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Insider: Modern – Red and Gold

Posted on by Stephen Moss

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As I've been writing this series, I've often found myself wondering if it was ever going to actually be a series that held long term value. Until recently, the Modern format was nothing more that rumors and hopeful whispers, and I knew I was taking a risk just publishing the series if the format never actually came around. You can imagine how happy I was to see the official announcement, and the subsequent price spike in a number of Modern cards, some I listed, some I didn't either because I overlooked them, or they were in sets more recent than Lorwyn.

None of the cards from Lorwyn - New Phyrexia should have shocked anyone. We all knew what the money cards from that era were going to be, and many of them still held their value during the off season. I've had at least one person ask me why I didn't include cards from that era, so there are probably 10 more people asking it as well, just not directly to me. They weren't included because the peak buying time (for us) had already passed once everyone was mass selling after extended season, or the cards are still seeing use in standard, and therefore have a price above where I would be interested in getting in as an investment.

While very few cards on the banlist surprise me (mental misstep came as a bit of a surprise), it's now rather clear that the price on Jace 2.0 rests entirely on his use in Legacy. This isn't a bad thing, since you sold yours off ages ago, and if you bought them during the banning selling spree you sold them again once you were back in profitable range, right? Well, hopefully so, otherwise you've got some long term Legacy staples you've invested in. Don't worry, I have every confidence that they will continue to rise, it may just take a while.

Alright, the last two sets of cards to go, though sadly I have a feeling that good cheap deals will be harder to come by now, but lets see what we can find.

Red

Arc Slogger - A solid card that has seen a large amount of play. It may be too slow for the format now, but we'll see after the Pro Tour.

Low: $0.21 @ The Card Nexus

High: $0.30 @ AnyCardUSA

Trade: $0.15

Trash for Treasure - Easy way to drop in an early Blightsteel Colossus? Combo piece? Either way, I'll risk less than a quarter on each one.

Low: $0.15 @ 3rd Coast Cards

High: $0.23 @ Manawerx

Trade: $0.10

Pulse of the Forge - The burn spell that keeps giving back. It lost some of it's power with the removal of mana burn, but it's still a very capable spell in its own right.

Low: $0.39 @ Untapped Resources

High: $0.56 @ AnyCardUSA

Trade: $0.25

Zo-Zu the Punisher - A favorite from the old days, used in combination with efficient burn and mana denial. I would trade for them, unless we catch word that the card shows up in a couple of weeks.

Low: $0.33 @ Manawerx

High: $0.40 @ The Mana Fix

Trade: $0.25

Through the Breach - Semi-Sneak Attack cards are a decent bet, but I wouldn't go deep on these. If you can find a large quantity of them for 0.20 or under, I would get a set or two.

Low: $0.30 @ Thp Deck Hobbies

High: $0.49 @ +EV Games

Trade: $0.20

Thoughts of Ruin - More mana denial, and saw some play. Again, I'll bet less than a quarter each.

Low: $0.16 @ The Card Nexus

High: $0.24 @ TJ Collectibles

Trade: $0.15

Hunted Dragon - Usually saw play as a 2-of in red decks, and has some room to grow. This is one of those cards you would get a couple of just to trade off for value, not necessarily to hold for investment.

Low: $0.43 @ Top Deck Hobbies

High: $0.66 @ AnyCardUSA

Trade: $0.30

Char - Signature burn spell from its era, seeing it this low makes me happy. If red can do well, it will most likely be with 4 of these somewhere in the 75.

Low: $0.30 @ Manawerx

High: $0.44 @ ChannelFireball

Trade: $0.25

Rakdos Pit Dragon - With as many mana accelerators as we currently have at present, I wouldn't be shocked to see some All in Red strategies pop up, and this guy could find himself gaining some ground. At over $1.00 each though, it's safe to just trade for them rather than buy them.

Low: $1.48 @ ShuffleandCut

High: $1.74 @ Top Shelf Games

Trade: $1.00

Braid of Fire - Priced higher than I expected, the removal of mana burn works in our favor here. It's a huge mana generation machine that comes down on turn 2. Look for copies in folders, since I advise not buying them.

Low: $3.44 @ Top Shelf Games

High: $3.98 Amazing Discoveries

Trade: $3.00

Dragonstorm (Timeshifted) - Lots of dragons, lots of mana production cards, and an immense amount of single blue mana search effects. This is a card I'm willing to watch. The banning of Bitterblossom (to make spellstutter sprite less effective) and Mental Misstep helps the dragonstorm combo deck quite a bit.

Low: $1.85 @ The End Zone

High: $1.99 @ SuperGamesInc

Trade: $1.25

Greater Gargadon - There have been a few rumors floating around about the Gargadon, and I would be foolish to not at least take note. While I don't believe he has tons of room to grow, I think there is enough to warrant having a set on hand to trade away.

Low: $1.01 @ Premier Magic

High: $1.41 @ AnyCardUSA

Trade: $0.75

Bogardan Hellkite - See Dragonstorm combo deck comment.

Low: $0.95 @ Premier Magic

High: $1.62 @ Empire Cards

Trade: $0.50

Magus of the Scroll - I notice a trend here, and that trend is that all of the awesome red cards so far have been priced to a point that if red is a major player, you almost can't lose.

Low: $0.18 @ TJ Collectibles

High: $0.23 @ Manawerx

Trade: $0.10

Boom // Bust - Continuing with the trend, this card saw a decent amount of play in the old extended season, and in zoo. Zoo being a deck I hear is doing quite well in testing.

Low: $0.20 @ Gamers Sanctuary

High: $0.38 @ XtremeGames

Trade: $0.25

Magus of the Moon - Ah, finally! A red card that is priced for how good it is. Much like Blood Moon, this has gone up recently as people look for ways to fight modern mana bases.

Low: $2.72 @ The Only Game in Town

High: $3.30 @ adventuresON

Trade: $2.50

Pyromancer's Swath - Without Minds Desire in the format, it comes down to other storm cards to help this card reach higher prices. Trade for them, but don't horde them.

Low: $0.25 @ Top Deck Hobbies

High: $0.47 @ TJ Collectibles

Trade: $0.15

Gold

Loxodon Hierarch - After going through the gold cards, the common theme is that G/W is a really strong color. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw it being played this upcoming weekend, considering all the tools it has access to, including this guy. Don't buy yet, but keep your ears open.

Low: $0.95 @ Pasttimes

High: $1.29 @ Hotsaucegames

Trade: $0.50

Voidslime - Fair price on a great card. I'm not sure U/G of U/G/X has the rest of the tools necessary to make this card rise more, but I would be actively trading for them.

Low: $1.77 @ Cape Fear Games

High: $2.80 @ Cape Fear Games

Trade: $2.00

Hide // Seek - Almost criminally under priced in my book. However, it's something of a situational card. If there is a deck for it, expect it to go up.

Low: $0.68 @ AnyCardUSA

High: $0.76 @ Premier Magic

Trade: $0.50

Mystic Enforcer (Timeshifted) - Another great G/W card. Mixed with Knight of the Reliquary, threshold shouldn't be too hard to hit quickly.

Low: $0.22 @ Hobby Goblins

High: $0.48 @ Alter Reality Games

Trade: $0.20

Dralnu, Lich Lord - U/B control is good in standard, can it be good in Modern? Not sure, but if it is, Dralnu will be there too, though most likely as a single copy.

Low: $0.23 @ adventuresON

High: $0.34 @ Crossroad Games

Trade: $0.20

Gaddock Teeg - Wanna stop combo and control strategies? Play GW apparently. Another tool in the box, and Teeg always sees some play at some point. He's a safe investment in my books.

Low: $1.81 @ Top Shelf Games

High: $2.53 @ Premier Magic

Trade: $1.50

Sygg, River Guide - Merfolk is almost completely ported over, lacking a few cards. Sygg at 0.21 is almost a steal, but zoo may be the better aggro deck.

Low: $0.21 @ Hobby goblins

High: $0.39 @ Crossroad Games

Trade: $0.15

That's all for this week. After the Pro Tour I'm going to reexamine this entire series and see if some money was made, and where the misses for the area's I've covered were. See you next week!

Stephen Moss

Unloved and Loved Up

Posted on by Neale Talbot

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A couple of things today, so let's get into it.

Criminally Underutilised Commanders

There are almost 500 possible commanders for Commander. Many are insanely popular: [card Erayo, Soratami Ascendant]Erayo[/card], [card Zur, the Enchanter]Zur[/card], [card Rafiq of the Many]Rafiq[/card], [card Ulasht, the Hate Seed]Ulasht[/card]. But I want today to give a shout-out to the unloved options who could do with a leg-up in the big bad world.

Asmira, Holy Avenger: Asmira is just begging to be broken by some Johnny somewhere. There are any number of permanents dying to be on the field with Asmira: Juniper Order Ranger (perhaps with Greater Good and a Woodfall Primus), Eldrazi Spawn tokens, Blade of the Bloodchief, World Queller, Birthing Pod, Matryr's Bond, Mycoloth, etc. Asmira isn't as flashy as Jenara, Asura of War, who can become a one-woman army and certainly requires to be built around to get the counters going, but I'm sure with a little love and a little effort she could become a house.

Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile: Brigid is a highly political commander as she can effectively shut down a board, especially when supported by cards that kick her ability into overdrive. A Stoneforge Mystic package that included Basilisk Collar, Quietus Spike, Scythe of the Wicked, Umbral Mantle and Gorgon Flail turn Brigid into a death machine, and Thousand Year Elixir would turn her into a machine gun.

With control over the attack phase, regardless of attacking or defending, you can then get to the real business of forcing alliegences until you're ready to crush everyone under your tiny lady feet.

Chainer, Dementia Master: Black rarely has any mana troubles, so getting repeated use out of a pretty powerful effect should be no problem. And it is powerful. Nnot constrained by sorcery speed or your own graveyard, Chainer is happy to ruin The Mimeoplasm's day by ripping the creatures right out from under him, or even stealing an Eldrazi with the shuffle trigger on the stack. There also happen to be a number of useful Nightmares to use, including Faceless Butcher (whose exit-the-battlefield trigger is Oblivion Ring style abusable), Mesmeric Fiend, and of course Nightmare, the first fattie I ever recall playing.

Diaochan, Artful Beauty: The third lady on our list, Diaochan is an interesting choice. The obvious route is to find a way to grant your creatures indestructibility (with cards such as Darksteel Plate) or with repeatable bounce effects such as Crystal Shard (if your playgroup will let a mono-red deck run it). Even on her own, though, you get to play an interesting game of politics, with people able to trade around the creature destruction without necessarily hitting Diaochan herself. Often, in Commander, the enemy of your enemy is your friend, and the ability to throw the pain around can get you pretty far.

Frankie Peanuts: Okay, almost no play group will let you play with Un-cards, but I think Frankie should be the exception to the rule. He is a pure political card and can denude the plans of the sneakiest players with one smart question. There are the simple questions - if I do X, will you do Y, the tricker ones, such as "do you have a counterspell", or even trying to combo with cards such as Cursed Scroll (worst combo ever?). I really like the ability, even though there ulimately is no downside if people don't abide by their answer (a "lose the game" clause would of been fantastic), and I hope some playgroups are willing to try him out.

Isperia the Inscrutable: Isperia is an odd duck. There are certainly enough great Sphinxes, all with flying, to make a Sphinx-themed deck. You'd be missing Magister Sphinx Ā ("The Flying Wrecker"), Sphinx Sovereign, Sphinx Summoner, Enigma Sphinx, Sphinx of the Steel Wind and of course Sharuum, the Hegemon, but that might make the deck a little more acceptable than a straight Sharuum deck. There are quite a few cards that work well with Isperia, including Telepathy (the one-drop enchantment most likely to get you killed), Gitaxian Probe, Peek, and others,, making Isperia one heck of a tutor machine. A Zur for 6-drop flyers might not be competitive, but it sure sounds like fun.

Hokori, Dust Drinker: What can you say about Winter Orb on a stick, other than it needs to be played with World Queller. After all, there's no reason why White can't build a prison deck that works as well (or better) than the many blue prison locks. Linvala, Keeper of Silence, Humility, Ghostly Prison, all can add up to one beating for opponents. Plus, have you seen the artwork on this thing? It's a giant dust-cloud with teeth that eats the world. Basically, it's The Nothing. Don't you want to have The Nothing as your commander?

Lovisa Coldeyes: I'm not sure why I'm keeping track, but Lovisa is the fourth female commander on this list, and she's fantastic. There are a zillion Barbarians, Warriors and Beserkers in red in Magic's history, and the pressure this commander can place on opponents is fantastic. Barbarian Riftcutter, Godo, Bandit Lord, Jeska, Warrior Adept, and Khamal, Pit Fighter would all love to roll out with Lovisa. Haste is entirely underrated in Commander, and effectively giving every creature in your deck haste can lead to some savage beatings.

Mangara of Corondor: I've not seen anyone use Mangara as a commander, but I don't understand why. He seems perfect: spot removal when you need him for anything on the board. Highly abusable with bounce effects (in response to the trigger), he could become a very competitive commander indeed. Some Quicksilver Boots with a Whitemain Lion, and you're half-way to destroying your opponents lands every round (I'll leave you to figure out the other half, but be sure to tell me in the comments). Mangara is a commander I can see exploring further and I'll be sure to come back to him in the future.

Maralen of the Mornsong: I know, I know, the first thing people tutor up when Maralen hits the board is removal. Which is why she needs real support, be it Shroud or Indestructible-granting equipment, to be out Ā sort of recursion engine, or simply getting down on your knees and begging your opponents not to kill her on sight (though as soon as you tutor for Cabal Coffers you deserve to be kicked). Although the colours are not in sync, if you could find a way to get both her and Mindlock Orb or Stranglehold then you'd be able to lock them out of games, for less mana than Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir/Knowledge Pool. Just saying.

Marrow-Gnawer: Rats. Could you have this as your commander and 60 Relentless Rats? Sure! But there are more fun things to do than that (although that is pretty fun, especially if you have a way to access Thrumming Stone). There are over 40 (non-changling) rats to choose from, and although many of them stink, there are a few Commander staples in there (such as Crypt Rats, Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni, and Nezumi Graverobber) but many rats could take a second look, such as Locust Miser, Okiba-Gang Shinobi and Throat Slitter. Marrow-Gnawer can get out of hand very quickly, sometimes even faster than Rhys the Redeemed, although he does require playing out other rats, unlike Rhys, so your mileage may vary.

Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker: Lady number six, and a stealthy one at that. Again, you might pair her up with a prison strategy (utilising Karmic Justice, Hokori, Dust Drinker as mentioned earlier, Rule of Law, and Armageddon) or simply an aggro strategy that can really bite back. Actually, looking back at what I've written so far, I realise there's one heck of a white prison deck in the making, starting Mangara as the commander and utilising the other Legendary creatures as backup, perhaps with Emeria Ruins for recursion and topping out with Yosei, the Morning Star. Actually, forget I ever spoke of it. Nothing to see here, move along.

Reki, the History of Kamigawa: Reki just screams "build around me". The spells don't even have to be creatures, just Legendary to get the card-drawing trigger. The downside is you actually have to play them, not merely have them enter the battlefield, but as a card draw engine he must clearly be nuts. There are over 120 Legendary Green cards, Land cards and Artifact cards, many of which you're already playing in your green decks. Surely there's something a little broken about drawing a card off playing Gaea's Cradle, then tapping it for Kamahl, Fist of Krosa and drawing yet another card. Reki is the type of commander you have to get off the board quickly as a deck built around him will bury it's opponents in card advantage. Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger and a card? Mindslaver and a card? Kozilek, Butcher of Truth and five cards? Ok sure, probably overkill, but you get the picture.

Toshiro Umezawa: That's right, the other Umezawa. The black sheep of the family, so to speak. You know, I'm pretty sure there's one thing black is pretty good at, and that's making sure opponents put their creatures into the graveyard. Having this guy out basically doubles your removal, and although he can't flashback a Demonic Tutor, he can certainly flashback a Vampiric once. I've happily used Dralnu, Lich Lord as a commander even with the downside, and Toshiro, properly built around, may well be a step up, considering you don't have to tap him to trigger the ability, and your opponents will be happily killing each other's creatures as well. Worth whil thinking about.

Urabrask the Hidden: Maybe it's because he's so new to the Commander Pantheon that I haven't seen him all that often, but he does seem like a fantastic red commander. Haste? Yup. Good power/cost ratio? Yup. Griefs opponents? Triple-yup. With a little backup he presents the real option of killing via commander damage, when normal damage just ain't good enough, and like Thraximundar opponents can't afford to forget about his very real presence even when off the board. You get a lot more bang for your buck when you pay the extra 2 mana for Thraxi, but the speed of Urabrask isn't to be denied.

Zo-Zu the Punisher: A 33-mountain pressure deck with plenty of land destruction (Avalanche Riders, Goblin Ruinblaster, Stone Rain, Molten Rain, Pillage, etc) could be a lot of fun with this little commander. Of course, the effect isĀ symmetrical, so you just need to ensure you're placing more pressure on your opponents than they can place on you. With some fast-mana artifact support you can help punish those decks that like to ramp via lands or play heavy fetchland-based manabases. Six damage for fetching that shock land? And oh look, I just played Blood Moon; but that's the way Zo- Zu rolls, I guess.

So there you have it, some ideas for commanderss who could be great, if given half the chance.

Twin Decks

Lately I've been playing with a commander that's very, veray rarely played. I've had some fun with a Brothers Yamazaki deck I play alongside @leet32 in the MtGO casual rooms and I think well built, fast red decks are pretty underestimated.

Here are the decks we've been playing:

'Brothers Yamazaki (The Younger)

Commander

1 Brothers Yamazaki

The Rest

1 Akroma, Angel of Fury
1 Bend or Break
1 Kamahl, Pit Fighter
1 Goblin Bombardment
1 Farsight Mask
1 Chain Lightning
1 Hero of Oxid Ridge
1 Blood Moon
1 Spinal Villain
1 Godo, Bandit Warlord
1 Word of Seizing
1 Conquering Manticore
1 Varchild's War-Riders
1 Torchling
1 Obsidian Fireheart
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Dwarven Blastminer
1 Hoard-Smelter Dragon
1 Moltensteel Dragon
1 Sol Ring
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Price of Progress
1 Pyrostatic Pillar
1 Changeling Berserker
1 Tenza, Godo's Maul
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Oxidda Scrapmelter
1 Dragonmaster Outcast
1 Goblin Bushwhacker
1 Sulfuric Vortex
1 War Elemental
1 Stuffy Doll
1 Rakdos Pit Dragon
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Goblin Guide
1 Leyline of Punishment
1 Hostility
1 Mana Crypt
1 Goblin Wardriver
1 Mana Vault
1 Furnace of Rath
1 Gauntlet of Might
1 Ember Hauler
1 Chandra Ablaze
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Mana Flare
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
1 Shattering Spree
1 Cyclops Gladiator
1 Slash Panther
1 Fervor
1 Gamble
1 Devastating Summons
1 Fumiko the Lowblood
1 Magus of the Moon
1 Ruination
1 Reiterate
1 Urabrask the Hidden
1 Mind's Eye
1 Rage Reflection

Lands

1 Teetering Peaks
1 Smoldering Spires
1 Strip Mine
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
30 Mountain

'Brothers Yamazaki (The Elder)

Commander

1 Brothers Yamazaki

The Rest

1 Disintegrate
1 Chandra Nalaar
1 Banefire
1 Shattering Pulse
1 Duplicant
1 Taurean Mauler
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Mana Flare
1 Blood Moon
1 Chandra Ablaze
1 Obsidian Fireheart
1 Vicious Shadows
1 Pyrohemia
1 Comet Storm
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Hellkite Charger
1 Scourge of Kher Ridges
1 Temple of the False God
1 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
1 Spine of Ish Sah
1 Volcanic Fallout
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Demonfire
1 Red Sun's Zenith
1 Twist Allegiance
1 Mind's Eye
1 Explorer's Scope
1 Stuffy Doll
1 Bend or Break
1 Stalking Vengeance
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Hunted Dragon
1 Leyline of Punishment
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Doubling Cube
1 Obliterate
1 Molten Rain
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Maze of Ith
1 Fissure
1 Devastation
1 Sol Ring
1 Journeyer's Kite
1 Varchild's War-Riders
1 Pyrostatic Pillar
1 Farsight Mask
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Goblin Bombardment
1 Pillage
1 Starstorm
1 Decree of Annihilation
1 Karn Liberated
1 Earthquake
1 Reiterate
1 Chain Lightning
1 Insurrection
1 Knollspine Dragon
1 Stigma Lasher
1 Magus of the Moon
1 Gauntlet of Might
1 Gauntlet of Power

Lands

1 Tectonic Edge
1 Spinerock Knoll
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Wasteland
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Forbidden Orchard
1 Strip Mine
25 Mountain

Clearly the two decks are meant to be played together, and the combination Blood Moon effects, Land Destruction, and Pyrostatic Pillar can put some decks in very awkward positions. The Younger Deck is much faster and often gets the first beats in. The Elder deck is slower but better suited to controlling the board. When they tussle it's usually inevitable for the Elder deck to beat the Younger (as you go after your opponents together, first, but the outcome is by no means settled.

The decks, which work together superbly, got me thinking about other commanders you might want to pair together. I'd love to see a Balthor the Defiled / Balthor the Scout set of decklists as I imagine they'd work wonderfully together. If you've put two themed decks like that together, I'd love to know about it.

Hopefully next week I'll unveil a razor sharp competitive green deck, but with the From The Vault:Legends" coming out and Inninstrad just around the corner, there's an awful lot to talk about. Is that enough hedging? I sure hope so.

Call Inferno | CommanderCast S3E12

Posted on by CommanderCast Derp

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Nine volunteers, two hosts, and one ridiculous podcast: it's CommanderCast's second call-in episode! In a rapid-fire roulette of listener topics we cover a broad range of topics, from the art of pimping decks to playing Commander in German pubs. It's a change of pace with tons of new voices, a battery of awesome ideas, and yet still has that usual Community, Strategy and Technology you expect from the show. A huge thanks to our callers for making our second call-in episode another success!

There's a ton of awesome links from this podcast. If you don't check out the full notes over atĀ http://commandercast.blogspot.com/ then you're totally missing out. There's all sorts of sweet stuff over there!

You can find this week's full show notes here.

Clock the button to play, or download the entire episode!

Insider: Value versus Price

Posted on by Guest Author

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By: Matt Lewis

The relationship of price to value is slippery. Value is subjective while price is objective and measurable. Value is innate to a card, while price is the market's attempt to quantify that value. The trick to successful speculation as a value investor is to identify when there are large gaps between value and price. When this is true, there is opportunity for a profitable investment. Every card on MTGO has value, but not at every price. Similarly, at a given price every card has value.

Following careful analysis of a particular card and its potential, one can make an investment decision. If prices are far below what the value of the card is, then it's time to accumulate that card. On the other hand, if prices are far above the value of the card, then it's time to start selling that card. If one doesn't own any copies of the card there's nothing to be done but wait for circumstances to change.

As an example, Visions of Beyond is a new card printed in M12. Its initial price at the start of the online pre-releases is around 3 tix*. This card does not have much value as an investment at the moment because it is well understood. It is a conditional Ancestral Recall, the most efficient card drawing spell ever.Ā  This is a case of players being optimistic about a new card's potential, while downplaying the conditional aspect. For there to be value in this card as an investment, it must turn out to be better than people originally think. That is a tall order for a card compared to Ancestral Recall. When looking for value as an investor, it can be found in cards that are over looked or out of favour, and Visions of Beyond is neither at the moment.

A value investor will re-evaluate such cards in the future. It is easy to imagine the conditional aspect of Visions of Beyond turning out to be too cumbersome. In that scenario, it turns out to be worse than players imagined.Ā  This results in it losing appeal as a playable card with a subsequent decline in prices. When prices fall it's time for value investors to pay attention. As prices drop, a value investor will consider whether the market has started mispricing a card. When the market swings from euphoria to despair, value investors see speculative opportunity. If Visions of Beyond does not see play in Standard in the coming months, and prices fall to under 1 tix, it will begin to have some value.

Warren Buffett was faced with an illustrative situation in the 1990's. Market prices for dot com stocks swung wildly around as the tech boom rolled out. A new paradigm seemed to be taking over in business and the stock markets. Companies without a cent of revenue had astronomical stock prices. Everyone believed there was a lot of value in the dot com stocks and their prices reflected that. Buffett did not agree. He did not have a good sense of how to determine the value of a dot com company. Any company he did not understand was inherently a risky prospect as an investment. He declined to take any positions in them at any price.

Meanwhile, prices on dot com stocks rose higher and higher and the returns Buffett saw on his old economy investments languished in comparison. He was derided as being 'out of touch' and 'old fashioned'. However, the dot com boom was followed by the dot com bust in the early 2000's. The crash reflected a realization that the new economy had not yet arrived and that many companies would never earn any money. A rapid realignment of value and prices occurred, and Buffett went back to being the 'Oracle of Omaha'. He had stuck to his analysis, stayed away from dot com stocks, and bided his time. Buffett's confidence in his knowledge and patient outlook allowed him to preserve capital while others lost fortunes.

This lesson illustrates that it is important to understand and be comfortable with one's investment strategy. Value investing has a proven track record but it can be hard to implement value strategies. Taking investment positions that are contrary to what the market is doing can be challenging. Without a firm confidence in one's analysis it is easy to be swayed by market sentiment. It takes courage, discipline and sound judgement. Buffett did not make a penny off of dot com stocks, but he didn't lose a penny either.

Hunting for Value on MTGO

Due to the fluctuating standard metagame, decks come in and out of fashion on a regular basis. This results in cards rising and falling in price. Rarely does a single deck dominate for an extended period, so a shifting standard environment is something a value investor can rely on. This feature of Standard constructed play means that symmetric card cycles are a great place to look for value. Cycles with a lot of utility such as dual lands are particularly good for this.

Since the banning of Jace and Stoneforge Mystic, there have been large moves in the price of Scars of Mirrodin (SOM) dual lands. Currently, Seachrome Coast is cresting, but previously Darkslick Shores and Blackcleave Cliffs have seen spikes in price. Right now, Copperline Gorge and Razorverge Thicket are priced at a large discount with respect to the other SOM duals. At their current prices of 0.33 to 0.50 tix they hold some value. A low price relative to other, similar cards is a good starting point for an investment. Further analysis is required before taking a new position though.

When making an investment, it is important to get a sense of the downside risk. The current price of Copperline Gorge and Razorverge Thicket are at all time lows for constructed playable, non reprinted dual lands. The chances of them falling further are near zero. The upside potential sees them at 1.50 to 1.75 tix, which is the recent peak for the other SOM duals. In the short term, both the Gorge and the Thicket hold value at their current prices. This is enough to take a position in these cards moving forward. However, the analysis is incomplete without extending the time horizon.

Long term, the potential of these two cards is harder to judge. Innistrad is still unknown to us, and it is possible that there will be a new cycle of dual lands in that set that outclass the SOM duals. This would put a crimp in demand and limit the upside potential of the SOM duals. However, it is also possible inferior or even no dual lands at all are printed.

In that case, SOM duals will be essential to the Fall Standard environment. This would neatly coincide with a reduction in supply as limited play moves on to Innistrad. Under this scenario, SOM duals would have a floor of around 1 tix, and a probable ceiling of 2.5 tix. In that range, the whole cycle has value at current prices, but it is a gamble. Stick to minimizing risk until better information is available. Regardless of what Innistrad brings, Copperline Gorge and Razorverge Thicket fit the bill as a value investment.

*Prices current as of July 28th, 2011

Motivation Cycles

Posted on by Mike Bajorek

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There comes a time for all artists when they are challenged to even begin a project. With or without incentives like money are fame, sometimes it is downright difficult to start work on a new project. Instead, the artist will find themselves sitting idly, thinking about each step of the process and how much work it will take, or perhaps contemplating that they would rather not begin the same process over again. This malady takes on many names. Gamers will be familiar with the term ā€œburnoutā€, internet people will call it ā€œdemotivated", parents would perhaps lean toward ā€œlazyā€. Today we learn to accept the fact that a lack of motivation is part of a natural cycle that can be applied to other aspects of our lives.

The cycle begins anew...

The cycle that I am about to explain can be applied to many things from our hobbies to our friendships and even romantic relationships (*ahem* Especially romantic relationships). We'll put the context of this particular explanation with painting.

The first step is romance. This is the stage in which we first aquaint ourselves with an idea, or inspiration. This generally occurs when you begin brainstorming and have a great idea for that next great work of art. This is the best idea ever, nothing could possibly go wrong...until the second step, reality. In the reality step, we have put a little more thought and time into our idea, and have found one or two slight obstacles. The obstacles may be easily overcome, or may be difficult, either way we have noticed that a once perfect idea has fallen from grace.

This takes us to our third step, reaction. In this step we take action to overcome whatever obstacles are in our way. Sometimes this is researching certain techniques, other times it is simply putting brush to canvas. By confronting these obstacles, we find that we are better than them and able to overcome them, or that we are not up to the task. Oddly enough, both outcomes lead to the same fourth step which is resistance. Overcoming enough obstacles, or failing to do so, will result in a resistance to try again. We will either not feel up to attempting more challenges as the process is getting wearisome and dull, or we will shy away from more failure. This is the stage in which burnout will occur. Luckily, resistance is only stage four of six, and herein lies our hope.

The time at which we think about stage four is when stage five, reflection, begins. We look back and attempt to make sense of our decisions to begin and complete whatever project we have attempted. We rationalize these actions by trying to remember the motivation that begot the idea in the first place. We now begin to remember the excitement of having a fresh new idea, and cant wait for the next one to occur, which naturally starts us brainstorming it. This is the last stage, renewal. In this fever of excitement grows a brilliant new inspiration, the best idea ever, nothing could possibly go wrong...

The cycle begins anew...

As I said, this is a natural cycle in almost everything in our lives. It is helpful to remember this when we are in the resistance stage. It helps us to think more rationally and perhaps remind us to take some time off instead of quitting completely. There is no shame in taking time off of a hobby. In the end, this should be something fun, not work. Just make sure that you are responsible with any commission you may have taken on, and finish them before taking a break. Thanks for reading!

-The Painters' Servant

Twitter: PaintersServant

Email: Mbajorek02@gmail.com

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Cheaper: SCG Richmond 19th

Posted on by Joshua Justice

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With Magic 2012 recently hitting MTGO, we finally got hard data on what the new metagame looks like, which you can see over on TCGPlayer. I dislike Caw-Blade and Valakut, and I utterly refuse to play monored into Timely Reinforcements, so I was set on playing Pyromancer Ascension and built the deck on MTGO myself. After going something like 3-5 in 2-man queues, with multiple losses to garbage mill decks, that plan quickly evaporated, leaving me without a deck.

After writing that article, I decided that I'd just play Bant Pod since I hadn't played it yet. After looking at the decklists I realized that Venser, the Sojourner was not that good, and replaced him with more Phantasmal Images and Phyrexian Metamorph, giving the deck a much better non-Pod plan.

Untitled Deck

main

4 Birds of Paradise
3 Llanowar Elves
3 Phantasmal Image
3 Viridian Emissary
3 Sea Gate Oracle
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Acidic Slime
2 Sun Titan

targets

1 Blade Splicer
1 AEther Adept
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Archon of Justice
1 Razor Hippogriff
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

spells

4 Preordain
4 Birthing Pod

lands

2 Tectonic Edge
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Seachrome Coast
5 Forest
2 Island
1 Plains

sideboard

3 Natures Claim
3 Flashfreeze
3 Memoricide
1 Swamp
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Lone Missionary
1 Acidic Slime
1 Sylvok Replica

The sideboard looks like garbage, and that's because it is. Obstinate Baloth and Lone Missionary come in against aggro decks, while Acidic Slime comes in against every control deck and Valakut. Sylvok Replica comes in against anything where its ability is relevant, and is much better than Viridian Corrupter since it can beat a Splinter Twin. The Swamp+Memoricide suite comes in against Twin, but not against Valakut on the draw. I'm not yet sure whether it should come in against Valakut on the play, but I think planning on Sliming them out is the better option. Nature's Claim comes in against Twin and Hawkward, but nothing else. Flashfreeze is for Valakut and RUG decks. It might be an option in the Pod mirror, but I think I'd rather load up on the artifact removal.

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn is the only Eldrazi Titan I own, and it comes in against the mill decks that people are playing. Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre and Kozilek, Butcher of Truth are both technically better options, but I decided that the chance that I draw it against mill wasn't worth spending the cash to buy the actual card. I turned out to be correct since I never boarded it in.

What comes out is typically a mishmash of what's bad against various decks: AEther Adept vs Caw-Blade, Obstinate Baloth against UB Control, etc.

So, with roughly 5 hands of goldfishing and 8 or so preboard games (X-1) against Caw-Blade alone, I sat down essentially cold with the deck in Richmond and prepared to crush some face.

Round One: Eric Williams, mono-White Emeria
This is essentially a Caw-Blade deck without permission, making it even worse than normal Caw-Blade. Day of Judgment is a serious problem, and must be played around.

Game 1, he cast a Day of Judgment killing 3 of his Squadron Hawks and a bunch of my creatures, including a Viridian Emissary. I forgot to get my 5th land and stalled out on 4, rendering me unable to use Acidic Slime to blow up his Emeria, the Sky Ruin in time to avoid losing the game. This would have given me a straightforward win and I blew it.

Game 2 I utterly crushed him with a fast Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite via Birthing Pod.

Game 3 I had lots of green creatures which promptly failed to do anything to his Mirran Crusader carrying a Sword of Feast and Famine and I died before I could get anything to save me from the sudden beatdown.

The missed trigger would haunt me for the rest of the day, since it was entirely my fault, and save for Mirran Crusader the deck should have been a very easy matchup.

0-1 (1-2)

Round Two: Jordan Wicht, UB Control (7-2, 25th place)
I cannot emphasize how ridiculously easy this matchup is. Not only does a super-fast Birthing Pod guarantee victory, they can't even beat you in the long game since any win condition they play will be duplicated or even triplicated on your side.

Game 1 I beat him down with Viridian Emissary and Sea Gate Oracle all the way to 9, at which point Solemn Simulacrum joined the party off the Pod and I drew a concession shortly after.

Game 2 was more of the same: mana acceleration into Sea Gate Oracle beatdown until a Blade Splicer and Solemn Simulacrum joined the beatdown thanks to Birthing Pod, and he couldn't do anything to stop me.

I have to give him props for sticking it out and making top 32 despite the 0-2 start.

1-1 (3-2)

Round Three: Matt Price, Caw-Blade
Another great matchup, as there isn't much Caw-Blade can do to beat you. Emeria Angel is a prime Pod target, and your mediocre fliers (Razor Hippogriff) really shine here.

Game 1, I mulliganed twice on the play and didn't have very much difficulty beating him at all, cracking for 13 in a single swing after Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite decreed my victory.

Game 2 was his turn to mulligan twice, robbing him of even the slightest chance of winning. I laid down some beatings with Sea Gate Oracle and a pair of Viridian Emissary, right up until Birthing Pod guaranteed that his Inkmoth Nexus/Sword of Feast and Famine setup couldn't steal a win from me.

2-1 (5-2)

Round Four: Andrew Berke, RUG

I have creatures. He has creatures. I have Birthing Pod. He has... uh... yeah. Not a good matchup for him.

Game 1 we had a bit of a staredown early as none of our creatures could break the stall, but eventually my Sun Titan+Misty Rainforest engine resulted in every basic land being pulled out of my deck, letting me outdraw him long.

Game 2 featured one of the most amusing early turn sequences of the day. His turn 2 Lotus Cobra was followed by a Cunning Sparkmage, which killed my Llanowar Elves. I then cast Phantasmal Image as a Sparkmage and took out his. He went deep into the tank on his turn, finally deciding to pay 4 life to Act of Aggression my Phantasmal Sparkmage, putting it in the graveyard. It wasn't enough to save him, as he got short on mana and I beat him down some with Solemn Simulacrum followed by Archon of Justice.

3-1 (7-2)

Round Five: Dustin Allen, Valakut
Valakut's a rough matchup for Pod. It's not unwinnable, but it definitely isn't favorable. If they have the fast draw on the play you pretty much can't win, so your game plan has to be to set yourself up to win when they don't have it.

Game 1, I was on the play, and kept a sketchy hand that would have been much better if I'd drawn a second land before turn 3. Instead, my play was:

Turn 1 Birds of Paradise
Turn 2 Phantasmal Image copying Birds of Paradise
Turn 3 Phyrexian Metamorph copying Birds of Paradise
Turn 4 Acidic Slime his Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

Long story short, I managed to blow up all 4 of his Valakuts with some shenanigans, including blocking two of his creatures with Phantasmal Image copies of other creatures so I could chain them with Sun Titan, with the last one being an Acidic Slime to get the last one.

Game 2 he had a somewhat slow draw, but I couldn't outrace him with a mere 2 Viridian Emissaries once he got there, and that sent us to game 3.

Game 3 I fanned an opening hand of Island, 3 Preordain and a bunch of expensive cards, and decided to ship it... and shipped myself all the way down to 4 cards and a 3-2 record.

3-2 (8-4)

Round Six: William Haas, Valakut
Another Valakut matchup, I was afraid this would knock me out of the event. However, his build was slower and more consistent, which gave me time to beat him.

Game 1 his maindeck Nature's Claim and Solemn Simulacrum provided his only real interaction, as I raced him and let my Obstinate Baloth and Wurmcoil Engine keep me out of danger.

Game 2 I may have killed myself with my Birthing Pod activations in an attempt to aggressively get to Slimes, but I think if I hadn't done that he'd have gotten a second swing with his Primeval Titan to kill me anyway, so it's hard to say.

Game 3 he kept a hand with 2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle and a Pyroclasm and didn't draw any lands before I got to Acidic Slime, giving me the match.

4-2 (10-5).

Round Seven: Arthur Reynolds, Br Vampires
Vampires is capable of utterly blowing out Pod with a fast start, but any sort of grinding creature staredown should result in Pod's favor thanks to Viridian Emissary and Sea Gate Oracle.

Game 1 I was on the play and led off with 3 mana dorks in the first 2 turns, followed by a turn 3 Sun Titan. He didn't have the Doom Blade, but his Lightning Bolt for my Phantasmal Image slowed me down for a turn. It wasn't even close.

Game 2 he had Vampire Lacerator, 2 Viscera Seer, and a Kalastria Highborn. That wasn't even a game so much as it was a thrashing.

Game 3 I took advantage of my extra Obstinate Baloth to drag the game out a bit, and when his swarm got too massive, I dumped Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite on the table, leaving only his Vampire Outcast. Three turns later, he was completely dead.

5-2 (12-6)

Round Eight: Elizabeth Eames, GW Little Kid
We've got a pile of similar creatures that just stare at each other on the ground unable to do anything, but I've got Birthing Pod and a pile of clone effects, whereas she has Mirran Crusader and... apparently no equipment.

Game 1 was the ultimate ground stall, with neither of us able to do remotely anything. Her Oblivion Rings took out my Birthing Pod and Archon of Justice, leaving us essentially playing "draw, clog the board some more, go" for a long time until I finally drew a Wurmcoil Engine, cloned it 3 times the following turn, and hit her with all 4 Wurmcoils.

Game 2 I had a fast curve and quickly ran her over despite her Dismember. She gave me a faster win than she should have by casting Oblivion Ring on my Phantasmal Image copy of Sun Titan instead of the original, letting me return it as AEther Adept and bouncing her only blocker, letting me get in for exactly lethal.

6-2 (14-6)

Round Nine: Austin Whitehead, UB Control
He offered me the draw, but I couldn't take it as I went into the round in 33rd and a draw would put me at 19 points with miserable tiebreakers due to the early losses. (Looking at the final standings, a draw would have put me in 35th, so I didn't dreamcrush him for nothing.)

Game 1 I beat him down with Llanowar Elf and Sea Gate Oracle, with him doing a whole lot of nothing all game long.

Game 2 he had Mental Misstep for my mana dork, and landed Torpor Orb on turn 2, shutting off half my deck on the spot. My hand was particularly bad against it, but after consulting with a judge to confirm that my clones still worked as I expected (since they're not triggered abilities), I played a turn 3 Blade Splicer and began the beatdown. On turn 4 a Sea Gate Oracle joined the beatdown. Once he got to 10 life, he cast Black Sun's Zenith to kill them both, and I cast another Sea Gate Oracle and cloned it.
All told, the 3 mana 1 power guys got there for 12 over the course of the game before I got a Wurmcoil Engine in under his countermagic.

7-2 (16-6), 21 points, 56.5035 OMW% put me in 19th place.

Things to Note

I was returning Phantasmal Image with Sun Titan all day long. Doing it once is usually going to end a game, doing it twice pretty much ends it the next turn

The deck is really good against control, to the point where if it gets more popular, the control decks are going to be very hard-pressed to do anything.

If you're playing 5 clone effects, Birthing Pod isn't actually necessary. You can win without it, and it's not even all that hard. Remember Next Level Bant from last year? Play it like that. Pod is your Jace, the Mind Sculptor, and that deck could win even if it didn't draw Jace.

Against decks with artifact removal, consider cashing in 3-drops for Phyrexian Metamorph copying Birthing Pod to give you a spare. Against Caw-Blade this is huge, since it lets you jump from Acidic Slime straight to Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite via Wurmcoil Engine in a single turn - one of the more backbreaking plays available in this format.

Hold your clones! If you're ahead on the board or the creatures are stalemated, there's little reason to try dumping them on the board. You're going to find yourself wishing you'd kept them when you see something bigger - like the quadruple Wurmcoil Engine game I had against GW Little Kid.

Stacking clones to Acidic Slime someone out of their lands is an entirely feasible way to win. Punish people for keeping bad hands or playing decks with bad mana.

Don't forget that Archon of Justice can exile lands - this is occasionally relevant against Valakut, but can matter elsewhere.

Conclusion

Bant Pod is the real deal, and the numbers suggesting that it's the best deck in the format might not actually be too far from the truth. Being able to utterly crush the control decks is a great place to be right now, and I plan on sticking with the deck for the foreseeable future.

Joshua Justice

@JoshJMTG on Twitter

Compiling Champions of Kamigawa, Pt. 2

Posted on by Douglas Linn

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We are hot into the second half of Champions of Kamigawa this week. Though the set had less power than Mirrodin, it was still full of interesting cards. The set even has a few power uncommons that I bet you didn't know about... no, I'm not talking about that damn Top! Let's take a look at the rest of the list, starting with one of those unlikely money cards!

Lava Spike

For players assembling burn decks, a maximum of efficient burn is required. This is one of the few cards that will deal three to the head for only one mana without any other conditions. Lava Spike is simply essential for an effective burnout. On top of that, the card is a Common! Can you believe that? These are highly desirable in four-packs on Ebay.

$1.50

Marrow Gnawer

Bulk rare, right? Apparently, people love Rat decks. I'm just as surprised about this as you are. Throw in some Swarmyards, some Cutthroats, and if you don't know what else to play, toss in Relentless Rats! Marrow Gnawer has fearsome abilities (sorry) and his Legendary status makes him a great Commander general. I have no idea how a Rat deck would function in the high-powered world of Commander, but someone out there is playing this guy. It's evident by his price, in fact, that lots of people are playing him.

$3.50

Meloku, The Clouded Mirror

Meloku, the aircraft carrier. The flier that brought an army coming and left one on his way out. The scourge with Fastbond. Meloku was simply the best threat in Champions for a long time, because he trumped all the Dragon Legends. Nice Keiga, I'll swing with two fliers. You swing back? Make a dork, disregard your Dragon. Meloku is so good that he saw play in Vintage! Meloku was also such a great threat because he came down a turn earlier than the Dragons did, which meant that you could hold up countermagic or start an early attack.

Amusingly, Meloku is misprinted in Spanish and makes 2/2 tokens. As if he wasn't good enough!

$1.50

Minamo, School at Water's Edge

I love that Wizards pushed the boundaries on nonbasics with cards like Minamo. It doesn't come into play tapped and in most formats, you will never suffer for playing it over an Island. Minamo and company offer a slight benefit for a really great requirement ā€“ all you have to do is play a deck full of legends, which is totally cool anyway. Minamo is convenient for getting another use out of your Tolarian Academy or double-dipping with Captain Sisay. It also untaps all the other Legendary lands from Magic, meaning that your Okina can double-pump a guy. Not bad! As a blue land with cool functionality, Minamo is a Commander staple. I can only see its price going up.

$2.25

The Myojins

Once relegated to the scrapheap, the Myojins have found a second life because of Commander. Now you have a realistic shot of making an invincible Armageddon dude or drawing 21 cards at once. The Myojins also see rare play in Legacy because they are a useful stepping-stone in an awful Food Chain deck. I lumped them together because they are all about the same price and hey, even I have limits on how much I can talk about a card.

$1.00 ā€“ 2.00

Nezumi Shortfang

This guy is potent not for what he says, but for what he does not say. This rat has no clause that plagues discard creatures: it does not say ā€œplay this only when you could play a sorcery.ā€ Shortfang can punk someone in their draw step, before they could even toss out that land they drew. Of course, the limitation on it is that once you draw them down completely, he flips into a much less interesting creature. Shortfang saw a lot of play in the Gifts-focused Standard environment, where it battled with Jushi Apprentice for solid two-drop power and hand-size authority. It is still a popular card, since it accelerates the usually-glacial win conditions in discard decks.

$2.00

Ryusei, the Falling Star

Ryusei didn't exactly get screwed for abilities, but he's still only fourth-best when you are evaluating Dragons from the set. Ryusei blows away creature swarms and I tend to think that he's one of the best Commander sweepers around. He doesn't draw the immediate caution that Yosei does, but he has a huge effect when he dies. Nuking all the ground-pounders is enough to dissuade a combat-happy opponent from swinging into the red monster. Unfortunately, this means that Ryusei is best utilized for guard duty. When there's nothing around to block, he gets in for five in the air. Did I mention that he's very easy to splash into?

$1.75

Sensei's Divining Top

Most of the design mistakes that make it to print in Magic are the result of R&D tampering with a card and then not giving it sufficient testing time. Top was one of those cards (as was Skullclamp and Jitte). They had not realized that Top drags games out, especially with Sakura-Tribe Elder and Kodama's Reach providing shuffling. Thanks to its draw ability, Top couldn't even be killed easily. If it sacrificed to draw a card, Top would be much more fair, since opponents could plan to nuke it. The current way to get rid of it involves Krosan Grip or fizzling some spells out. Top combined well with subsequent Fetchlands and really shone with Counterbalance, making it a scourge of Extended and Legacy. Top sees much less play these days than it used to, but it still commands an impressive price tag for an uncommon. Top will forever see play in Commander, even when Mental Misstep makes the Top less relevant by the week in Legacy.

$11.25

Seshiro, the Annointed

What more could you want in a Snake Lord? All your Summoning Swarms become Call of the Herds and your snakes get a little bit more like their Weatherlight cousin (Ophid being the Latin term for the class of serpents). I'm not sure there are enough playable snakes to make a Commander deck, but once you get this guy out, those Snakes get straight upgraded. This, like Marrow Gnawer, is a card that so many people will happily bulk out for a dime to a dealer. Don't be that foolish!

$1.75

Shizo, Death's Storehouse

When a number of Commander games are won on the strength of general damage, Shizo is critical. The super-swamp makes anyone's commander much more likely to sail through, right to the head. Shizo is like Minamo in that everyone in its color wants to play the card.

$1.50

Tatsumasa, The Dragon's Fang

We saw some interesting equipment in Mirrodin, but Tats was the first equipment I saw that was truly awesome. It was a Legendary artifact, the first equipment of its kind. This was a killer sword, and it even turned into a blue dragon! If you killed that Dragon, the Sword would just roll right back into play. People had to bounce it or exile the token to stop the sword from summoning the spirit, over and over. For Dragon collectors, Tatsumasa its the bill, and it is great in a deck with Godo, Bandit Warlord. An all-around fun card.

$1.50

Yosei, The Morning Star

I know White has been rebranded to be a taxing effect in an attempt to make it suck less. Yosei is the best example of how this power can work, and he is a soulcrushing effect. If you have played Commander for awhile, at some point Yosei has locked you out with Debtor's Knell or Volrath's Stronghold or Genesis, or a thousand other ways to get the Dragon back. If you played Standard, the monster might have shown up in Greater Gifts, a deck that would play Greater Good and monsters like this guy. Greater Good created an easy sacrifice outlet that often drew a player into another Yosei. If it came with a Congregation at Dawn, you would see three of these coming out over the course of a few turns, which is absolute hell. Yosei has stood the test of time like no other Dragon from the set, for good reason. Yosei can take games that are unwinnable and break them wide open in a single turn. It is a potent card that I hope we don't see a reprint of for awhile.

4.25

Thanks for joining me as we step into the Japanese-themed Kamigawa block! The spirit war continues next time with Betrayers of Kamigawa. Join me then for another look at money cards!

Until then,

Doug Linn

Weekly Financial Roundup

Posted on by Kelly Reid

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Brian Grewe - Selling Your Cards

First of all, congratulations to Brian on his upcoming top pair. Ā Selling the cards is a tough decision, but itā€™s wonderful that he can now support his growing family off MTG. Ā Thatā€™s fantastic. Ā Onto the article - His opening concept is solid. Ā He defines a minimum acceptable goal - Standard staples only. Ā The conditioning guide is great for newer traders who could use a good primer on the subject. Ā I get asked about condition a lot, and Iā€™m still pretty awful at grading on sight. Ā Bonus points for nailing it on ā€œMintā€ condition. Ā Doesnā€™t exist.

The methods are all very thorough and serve as a great walk-through for a meticulously organized process. Ā Itā€™s a very basic concept at the core, and it was explained flawlessly. Ā The article is great for newer traders, granted. Ā Paradoxically though, they wonā€™t have a collection large enough to warrant such rigor. Ā I suppose there are some people with their old collection, now worth hundreds/thousands, that could use such advice. Ā Regardless, well-executed and to-the point.

Chas Andres - Go Down Gambling

Paging Mike Hawthorne; someone wants to discuss gambling. Ā Chas Andres used to write for us, so to see him writing on a site like ChannelFireball is fantastic. Ā I automatically love everything he writes, so this summary might be biased. Ā The intro paragraph is absolutely gripping, not something youā€™d expect from a Magic article.

The actual topic of the article is yet another subject Iā€™m often asked about. Ā Personally, I agree with him: stay away from betting on eBay collection lottery tickets. Ā Itā€™s too easy to make money by running that scam if youā€™re dishonest, and I donā€™t trust most eBay sellers innately. Ā He breaks down the risk factor very well, but I do wish heā€™d share his algorithm with us. Ā Ā The ā€œDeckmasterā€ bit is hilarious, because itā€™s so true. Ā I was surprised he was considering paying $3000 for that collection, since its clear the seller has a history of fraud. Ā Just donā€™t fall for it. Ā Another gem from Andres this week.

Jonathan Medina - Gen Con Trading Report

First of all, props for eschewing sleep for writing. Ā Thatā€™s dedication. Ā The call on Torpor Orb is spot on. Ā I was grabbing them all weekend. Consecrated Sphinx though? Ā Come on, man. Ā Youā€™re telling us to get in at $10-15? Ā Old news. Ā The sad part is, though, it has every shot in the world of going to $20, so heā€™s actually 100% correct. Ā Heā€™s right in that Shock Lands are a bubble. Ā I know dealers have been hoarding many hundreds of each, so itā€™s going to burst. Ā I just donā€™t see a full set of Shocks being necessary to Standard. Ā Thereā€™s no mention of the price bias in the favor of Dissension Shocks,which is crucial information to the uninformed.

He gets the ā€œHoldā€ call on Dark Confident right as well, since everyone who got in at <$25 is already up a great deal. Ā Iā€™m suggesting a sale once deck lists start appearing without him, but hold if heā€™s in lists off the bat. Ā Itā€™s a short piece, but for one written during GenCon, when he should have been trading, itā€™s very accurate.

Kelly Reid

Founder & Product Manager

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Insider: GenCon 2011 – A Trader’s Report

Posted on by Corbin Hosler

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All I can say is, ā€œWow.ā€

Iā€™ve never been to a large convention, so after I received a pass for ā€œthe best four days in gamingā€ (otherwise known as GenCon), I knew I was making the 13-hour drive to Indianapolis. What I didnā€™t know is what I was in store for.

I can assure you that GenCon lived up to its lofty aspirations, and I was only there for two full days. I took a camera along with me to try and take some snapshots for you guys, but the camera I was loaned turned out to be more ancient than my not-picture-taking phone, so weā€™ve got some grainy images instead! Pretend theyā€™re supposed to look like that.

I went to Indy with a simple goal ā€“ to trade well enough to cover the costs of the trip. If I was able to turn a profit that would be great, but the first step was not losing money on the trip.

Needless to say, there were some fun hijinks and fun experiences throughout the weekend, and Iā€™m here to recount them all for you. Iā€™ve also got some tips from the floor regarding what cards were hot, which were overpriced, and a few tips on how to find the right trades in a field full of sharks.

Thursday

Getting up at 6 a.m. for the first time in six months is not a pleasant experience. But once I made it to meet the group of Oklahoma ringers I was riding with (Tyler Lytle, Jon Hammack and Chris Allen were the other Magic players in the group), we were off.

The most notable thing about the trip there was that I had my faith in Wendyā€™s restored. The last time I went to Indianapolis for the SCG Invitational (that I cashed!) we decided to stop in Joplin, Missouri for some Wendyā€™s. My response as we entered the restaurant?

ā€œThis is sweet, I cannot wait to get a Frosty and some chicken nuggets!ā€

If you donā€™t know what Wendyā€™s is, itā€™s a typical burger joint notable for only two things ā€“ its passable nuggets and delicious chocolate frosties. But apparently not the Wendyā€™s we stopped at. No Frosties. No nuggets. No ketchup.

ā€œYou really donā€™t have any ketchup at a Wendyā€™s?ā€

ā€œNo sir, weā€™re running really low, but I can give you one packet if you really need it.ā€

ā€œUm. Sureā€¦ā€

Itā€™s not easy to eat a 10-piece chicken nugget order with fries on one pack of ketchup. The worker at the counter blamed the lack of tomato-y sustenance on the recent tornados in the town.

I live in Oklahoma, lady. I know about tornados. Gary England is a god around here. He was the true star of ā€œTwister,ā€ not Helen Hunt. I also know that unless the tornado literally picked up the ketchup truck and threw it off the road, you should have ketchup at a burger joint.

If you don't believe me, watch this video explaining it all (You owe it to yourself to watch this video).

Anyway, I digress.

This time we stopped at a Wendyā€™s in Missouri and they delivered me a delicious Frosty and fresh nuggets. As such, I have renewed faith in Missourians everywhere.

After arriving at our hotel at about 8 p.m., which was a short walk from the convention center, we went to get our badges. It turned out I needed to get mine from a different place because I needed a press pass. Of course, the press office had closed a few hours earlier than the rest of the booths, so I wasnā€™t able to get my badge.

I figured this would be a minor setback and I could talk to a manager to get something temporary for the night. As a sports reporter, Iā€™m used to being press at events. People typically bend over backward to help you, and I figured I could work something out here.

Yeah, turns out that wasnā€™t the case. Let me tell you, if you ever want to lock someplace up tight, I suggest hiring a legion of old ladies to guard the doors. Not only did these silver-haired bouncers keep me out of the Magic area, they also tried to boot me out of the hallway of the convention center. My question is this ā€“ If Iā€™m not allowed in the hallways, how am I supposed to get to the booth to pick up my pass? Someone didnā€™t think that one through.

Soundly rebuffed at the Convention Center, I took solace at the hotel bar with an overpriced order of wings and a beer. I spent the rest of the night helping my roommates test and prepare for Nationals, and learned I hate playing Cawblade even more than I hate playing against it.

Friday

One of the nice things about going to an event solely to trade is not having to get up early to make final preparations for the tournament. Instead, I slept in until 10 and then gathered up my binder and headed to the convention hall, where I was able to navigate the halls and slip by the ever-vigilant old ladies until I secured my press pass.

The first thing I did (as every serious trader should do before an event) was scour the vendor hall for every dealer booth that had a buylist. I immediately spotted my targets for the weekend. Channel Fireball was buying Hero of Bladehold for $6 and the promo for $5, and Cool Stuff was buying Angelic Destiny at $6. I was able to pick these up for $5-6 in trade values (otherwise known as SCG prices, or as Kelly calls it ā€œpretend double moneyā€), and then I was able to instantly turn them into cash.

Upon entering the Magic area, it was easy to spot the sharks, and I set down to trade with one to get my bearings. At the time it was the only trade spot happening, so I figured I could get things rolling. My trade ā€œpartnerā€ seemed to think all his Zendikar fetchlands were worth $18 and his Darkslick Shores were $10. I quickly ended that trade, but it had served its purpose. Other people were now milling about the area, and it was time to get some real trades rolling. The one trade of note from this time came from one of the numerous people trying to ā€œPack to Power.ā€

Generally I try to avoid trading with these people, as itā€™s unlikely the trade is going to be worth my time, and many of them are just trying to make obscene margins on their trades. I also donā€™t want to ruin a new traderā€™s experience by setting them back in their Quest. But the one trade I did make with one of the myriad P2Pā€™ers was a guy offering a Sword of Body and Mind. Hereā€™s the trade (SCG prices).

His:

Sword of Body and Mind ($10)

Total: $10

Mine:

Grand Abolisher ($8)

Archive Trap ($3)

Total: $11

Net: -$1

On the surface I ā€œlostā€ this trade, but a quick look at buylist prices shows that I can get $5 for the Sword while he can get only $3.50 combined for the other two. A clear win for me, but I felt a little guilty about using my experience to knock back a trader who may or may not have pure intentions for his P2P. The problem is, while some people are new to trading and try to use it to build a collection, there are far too many sharks that use it as a crutch to try and elicit horribly lopsided trades. This is why I suggest avoiding these guys altogether.

I went to meet up with some other members of the QS crew for lunch and found this scene:

Of course I immediately dug in, and then I hit the jackpot:

Scrambleverse

Thatā€™s right. Forget Underground Sea guy. Iā€™m clearly the master of draft leftovers. We later found out these cards were going to charity. I hope they donā€™t miss a few Oblivion Rings and Phantasmal Dragons.

We ate lunch at RAM, which had decorated the entire restaurant and made a special menu for GenCon, full of Dungeon and Dragons posters and references. Or HeroClix. Or Warhammer. Or 40,000 Warhammers. Or some other game I donā€™t play and donā€™t know anything about. Either way, the meal was good and the beer was cold, so it worked for me.

Friday night ended with a decent pizza, a good cube and great drinking in the hotel lobby. We drafted Kellyā€™s foiled-out common and uncommon cube (my 18-removal spell deck won that one), contemplated trolling Conley Woods from across the lobby and instead invited him to cube with us, and in general had a good time. Then we drank some more.

Walking back to my hotel that night, I had a revelation ā€“ Whatā€™s the best possible thing to do when youā€™re still semi-drunk at 2 a.m.? The answer ā€“ Get in some trades!

This turned out to be basically the best idea ever, as all the sharks were gone and there were a ton of casual players still around! I got in some great trading, and even sat down with a few of them to play some casual games. I pulled out my trusty Treefolk deck ā€“ a casual powerhouse, and was promptly milled out by a million Jaces Erasure and Ponders and Preordains, all the while playing Mental Magic with a Splinter Twin deck against Kelly playing his actual CawBlade deck (I won!).

Headlock or Hug? You decide.

Saturday

Since I had such a good day trading and selling Friday, the pressure was off Saturday, and while I got in some trading, I also spent a lot of time railbirding, watching one of my friends go 7-1 in Constructed with RUG TwinPod just to tank M12 draft.

Saturday night I did a Powered cube draft with everyone from Oklahoma who was in attendance. The games got cut a bit short, but the highlight of the draft was watching a Turn 1 (on the play) Hero of Bladehold go to town.

Again, Kelly and I were able to score some insane trades after midnight, and then we took time to watch Conrad Kolos, Eric Klug and few other guys trade from a pack to a box without ever leaving their seats while Craig Wescoe tried desperately to convince us to thrown in a pack. We left before they finished, but they were up to 29 opened packs when we left the scene.

Sunday

I woke up Sunday morning and finished selling my cards for the weekend. I tallied right at $500 in sales for the weekend, easily covering my $275 or so of expenses for the trip. One 13-hour car ride later and I arrived back home just in time to attend a pretty epic DOTA lan party. Nerdy, I know, but my fiancƩe supports my habit, so how much luckier could I be?

Thoughts on the weekend

  • Keep your cards close AT ALL TIMES. Mike Hawthorne had a friend get his cards stolen right out from under him, and David Williams had his $20,000 Vintage deck stolen. These are just two of the many sad stories of theft that came out of the weekend. There are professional teams of thieves at events like this, and you can never be too careful. Keep your bag closed and wrapped around your leg if itā€™s not in front of you.
  • Actively seek out traders. You can grind your value at the Shark table if you want, but I prefer to be mobile, going to players just out of Win-A-Box drafts or players who arenā€™t immediately apparent. This is not telling you to ā€œseek out the fish.ā€ Instead, it means trading with real people, not guys who value their cards at 200% and yours at 50%. I find avoiding the sharks is a lot more profitable than measuring penis size with them.
  • Set specific goals when trading. I targeted Heroes, Angelic Destinyā€™s, and Filter Lands, and it paid off. Using buylists at events, you can find cards that carry a nice buy price despite having a lower perceived value, and parlay that into profits.
  • Trading down is not a dirty word. I made multiple down trades on the weekend, doing things like moving Noble Hierarch and Verdant Catacombs for lower-priced cards that ultimately sold for more than the original card would. When youā€™re trying to turn immediate profits at an event, this is a very sound strategy, even if youā€™re losing ā€œlong-term value.ā€ This is just another example of how both sides can come out of a trade happy that they ā€œwon.ā€
  • No matter how well youā€™re doing trading, take some time to enjoy what youā€™re doing there. Cube drafts, EDH games, or even just hanging out with people you meet on the weekend is worth a lot more than they money youā€™ll make grinding.
  • Go to GenCon next year. I'll see you there.

Thatā€™s all for this week, and I hope this was an entertaining enough report for everyone!

Thanks,

Corbin Hosler

@Chosler88 on Twitter

Bonus!

Ever wondered what to do with those bulk commons you have lying around?

It really is too bad they destroyed this at the end of the weekend.

Prediction Tracker

I'm aware of the problems with the Prediction Tracker displaying correcting in columns since the change to the new layout, and I'm working to resolve them. Until then, the live Prediction Tracker is working here.

Turning the Turn on its Head

Posted on by Jules Robins

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My name is Jules Robins, and I'm addicted to taking extra turns. Now don't get the wrong idea. I don't play Vintage decks with Time Vault and Voltaic Key. I don't chain Ichor Wellsprings and Prophetic Prisms into Time Sieve. And I don't recur (or even cast) Time Stretch. These practices have given the art of playing more Magic than your opponents a bad name.

Nobody appreciates it when you [card Time Warp]warp time[/card], but is the effect of the card itself evil? It all comes back to the Doom Blade versus Essence Scatter distinction I covered in Waving to the Horizons: people like to accomplish their goals. Your opponent wants to attack with their creature, but on top of that, they want to cast their creature. Your opponent can't really do anything while you sit playing by yourself on extra turn number seven. But a turn isn't some abstract concept, it's an accumulation of resources. When you step back from your intimacy with Magic and look at it as a game design, you see something strange and new. Magic is very much a game of resource management and, as you know, the game has a variety of resources.

But beyond that, it has a variety of types of resources. PV covered those at the very core of the game in a Channel Fireball article back in March; now I'll be so presumptuous as to expand upon the thoughts of perhaps the world's greatest Magic player.

Going Meta
A big part of what makes Magic unique is that the resource management begins even before the game: before you've shuffled up or even found an opponent, you've already been given the opportunity to optimize your use of the cash you have on hand, or the cards in your binder, to obtain cards for your deck as effectively as possible. Beyond that, because the vast majority of the time sticking to the minimum bound for deck size will get you better draws, available deck slots are a resource which you must carefully dole out. And then you have your matchup percentages. You can sacrifice chances to win against one friend's deck to bolster your game against another through card choices, but how do you know to do this? Based on the resource of metagame information of course!

Getting Started
When you sit down to play, you're immediately rewarded with more resources:

  • Twenty (or in this case forty) life
  • Ten potential poison counters
  • Seven cards
  • Fifty-three Ninety-two cards in your library
  • Six productive mulligan opportunities
  • Some number of other players at the table

Turning Around
Those are all well and good, but what we're really interested in (at least for today) is those resources that stem from the turn. If you ask some one what Time Walk does, they'll most likely reply that it gives you an extra turn. But what is a turn?

Mana
The resource that most obviously replenishes itself with each new turn is your supply of mana. Of course, you actually get more mana in two ways every turn. Not only do you untap all of your lands, but you get to play a new one. Fast mana has often been the culprit behind broken decks, and this is the reason why. In cases where the rest of a turn's resources become unimportant, Mox Sapphire is Time Walk: you just played next turn's Island!

Of course, there are more ways to circumvent the mana system than just using traditional ramp spells to impersonate lands from the future. Seething Song is actually very similar to Final Fortune; it makes more land drops for you, but if you can't win right after casting it, you aren't going to win at all. The untap step is harder to mimic, but Early Harvest certainly doesn't shy away from a literal interpretation. That said, Mirari's Wake can just as easily give you two turns' worth of mana...every turn.

Cards
Each turn you draw a new card, and it's not a rare sight to see Time Walk do little more than cantrip for free in Vintage. Should you find yourself with no board position, plenty of mana, and nothing in hand, even Divination can make a mighty fine Time Stretch. Then again, when compared to mana generation, the one card you get every turn is often a bit anemic, so why not consecrate a [card Consecrated Sphinx]Sphinx[/card]? It's no secret that card draw is very strong, but most people seem to pack too little or go way overboard. Take a lesson from the turn: everything works better in balance, so you should try to sync the number of cards you'll be drawing to the amount of mana you'll generate to avoid the less painful equivalent of mana flood or screw.

Phasers set to Cast
In the last two sections I've brushed over something essential: cards and mana are all well and good, but they need a medium in which to combine: the main phase. Most of the spells in Magic can only be cast at sorcery speed, and it's important not to forget that every new turn brings two more spell-casting opportunities. Seedborn Muse may seem much stronger than Rude Awakening, but most of the potential mana it offers will go to waste without a way to replicate the main phase, be it packing your deck with instants, or running Vedalken Orrery.

Of course the main phase isn't the only time when you gain a unique opportunity to do something. Magic is full of cards that trigger at the beginning of your upkeep, but this is the most difficult part of the turn to replicate. Paradox Haze is the one and only card that lets you get additional uses of these effects without taking an extra turn, but if your opponents are relying on these effects, Eon Hub could cut out a significant chunk of all of their future turns.

Damage
And finally we come to the limitations that Magic sets upon your creatures. If you have a creature that taps to use an activated ability, every turn you can attack, block, or activate it. In this manner the turn system restricts your damage output, the number of your opponents' creatures you can invalidate, and the number of abilities you can use. Here Seedborn Muse serves best by allowing you two of these options for each player's turn, but if you want more attacks you'll need to be [card Relentless Assault]relentless[/card] in your efforts. Even Lava Axe, Unsummon, and Counterspell are Time Walks, cutting a turn off of your clock.

Then again, something as simple as Vigilance allows you to attack and block. Still, we're missing something that an extra turn would give us. Have you ever cast Emrakul, the Aeons Torn? Hasty creatures are normal creatures with Time Walks stapled onto them when you're primarily concerned with damage output!

Haste and Vigilance are evergreen keywords, but it's actually even simpler to take extra turns through attacking. Play bigger creatures. Hitting an opponent once with an Air Elemental is as good as hitting them twice with an Azure Drake, and better yet, this fact allows us to save room in decks. If you decide to increase your mana output anyway, you can save deck slots by playing huge creatures rather than small ones and Waves of Aggression.

Formatting
With all of that established, it's clear that Capture of Jingzhou does different things in different decks. In an aggro deck it provides mana, cards, main phases, and damage, while in a control deck it rarely provides damage and you may not even use the main phases (aside from land drops). Furthermore, in a combo deck that has its combo in hand, even the card may be irrelevant and it becomes effectively a ramp spell. That's not to say that it doesn't provide the same resources, but rather that a given deck might not take full advantage of them. If a deck only needs a piece or two of what a Beacon of Tomorrows can provide, then it's probably better off playing more efficient cards to fill those roles.

But let's step back from winning for a second. As I said earlier, nobody likes getting Time Walked, and since Comander is all about having fun, we shouldn't go around taking extra turns. But fewer people are offended by ramp, card draw, and big creatures, so even if you have a Commander deck that desperately wants everything an extra turn provides, you'll still be better off including reasonable proportions of other cards to simulate the effect. The advantages gained by [card Walk the Aeons]walking the Aeons[/card] are enjoyable, but getting walked over isn't. Don't end the fun.

Until next week turn,

Jules Robins
julesdrobins@gmail.com on Google+
@JulesRobins on twitter

Scheming the Cube: Combat Tricks

Posted on by Anthony Avitollo

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Being an avid Cube player/manager, I feel that it is my responsibility to constantly be evaluating and thinking about the cards contained within that Magical box. While other people can contribute ideas and cards, the owner is the person who gets to make all of the final decisions on what cards are included. Some of the questions that Cube owners have to face are:

- Are all three ā€˜theatersā€™ (aggro, midrange, control) of decks viable?
- What about the archetypes? Are they varied, competitive, and fun?
- What cards do you cut for new ones? Do any cards previously cut find their way back in?
- When you add/remove cards, are you hurting/helping/creating those archetypes?
- What are you gaining/losing to include those new cards?

While I think about these questions a lot, the most obvious time that Cube managers really have to do some hard-line evaluations for inclusions and exclusions when new cards become available. This year, we got an extra chance to make those hard (and fun!) decisions.

When the Magic: The Gathering Commander was released, I was very excited for the possibility of extra new cards. I figured there would be some multi-colored cards (since most Commander decks are not mono-colored) and maybe we would get lucky enough to have an artifact or a single-colored spell! As it turned out, there were only a few cards that I even considered for additions to the Cube. After looking at all of the new cards, the two strongest candidates for inclusion emerged: Chaos Warp and Edric, Spymaster of Trest.

Awesome! I didnā€™t think it would be particularly difficult to find cards to remove this time around, as the power level on these two cards are very high. As I scanned my list for weak spots, I came across two cards that seemed to be weaker than the rest in those colors: Brute Force and Snakeform. I wouldnā€™t have thought that much about it if it werenā€™t for a conversation I had some weeks ago on an online forum.

Flashback!

People were talking about Snakeform, categorizing it as a 'bad removal spell' and talking about how it is the worst removal spell ever. The thing is that Snakeform isnā€™t a removal spell at all; it is an amazing combat trick. It is useable by two colors, easy to cast, and draws a card. We know that the going rate for drawing a card is two mana, and so we are getting a hyper-powered Diminish for U/G instead of U. Seems good, right?

So good that it got the axe from my Cube in favor of Edric.

What about Brute Force? The Philosophy of Fire has taught us that three damage for one card is good, and three damage for one mana is better. Red is an aggressive color, and could surely benefit from the boost of an attacker. So whatā€™s the deal? Whatever happened to good olā€™ fashioned combat tricks?

All of the awesome tricks of past Cube iterations and constructed top decks have mostly been replaced. By what, you ask? Removal spells, of course!

'In response...'

While we all know the value of removal spells (especially instant-speed ones), I feel as though there is a big part of Magic play that we are missing because of the systematic replacement of combat tricks by removal spells. Another issue is that the more instant-speed removal spells you have in the Cube, the worse the combat tricks get (at least the ones that target your own creatures); every time you cast a pump spell, you might just get two-for-one'd by an instant (this is the same problem facing auras in Constructed and Cube Magic). Also, why play Shining Shoal when you can just play Path to Exile?

Because combat tricks are, well, tricky.

At my Magic 2012 prerelease, I had a Turn to Frog in my deck. Every single time I cast that card, it ate something enormous (like a Thran Golem with two auras on it... twice) and it felt wonderful. I experienced something that I donā€™t feel very often in Magic since I stopped drafting on a regular basis: I surprised someone with a spell, and they paid for it.

I miss that feeling of deception, and I donā€™t want to miss out on that feeling completely by removing all of the combat tricks in the Cube. I want people to remember that Vines of Vastwood was going around the table, and have to think twice about freely casting that Terror. When you attack with your 2/2 into their 4/4, I want people to consider the possibility of you having a pump spell, instead of just auto-blocking because they are fine with you trading two cards (creature plus a burn spell, e.g.) for their one card. I want people to be able to attack with their 2/2 into a 4/4 even if they donā€™t have the trick! If combat tricks have no presence in your Cube at all, then these levels of deception are almost completely lost.

If you would like to keep (or perhaps add!) that element to your Cube as well, then you should consider the following cards for inclusion. While some of these cards are indeed powerful, some will likely appear lackluster at first glance until you get a chance to play them and get used to having this level of trickery in your draft environment. Letā€™s start with the combat tricks that are still seen in quite a few Cubes:

Berserk ā€“ A classic from way back in Limited Edition Alpha, Berserk is a coup-de-grace type of spell that allows a large attacker (green has a few of those!) to punch through blocker(s) for either a large chunk or the rest of your opponentā€™s life total. Itā€™s really fun with creatures that do something when they die (Champions ofĀ Kamigawa dragons and Woodfall Primus come to mind), and it can also be used as a removal spell in a pinch!

Vines of Vastwood ā€“ A very versatile trick that is useful with or without the kicker, Vines provides a nice power boost that should enable a 1/1 to take down all but the largest of creatures. If used as a burn spell, you are getting four damage for one card which is pretty good also. It also functions as a counterspell akin to Avoid Fate but does the job much better, countering sorceries and targeted abilities as well. The best case, of course, is attacking into a removal spell and getting a counterspell and four extra damage! Donā€™t forget that Vines can also be used on your opponentsā€™ creatures as well, preventing them from doing nice things such as equipping or aura-ing.

Two doesnā€™t seem like enough, does it? Here are some more cards that can cure that fever for more combat tricks.

Momentary Blink ā€“ While this definitely qualified more as a combat trick when damage still used the stack, it is worth mentioning here because I think more Cubes should be running this card. While in combat, it saves your blocker or attacker from death (by either combat damage or removal spell); the best use for it, however, is to recur your comes into play/leaves play abilities (enters/leaves the battlefield, for you noobs) like [card Flametongue Kavu]FTK[/card], Reveillark, and Mulldrifter. I think this card is good enough in your deck even if you canā€™t flash it back, if you have enough ways to abuse it (whatā€™s better than one Shriekmaw? Why, two of course!)

Giant Growth ā€“ This classic is the inspiration for the aforementioned Brute Force, and was of the last cards removed from the Core Set. While it has not seen significant play in a long time, it remains a part of Magicā€™s history as part of the famous ā€˜boon cycleā€™.

Harm's Way ā€“ Harm's Way is a conditional white Shock, but with the ability to creature two-for-ones when creatures battle in combat. The one mana price is right, and this card really shines in aggro vs. aggro matchups where lots of x/2s or smaller are on the board.

Shining Shoal ā€“ Shoal is a nice, scalable redirection spell that has some nice casting flexibility since it can be cast for zero mana. While not as efficient as Harm's Way on the low end, Shining Shoal can really provide some top-end protection/damage, allowing you to eliminate large creatures, save your creatures, or save yourself from larger damage spells.

Snakeform ā€“ Snakeform often kills a creature for zero net cards, since you are replacing the card you cast. Obviously most often used in the combat phase, it can also be used to kill a larger creature pre-Wildfire/Rolling Earthquake/Black Sun's Zenith et al (no matter who is casting said sweeper). Bonus points for being usable and easy to cast in two different colors.

Brute Force ā€“ See Giant Growth, but in a color that might attack more than green.

Briarhorn ā€“ Call of the Herd plus Giant Growth for a slightly easier cost, Briarhorn has the ability to be a 6/6 blocker on an empty board as well as an extra blocker who helps another. He is fine on your attack phase as a combat trick that leaves something behind, and can also just be a 3/3 flash creature if you need some action the following turn.

Where is my kidney?!?

Stonewood Invocation ā€“ The precursor to Vines of Vastwood, Stonewood Invocation is the ultimate ā€˜screw youā€™ to combat phase removal spells.

ā€œDoom Blade your Baloth.ā€
ā€œStonewood Invocation it?ā€
ā€œAwkā€¦ā€
ā€œTakeā€¦nine?ā€

Four mana is a bit much for a trick, but ideally you are getting some value out of the +5/+5 and the split-second shroud when you cast it. I also give Invocation the nod over Might of Oaks, since I think the shroud and split second are better than the extra two points. I guess it just depends if you like Unicorns or Squirrels better.

Constant Mists ā€“ Just when you thought your alpha strike was safe, Constant Mists comes around to ruin the party. The thing is? You now have to play around it for the rest of the game! Unlike the one-shot Fog or the double-shot Moment's Peace, your opponent can keep having Constant Mists flare-ups for which Valtrex will not help (but an Armageddon will)!

Combat tricks are such an essential part of limited Magic that I think omitting all of them in favor of the increasing amount of unique and efficient removal spells being printed would be a shame. It is my hope that in the future we will see more Cube-worthy combat tricks, even if I couldnā€™t tell you what that card would look like. For me, the Cube is not just about having powerful cards and high-octane plays; the Cube is also about the history and legacy of Magic: The Gathering all wrapped up in one wonderful limited set that allows for players of all walks and ages of Magic to enjoy and discover new things about themselves and the game they love.

Until next time, may all your squares be three-dimensional!

-AA

@Antknee42 on Twitter
Co-host of The Third Power Cube Podcast with Usman Jamil
Antknee42 just about everywhere

Cubing 101: White Enchantments in Standard

Posted on by Jay Kirkman

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Last week, we kicked off a project on building a Standard cube. Today we'll be going a little further into it. By limiting the card pool to today's Standard environment, to actually model that environment, we take a lot of the confusion and uncertainty away from cube construction, making this the perfect starter for the new cubist as well as the veteran. At it's heart, there's something rather novel and fun about a narrow environment, and it's my hope that others might be similarly inspired to create 'Standard in miniature' cubes from years gone by.

Today we'll be tacking the color white, but before we begin I'd like to visit a reader's comment from last week. Said Robert,

In most Standard formats, I'd totally agree with giving artifacts/nonbasic lands their own section that was the same size as the other.

In this Standard environment, I think that would be a grave mistake. The two blocks are built around...artifacts and lands. I think that you should, in this case, double that section if possible, cutting each of the other sections down slightly to compensate.

The building of any cube, no matter how simple we make the construction, nevertheless relies upon countless small value judgments by the creator, and the Standard cube is no exception. One early judgment call was to make the nonbasic/artifact pool equal to those of any one color for simplicity's sake, but Robert's comment made me realise that to do so was anĀ opportunityĀ missed. If the cube should be a proportional representation of Standard, then the abundance of these cards should be better reflected (although looking at the numbers,Ā doubling them would be too much). There are 323 nonbasics/artifacts in Standard (and remember, reprints get counted for each printing, not just once), while each color only has around 250 cards.

Here's the math. There are 1570 cards in Standard (not counting planeswalkers or the tiny amount of multicolour, which we're disregarding). That's 323 nonbasics/artifacts, 248 White, 249 Blue, 252 Black, 248 Red, and 250 Green. Bumping that against 450 (the number of cards we'll have in our cube), we get 93 nonbasics/arts, and either 71 or 72 for each colour. Since we don't want to short any colour on the basis of a rounded number, we'll nudge the numbers just a hair and declare a 90/72/72/72/72/72 split. Going forward, we're certain to encounter the occasional rounding issue (no colour category can be given 'half a card' as Little Girl isn't in our card pool. When this happens, I'll usually round in favor of whatever category has the lesser card quantity (read: creatures).

When we revise our numbers to take into account this new proportional allotment which gives nonbasics/artifacts a larger piece of the pie, we find when the dust settles White will look as follows:

Largely unchanged! Now it's time for the fun part: getting under the hood of the white engine, and rebuilding it from the ground up. Remember, we're building a 450-card cube, which means we'll have to narrow down to only eleven cards by the end of this article.

Enchantments

We'll begin with white's enchantments, and there are a fair number to choose from with some 36 of them currently Standard-legal. Let's go ahead and clump them into smaller groupings based on their broad similarities, which should give us a pretty clear indication of what White tries to accomplish with these types of cards. Note that a some cards may overlap categories and thus be listed more than once.

Removal

  • Arrest
  • Exclusion Ritual
  • Forced Worship
  • Guard Duty
  • Journey to Nowhere
  • Lightmine Field
  • Luminous Wake
  • Oblivion Ring
  • Pacifism

Creature Enhancement

  • Angelic Destiny
  • Armored Ascension
  • Celestial Mantle
  • Divine Favor
  • Eland Umbra
  • Holy Strength
  • Honor of the Pure
  • Hyena Umbra
  • Lifelink
  • Mammoth Umbra
  • Marshal's Anthem
  • Nimbus Wings
  • Spirit Mantle
  • Tempered Steel
  • Time of Heroes
  • True Conviction

Lifegain

  • Ajani's Mantra
  • Luminous Wake
  • Sunspring Expedition

Miscellaneous

  • Guardian Zendikon
  • Leyline of Sanctity
  • Luminarch Ascension
  • Near-Death Experience
  • Personal Sanctuary
  • Phyrexian Unlife
  • Quest for the Holy Relic
  • Terra Eternal
  • Vigil for the Lost

It seems, then, that the soul of white enchantment is bound up in removal and buffing your creatures. With our list before us, it's now time to take the scalpel and cut out as much as we can before having to make the final decisions. The easiest place to begin is at the higher rarities, then work our way down the ladder. Large lists can be overwhelming, so the more we can cut out before we need to start selecting cards, the easier it will be.

Angelic Destiny is automatically out, as it's a mythic and we're not including mythics in this cube.

Celestial Mantle has a potentially substantial effect. But it's conditional and, at three white mana, too expensive. We'll want to avoid cards that force such a heavyĀ commitmentĀ to a single color, as the chances of drafting a mono-color deck (to take full advantage of cards like this) is somewhat lower. This also gives True Conviction the red card. Tempered Steel is more reasonably-costed, but it's conditional nature demands more opportunities to play around it, and those opportunities won't appear often enough for the White player to make optimal use of it.

Leyline of Sanctity is more of a constructed-worthy card. Giving yourself hexproof is nice, but with a quota of only eleven enchantments, we'll want cards with bigger impacts than this, especially at rare.Ā Luminarch Ascension doesn't work either; it's too conditional of an effect to be worth the card slot. In constructed play these were occasionally seen as potent threats in a control mirror, but in the more creature-centric limited environment we'll pass.

Near-Death Experience, Personal Sanctuary, and Terra Eternal Ā all follow the same footprint. Time of Heroes is right out too, as there won't be enough level up creatures to make it worthwhile in this singleton format.

In uncommon, we find few others we can so easily disqualify, like Exclusion Ritual (significantly less useful in singleton formats), so it starts to come down to judgment, choice, and preference. We know that we want to include as much quality removal as we can, so we'll take Arrest, Forced Worship,Ā Oblivion Ring,Ā Pacifism, and Journey to Nowhere. I don't like Guard Duty enough to include it. While Forced Worship is equally limited, its ability to return to hand tips the scale in its favor.

I'm also going to include the quasi-removal card Luminous Wake. While I ordinarily don't give much consideration to lifegain, the card's versatility brigns some diversity to the card pool. Use it on your own beater for a solid chunk of life, or put it on an attacker to blunt their effectiveness.

Moving on to creature enhancement, these are cards which might not get so much as a sniff in constructed play, but in the limited environment have a greater chance to shine. Armored Ascension is best used in a mono-White deck (since it cares about Plains), but still can be quite strong in a W/x or W/X deck. Spirit Mantle gives its creature tremendous versatility as either anĀ indestructibleĀ chump blocker or an unblockable attacker. And while not giving the biggest power/toughness bonus of the group, let's add a hyena Umbra for its first strike capability. I like Mammoth Umbra as well, but not at five mana.

That gives us two more slots to work with. Even restricting the available card pool to Standard gives us some room to add a personal touch, and personally I'm a big fan of cycles (series of cards that are related to one another). For that reason, I'll include a Guardian Zendikon. Finally, we'll make a decision here and grab a rare card to round out the category. We still have a trio of options open to us: Honor of the Pure, Lightmine Field, and Marshal's Anthem. As a defensive-minded card that will discourage your opponent from attacking (thus leaving more defenders for you to have to grind through), I'm not a fan of Lightmine Field here. Honor of the Pure is cheap and powerful, but fairly limited in its effect. That gives us Marshal's Anthem as the only way to boost all of our creatures, and late in the game the ability to dump mana into its multikicker to bring back a dead creature or two offers us some powerful card advantage. Looked at this way, it's really no choice at all.

We've now whittled our way down to 11 cards. While this is a solid selection, we won't consider it written in stone until we've also looked at creatures, instants, and sorceries, because we may have to tinker with our selections to fill our rarity quotas. Still, seven commons, three uncommons and a rare seems like a good start, so we'll wrap it up here with the following:

White Enchantments

  • Armored Ascension
  • Arrest
  • Forced Worship
  • Guardian Zendikon
  • Hyena Umbra
  • Journey to Nowhere
  • Luminous Wake
  • Marshal's Anthem
  • Oblivion Ring
  • Pacifism
  • Spirit Mantle

Like anything with a subjective angle, different folks will have a different perspective. Did I miss a choice card you've had great success with? Was there anything I selected that you think is a mistake? Wondering why I took one card over another? Let me know in the comments below!

___________________________________

Jay Kirkman

@ErtaisLament

www.ErtaisLament.com

Insider: Strikes and Gutters

Posted on by Chad Havas

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ā€œOh, you know, strikes and gutters. Ups and downs.ā€
-Jeffrey Lebowski

There isnā€™t many circumstances in my life I couldnā€™t sum up in a short line from ā€œthe Dudeā€. There is some unparalleled wisdom that stems from a fictional character who has got to be the most laid back person ever born. He makes this comment after a whirlwind of a week where he is knocked-out by henchmen a number of times, investigates the disappearance of a trophy-wife/porn-star, and dodges his landlord on rent day. The guy can sure as hell take a punch.

When Corbin introduced the Prediction Tracker, he indicated he wanted accountability from the contributors, and now that weā€™ve got a nice gap between set releases, I want to really poke at my own calls, and see how we did.

Thereā€™s been some solid successes and some misses, so lets see where I hit the mark, and where I missed. Iā€™m looking for factors I didnā€™t consider, or simply misjudging the metagame or market for a card.

Leyline of Sanctity: This card saw a small spike, and was extremely pricey at the end of Standard PTQ season from onsite dealers, but now is the time to get out as the season wraps up, and M11 rotates soon. If you gobbled up a quick profit at a PTQ on these, then you did good. If youā€™ve still got them, itā€™s time to try and move them. Even now, there should be a small gain over their price a month ago. This one is a half-hit/half-miss. To stick with the bowling analogy, Iā€™ll call it picking up a spare. It didnā€™t hit the ceiling I predicted, but still sits at a higher price today than when I recommended picking it up, and depending on your outlets to dumping these and what price you got in at, you can likely still turn enough gain to make it worth your time. I dumped mine at a PTQ for $3.50 a piece, and I traded for my first set early in the season, and picked up a handful more around $2-2.25 about a month ago.

Molten-tail Masticore: This card has drifted further downward since my reccomendation, and has thus far been a gutter-ball. Iā€™m still recommending him as a pickup, as his upside is mainly focused around post-rotation standard, and heā€™s a pretty difficult 4-drop to deal with. I would temper your volume on these, but Iā€™m holding out, and if you want to gamble with me, hop on board. I just want to temper my recommendation based on there being no other analysts on my side on this one.

Day of Judgement: Gutterball. Iā€™m not sure how I misplayed this one so poorly, but I did. If you got in on my reccomendation, you havenā€™t lost any value yet, so Iā€™d move all but your single set. Not only are control decks not running this card, but the 3rd printing of a non-mythic rare is going to keep this card down around $1-2 indefinitely.

Etched Champion: Strike. This guy was readily available at $1 or under upon my reccomendation, and now is at least $2-3. My predicted long-term price is around $3, so if youā€™re happy with your gains, feel free to get out. If you want to try and ride the train longer, do so at your own risk. Heā€™s currently retailing for $4 at Starcitygames.com.

Scars Duals: Strike. The blue duals are now on BUYLISTS at $2-3, and hopefully you were picking them up around $1-2. All of the duals will continue to see this rise until the manlands from Zendikar finally rotate.

Venser the Sojourner: Strike. He was available on Ebay around $8 upon my recommendation, and has gained over 25% since then. Itā€™s probably time to stop buying on him now. Hold with preparation to sell if it climbs any higher at all.

Thereā€™s also some cards Iā€™ve put up recently that are too early to call. Mutavault, for one, has already seen some climbing on the Modern hype, and I think its Legacy playability will protect that from falling back down. It appears I launched the ball down the middle looking for a strike, but weā€™ll have to wait and see. Iā€™m still standing behind this one as my personal big play of the season. Iā€™ve already picked up 2 sets myself, and I am constantly scouring Ebay for cheap ones. I have Twisted Image on my buy list also, but I want to notate that this is one of my pet-gambles for the season. Iā€™ve used this card to great success in recent months in Standard play, and am expecting much better players to find an even better use for it. That doesnā€™t mean it will happen, but Iā€™ve made enough money on this card by playing with it that Iā€™m willing to stash a bunch of them. Hopefully some of you saved your money when I suggested getting out of Candlabra of Tawnos and Aether Vial, and hopefully more of you believed me when I picked out some of the gainers above. Luckily for us, the few gutter-balls Iā€™ve thrown havenā€™t seen much/any decline, and thereā€™s still time to recoup any investment.

Next week I plan to dive into MTGO a bit, as Iā€™m going to be incorporating that into my business plan. Some of that involves grinding queues, but a lot of it is being a savvy trader. I will outline buybots, auction room, and pack values. Further, Iā€™ll get into what I like to call pack-lag, which is the gap between paper and online releases. Iā€™ve added this to my business plan after I saw how much money was to be made on heavily desirable uncommons like Timely Reinforcements immediately upon the Pre-Release. Next set, I want to prepare for this, and fund a whole season of grinding with just a few clicks.

Chad Havas
@torerotutor on twitter

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