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Jason’s Archives: Crashing Gates, Altering Reality and the Impact of M13 on St. Louis

Posted on July 17, 2012July 17, 2012 by Jason Alt

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Greetings, Speculators!

Last weekend was relatively dull in places other than San Diego and St. Louis, as many local games stores opted not to run release weekend events and many draft pods failed to fire. Players got their first chance to play with M13 at FNM and financiers were working hard to get their hands on their called shots before they went up.

I spent the weekend swimming in a bathtub full of [card Thragtusk]Thragtusks[/card] I preordered when they were still $6, then watching all of season four of Breaking Bad (added to Netflix this weekend) in a sixteen hour period.

It goes without saying that I spent part of the weekend wishing I was at San Diego Comic Con. I've been to this event many times before, but always spent the whole time working and didn't get much time to enjoy it.

This year Comic Con attendees who were willing to brave the line were treated to a panel hosted by Maro himself about what's in store for the future of Magic. The name of the second set of Return to Ravnica block was announced. "Gatecrash" may sound more like a mechanic than a set name, but if you know Ravnica lore (I don't) it's a pretty evocative title.

For those of us who couldn't make the trip, Maro summarized a lot of the salient points from his presentation on Twitter:

All ten guilds are returning in Return to Ravnica block. Each guild will get a new keyword. No old guild keywords are coming back.
Return to Ravnica will be a large set coming out this fall. It will feature five guilds (Azorius, Rakdos, Selesnya, Izzet & Golgari).
Gatecrash is the name of the 2013 winter set. It too will be a large set with five guilds (Dimir, Gruul, Orzhov, Boros & Simic).
Return to Ravnica will have two planeswalkers, one of which is Jace. Gatecrash will also have two planeswalkers, one of which is Gideon.
RTR and GTC will each have five guild leaders, two-color mythic rare legendary creatures.
Azorius: Isperia, sphinx -- Rakdos: Rakdos, demon -- Selesnya: Trostani, dryad triumvirate -- Izzet: Niv-Mizzet, dragon -- Golgari: Jarad, elf zombie
Dimir: Lazav, shapeshifter -- Gruul: Borborygmos, cyclops -- Orzhov: Obzedat, ghost council -- Boros: Aurelia, angel -- Simic: Zegana, merfolk

According to Maro, any returning guild leader (the ones they didn't kill off in the novels, supposedly -- R.I.P. Momir Vig) will get a new card. Apparently they don't want Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Curiosity legal at the same time.

"Guild packs" were also announced, similar to the faction packs from Mirrodin Besieged Limited. Each "guild pack" will have cards in the two colors of a guild of your choice in addition to land and artifact cards.

As a limited player, this is exciting. You get to receive a pack from the guild of your choice. You don't have to build your deck in those colors, but having an entire booster dedicated to one guild will be a big help.

I'm Simic. Which guild are you?

Speaking of Simic, did you notice that Momir Vig has been replaced by Zegana, a merfolk? If you were worried about the playability of Master of the Pearl Trident in Standard, you may not have to wait long for a playable merman, besides Augur of Bolas, to pump up.

And the Community Weighs in

Left to digest the news about the upcoming sets, the community has already come up with some interesting stuff.

Redditor Benjyt21 brings us this handy visual guide to the two-color combinations and their corresponding guild insignia. My first thought: "Does anyone else think the new Gruul symbol looks slightly goofy?"

Redditor Wormslol answered my question with this hilarious theory about the inspiration behind the Gruul seal of approval. It looks suspiciously like the kind of thing certain Italian plumbers might be prone to consume.

Redditor daragovelicant brings us yet another visual guide, this time for the guild configurations for the upcoming two sets (It's not the same as it was last time we visited the City of Guilds). Something tells me he wasn't the first to notice the pattern made by these color combinations.

Redditor Alextfish thinks the expansion set symbols might be based on the patterns made by connecting the dots. It's not a bad theory, especially given that the Gatecrash symbol doesn't look all that much like a gate. Not that a picture of a gate isn't already taken.

An Altered Reality

I think Altered Reality would be a sweet name for a future column by yours truly. Here are some of the killer alters I ran across on the net this week.

Redditor trunksshe brings us this killer Delver of Secrets alter. I'm so impressed I'm willing to ignore the fact that spiders are arachnids, not insects.

KLUUUUUUUG — These look way better than the Lotus my buddy altered with a can of Mountain Dew.

The talented Mr. Klug brings us this stormy panorama of power. It looks like the guy on the Recall is really afraid of thunderstorms. What a sissy.

The Spirit of St. Louis

The first impact of the newly legal M13 was felt at the SCG Open in St. Louis. We have a lot to cover so I won't keep you waiting.

Standard Decklists

Naya proves it's no joke, giving us an exciting finals showdown between Caleb Durward's Naya Pod deck and Lance Behrens' Naya Aggro list. Durward took home top honors, but both lists are compelling.

The two decks feature a combined four copies of Thragtusk (TUSK!) and a combined zero copies of Thundermaw Hellkite. I really like Thragtusk in pod strategies as it fills the role of both Obstinate Baloth and Blade Splicer at the same time. When you gain five life, make a 3/3 beast and tutor for Zealous Conscripts all on the same turn, your opponent ends up on the back foot rather quickly.

With three Elvish Visionary (which pods nicely into Blade Splicer, I might add), this deck maximizes card advantage every way it can. I find it telling that the pod decks with the best finishes haven't been running blue cards for quite some time. That is a testament to the advantage generated from value creatures as well as the sheer one-sidedness of Bonfire of the Damned.

As cool as it is that my favorite M13 card (TUSK!) is getting attention, some other decks got a bit of attention, too.

Wizards and Drakes, Oh My!

First, the spotlight was on Adam Prosak and his innovative Mono-Blue Wizards build.

Jamming three copies of Talrand, Sky Summoner makes good use of the instants and sorceries already in abundance in the deck to flip [card Delver of Secrets]Delver[/card] and ruin lives with Snapcaster Mage. A smidge of white mana (i.e. a mana base nearly identical to U/W Delver lists) provides access to four Restoration Angel out of the board, not to mention the maindeck Moorland Haunt.

Talrand has great potential, and the 4th place finish seems to reinforce that assessment. It doesn't hurt that the deck was piloted by Adam Prosak, either.

Rancorous Elders

Also in the top four was a deck that has been making some waves of its own. Running an impressive zero copies of Delver of Secrets, this deck instead opts to beat face on the ground. I'm referring, of course to Michael Alakayleh's Mono-Green Aggro deck.

This deck is a sleek, Dungrove Elder-based strategy that jams three copies of a favorite card of mine, Predator Ooze. The ooze is so good, the only reason Michael didn't make the finals is he took a beating to the dome from his own conscripted ooze.

This deck would happily run more copies of Rancor if it could, given that Dungrove Elder's main weakness is his inability to trample over dorky 1/1 spirits and 2/2 wolves even when his power approaches double digits. Rancor is great in a format full of Vapor Snag and it makes Strangleroot Geist an even better threat than it was before.

I love this deck, and Rancor solves all of the problems green decks had before, namely their inability to deal with chump blockers and their tendency to get pantsed by Vapor Snag. Traditional auras are terrible in a format where the best deck is tempo control with bounce spells. But Rancor comes back to your hand when the creature is bounced, mitigating the tempo loss by adding damage to the next attack for only one mana.

The top eight was rounded out by Bant Pod, G/W Humans and Naya Humans, all of which ran cards from M13. In fact, the only deck in top eight that didn't run M13 cards was the Esper Midrange deck.

There were more copies of Thragtusk than any other card in the top eight, proving that this guy is the real deal. I'm still waiting for Thundermaw Hellkite to make the showing everyone is expecting, and which its $30 price tag would seem to indicate.

Legacy Decklists

The M13 innovation didn't stop with Standard, however. I'll gloss over how awesome it is that another Belcher deck made top eight to head straight to the Merfolk deck.

The Triumphant Return of the Fishes

I'm sure Corbin will write the entirety of his next article about this. But I want to briefly mention how the Merfolk deck solved a problem I foresaw with Master of the Pearl Trident, namely that there was no room for it in Legacy lists. Jospeh Gebhart solved this problem by cutting the most expendable card in the deck so he could jam four Masters.

Can you guess which card he cut to make room?

If you said "Force of Will," I don't believe you, because no one would guess that. While it's true that decks had been cutting back on Force of Will in the past, that was at a time when Mental Misstep was still legal. Merfolk has a huge liability, namely its tribal affiliation and reliance on overextending. A well-placed Engineered Plague or Pernicious Deed can wipe a merfolk deck out.

And yet Gebhart bravely cut all of his Forces to run more creatures. Joshua Snider, the pilot of the 11th place Merfolk deck, wasn't so brave. Maybe it's true what they say — no gamble, no future.

Other Brews

My favorite brewer, Jeff Hoogland (you may remember him as the architect of the Glissa Bomb deck I wet my pants over) is back with another top eight. This time he jammed Deadguy Ale, a tasty brew whether constructed with hops or two-drops.

Essentially an Orzhov goodstuff deck, Deadguy Ale uses discard and removal to clear a path for such beatings as a Tombstalker wearing a Batterskull. Continuing the "stuff with zealous in the name getting there" motif we see carried over from Standard, it uses Zealous Persecution to invite Maverick players to shuffle up for the next game.

Sam Black is also back, jamming his Zombardment deck in an otherwise not-all-that-remarkable top 32.

Very few M13 cards other than Master of the Pearl Trident have been tried in Legacy, but expect good things from a few more in the future. I really think [card Talrand, Sky Summoner]Talrand[/card] has potential and it will be interesting to see how this diverse, healthy format continues to evolve.

Also worth noting is the return of Burning Wish to Ad Nauseum Tendrils lists (listed as "Storm" by SCG, which I find misleading). This has financial implications. Badlands was the cheapest dual land for a while, but as it's seeing more play, expect the price to rise along with the new-found demand. You can still get these at around $35 and I wouldn't pass on the opportunity if you see them that cheap.

You Don't Have to Log Off But You Can't Stay Here

Join me next week when I will regale you firsthand with tales of my experiences at GP Columbus and watching all three Batman movies with Ryan Bushard. Spoiler: He takes up the whole armrest and sucks his thumb during the scary parts.

As always, if you can't get enough of me in this weekly dose you can always follow me on Twitter or check out the Brainstorm Brewery podcast.

Until next time!

Jason Alt
@JasonEAlt on Twitter

Insider: Game Theory and Behavioral Economics, Pt. 1

Posted on July 17, 2012January 17, 2022 by Sigmund Ausfresser

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Magic: the Gathering is more than just a game. Because of the wild fluctuations in card values, rapid format turnover and strategy evolutions, Magic: The Gathering has acquired the characteristics of an economic model. There is supply and demand, and, in theory, an “Invisible Hand” which regulates the price.

There is even a bit of speculation, much like commodity markets such as oil and gold.

Sometimes basic economic theory breaks down and a more complicated model is required to explain people’s decisions. If everything was 100% rational, there would never be opportunities to profit in the market. Everyone would acknowledge identical card prices and everyone would base their valuations on the same variables. Trading would be exceptionally easy, but value trading would not exist.

Obviously, this is not the case.

Somehow, people’s emotions influence their decisions and this causes market inefficiencies. They often don’t even realize they are making sub-optimal decisions in their transactions. This week I will highlight a couple examples of how irrational behavior arises from competitive game theory.

Put on your thinking hats, as this one gets a bit technical. But awareness of these shortcomings could be invaluable at the trade tables.

Game Theory and the Prisoners’ Dilemma

According to Wikipedia, a Prisoners’ Dilemma can be defined as:

Aa canonical example of a game analyzed in game theory that shows why two individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interest to do so.

In its essence, two people are engaged in a simultaneous decision where it would be in their best interests to cooperate, but due to the structure of their payouts, they end up mutually defecting. Thus, they forfeit the optimal outcome because of their own self-interest.

The namesake scenario involving two prisoners has been described ad nauseam on the internet, so I’ll provide a different example that I experienced firsthand.

While visiting family a few months ago, I was playing street basketball with my nephew. After seeing all the fun we were having, my niece and her two friends both wanted to play. Somehow we ended up with a game which involved picking them up one at a time to dunk the basketball into the net.

Dunk after dunk they each took turns playing. After each of the three girls had multiple tries at the game, they asked to play yet another round. I decided to try a harmless little experiment. I told the girls, who were no older than seven, that to continue the game I needed them to choose the order in which I should lift them for the dunk.

This did not go over well.

Rather than cooperating by agreeing on an order to play, they each “defected” and insisted they all go first. The result – all three girls received poor “payouts” and the game abruptly ended. Because they all wanted the best payout (going first) and they did not want to let the others have this payout, the result was a poor payout for all three of them (no one played) even though if they had gone one at a time, it would have yielded a better payout for all three of them. Thus, even small children are not immune to the Prisoners’ Dilemma.

What does little girls playing basketball have to do with Magic finance?

Well, have you ever spent ten minutes leafing through someone’s trade binder, pulling out all these exciting staples you’re looking to pick up, just to find out your trade partner wants retail values on their cards but cash value on yours? There are many sharks on the trade floors, and some are less subtle than others about their end goal. But if they are too aggressive, then you are most likely to walk away without completing a trade – a disappointment for both parties.

Here is what the 2x2 matrix of this simultaneous “game” looks like:

Just like the Prisoners’ Dilemma and the basketball game, the outcome here based on Game Theory is [tragically] the top left quadrant – players are so concerned with losing significant value on a trade that they themselves trade aggressively, seeking value. Even though two value traders could agree to “cooperate”, putting value second and mutual appreciation first, each trade partner wants to avoid loss in value and confidence and so they “defect” to the aggressive option. This is ultimately why it’s very difficult for two sharks to trade amicably.

So next time you find yourself unable to make a trade with someone because they are being aggressive, try taking a step back and figuring out if an amicable outcome is possible through cooperation. Sometimes an honest comment about your partner’s trade practice could be all it takes to break down the barrier.

Price Anchoring

I recently read about the concept of price anchoring in Dan Ariely’s behavioral economics book Predictably Irrational. In short, the concept of price anchoring suggests that when a person is unfamiliar with how to “value” a particular item, they are impressionable by a [potentially arbitrary] place to compare to. There are many examples cited in the book, but I’ll try to use a Magic example.

Without looking, what is the value of a Promo Foil Gaeas Cradle? If you have no clue, I bet I can influence your guess. Let’s say I showed you the only active eBay listing for this card at the time of this article:

If you really wanted to purchase this card, you would shop around at different sites and determine that anything less than $239 is a good price. For example, Star City Games is selling SP copies for $200. This seems like a great deal, especially because eBay prices are frequently cheaper than retail and not the other way around.

Now, let’s say you pulled the trigger on the Star City Games SP copies, since $200 seemed like a great price relative to your initial anchor, the single eBay listing. Well, perhaps we should have checked eBay completed listings before buying because we’ll see something rather surprising:

Uh oh…your $200 price doesn’t seem that great anymore does it? And even though someone did pay $239 before, we now see that this price is just ridiculous. If you had first done this search to establish your “anchor”, you may have thought that the $200 price tag at Star City Games was a bit high. Clearly if multiple copies of this card have sold for $160, this should be the card’s value. Now to consider buying any copy above that price seems like a losing concept.

This type of predictably irrational behavior can enable you to influence trades significantly. If you saw one of these Promo Gaeas Cradles in someone’s trade binder and they were unsure how to value it, you should theoretically show them these eBay completed listings first. You could say “well, at auction these have been selling for $160, so I can value it at $180 in trade”. If you looked up only active listings, your trade partner may be inclined to say “well, there’s only one left on eBay at $239, so I’d like a value around there”.

With the examples from the book I mentioned, combined with a Magic-specific example of my own, you may see how you could influence trade values. This won’t work with every trade – many traders know the value of their cards already (although this just means they have a price anchor from somewhere else already). But in the case where you can choose the price anchor (i.e. you get to pick which site you look up card prices for a trade), you may be able to honestly sway trades in one direction or another by referencing strategic price anchors.

Next Time…

The Prisoners’ Dilemma and price anchoring can both manifest themselves in the realm of MTG finance in different ways. Understanding these concepts and the rationale behind them can help us become more well-rounded traders.

These ideas are not meant to enable readers to bully their trade partners or “trick” them into believing misleading pricing information. The knowledge can instead be used defensively. That is, make sure you search a couple sites for pricing on a rare card. Don’t let yourself get pushed around in trades, but you also won’t benefit from doing the pushing yourself.

There are a couple more of these economic concepts I would like to discuss, but I’ve run out of room here. I petition my readers – would you like me to continue next week with part two of this article, or would you prefer I return to a more traditional topic? My readers are valuable to me, and so I will make sure I appease the majority with this decision. As always, thanks for reading!

-Sigmund Ausfresser
@sigfig8

To HELLion and Back again – Hyping Hellion Crucible in M13

Posted on July 17, 2012July 17, 2012 by Carl Szalich

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So I was just mentioning in the forums that I was surprised nobody was talking about this card:

Okay, where’s the downside?

What’s not to like about it? It’s a “free” 4/4 with haste, isn’t it? If it were a “come into play tapped” land, I could see it having a huge downside, but it still allows regular tempo should you need to play that T4 DOJ to survive and instead you rip a Seachrome…

At best (proliferate aside, even) it’s a T3 drop & charge, charge T4, crack T5 for a 4/4 … but that’s ONLY if you devote all of your time to charging it! And even then, if you have no plays T3-> 5 you really should just be thankful that you can get something that can threaten a Restoration Angel in a pinch. It may get even buy you that T6 to actually draw yourself out of your predicament. Pray for Terminus?

Not only good in RDW!?

Some people may initially look at it and automatically assume it’s something that would only be played in mono red aggro style decks. But what’s preventing it from being the finisher in a control deck? Or just being a supplemental 2-3x in Wolf Run right now?? UR Delver may appreciate this spicy little morsel to add to their arsenal, as it allows them to counter relevant spells, or if nothing is played add a counter EoT and with Hellion.

^ That right there is pretty awesome in itself: May not be able to make the air block on a Delver / Angel, but if either of them are left behind to block, they brunch & Mr. Hellion survives. There is nothing in the Delver deck that stands toe to toe with a Hellion token and survives solo. They pray for Vapor Snag I guess?

Why is this card good?

Here are a few points on Hellion Crucible that makes me really like it, exploring its potential:

It produces mana (untapped) the turn it comes into play. It’s almost even scary to drop this T3 and charge it vs control. They can’t counter a Hellion, after all…
It’s a mana sink for when you’ve got nothing else to do. It gives you plays when you'd otherwise "just say pass", preventing the Timewalk scenario.
It allows you to keep mana up and “trick” opponents: “Are you leaving that mana up to charge Crucible, or do you actually have a [burn / buff / counter] spell?”
It allows you to recover from their “massacre” effect. Your board is gone, but fortunately you’ve got a charged up Crucible to keep up your tempo.
Produces something out of nothing. It doesn’t cost a card in hand, just a few turns of activating for a big payoff (5 turn clock).
You only need to be playing 1 color, unlike the Innistrad lands where you need 2x. If you’ve got red in your deck, you can play this card. The more decks that can play it, the higher the demand for it.
It is a may effect. There is nobody forcing you to charge the Crucible if you have something better to do.
All kinds of Magical Christmas land scenarios, including but not limited to:

Popping more than 1 in a turn?
Copy effects like Parallel Lives / Doubling Season?
Them using up a Doom Blade against your token?
5 Lands. Crucible at 2. Pop crucible, play Phantasmal Image, swing 8?
DoJ on your turn, activate Gideon and Crucible, swing 10?

So many other good “combos” that really aren’t even combos, just good synergy with different styles of decks. And soooo many different decks can use him!

So what decks can use this right now?

To name a few:

R/U delver
Wolf Run
R/G Aggro
RDW
Boros / Hellrider Tokens
R/B Vampires

And that’s not including any R based control decks that may want to include it. It’s just so versatile it can be played in anything supporting an R in it’s CC.

Hey man, I’ve got 5 kids to feed!

A wise man once commented that “If none of the ISD lands are over a buck I doubt this will be there”. Ah yes, but we are forgetting that Wolf Runs were commanding a $3.50 premium, and Moorlands a solid Toonie (… $2) for a long time before falling into obscurity / market flood.

I agree that spending $1 each is a risk, and they could very well take the plunge to $0.25. BUT they could also be on some deck tech somewhere and / or some pro could release a blog post in praises harmonious with my own to make the card seem incredible and *BOOM* your chance is over.

Channel Fireball currently has these at $0.99 on TCGPlayer, and the cheapest is “the mana fix” @ $0.94. eBay is, however, looking grim for our hero with prices around $2.12 / playset being the norm. The auctions are going as high as $8 however, which is strange. BiN is at lowest $3.96 for 4x on eBay by ChannelFireball as well, so they must know something we don’t!

I hate it I hate it I hate it!

"Carl, you told me my Visions of Beyond were going to be worth something... they're not! I hate this card, and I hate you too!"

I wish I had the ability to see into the future and always offer you a sure thing on a silver platter, but speculating doesn't work like that. Even if you hate my pick, be sure to look at how it was that I came to my conclusions so that you can do so for yourself next time. Being able to evaluate cards for yourself is a skill that needs to be honed and practiced. You dont have to be perfect, just have a reason for why you think the way you do and see if it pans out. Look for things like:

Card playability (where will this card be used / does it fit into any existing decks?)
Card selection (Are other cards competing with this card for slots in decks?)
Price References (Other cards with similar effects went for X, so this should follow suit?)

Until next time, may your specs burst forth for you like a giant, writing, gold-plated hellion that you cheated into play a turn sooner by proliferating. (Because we all love to proliferate at times, yes? :))

Carl Szalich

[Editor's Note: The original article featured inaccurate information regarding Hellion Crucible and has since been corrected. We apologize for the mistake.]

Considering Booze Cube (21+)

Posted on July 16, 2012July 16, 2012 by Mark Hinsz

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Booze Cube Comprehensive Rules: 202.5. Taking a shot is a special action and does not use the stack.

Cube drafting has long been a staple of many Magic circles. You'll find people Cubing at almost any large Magic event, as well as at casual tables in your local game shop.

I've built my own Cube, encouraged others to build theirs and have played with powered, unpowered, pauper, multicolor only and DCI foil only Cubes. However, I was recently introduced to the concept of the Booze Cube when I heard about it on The Eh! Team Podcast: http://manadeprived.com/the-eh-team

The Booze Cube is a custom created Cube intended to be added to an existing cube and used as a drinking game: http://theboozecube.blogspot.com/

I think it goes without saying that there are some Magic players in the community whom, after they scrub out of a tournament having traveled to, will drown their sorrows at local taverns or karaoke bars. As a compliment to the ubiquitous "drunk draft", the Booze Cube offers unique Magic gameplay injected with instant fun and sorcery speed intoxication.

My good friend, noted author, and legendary degenerate gambler/drunk Mike Hawthorne recently was on the receiving end of a surprise Turquoise Jeep Records themed Birthday Party.

If you are unaware of Turquoise Jeep records then do your self a favor and:

For this party, I decided to print up the Booze Cube proxies and prepare to Booze Cube at the party. The print sheets can be downloaded and printed http://theboozecube.blogspot.com/p/download-print-sheets.html

The original idea of the Booze Cube is to add the cards to an existing cube, but I got to the party early and wanted to see how the cards worked so my friend Geoff and I decided to 1v1 Winston just the Booze Cube cards.

I assembled some pretty awesome cards such as:

Meanwhile, Geoff had Enchanted me with:

I beat him down a fair amount before he activated his:

By this time more people had arrived, and interest in the game had peaked as Geoff and I were giggling with semi-drunk laughter at the fact that Morningwood Seraph has vigilance (it just makes so much sense).

The Mechanics of the game are pretty straightforward. There are really only 4. Again, we consult the Comprehensive Rules:

200.1(a)(i). Drink. When drink is followed by an X, the specific number is undetermined. Like normal spells with X in their mana cost, X will take on a specific value when that drinking ability is put on the stack, and considered to have a value of zero when in other game zones.

200.2. Boozetouch
200.2(a). When a creature with the Boozetouch keyword deals combat damage to a player, that player drinks.

200.3. Intoxicated
200.3(a) Creatures that are Intoxicated deal damage to players in the form of drinks.

200.4. Drinkcycling
200.4(a) Drinkcycling is just like regular cycling, except that the cost to cycle is always drinking.

My friends Jesse and Martin decided to Winston and Jesse beat Martin with this combo:

My Booze Cube cube had somehow missed some cards, so I only had 171 at the party, which means we would be 9 cards short of drafting 4 people. We decided to 4 man draft the Booze Cube cards (no real Cube cards) and play out the matches 2 Headed-Giant style. Whenever I 2 Headed-Giant, I always seek out Eric Hawkins.

A story about why I love Eric Hawkins:

STORYTIME

The most lucrative Magic tournament I've ever won was 2008 Minnesota 2HG Champion with Eric Hawkins. At the time we were sponsored by a now defunct website mnmagic.com. For unknown reasons, the owner and proprietor the website selected local Magic players and paid for their tournament fees in exchange for wearing sponsorship Tshirts and using custom playmats.

After several free PTQs and other events, Eric and I entered the (free) 2HG State Champs. It was Llorwyn block sealed, top 4 team draft. I don't remember our decks being anything special other than Eric was playing little UW Kithkin and Merfolk with bounce, card drawing and counterspells, and I had big dumb Treefolk with removal. We went undefeated in the Swiss, drawing into the top 4 team draft.

During the draw round we got some food, and discussed the draft. Neither of us had 2HG drafted before, but I knew some of the other players that would be in the draft and knew their affection for drafting and playing blue. I told Hawkins "I think we should avoid blue". When the draft started it really didn't matter, we didn't open any blue cards, and didn't really get passed any. I was setup fairly quickly with Elves and Treefolk, while Hawkins took WRu cards. My deck had 2 Imperious Perfect and Incremental Growth. Eric had Stonehewer Giant and some equipment that I didn't read or understand.

We made the finals and were playing against Dave Yetka and his teammate Ben Berryman. Yetka did not disappoint my previous assumptions that he would be playing blue. He was, in fact, nearly mono blue.

Eric and I built up a bit of an army, but Berryman's Treefolk eventually stalled the board and Yetka dropped Guile. With the board still at a halt Yetka played Brion Stoutarm. There was some clash trigger that revealed the Incremental Growth on top of my library - which I knew would be near lethal if it resolved. I also knew there was virtually no chance Yetka was playing a Guile without counterspells, and we hadn't seen any yet.

Hawkins drew Stonehewer Giant for the turn, as I drew my Incremental Growth. Hawkins leaned over to me and said quietly "I think we just won". I played my Incremental Growth, which got countered by Yetka's Familiars Ruse bouncing his Brion Stoutarm, making Guile a 9/9 and Berryman's treefolk even more formidable walls. Hawkins played Stonehewer and smiled as it resolved. A couple of turns passed without much more action - eventually at the end of their second turn after Stonehewer, it gets activated, tutoring up and attaching Diviners Wand to the Giant. We untap, the Stonehewer gets flying and attacks for the win after a couple pumps.

The prize was 1 full year of free events from basically every Tournament Organizer in the Midwest. A limit of one per day. A couple of weeks later I went to a GP in Indianapolis. Our sponsor gave us $110 stipend for the trip, and because my events were free, I got to pocket the money for the entry fee (which the sponsor would have paid anyway) for the grinder on Friday, the GP on Saturday (I scrubbed out) and the PTQ on Sunday. All the events were sealed and I got to keep the cards.

I did this for a year.

Surprise, Surprise, that sponsorship arrangement didn't last long and there is no more mnmagic.com.

/STORYTIME

A story about why I HATE Eric Hawkins

STORYTIME

When I first built my (non-Booze) cube, it had a strong multicolor theme, and included a lot of mana fixing to support that theme. In one of the first cube drafts I can recall, I was playing against Eric and he played something like T2 Counterspell, T3 Woolly Thoctar, T4 Sign in Blood, T5 Plow Under. Eric doesn't really draft cards as much he drafts manabases. I've specifically added Magus of the Moon and Ruination, just because of the way he drafts my cube.

I hate him so much.

/STORYTIME

So, back to our 2HG Booze Cube draft. Its me and Eric versus our friends Jesse and Kyle. We finish our draft and I take a look at Eric's deck as he assembles it. I cringe because there's no mana fixing in the Booze Cube and the mana costs of some of his 3 drops are GGG and BBB. I roll my eyes and prepare to get mauled.

The game starts with little action until on Turn 3 Kyle drinkcycles

to play

I play some chump blockers and we take some hits from the 7/7 Disney Dwarves before I can finally

with kicker.

Things start to get fuzzy here for various reasons - but Hawkins eventually gets

and

in play enchanting Kyle.

So, whenever Eric drinks, we all drink, except Kyle, who has to drink 2x what Hawkins drinks.
A creepy smile erupts on Hawkins face as he plays

Hawkins untaps and plays

which allows him to drink instead of pay mana costs. He then proceeds to play

a bunch of other spells and then

causing Kyle to activate

before he succumbs to death by alcohol.

I love Eric so much.

The Takeaway

The Booze Cube is an absolute blast. My testing circle has started to design and implement some of our own cards. Our first one is:

Mike notoriously does not lose coin flips for money, so this is an ode to that.

Enough shout outs and name drops, go grab some Buds and Booze Cube.

(And draft the lands, cause they're broken)

Thanks for reading,

Mark Hinsz
@hinsz

Vampire Sunrise — Comboing with Vish Kal

Posted on July 16, 2012July 16, 2012 by Carlos Gutierrez

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My favorite cards are ones that can be used both proactively and defensively depending on what the situation calls for. Removal, Vapor Snag, and random creatures (especially with flash) are examples of cards with both offensive and defensive utility.

These cards are immensely powerful in one-vs.-one games where efficiency is key. But they don't generate a big enough swing in board presence or card advantage to be nearly as effective in a multiplayer game. To find versatility in multiplayer, you have to consider more expensive cards or be willing to do a little more work.

One of my favorite cards of all time can do a little bit of everything if you're willing to build your deck around it: Second Sunrise. Its obvious application is to counter sweepers, but it has lots of other uses too, as evidenced by the number of combo decks built around the card over the years.

A particularly awesome version of this strategy is the zubera combo deck. The deck aims to sacrifice changelings and zuberas alike and rebuy them over and over with Second Sunrise and similar effects. The combo generates tons of creatures, cards, life and other resources, before going infinite for the kill.

Zubera_Recycle — These aren't all the pieces but rest assured you will up to your ears in zuberas.

An engine like this is what makes or breaks a deck. Second Sunrise can always be used defensively, but in a shell like this it becomes a threat itself, capable of putting you in a dominating position.

This week I want to try to capture the feeling of Second Sunrise’s degenerate side without devolving into actual combo. This means finding sacrifice outlets that don't lead to infinite combos like Phyrexian Altar.

I think the best way to accomplish this is to use a commander that provides a sacrifice outlet and pack the deck full of value creatures in addition to the aforementioned [card Second Sunrise]Second Sunrises[/card].

The Blood Arbiter and His Minions

[card Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter]Vish Kal[/card] is perfect for this deck for a few reasons. First and foremost, he's a free sacrifice outlet whose ability (hopefully) won’t lead to many degenerate infinite combos. But he still offers the avenue we need to establish a board presence and generate value off of Faith's Reward and Second Sunrise.

The big question is what creatures we're going to sacrifice and reanimate. Here is my starting suite:

Horobi, Death's Wail
Solemn Simulacrum
Karmic Guide
Twilight Shepherd
Stoneforge Mystic
Bone Shredder
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
Bloodghast
Sun Titan
Rune-Scarred Demon
Fiend Hunter
Adarkar Valkyrie
Angel of Despair
Sheoldred, Whispering One
Reveillark
Puppeteer Clique
Harvester of Souls
Duplicant
Treasure Hunter
Teysa, Orzhov Scion
Cloudgoat Ranger
Nezumi Graverobber
Phyrexian Rager

There are a ton of interesting interactions here and not enough time to explain all of them. But I do want to touch on a couple of themes that show up repeatedly throughout the deck.

Unfortunately, a few infinite combos did creep in to the deck in spite of my best efforts to forestall them.

Sun Titan and Fiend Hunter let you make [card Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter]Vish Kal[/card] arbitrarily large and sweep away everyone else's creatures. Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and any creature with power less than or equal to its toughness can be rebought infinitely. You sacrifice the creature, let it undie, then put the counters from Vish Kal on that creature to reset it. There are, of course, also a billion things you can do with Reveillark, Karmic Guide and any free sacrifice outlet.

The more interesting half of the deck is comprised of value engines rather than combo pieces. Teysa, Orzhov Scion and Adarkar Valkyrie both combine with [card Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter]Vish Kal[/card] to great effect.

These interactions take over a game more subtley than the infinite combos. They build up to obscene turns in which you sacrifice your board, rebuy it with effects like Adarkar Valkyrie or Karmic Guide, and repeat the whole process with Faith's Reward.

These turns will put you far ahead on the board and draw a billion cards. They will also typically provide the resources necessary to do it all again the next turn and lock things up!

Cauldron Dance

The next thing we want to add is every version of Second Sunrise we can get our hands on. These are supposed to be the backbone of the deck: the cards that suddenly catapult you to your end game.

The downside of Second Sunrise is that it reanimates your opponents’ stuff, which prevents you from using it in conjunction with a sweeper to put yourself ahead. Fortunately, there are a ton of Second Sunrise variants that function specifically on your creatures. A higher density of these cards will enable you to use them liberally to protect your board or to generate smaller, cumulative advantages each turn.

Second Sunrise
Faith's Reward
Nim Deathmantle
Necromancy
Unburial Rites
Phyrexian Reclamation
Mimic Vat
Cauldron of Souls
Sword of Light and Shadow
Undying Evil
Cauldron Haze
Dawn of the Dead
Grim Harvest

Unfortunately, there are only a few really explosive effects here. Second Sunrise, Faith's Reward, Cauldron Haze and Cauldron of Souls let you do some incredibly unfair things, generating a burst of card advantage and board presence.

The rest of your tools are more grindy and attrition-based. They yield the same results, sometimes even outpreforming the mass effects, but only over the course of multiple turns.

Dawn of the Dead and Phyrexian Reclamation, for example, produce a steady stream of creatures and cards to pull ahead as the game goes longer. Even Necromancy falls into this category when you use it in conjunction with something like Twilight Shepherd or Sun Titan.

The best thing about the incremental value cards is that they let you avoid overextending into graveyard hate. You can keep rebuying one or two creatures and force the table to deal with that without dumping any extra resources into the inevitable Tormod's Crypt.

Keeping Things Cool

As with any deck that wants the game to go long, this one needs to prevent others from getting too far ahead. Fortunately, white-black has a ton of ways to keep the board under control.

Between these two colors you have answers to any kind of permanent, targeted and mass discard, and graveyard hate. My choices below are pretty generic, and intended to be tweaked depending on your expected field of opposition. You should be able to build a suite of answers custom-fit to pretty much any metagame.

Path to Exile
Swords to Plowshares
Austere Command
Grave Pact
Return to Dust
Martyr's Bond
Unmake
Nihil Spellbomb
Decree of Pain
Identity Crisis
Leyline of the Void

You may note the exclusion of powerful, all-purpose answers like Mortify and Vindicate. I don’t like to run these cards without a specific purpose in mind -- for example to answer Blood Moon in a five-color deck.

There's usually a better answer available for specific kinds of permanents. I've been a part of very few metagames that required an answer to actual everything. I'd rather run specific answers that are more efficient, like Unmake and Return to Dust.

Grinding It Out and Going Big

Generating small advantages over the course of many turns can be very effective. In a lot of cases, this is actually what determines the outcome of a game. Whoever survives the big exchanges of the game with the most resources intact will have a huge edge moving forward.

Unfortunately, people can disrupt your grindy engines. They can force you to waste valuable turns setting up all over again by destroying parts of your engine. In cases like this, you need bursts of cards, ways to dig for the tools not yet available.

You also need ways to kill people, which we haven't really addressed yet. Unless you plan on beating them down with Solemn Simulacrum, you're going to want a few big win conditions.

Skullclamp
Cradle of Vitality
Well of Lost Dreams
Promise of Power
Expedition Map
Increasing Ambition
Diabolic Tutor
Ambition's Cost
Ancient Craving

The most interesting choices here are Cradle of Vitality and Well of Lost Dreams, since both interact well with [card Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter]Vish Kal[/card] and especially well with one another.

Cradle of Vitality is a card I'm especially excited about, since it acts as removal, life-gain and a clock all at the same time! I really can’t get enough of cards like this, which are normally awful but can be made to accomplish so much in the right context. Finding gems like this is definitely one of my favorite aspects of brewing Commander decks.

After adding these, we have space for thirty-eight lands and some mana rocks to get Vish Kal into play more quickly, since this deck does hinge on him as a sacrifice outlet. After adding some light acceleration and mana fixing, here's the finished list:

Commander: Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter

Untitled Deck

Creatures

Sorceries

Instants

Artifacts

Enchantments

Lands

12 Plains

8 Swamp

The one thing that does disappoint me about this deck is the number of ways it can go infinite. I've often said that I'm not a fan of infinite combos, but each of the pieces are so awesome on their own that I'm loathe to cut any.

This is definitely a deck I could see keeping together for a long time. It's built around one of my favorite effects and has all kinds of cute stack shenanigans. Only time will tell if the infinite combos are too obnoxious, and which pieces need to be cut to eliminate them.

All said, it's a sweet list. If I elect to keep it together though, I may be obliged to add more [card Ashen-Skin Zubera]zuberas[/card]!

Next week I plan to explore one of the more linear commanders available, one I've wanted to try out for a long time. I keep making excuses not to build the deck, but I think it's about time to give [card Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero]Lin Sivvi[/card] the shot she deserves.

Carlos Gutierrez

cag5383@gmail.com
@cag5383 on Twitter

Insider: Comicon and the Coming Year In Magic

Posted on July 16, 2012January 17, 2022 by Douglas Linn

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I don't know how Comicon became the place to release all the news about Magic - GenCon would be the much more appropriate spot - but that's the reality and the Magic announcements just happened. This week, I'll be looking at the unconfirmed rumors about reprints, first-time prints and what we can anticipate from Return To Ravnica.

From The Vault: Realms

Currently, we've confirmed that the following cards are going to be in FTV:R.

With the following new art:

This obviously means that these cards will be worth less when the reprintings come out, and typically it results in about a 25% drop. However, these cards... aren't exactly that sought-after to begin with. While we are still free to speculate about Karakas being included as well, we haven't seen the Thunder Dragon, Mox Diamond or Berserk in this set, which makes me lukewarm on the whole thing. Those cards were all rare, expensive and hugely popular among casual players. Let's put it this way - if these are the lands they are spoiling to build hype, they have not done a great job. You've got, in order, a Lands.dec card, a mostly-dead combo land, a land for a boring tribe, an Oath of Druids engine, an actual 100% great land and then another corner-case land for a few playable decks. These don't scream "casual superstar" with the exception of Urborg. I'm sorry to say this but based on what we've seen now, this looks a lot more like FTV: Legends than FTV: Relics.

What this means financially is that if this set bears out more like Legends than Relics, it's probably not worth buying unless you have deep needs for several cards in it. Without knowing if Karakas is in it, we don't know if it's worth sticker price, but you're going to have FTV foil Glacial Chasms in your binder for years.

Duel Deck: Izzet vs. Golgari

First off, this duel deck has a new-art Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind in it. That means that the currently expensive dragon will dip in price. People love the Izzet guild, which did not get a fair shake last time in Ravnica. Sure, pairing aggressive burn spells with draw and counters can be intrinsically dangerous, but Izzet was nerfed enough to just be the joke guild; Goblin Flectomancer didn't help.

Golgari never had many fans because the Dredge mechanic so quickly outstripped the "fair" things that the guild was about. Their spells like Putrefy were great, but nobody really planned on hardcasting Stinkweed Imp... That said, G/B is a huge, huge, huge casual fan favorite. Look at the long-standing love of Rock decks and the current price tag on Pernicious Deed, despite seeing zero play. I foresee a lot of attempts at B/G Midrange when we Return to Ravnica, especially on the back of Thragtusk and Liliana of the Veil.

The Golgari guild deck is captained by Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord. You haven't heard of him because he hasn't been printed yet, but he is costed at BBGG, which is tempting. Ghost Dad, a B/W deck, could make Ghost Council of Orzhova appear with regularity in turn 4 and it had only Godless Shrine and Caves of Koilos to make the mana work. We don't have enemy painlands but we have something better - Woodland Cemetery and friends. If this Legend is worth playing, he'll be castable in Standard.

Financially, you should be picking up all of the enemy "check" lands from Innistrad that you can, if you were not already. Focus on the fan-favorite combos - B/G and B/W are solid bets. Remember that every color has access to checklands, but the friendly checklands have been printed over and over, while enemy lands have only been in Innistrad block - which will be out of print by the time RTR rolls in. Both of these decks have the potential for really nice allied reprints, too.

More (mostly irrelevant) Commander stuff

While MaRo said that we'll see more Commander decks because they were so popular (yay!), we won't have the next set until 2013 because they didn't plan them on their multi-year printing cycle. That means that we'll be getting a product called Commander's Arsenal, which promises new sleeves, oversized cards, dice, foiled regular cards and more. Only that last part - reprints of pre-existing cards in new foil forms - is really interesting to us. For the most part, nobody uses or likes the oversized cards (see: Helvault). Rosewater mentioned cards that had not been premium before, which means that they were not foiled. I interpret this to mean foil in any form, which cuts out things like judge-promo'd Sol Ring. This creates a very narrow band of Commander cards that people want in foil but cannot get already. Most of the pre-Urza sets aren't popular in Commander because they are too weak.

What you should know about Return to Ravnica

The guilds broke up at the end of Ravnica, but they're back now! RTR will consist of the following five guilds in a Big Set: Azorius (UW), Rakdos (RB), Selesnya (GW), Golgari (GB) and Izzet (UR). Golgari and Izzet are the two enemy color guilds in this set, so again - Sulfur Falls and Woodland Cemetery are your friends! Gatecrash is the second set and is also a Big Set, with the remaining five guilds. This has echoes of the previous Ravnica set because they are releasing the enemy guilds later. Enemy color combinations tend to produce some of the strongest cards in Magic - Vindicate, Pernicious Deed, Lightning Helix and more. I don't blame them for staging the stronger ones later so that they can do last-minute tinkering on the set before it goes to print. The final set is going to be a small set with all ten guilds.

None of the keywords are returning.

We've got confirmation that some form of Jace will be in RTR and Gideon in another form will appear in Gatecrash. Of the two, I reckon that Gideon will be stronger, since Jace gets intentionally shafted from now on. I'd also like to see any planeswalker in blue besides him, since I think as a character, Jace is getting a little tiresome. There will be two Planeswalkers in each big set, so there are two mystery mythics off the bat.

Prereleases are going to be guild-centric, with guild-specific packs, prerelease cards and dice. I can't say that I'm excited about much of this, but guild-centric packs are thrilling to me because I wager 99% of them will be opened. Collectors are going to want unopened packs and the unspoken question will be "should I open this Izzet pack and try to win my prerelease or do I hold this booster?" These will be super, hyper rare in sealed form. I expect more discussion on this when we find out more about the packs.

A word on buying sealed product on Ebay

Finally and unrelatedly, I must advise against buying sealed booster packs on Ebay that are not in sealed booster boxes. The reason is that you can "map" packs if you have about two cases of cards. What this means is that a person can set up an elaborate spreadsheet and attempt to pattern the pack-stuffing - it's not truly random. With enough time and cases, you can say things like "this pack will contain Snapcaster Mage" and be correct. When a person can predict where all the money rares are, they can, and do, dump the rest of the packs on unsuspecting people. This can mean that they get dumped on Ebay for incredible prices. Not every seller does this, but the threat is real enough that you should avoid buying packs individually. Look for the Wizards-branded shrink wrap on booster boxes that you'd like.

Leaving that dark note for a moment, let's talk more about RTR! Post your initial insights and reactions to these rumors in the feedback bleow!

Until next week,

Doug Linn

Ask Kelly – Snapcaster Mage, Restoration Angel and Fostering Healthy Trading Communities

Posted on July 13, 2012July 15, 2012 by Kelly Reid

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In this new series, Quiet Speculation founder Kelly Reid dips into the reader mailbag and brings answers that come from his Magic expertise, business experience and writing at Forbes. He answers questions on specific cards, general trends, the Magic lifestyle and more.

Each week, the winner of the best question will also be awarded a month of free Insider access. Already have Insider? Don't worry! You can give it as a gift or add it onto your current subscription.

Have a question? Ask Kelly here for your chance to win.

Q: With the titans rotating out of Standard, do you foresee any 5+ drops making it big?

- Ben from Singapore

Kelly: The titans were absurdly powerful for their cost. 6-cost cards need to be really game-breaking to see constructed play, and the Titans were all good enough to suit.

Primeval Titan was clearly the best, but that was due to interactions outside the card itself. Without Valakut, Inkmoth Nexus and Kessig Wolf Run, Primeval Titan got a bit less scary. That said, the whole cycle was innately powerful because it affected the board immediately, both with the ETB ability and the 6/6 body.

That's generally the standard to which I hold a high cost card - how heavily does it affect the board when cast? The first card that comes to mind is Sigarda, Host of Herons. She meets all the criteria - the Sacrifice clause has a direct impact on the game since a lot of the best removal is based around the "edict" mechanic and she's a 5/5 flier for 5 mana. While she is not nearly as devastating as a Titan is, she comes down a turn earlier, flies, and is far harder to kill once on board.

Griselbrand has already proven that he's a beast, but not in the traditional hard-cast sense. A lot of the fatties in Standard will enter via Unburial Rites rather than the tapping of lands and paying of mana costs, so I doubt there will be many that make the cut as frequently as Titans did.

Q: What do you think about speculation on sealed mtg products like displays, FTV and Commander Decks? What are the pros and cons compared to single cards? Can you get more money with the same cash invested?

- João from Portugal

Kelly: Sealed products are a really interesting gamble. It's rare that you'll get a big return on investment. Even the most valuable sealed products don't do more than double up in a few years. Considering there's no real guarantee they'll appreciate, nor a guarantee there will be a market for them, I'm not big on the strategy.

That said, I am a professional seller and not a casual player, collector or investor. I'm much more interested in a quick 15% rather than a long 50%. Booster boxes are usually fine to throw in the closet for a few years, especially from popular sets or short-printed sets. I know I'm fine sitting on a case of AVN for a while since it was one of the most popular sets in recent memory and is PACKED with great cards.

On the other hand, I may end up cracking those boxes for singles since, in the short term, I can turn over all the singles with ease for a quick margin. It comes down to your personal goals and timelines. Single cards are more versatile, but more work since you have to sell each card individually. A box can just go up on eBay and you're done.

This Week's Winner:

Q: What can a person do to help foster a new store's trading community? A local store has just started FNM and gets 12-20 people, but no one seems willing to trade. Last FNM, I sat at a table with a binder open and no one even came to look or ask if stuff was for trade. Is there anything to do to show people trading is fun/ok? I know they need cards, as the store doesn't have a good selection yet.

- Jim from Pittsburgh

Kelly: First, spread the word about QS! Hopefully you brought our M13 Cheat Sheet to your prerelease, but, if not, bring one to the Launch Party. The more people that feel comfortable trading, the better.

Second, don't be "That Guy" who tries to value-trade everyone with dealer prices. People aren't dumb and they hate people who do that, since it doesn't foster a trading community at all. The problem I see is that you sat with a binder open, but you didn't ask anyone if they wanted to trade. Trading favors the proactive. Most people are not proactive, so you need to be the one to initiate the trade interaction.

Trade to trade, not to profit. I find that working on a Cube or Commander deck is the best way to trade for fun, since slinging Standard staples is basically just a value-grind for me. Have a list of stuff you need so people know what to do when they trade with you. A lot of people just don't understand the idea of trading for its own sake, and, if they do, it might just not be their style. I have seen a lot of people stop trading because of wanna-be sharks and "value" traders, so be especially sensitive to this.

If the store has a poor stock of singles, it will benefit everyone if you become a go-to guy for the stuff they need for FNM. Give people your contact info and tell them to hit you up if they ever need anything.

Above all, be personable, friendly and approachable. You can make your margin while trading pretty fairly, but right now focus on transactions just to get people opening up their binders.

Want more? Become an Insider to unlock the answers to the following questions and gain access to:

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Curious? Learn more about the Magic Card Market and our 111% Guarantee.

Q: What is your opinion on Snapcaster Mage? It seems that it's power level will be much weaker come rotation, should we be dumping them now and picking them up when the price settles?

- Felix from Chicago

Q: Kelly, where do you see Restoration Angel's price going after Birthing Pod rotates? Do you see Delver sticking around with Seachrome and the Swords gone?

- Pete from Ohio

Q: If you could unload any card en masse right before Columbus, what would you want to trade away/sell?

- Michael from Miami

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Insider: Ask Kelly – Snapcaster Mage, Restoration Angel and Fostering Healthy Trading Communities (+Bonus Insider Q’s)

Posted on July 13, 2012January 17, 2022 by Kelly Reid

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Each week, the winner of the best question will also be awarded a month of free Insider access. Already have Insider? Don't worry! You can give it as a gift or add it onto your current subscription.

Have a question? Ask Kelly here for your chance to win.

Q: With the titans rotating out of Standard, do you foresee any 5+ drops making it big?

- Ben from Singapore

Kelly: The titans were absurdly powerful for their cost. 6-cost cards need to be really game-breaking to see constructed play, and the Titans were all good enough to suit.

Q: What do you think about speculation on sealed mtg products like displays, FTV and Commander Decks? What are the pros and cons compared to single cards? Can you get more money with the same cash invested?

- João from Portugal

This Week's Winner:

Q: What can a person do to help foster a new store's trading community? A local store has just started FNM and gets 12-20 people, but no one seems willing to trade. Last FNM, I sat at a table with a binder open and no one even came to look or ask if stuff was for trade. Is there anything to do to show people trading is fun/ok? I know they need cards, as the store doesn't have a good selection yet.

- Jim from Pittsburgh

Above all, be personable, friendly and approachable. You can make your margin while trading pretty fairly, but right now focus on transactions just to get people opening up their binders.

Q: What is your opinion on Snapcaster Mage? It seems that it's power level will be much weaker come rotation, should we be dumping them now and picking them up when the price settles?

- Felix from Chicago

Kelly: Snapcaster Mage is a "forever card", but you're right - it does lose some power in Standard once Ponder, Mana Leak and Vapor Snag leave the format. No one is going to get excited over Snapcaster'ing back an Index (which won't see much play), and Snapping a Rewind doesn't really get me going either.

I'm going to withhold my judgment on Snapcaster's power level until I see R2R, which I am guessing will have a very high power level. The only instant in M13 I'm interested in targeting with Snapcaster Mage is Vile Rebirth - 1UB for a 2/2 and a 2/1 seems very powerful at instant speed, and it can also deal with opposing Undying type creatures. Even if graveyard hosing isn't a primary objective, plenty of guys will die on both sides to warrant this interaction.

Snapcaster Mage's price has been steadily dropping. They are around $17 right now, but can still trade around $20. I see no upside, barring something totally insane in R2R, but I wouldn't be eager to "dump" them. They're still commodity staple cards which means that they trade with high liquidity. I would not go 'overweight' on them since there's only downside but I don't think we're going to see the price drop sharply.

Remember that supply is about finished - Innistrad isn't going to be widely available for much longer. Foils will hold their value and non-foils will probably stabilize around 15.

Q: Kelly, where do you see Restoration Angel's price going after Birthing Pod rotates? Do you see Delver sticking around with Seachrome and the Swords gone?

- Pete from Ohio

Kelly: That card is insane. Birthing Pod has almost no bearing on its price. The Delver decks are wholly to blame. Restoration Angel is one of the most powerful things you can do for four mana right now, especially considering the context.

The real question is, will Delver still be a deck? The answer is a resounding "yes". It will be slower without Seachrome Coast unless they bring back Hallowed Fountain, in which case mirror matches will be over in a blink. I can foresee the choice of whether to play your shock lands untapped becoming a major factor in match outcomes. Delver decks that only use Runechanter's Pike have seen plenty of success, so when every deck loses Swords, Delver loses very little.

The real loss other than Seachrome Coast is Vapor Snag. The tempo loss can be replicated by Unsummon, but the extra damage added up very quickly. Vapor Snag can be, and was, responsible for between 2 and 5 points of damage in a given game. Restoration Angel's price should be offset by the promo, but it isn't. You just can't get this card for under $11. I don't know if it can sustain that price, but Avacyn Restored has come and gone. I think it's a $10 card for life.

Q: If you could unload any card en masse right before Columbus, what would you want to trade away/sell?

- Michael from Miami

Kelly: I can't really think of anything I'd want to get rid of, but I think Modern cards are much harder to find than most people realize right now. I haven't seen a ton in trade binders lately, so I'd actually do the opposite - I'd be bulking up my Modern stock for the GP.

The decks and cards that perform well at the GP will be the first lists people look at when Modern becomes a PTQ format again, likely this Winter, so take note. There's still a long time until the PTQ season, so Columbus is a great opportunity to trade out your Modern staples at competitive prices. You'll have at least 4 months to restock!

Most of the rotating cards from Standard have already had their prices slashed, so the window of opportunity there is closed. The Scars lands are not far from being good pick-ups at this point, to be honest, but I'd wait until R2R so we have a better idea of what things look like. The Scars lands will make a nice compliment to shocks in Modern for certain, so we may even see a surge in demand for them at the GP.

The Return of Rancor

Posted on July 12, 2012July 12, 2012 by Mike Lanigan

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Every once in a while a card comes along with the potential to define entire formats. Wizards has recently reprinted a card of this caliber from the murky dark ages of Magic past. It will be almost certainly be a powerhouse in aggressive Standard decks. It may even be good enough to break out in Modern.

The card I speak of is, of course, this one:

For some time this iconic aura has been the standard against which other auras were measured. In recent years we may have stopped comparing auras to Rancor, but that is only because they all pale in comparison to power-boosting equipment.

In my opinion, Rancor is the best aura ever printed, and probably always will be. Those of you who have never played with or against this card may doubt my resolve, but rest assured it is stronger than it looks.

Last weekend I lost the only match in which my opponent played a Rancor, which reminded me just how powerful it is. He basically just played some mediocre green dudes but Rancor let his little creatures trade with my big creatures before helping his big creatures kill me.

In Standard, Rancor has many applications. I don’t think this card will spawn a new deck on its own but it makes quite a few decks better.