Most pre-releases have come and gone, and with any luck you've returned home with a pile of awesome new M10 stuff! Before the Release tournaments this weekend we have an opportunity to discuss the trends that emerged at pre-releases and adjust predictions accordingly. To that end, we'll cover what was observed and overheard. It was a 34 person local pre-release, attended mostly by casual players and a handful of tournament-goers.

The #1 trend was the utter mayhem that surrounded the new Dual Lands. Normally docile traders with good manners were motivated to outright rudeness by the desire to acquire. It seems that over the course of the day, traders realized that they would not be able to get Duals quickly or easily and decided which was most important to them in that moment. Of the new Duals, Sunpetal Grove seemed to be in the highest demand due to its auto-inclusion in one of the best decks in the format.

Another surprising trend, and one that is supported by Star City's top seller data, is the popularity of Gargoyle Castle. He was insane for everyone in Sealed Deck, and is very constructed-playable. At least 5 were opened in the room, and none of them seemed to change hands. They're still only 2 dollars on StarCityGames and they've been selling for about that much on ebay. If you've read the Trader's Guide, when a card's ebay price is at parity with its SCG price, that's good news for its value. For what it's worth, ChannelFireball has it at $3. Luis Scott-Vargas' level of input on their pricing is unknown, but his opinion on the Castle is that it belongs in most decks in Standard. Don't expect this card to stay cheap.

In regards to one of the most hyped rares in the set, Silence is most apt to describe the talk around this card. Being a small pre-release, only one was spotted. The owner eventually parted with it for a Twincast, and commented that "everyone's been asking for this today". The corollary to this is that Twincast is still very popular among the casual players and the sadistic souls who play Sanity Grinding. The position on Silence is still "over-hyped", so feel free to flip them quickly at the release events.

Jace and Ajani are likely to be very popular baby names in 2020, judging by the number of players looking for these guys. Garruk was never mentioned and wasn't spotted, but Jace and Ajani were almost impossible NOT to trade. Perhaps it's the Mythic symbol on the cards, but Jace was fetching two Dual Lands from some people. Planeswalkers really appeal to the casual and tournament players alike, and thus will probably rise in value. Jace particularly seems underpriced at 12 dollars, considering how popular he was on the day.

Some other notes on the day: Ball Lightning was not in high demand, Guardian Seraph was never asked for by name, while Baneslayer Angel was a card no one would even consider trading away. Honor of the Pure was a hot item, but most players seemed fine with trading it, with one even remarking, "I just don't see what the big deal is!" That player has clearly never played with the card. Playtesting has proven that Honor is simply not just a replacement for Glorious Anthem, it's a Glorious Upgrade. Sanguine Bond is a crap rare, but it's a crap rare some casual players were asking for. It seems to appeal to their sense of "fun" and irony. You can get it as a throw-in on a trade and potentially flip it for some value.

Elvish Archdruid was another card that was difficult to acquire. The "OMG ELF! Factor" combines with the "I need one for EDH" angle to create scarcity, but the truth is that this card takes Elf Combo to the next level. Playtesting has shown that the Elf Combo deck in Standard got approximately a turn faster. The deck is already capable of turn 2 Primal Commands, for crying out loud! Archdruid gives the deck some resistance to Fallout effects and also facilitates the beatdown strategy (when/if the combo fizzles). Archdruid is a card to keep a keen eye on, as it shows the same pattern that Gargoyle Castle does. Ebay and SCG are at parity and ChannelFireball is a dollar higher.

We want to hear what YOU saw at your pre-releases! What traded well? What was impossible to get? What were people asking for? Post a comment with your pre-release story!

This weekend marks the beginning of a new era in Magic. Just as many grizzled veterans remember a time before 6th Edition rules, a new generation of Magic players will remember the day they had to start declaring their order of blockers. With the new rules comes the most valuable set in years. Anyone who hasn't read Ben Bleiweiss' Financial Values of M10 articles should head over to starcitygames.com and read them immediately. While it would be unethical to rehash his points here, there is one fact that is easily calculated by anyone with an abacus and five free minutes. M10's average expected value per box is somewhere in the realm of 130 dollars. That's discounting the resale of ALL commons and uncommons, and rares below 3 dollars. Simply put, this is the most valuable set you've likely seen since you started playing the game. For more information regarding the potential scarcity of M10 in a few months and the effect on singles and sealed prices, invest in a Premium account over at Star City. It is some of the best money you can spend on Magic today.

What does this mean to you, and how do you capitalize on it this weekend? The first step is realizing the big-picture price trends that are going on. Lorwyn-Shadowmoor stuff is slowly declining in price. M10 stuff has already soared in price since pre-sales started. Alara Block stuff is static. LRW-SHM cards are useless to PTQ players after Sept 2nd. They won't rotate for a few weeks thereafter but since the last PTQ is on the 2nd they're all but useless. M10 cards have the potential to increase in value and will be relevant for at least a year. It may be a bold recommendation but it seems to make a lot of sense to trade liberally for M10 cards.

Think about this: Your LRW-SHM cards will likely never be worth much more than they are right now. The reprinted ones aside, they'll slowly creep down in value. The Alara stuff isn't going anywhere, with a few exceptions (There are some really under-rated cards in the block that are worth NOTHING because of LRW-SHM being in the format). It only makes sense to firesale the cards dropping in price, and the cards that are static, and acquire the new cards with high potential.

Sound good? Great. So now that you've been convinced to unload your entire collection at the pre-release we'd best figure out what cards you're trying to get. Here are a few lists that you can reference and bring with you on Pre-Release Day.

Top 10 Chase Cards

These are the cards that are already worth a pretty penny. They don't stand to increase much in price, and they are likely safe investments (with one exception).

1) The Dual Lands
2) Honor of the Pure
3) Baneslayer Angel
4) Ajani Goldmane
5) Jace Beleren
6) Garruk Wildspeaker
7) Pithing Needle
8) Silence*
9) Ball Lightning
10) Darksteel Colossus

Top 5 Underrated Rares These are the cards that represent good value. Get these if they're cheap (and if you go by SCG pre-sale prices, they will be).

1) Gargoyle Castle $2
2) Magma Phoenix $1.50
3) Open the Vaults $2
4) Djinn of Wishes $1.50
5) Polymorph $1

Top 5 Overrated Rares
These are the cards that represent a potential bad investment or a decrease in price over the next few months. These are cards to be trading at the pre-release, as they will likely not rise above their current price.

1) Silence* $11
2) Twincast $7
3) Silence $11
4) Coat of Arms $7.00
5) Silence, again. $11

*Yes, Silence is both an overrated overpriced rare and a chase rare. The hype will die down, and unless the card has a definite home in a deck (like Honor of the Pure already does) it'll likely begin a slow decline in price, eventually settling in between 5 and 10 dollars.

Armed with those lists, go forth and conquer your pre-release. For a primer on trading basics, check out Part 1 of A Trader's Guide. Good luck tomorrow!

With the pre-release merely days away, it's time for all you savvy traders to get in gear and start figuring out what you need to acquire. Today we're going to tackle the Uncommons of M10, which feature some very interesting cards indeed! While there doesn't seem to be an ubiquitous "power uncommon" - at least, not yet, there are some cards that are worth acquiring before everyone starts needing their set.

One note about Uncommons and Trading: people never, ever value Uncommons correctly when trading. Many people think that anything less than a rare is chaff, and not worth putting in their trade binder. This is completely incorrect. There are many times when the card(s) preventing you from running a deck are uncommon, not rare. You should have a trade binder DEDICATED to commons and uncommons. This makes it easier for your "clients" to find the merchandise they want and makes it clear that uncommons especially hold value. A smart trader can take advantage of an inefficient market here - people who don't consider uncommons to be valuable will throw them into trades for pennies, while smart people (that's you!) will value them appropriately. Long story short, you can usually end up turning a playset of a good common into 1 or 2 decent rares, so accumulate them whenever possible. That said, let's get on to the list! We're going to skip the full text of the cards this time, as many people have had a chance to pour over the spoiler. If you're not familiar with a card, have a look at MTG Salvation's list.

Celestial Purge - Reprinted from Conflux, Purge has been a great sideboard card and will continue to be just awesome. This is one of those 'last minute' uncommons out of which you can sometimes get extra value before a tournament.

Elite Vanguard - This should go without saying, but this guy's going to be worth more than 50% of the rares in the whole set. He's only a buck on Star City, but he'll find a home in WW once Kithkin leave the format in October. Snap up every one you see and sit on them for a while.

Harm's Way - Mike Flores (www.twitter.com/fivewithflores) recently asked via Twitter, "What do y'all #Magic Tweeps think of Harm's Way? http://is.gd/1sxEx @Top8Games thinks it's the bee's knees, especially in the mirror 🙂" Most people responded favorably, but the best comparison thus far is to Agony Warp. With a little set-up, it can be a 2-for-1. It can usually be removal, and it can also act as a fog+removal sometimes. The card is really versatile and the only question is where it finds a home. This is another one you'll never have too many of.

Righteousness - No, this is not a big-money Uncommon. It's just notable as a former rare. It was a crap rare when it was a rare anyway. Just an interesting note.

White Knight - Keep an eye on people developing Mono Black Control. There is debate over the deck's actual viability but if it becomes viable, White Knight'll be great to have.

Fabricate - Tutors are always popular, and ones that get Darksteel Colossus are even moreso. Frankly it's not a necessary card in Standard right now, but that won't keep it from being popular.

Flashfreeze - A staple sideboad card for any blue control deck, and somewhat underrated. Have a set for yourself and a set with which to gouge someone they day of a tournament.

Mind Control - Always a hit with the casual crowd, control magic effects at uncommon tend to sell fairly well. SCG is selling them for 2 dollars a piece already. Might not be great in Standard but will always be able to get you some value.

Sleep - Some may be tempted to use this in control decks, but the real power of this card is to set up TWO alpha strikes in aggressive decks. If a Fish deck rises to power, this card will likely be in it, so get a few as a throw-in.

Black Knight - Kithkin and Green-White have no maindeck answer to this guy, and those two decks seem poised to do a lot of damage in the coming months. If Mono Black Control is viable, he's one of the reasons why. A note about MBC: The lack of Mutliate, Damnation, Disk or O-Stone and thus the lack of ANY real board wipes beyond Infest are going to make the deck significantly worse, even with the rest of the cards supporting it. Probably not a tier 1 archetype.

Deathmark - See Celestial Purge and Flashfreeze.

Diabolic Tutor - See Mind Control.

Relentless Rats - Because the one guy a month who makes the deck is keeping the price at 3 dollars, you could do worse than to trade these at full price. Just make sure that you show "that guy" what Maelstrom Pulse does.

Pyroclasm - A great board wipe at 2 mana, Pyroclasm has commanded a 2 dollar + price tag for a while, and that shouldn't change with M10.

Acidic Slime - A lot of pros love this card, and for good reason. It's almost always going to be 2-for-1. It's cheap right now so it's another card to get in a throw-in.

Awakener Druid - Has potential, but may not see play. There are worse things to hit off a Bloodbraid Elf, but the fact that it MUST hit a forest diminishes its utility.

Nature's Spiral - Already going for a dollar, and might see play somewhere. Lacking the ability to recur combat tricks, removal or sweepers hurts the card's value. Should be sought-after but not "chase".

Overrun - A known quantity that will only increase in value while G-W Tokens is a good deck. See if you can get these cheap because they'll be highly sought-after.

Windstorm - Seems like the kind of card that you'll get a set of, and never use. Can't hurt to have a set but don't break the bank trying to get it.

Tune in next time when we cover the Sleepers of the set, and talk about how to come out ahead even if you don't win your pre-release!

A few SCG price changes:

Honor of the Pure - Now at $10.
Magma Phoenix - $1.50. Still not at full value, this is a Tier 3 rare.
Silence - $11. Still over-hyped. Should fall back to earth too.
Baneslayer Angel - $15. One of the chase Mythics. Card is insane as advertised.

Rounding out the Evaluating M10 Miniseries, we're going to take a look at the new dual lands, some mediocre artifacts, and the new man-land that might not be getting enough love. Let's go!

Coat of Arms
Artifact
Each creature gets +1/+1 for each other creature on the battlefield that shares a creature type with it. (For example, if a Goblin Warrior, a Goblin Scout, and a Zombie Goblin are on the battlefield, each gets +2/+2.)

Ben Bleiweiss said it best when he said that Coat of Arms is as Coat of Arms does. The card's always popular with the little kid contingency, and might even have some power now that Wrath is gone. It'll never dip below 5 dollars as long as there are Elves in Magic, and has been known to see 10.

Darksteel Colossus
Artifact Creature - Golem
Trample Darksteel Colossus is indestructible. ("Destroy" effects and lethal damage don't destroy it.) If Darksteel Colossus would be put into a graveyard from anywhere, reveal Darksteel Colossus and shuffle it into its owner's library instead.
	11/11

Iconic fatty with serious Timmy Appeal, he's almost totally outclassed by Progenitus in the "Large and In Charge" department. This won't stop this colossal Mythic rare from being a double-digit card. Frankly, all the decks that are going to run Polymorph Combo are going to run Progenitus instead but he'll have appeal in Master Transmuter Shenanigan decks. Shouldn't dip below 10 by much, or for too long.

Howling Mine
Artifact
At the beginning of each player's draw step, if Howling Mine is untapped, that player draws an additional card.

A perennial favorite, there's always going to be people making TurboFog decks. As bad as they often end up being, they're popular and that keeps Mine's price at around 5 dollars.

Magebane Armor
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +2/+4 and loses flying. Prevent all noncombat damage that would be dealt to equipped creature. Equip (: Attack to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.)

You know the drill - great flavor, not so great for competitive play. Give it Shroud or Troll-Shroud and we're talking. Most creatures that get +4 on the backside ain't too worried about being burned out. Seems poorly designed and a bad investment of tempo and mana.

Mirror of Fate
Artifact
, Sacrifice Mirror of Fate: Choose up to seven face-up exiled cards you own. Exile all the cards from your library, then put the chosen cards on top of your library.

I can see myself in this mirror, and I don't like the face I'm making. There's probably a combo with this, but it probably won't be very good. It would be VERY cool if Mirror exiled itself. As it is, it doesn't seem too useful. Bulk Rare until someone breaks it.

Pithing Needle
Artifact
As Pithing Needle enters the battlefield, name a card. Activated abilities of sources with the chosen name can't be activated unless they're mana abilities.

15 bucks in Kamigawa, 15 bucks in 10th Edition, 15 bucks in M10. Always useful to have.

Platinum Angel
Artifact Creature - Angel
Flying You can't lose the game and your opponents can't win the game.
	4/4

Timmy card with potential applications in Transmuter Shenanigans decks. The fact that it's mythic should push its price higher than it was in M10, but most tournament decks will ignore it's existence.

Gargoyle Castle
Land
: Add to your mana pool. , , Sacrifice Gargoyle Castle: Put a 3/4 colorless Gargoyle artifact creature token with flying onto the battlefield.

Lovely flavor AND a good card! It's like Stalking Stones except it puts you down a mana permanently. The card's cheap right now because there is a dearth of good long-game control decks, but if a real UW type control deck emerges, he might see play as a 2-of. Probably won't every get higher than a few dollars but it's a nice card nonetheless.

Dragonskull Summit
Land
Dragonskull Summit enters the battlefield tapped unless you control a Swamp or a Mountain. : Add or to your mana pool.

The same thing applies to all the other duals - Drowned Catacomb, Sunpetal Grove, Glacial Fortress and Rootbound Crag; the price of these will spike then level off. Sunpetal Grove and Drowned Catacomb will be the most popular - Grove goes right into G-W Tokens which is the Deck du Jour as of July 18th, while Drowned Catacomb goes into Faeries. That is, if anyone's sitll playing Faeries after M10. The general opinion is that they'll spike to 10-12 immediately, then level off. 8 dollars seems like where the high-demand ones should level off to, while 5-6 is not unlikely for versions that don't get played. The long-term value of these duals is twofold - the first factor is the quality of mana fixing in Zendikar. If Zendikar has any kind of mana fixing that counts as a basic land type (as the Ravnica duals did) or "good" fetchlands (think: NOT panoramas), these will be EXTREMELY good. If Zendikar is light on fixing in general, they'll be very valuable. Losing the Filter Lands, Vivids and Reflecting Pools means that Alara trilands and borderposts will be the new standard, and these duals have an odd interaction with Borderposts. In summary, the short-term value of the new duals will be dictated by immediate demand, and the long term by the quality of mana fixing in the new block. Load up on the G-W one especially at the pre-release, as that will be in the highest demand BY FAR. It's not out of the question to see Sunpetal Grove hit 15 dollars like Fetid Heath did when B-W Tokens got big. You heard it here first - Get Into The Grove!

That wraps it up for the rares of M10. Next week we'll take a look at the commons and uncommons of the set and of course, continue analysis of pricing trends thoughout the weekend. Remember, reader feedback is always welcome so please take a moment of your time to drop an email or leave a comment. The only way the site grows and improves is through your input so if you like what's going on here, let your voice be heard.

Until next time!

Welcome back! Hopefully the Faux Promo posted last night didn't give to many of you a heart attack, although it seems more than one reader would like to have their own Ice Cauldron textless promo. Wrapping up the five colors today will be Green's M10 cards.

Ant Queen
Creature - Insect
: Put a 1/1 green Insect creature token onto the battlefield.
#166/249	5/5

This is the card you want to see in your Jund-based sealed deck pool at the pre-release! While Ant Queen is an amazing Limited bomb, she lacks the power to make waves in Standard right now. The current criteria for card quality is, at present, how it compares to the broken things that G-W Tokens does. In testing, G-W Tokens with Honor of the Pure is just demolishing everything. Ant Queen is a nice card, and might be a decent 1-of in a Big Mana Gruul deck, but overall it should stay around the 1.50 that SCG has assigned it.

Birds of Paradise
Creature - Bird
Flying (This creature can't be blocked except by creatures with flying or reach.) : Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
Each feather in its tail is a souvenir of an exotic land, a memory condensed in hue.
Illus. Marcelo Vignali #168/249	0/1

The gold standard for mana fixing, Birds have been around for a long time, and they're still 10-12 dollars. This shouldn't change much even though Noble Hierarch is proving to be more important in the current environment.

Elvish Archdruid
Creature - Elf Druid
Other Elf creatures you control get +1/+1. : Add to your mana pool for each Elf you control.
Illus. Karl Kopinski	2/2

Priest of Titania and Elvish Champion had an affair, and the slighted spouse was Forestwalk. Archdruid merges Priest's absurd mana ability and Champion's pump ability to make an utter monster. As good as this card is considered, it might still be under-rated. Elves still have access to loads of Crusade effects in the set between Imperious Perfect, Archdruid and Wilt-Leaf Liege, as well as the best mana acceleration in the format. He's going for 5 dollars right now, and if some sort of Elf deck really comes up to Tier 1 status, he'll likely be the lynchpin. It would be surprising to see him hit 10, but 7-8 is not out of the question.

Elvish Piper
Creature - Elf Shaman
, : You may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield.
	1/1

Reprint. Usually sees play in casual decks and not much else. Usually hovers around 5 dollars and isn't worth the price.

Garruk Wildspeaker
Planeswalker - Garruk
+1: Untap two target lands. -1: Put a 3/3 gr een Beast creature token onto the battlefield. -4: Creatures you control get +3/+3 and gain trample until end of turn.
	3

Garruk's going to remain in Standard for an extra year, and he's still totally great! 15 dollars is not too much to ask for such a set of powerful effects, so don't expect a discount on the Beast Factory any time soon.

Great Sable Stag
Creature - Elk
Great Sable Stag can't be countered. Protection from blue and from black (This creature can't be blocked, targeted, dealt damage, or enchanted by anything blue or black.)
Ineffable and incorruptible.
Illus. Matt Cavotta	3/3

Trained Armodon was never a great card. Good, sure, but not great. Stag has protection from a lot of really good cards, but the majority of them are in one deck - Faeries. Against G-W, Red, Kithkin, Red-Green, he's a Trained Armodon. Against Jund he's slightly better as he can't be Pulsed or Bituminous Blast'ed. His 6 dollar price tag seems a touch high for a metagame that's not going to feature the Little Blue Men too much. Over-hyped Trained Armodon that'll live in the sideboard of some Jund and R/G decks. If people are buying, feel free to be selling.

Kalonian Behemoth
Creature - Beast
Shroud
	9/9

Wrath is gone. There are still plenty of board sweepers and most decks will be playing them. He's just too slow and non-evasive to be good against decks that are running Spectral Procession. He's a bulk rare at 1.25.

Lurking Predators
Enchantment
Whenever an opponent casts a spell, reveal the top card of your library. If it's a creature card, put it onto the battlefield. Otherwise, you may put that card on the bottom of your library.
All are prey to the eyes of the wild.

For 6 mana, you can be casting a lot better things than a chance at a few free creatures. We savor the flavor, but relegate the card to EDH. For the mana and the card most decks would rather just have the kind of creature that 6 mana earns you: Broodmate, Cloudgoat, Captain of the Watch, etc. Outclassed Crap Rare.

Master of the Wild Hunt
Creature - Human Shaman
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a 2/2 green Wolf creature token onto the battlefield. : Tap all untapped Wolf creatures you control. Each Wolf tapped this way deals damage equal to its power to target creature. That creature then deals damage equal to its power divided as its controller chooses among any number of those Wolves.
Illus. Kev Walker #191/249	3/3

Now we're talking. Although he seems like a Creakwood Liege at first, it's very important to remember that the best Wolf in Standard right now has amazing synergy with Master of the Wild Hunt. Chameleon Colossus' self-pumping ability will allow Master to be a one-sided Abyss every turn, all the while churning out 2/2 dorks to harass the opponent. The removal aspect is more important than the token generation, but they work oh-so well together. He's 6 dollars right now, and bear in mind that he's MYTHIC. If he sees play, expect that 6 dollars to become 10 quickly. It's only a question of finding the right deck. The card will find a home somewhere, but it may not be until Lorwyn-Morningtide leave Standard.

Might of Oaks
Instant
Target creature gets +7/+7 until end of turn.

Guess where I'm gonna plant this! In the bargain bin, with all the other draft reject dollar rares!

Protean Hydra
Creature - Hydra
Protean Hydra enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it. If damage would be dealt to Protean Hydra, prevent that damage and remove that many +1/+1 counters from it. Whenever a +1/+1 counter is removed from Protean Hydra, put two +1/+1 counters on it at the beginning of the end step.
Illus. Jim Murray	0/0

Someone called this "Protein Hydra" and had to be reminded that QS is a family site. Gross. This little bugger is going to win at least one Pre-Release all by himself. The X-cost Hydra is always a limited bomb, and rarely have constructed use. He's priced at 3 bucks, which is appropriately low for a mythic rare. He's one of many cards that'll make Timmy go "wooooo". Spikes will draft them and leave them on the table.

That's it for Green! Outside of Master of the Wild Hunt, Green gets very little of interest to Standard in the way of rares. Come by tomorrow when we finish up with Artifacts and Lands, followed by a roundup of the noteworthy Uncommons on Friday!

Man, I know they like to send out tournament staples in the MPR mailings, but this is just ridiculous. I mean, this is just gonna TANK the value of my Ice Age copies. Ugh. Just in case you've been living under a rock for the last, oh, FIFTEEN YEARS, here's the Oracle text for Ice Cauldron. Feel free to play your textless promos at a PTQ, where people might actually, you know, KNOW THE RULES, but don't even think about playing this at FNM. Some donkey will invariably ask you what it does. How hard is it to remember these things, people? Damnation kills all the creatures, Cryptic has 4 modes: Counter, Tap, Draw, Bounce. Ice Cauldron just, does what it does!

, : Put a charge counter on Ice Cauldron and remove a nonland card in your hand from the game. As long as that card remains removed from the game, you may play it. Note the type and amount of mana spent to pay this activation cost. Play this ability only if there are no charge counters on Ice Cauldron.

, Remove a charge counter from Ice Cauldron: Add Ice Cauldron's last noted type and amount of mana to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to play the last card removed from the game with Ice Cauldron.

I know, OMG hard to remember. Whatever. At least the poor players who just scrub out at FNM will have one to play in their decks. I've had my set since it was a chase rare in Ice Age. I'll prob just sell it on ebay or something. Lame!

note: yes, this is farce. no, this is not for real. there is no ice cauldron textless promo. that art isn't even by rebecca guay. i just stole the idea from zaiem beg over on channelfireball and thought it was hilarious.

Man, I know they like to send out tournament staples in the MPR mailings, but this is just ridiculous. I mean, this is just gonna TANK the value of my Ice Age copies. Ugh. Just in case you've been living under a rock for the last, oh, FIFTEEN YEARS, here's the Oracle text for Ice Cauldron. Feel free to play your textless promos at a PTQ, where people might actually, you know, KNOW THE RULES, but don't even think about playing this at FNM. Some donkey will invariably ask you what it does. How hard is it to remember these things, people? Damnation kills all the creatures, Cryptic has 4 modes: Counter, Tap, Draw, Bounce. Ice Cauldron just, does what it does!

, : Put a charge counter on Ice Cauldron and remove a nonland card in your hand from the game. As long as that card remains removed from the game, you may play it. Note the type and amount of mana spent to pay this activation cost. Play this ability only if there are no charge counters on Ice Cauldron.

, Remove a charge counter from Ice Cauldron: Add Ice Cauldron's last noted type and amount of mana to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to play the last card removed from the game with Ice Cauldron.

I know, OMG hard to remember. Whatever. At least the poor players who just scrub out at FNM will have one to play in their decks. I've had my set since it was a chase rare in Ice Age. I'll prob just sell it on ebay or something. Lame!

note: yes, this is farce. no, this is not for real. there is no ice cauldron textless promo. that art isn't even by rebecca guay. i just stole the idea from zaiem beg over on channelfireball and thought it was hilarious.

In the wake of the uninspiring Black and Blue cards reviewed, M10's selection of Red cards bring with them the most interesting reprints in the set. Alongside an old Sligh staple are some flavorful old-school cards as well as an overlooked recurring flier that might have many more uses than initially thought. To start it off, let's take a look at the most hyped reprint thus far.

Ball Lightning
Creature - Elemental
Trample, haste At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice Ball Lightning.
#123/249	6/1

As of writing, Ball Lightning's pre-selling for around 8 dollars. This is consistent with Ball Lightning's price history. If it sees heavy tournament use, it will hit 10. If not, it will go down to 5 after the initial hype dies down. People will initially play mono red even if it's not a good deck, so this is a card to sell high while the hype is up.

Bogardan Hellkite
Creature - Dragon
Flash (You may cast this spell any time you could cast an instant) Flying When Bogardan Hellkite enters the battlefield, it deals 5 damage divided as you choose among any number of target creatures and/or players.
Illus. Scott M. Fischer #128/249	5/5

Reprinted from Time Spiral, Hellkite's one hell of a beating if you can cast him. He's only pre-selling for 5 dollars at StarCity, but the question on the minds of players is, "Where does he fit into Standard?" As a mythic rare, Hellkite's price will basically be dictated by usage, however Mythic dragons rarely dip too low in price. With that in mind, Hellkite hasn't got anywhere to go but up. It is reasonable that it remains at 5, but equally reasonable that it rises higher.

Capricious Efreet
Creature - Efreet
At the beginning of your upkeep, choose target nonland permanent you control and up to two nonland permanents you don't control. Destroy one of them at random.
"You wish for great destruction? It is done, my master."
Illus. Justin Sweet #151/249	6/4

It's a red Craw Wurm that might just kill itself or something else you control. While the ability could prove to be interesting in Limited, the card is a total dud for Constructed play. Bulk Rare.

Chandra Nalaar
Planeswalker - Chandra
+1: Chandra Nalaar deals 1 damage to target player. -X: Chandra Nalaar deals X damage to target creature. -8: Chandra Nalaar deals 10 damage to target player and each creature he or she controls.
	6

It's the same old Chandra, just Mythic. Always popular with the casual crowd as planeswalkers are wont to be, she'll hover above 5 dollars and have no relevance to Standard whatsoever.

Earthquake
Sorcery
Earthquake deals X damage to each creature without flying and each player.

Sweet! A reprint that hasn't gotten as much press as Ball Lightning, Earthquake is the newest weapon Red has in the fight aga
inst the Great White Menace that is Kithkin. Despite being a fantastic card, Quake has never really held too much value. It's being priced at 2.50 right now, which is just about right.

Goblin Chieftain
Creature - Goblin
Haste Other Goblin creatures you control get +1/+1 and have haste.
�We are goblinkind, heirs to the mountain empires of chieftains past. Rest is death to us, and arson is our call to war.�
Illus. Sam Wood	2/2

The only question with Goblin Chieftan is, "Are there enough Goblins to make a good deck?" Hackblade, Tattermunge Maniac and Ram-Gang all come to mind. It doesn't have a catalyst like Goblin Pile-Driver was during Onslaught block, but Goblins could yet be a viable deck. As long the Lord is in the core set, every Goblin printed will be judged alongside its Chieftan. This hasty fellow will be wildly popular among casual players and may have tournament potential too. 5 dollars is where it's sitting right now, and that's well within reason. It could even have upside beyond the 5 dollar mark.

Magma Phoenix
Creature - Phoenix
Flying When Magma Phoenix is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, it deals 3 damage to each creature and each player. : Return Magma Phoenix from your graveyard to your hand.
Illus. Raymond Swanland	3/3

There were questions about why this card is "good" on Twitter and in the comments, and it boils down to this: Ignoring the board sweeping on-death ability, it would be playable (but not great) without it. At the moment, it seems outclassed by Demigod of Revenge in mono red and black-red, but the fact is that a no-strings-attached recursion ability is extremely powerful. While it may never become a chase rare or a format-defining icon, Magma Phoenix deserves a lot more love than the 99 cents its getting right now. This is one of the cards that can be "rocket fuel" - a bulk rare that may be far better than people realize.

Manabarbs
Enchantment
Whenever a player taps a land for mana, Manabarbs deals 1 damage to that player

Manabarbs is a fascinating old-school card that everyone seems to have forgotten was in 10th Edition. It wasn't worth anything then and it wont be worth much now.

Shivan Dragon
Creature - Dragon
Flying : Shivan Dragon gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
	5/5

Shivan Dragon: See Mana Barbs. Sad that such an icon of Magic's past has faded to this, but beyond the Timmy-est of gamers, Shivan Dragon's not much fun anymore.

Siege-Gang Commander
Creature - Goblin
When Siege-Gang Commander enters the battlefield, put three 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens onto the battlefield. , Sacrifice a Goblin: Siege-Gang Commander deals 2 damage to target creature or player.
	2/2

Siege-Gang was also in 10th Edition, but loses some of its power under the new M10 rules. He gains a powerful ally in the Goblin Chieftan, but much like the Lord it remains to be seen if a dedicated Goblin deck can bring the heat in Standard. Siege-Gang is usually powerful enough to stand on his own, so a 5 dollar price tag is reasonable to expect.

Warp World
Sorcery
Each player shuffles all permanents he or she owns into his or her library, then reveals that many cards from the top of his or her library. Each player puts all artifact, creature, and land cards revealed this way onto the battlefield, then puts all enchantment cards revealed this way onto the battlefield, then puts all cards revealed this way that weren't put onto the battlefield on the bottom of his or her library in any order.

Another 10th Edition returnee, Warp World is a bizarre card that has a combo decks built around it. Despite having a constructed application in a potentially winning deck, a Ravnica copy of Warp World can be purchased for approximately the price of a White Castle hamburger. Another flavorful bulk rare.

Overall, Red got many of the flavorful cards that Wizards are trying to bring back into Magic. It seems that the majority of the" flavor cards" in the set are not meant for competative play, but that's always been the case with core sets. As long as you temper your expectations and remember that it's a core set and not an expansion, you'll enjoy the sporadic tournament staples that crop up. With that in mind, check back in tomorrow when we take a look at Green's additions to Standard!

They're up to 10 bucks on SCG now. Hopefully that's where they stabilize, but it would not be a stretch to see them hit 12. Once the initial rush lays off, they could fall below 10 but every competitive player will need at least 4 as soon as possible.

Honor of the Pure is up to 7 (in line with the prediction to spike to 8 made yesterday).

Baneslayer Angel was 8 yesterday. Now she's looking more like 12.50. Just what was supposed to happen. That card's insane, folk. Iconic Control finisher if you ever saw one.

Seems like SCG is figuring out quickly what cards are hot and what are not. It's still surprising that no one sees the power of the Magma Phoenix. How often does red get a recurrable source of board wipe? It seems like Magma Phoenix could have big implications and it's still only a buck.

A quick note - while SCG was selling all of the duals for 6.99 earlier today, they've jumped up to 8.99 already. They'll hit 10 before they hit 5, so if you find anyone who isn't hording them at your prerelease, snap them up.

Welcome back! With StarCityGames putting up their pre-order prices, these evaluations are no longer so "preliminary". Instead we'll take a look at what they're selling for and discuss potential applications for the new cards and reprints!

Cemetery Reaper
Creature - Zombie
Other Zombie creatures you control get +1/+1. , : Exile target creature card from a graveyard. Put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield.
	2/2

A well-flavored Lord for a tribe that doesn't really have enough support right now. For your mana, Necrogenesis is probably better at generating tokens on its own. While Reaper pops out 3/3 tokens, Creakwood Liege does the same thing without an activation cost. Star City has it priced at 2.50, which is about right. Casual players will enjoy the flavor but it likely will see no tournament play.

Haunting Echoes
Sorcery
Exile all cards in target player's graveyard other than basic land cards. Search that player's library for all cards with the same name as cards exiled this way and exile them. Then that player shuffles his or her library.

Sweet reprint indeed. Haunting Echoes was a great card when it was printed in the "Graveyard Matters" Odyssey block, but there's no reason it shouldn't be good in current Standard. The dream is obviously to crush a Reveillark deck with this, but it has many applications in the format. It'll be interesting to have this in the same deck as Thought Hemorrhage. Star City has priced it at 5 bucks, which might be a little low all things considered. Newer players may not remember this card so picking it up at the prerelease could be easy.

Hypnotic Specter
Creature - Specter
Flying (This creature can't be blocked except by creatures with flying or reach.) Whenever Hypnotic Specter deals damage to an opponent, that player discards a card at random.
	2/2

Hyppie is in Standard already, and still isn't worth much. SCG has it at 5, which is far too high.

Liliana Vess
Planeswalker - Liliana
+1: Target player discards a card. -2: Search your library for a card, then shuffle your library and put that card on top of it. -8: Put all creature cards in all graveyards onto the battlefield under your control.
	5

Liliana's already a known quantity since she's currently in Standard. SCG has priced the M10 version at 8 dollars, which is just what she's been going for.

Mind Shatter
Sorcery
Target player discards X cards at random.

Another reprint that's already in the format. SCG's price of 1.99 represents the fact that Mind Shatter is really only a sideboard
option for some decks.

Nightmare
Creature - Nightmare Horse
Flying Nightmare's power and toughness are each equal to the number of Swamps you control.
	*/*

Most Magic players couldn't care less about this card. Despite being a cool, well-flavored Magic icon, the card itself is well, garbage. Sad, really, but when 6 mana gets Broodmate Dragons and 9 power of Soldiers, a flying horse doesn't seem as good. Bulk rare.

Royal Assassin
Creature - Human Assassin
: Destroy target tapped creature.
	1/1

Remember when this guy was the epitome of Black's power, back in Revised Edition? The sheer threat of Royal Assassin made Vigilance an extremely powerful ability, and cards like Maelstrom Pulse and Terminate hadn't seen print. Priced at 3.99, Royal Assassin will certianly earn cool points with the older players but again, is too fragile for tournament play.

Sanguine Bond
Enchantment
Whenever you gain life, target opponent loses that much life.

As a 99 cent rare on Star City, there's some design space to be explored with this card. As much fun as it'll be to shock your opponent with a Kitchen Finks, it's one more card that's got a ton of flavor and limited use in competative play.

Underworld Dreams
Enchantment
Whenever an opponent draws a card, Underworld Dreams deals 1 damage to him or her.

3.99, and a reprint from 10th Edition. Should have little impact on Standard or older formats, and 3.99 is too much for this card!

Vampire Nocturnus
Creature - Vampire
Play with the top card of your library revealed. As long as the top card of your library is black, Vampire Nocturnus and other Vampire creatures you control get +2/+1 and have flying.
	3/3

4 mana for what will sometimes be a 5/4 flying? Sounds good. Unfortunately, the triple black cost and the need for a mono black deck works poorly with the most powerful set released in the Alara block. 2.50 is about right for this bulk mythic.

Xathrid Demon
Creature - Demon
Flying, trample At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice a creature other than Xathrid Demon, then each opponent loses life equal to the sacrificed creature�s power. If you can�t sacrifice a creature, tap Xathrid Demon and you lose 7 life.
Illus. Wayne Reynolds	7/7

Oh look! The card they should have added to Duel Decks: Angels vs Demons! A 7/7 flying for 6 is nothing to scoff at, but Xathrid Demon fails the Broodmate Dragon test miserably. If the alternative to sacrificing a creature was say, sacrificing HIM, he might be an interesting card. As is, it's just another highly flavorful card that will probably have sick artwork, but will see zero tournament play. Another bulk Mythic. Enjoy this taking the place of a Planeswalker!

Aside from Haunting Echoes, there seems to be precious little for Black decks in the Rare slot. There are some pretty good looking cards in the common and uncommon spots like the new Terror and the new Night's Whisper that doubles as Burn, but as far as rares go, black is filled with flavorful cool cards that will have almost no effect on Standard. Check back next time when we take a look at Red, which got the most talked-about reprints so far!

Head over there and check it out! Their prices seem reasonable so far. Here are some of the standouts:

Birds of Paradise - 12.50 : Duh!

Ball Lightning - 5.99 : About what other editions were going for.

Captain of the Watch - 3.99 : Uh, WHAT? There's a reason they're listing as Sold Out right now. Either there was a mad rush or Ben Bleiweiss realized that he should probably charge about 50% more for this card at minimum.

Djinn of Wishes - 1.50 : Seems right, but it could have a chance to spike.

Dragonskull Summit - 6.99 : The R/B Dual. This seems about right.

Drowned Catacomb - 6.99 : I'd have expected them to vary a bit in price, since U/B is usually the "expensive one". Either summit is overpriced or this is underpriced. It seems they're all priced at 6.99

Honor of the Pure - 4.99 : Also sold out. This will probably spike to 8ish due to the amazing rush of people trying to build White Weenie. I'm going to be calling them 10 bucks at the release events.

Magma Phoenix - .99 : This is insane. Completely. Insane. Grab these. I don't know why this card hasn't been getting more love, but it's better than a bargain bin rare.

Open the Vaults - .99 : A powerful card without a home, these have already sold out (or been pulled and will be relisted higher). Probably worth more than a buck also.

Planar Cleansing - 1.99 : A little low. This should see some love if a U/W control deck is viable.

Silence - 7.99 : About right. This card will be used primarily in aggro decks (like White Weenie), so will get a temporary boost from the mad rush to play said deck. I'll be calling it a 10-spot at the release as well.

Baneslayer Angel - 7.99 : No one was expecting a bargain on a mythic 5/5 lifelinked angel. 7.99 might even be cheap if she sees play in a contrl archetype. It hasn't got the same turn 4 potential that Exalted Angel did, but it has a similar feel - hard-to-kill flying lifelinked fatty.

Master of the Wild Hunt - 5.99 : Seems about right. He's got a hell of a powerful effect but what deck does he go in? G/W Overrun? If he finds a deck, he'll increase in value by a ton. I'd trade for them now in case they find a home. Remember, he's Mythic.

Check out the whole set at StarCityGames!