ago you might have passed by while picking bulk simply because Born of the Gods was such a low value set that one might think it has no value.

Born of the Gods- Watchlist

There was an error retrieving a chart for Archetype of Endurance
There was an error retrieving a chart for Archetype of Imagination
There was an error retrieving a chart for Archetype of Courage
There was an error retrieving a chart for Archetype of Aggression
There was an error retrieving a chart for Archetype of Finality

This cycle has waffled in price for quite some time. I have sold plenty of Archetype of Endurance for $1.99 in the past and the others all have a market price of around $1. These are great budget Commander cards, and all provide useful abilities for you and remove useful abilities for your opponents. The last three have dodged any reprints, but Archetype of Endurance and Archetype of Imagination were both in Mystery Boosters. Archetype of Imagination was also in Commander 2018.

There was an error retrieving a chart for Sunbond

While this card might seem unassuming, it's easy to forget that there are lots of ways to gain life and plenty of creatures that can abuse +1/+1 counters. The most obvious is Spike Feeder, which simply gains you infinite life.

Journey into Nyx

There are no uncommons that meet our $1.49 or greater TCGMarket price requirement for this section.

Journey into Nyx- Watchlist

There was an error retrieving a chart for Eidolon of Rhetoric

The original Rule of Law actually used to be worth almost $3 until Faithless Looting got banned and the Izzet Phoenix boogeyman of Modern faded out of tier 0 status. Not surprisingly, a Rule of Law that you could hit off of Collected Company also saw a jump to around $2. We are seeing a resurgence in the Phoenix archetype, in Jeskai form now. If the deck proves it has staying power, expect the hate cards to rise.

There was an error retrieving a chart for Solidarity of Heroes

I'll bet even those who deal with bulk picking a lot didn't realize this card's market value is over $1. It happens to have two very desirable keywords "double" and "+1/+1 counters" which are a favorite amongst casual players.

There was an error retrieving a chart for Felhide Petrifier

As I stated previously with Kragma Warcaller, minotaur tribal decks wax and wane in the casual community. Whenever some new minotaur legend is spoiled, the cards always jump for a bit, and deathtouch is a very powerful ability when applied en masse.

There was an error retrieving a chart for Thoughtrender Lamia

Paying six mana for a 5/3 that makes all opponents discard a card hardly seems worth it nowadays. The fact that you can repeat it with Constellation does open up some possibilities. The biggest hindrance is that currently, the top enchantment-themed Commander decks tend to be Bant-colored. However, if we ever get a powerful enchantment-themed Abzhan commander, this card would almost certainly be a staple.

Previous Uncommon Reports

  1. Kaladesh Block
  2. Return to Ravnica Block
  3. Innistrad Block
  4. Shards of Alara Block
  5. Zendikar Block
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David Schumann

David started playing Magic in the days of Fifth Edition, with a hiatus between Judgment to Shards. He's been playing Commander since 2009 and Legacy since 2010.

View More By David Schumann

Posted in Bulk, Buying, Finance, Free, PredictionsTagged , , ,

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