A few weeks ago, one of my Twitter followers asked me why Runed Halo was
suddenly worth so darned much. Sure, it’s an older card, but it only sees
play in the sideboard of two decks in Modern. $20 might make sense, but
$40? Seriously? This had to be one of those buyout-related spikes and the
card’s price would be dropping back down to $20 again soon, right?
No so fast, I said. The card may have been bought out, but any Modern
staple that hasn’t been reprinted since Shadowmoor has a shot as
seeing a similar spike. When supply is that low, you don’t need that much
demand to cause a permanent jump in price. Runed Halo is probably stuck in
the $40 range until WotC reprints it in a Masters set.
This line of thinking got me interested in visualizing the Modern index
based on the date of each card’s most recent reprint. Not only might this
search help us find the next Runed Halo, it should help us develop a better
understanding of the Modern market as a whole.
So that’s what we’re doing this week: traveling back to 2003, one year at a
time.
The following table contains almost every Modern-legal card with a current
retail price of $10 or more. (I say “almost” because I invariably missed a
couple – Modern is HUGE!) Cards that are banned in Modern aren’t on the
list, nor are cards that were printed solely for sets like Conspiracy, Commander, and Unstable. I also left
off all the Standard-legal cards, since those price tags have very little
to do with Modern.
Once I had my list of staples, I sorted all of the remaining cards based on
the year of their most recent reprint. If a card has been printed more than
once, it only shows up during its most recent reprint year. So even though
the Zendikar fetchlands were printed in 2010 and 2017, for
example, they only show up under 2017 on this chart. This is because I’m
mostly interested in how recently each card has been reprinted, and this is
the easiest way to visualize that information.
Lastly, each card is further sorted based on how many times it has been
reprinted. For example, Tarmogoyf has been in four sets:Future Sight, Modern Masters 2013, Modern Masters 2015, and Modern Masters 2017. On this
table, then, it shows up under “2017” as a card that has been printed four
different times.
Tracking the number of times a card has been reprinted gets tricky once we
start looking at supplemental releases, but I tried to keep my methodology
as consistent as possible. Ultimately, I decided that if a supplemental
printing was big enough to demonstrably lower the price of a card it would
count. If it wasn’t, I’d ignore it.
This means that FNM promos, Prerelease foils (back when there was only one
promo), Duel Decks, Grand Prix promos, and From the Vault
printings counted toward my reprint tally. Judge foils, Masterpieces, and
RPTQ foils did not. I probably missed a couple of obscure but meaningful
reprints while going through the list, but I did my best to be
comprehensive.
The results are fascinating. Ready to take a trip back in time? Let’s start
with-
2017
Second Printing
Liliana of the Veil – $85
Scalding Tarn – $70
Cavern of Souls – $65
Snapcaster Mage – $60
Verdant Catacombs – $50
Misty Rainforest – $36
Horizon Canopy – $35
Marsh Flats – $35
Arid Mesa – $32
Damnation – $25
Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy – $20
Archangel of Thune – $16
Consecrated Sphinx – $14
Craterhoof Behemoth – $13
Linvala, Keeper of Silence – $13
Bloodghast – $13
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger – $12
Sheoldred, Whispering One – $12
Huntmaster of the Fells – $11
Voice of Resurgence – $10
Shared Animosity – $10
Third Printing
Ancestral Vision – $20
Avacyn, Angel of Hope – $16
Goblin Guide – $16
Thoughtseize – $15
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite – $14
Grove of the Burnwillows – $13
4+ Printings
Tarmogoyf – $60
Aether Vial – $33
Cryptic Command – $26
Blood Moon – $22
Time Warp – $12
This list would have been twice as long if the criteria were “Modern-legal
cards that were $10+ before being reprinted in 2017,” but even former
stalwarts like Primeval Titan have passed below that threshold. It’s
notable, then, that all of these cards are still $10+ despite being
available in booster packs that are still readily available.
It’s also remarkable just how many of the format’s most valuable cards were
reprinted in 2017. Liliana of the Veil, Cavern of Souls, Horizon Canopy,
Snapcaster Mage, Aether Vial, Blood Moon, Tarmogoyf, and the fetchlands are
all perennial members of Modern’s top ten most expensive cards. So even
though I expect 2018 to be a reprint-heavy year, it’ll have a hard time
matching 2017 in terms of making Modern staples more accessible.
I know I’ve said this before, but I still think that buying into some of
these cards now is smart. They’ve all proven themselves at least somewhat
resilient to reprint-related price drops, and it’s very unlikely that WotC
is going to reprint more than a couple of them again before 2020 or so.
One of the biggest questions I have looking at this list: are the cards
that have seen three, four, or even five printings already more likely to
be printed again soon (because WotC is clearly willing to print these
specific cards over and over again) or less likely to be printed again soon
(because they’ve already been printed a bunch of times recently)? I
personally lean toward believing the former, but I’m not sure I have the
data to back that opinion up.
2016
First Printing
Liliana, the Last Hope – $26
Collective Brutality – $14
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet – $11
Second Printing
Chromatic Lantern – $14
Geist of Saint Traft – $12
Wow! I had assumed that the last few years would be chock full of tasty
Modern reprints, but we got almost none in 2016. I remember Eternal Masters as a set that had a couple of interesting Modern
cards in addition to the Legacy and Vintage staples, but none of them were
on the high end.
As a result, we’re left with a couple of fairly casual Duel Decks
reprints and a few spells that just rotated out of Standard. It might be
worth snagging Collective Brutality and Liliana, the Last Hope if you need
them, then-it should be a couple of years before they come back in a Masters set.
2015
First Printing
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon – $35
Dragonlord Dromoka – $18
Collected Company – $17
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger – $15
Kolaghan’s Command – $14
Narset Transcendent – $12
Sarkhan Unbroken – $12
Alhammarret’s Archive – $10
Second Printing
Mox Opal – $80
Karn Liberated – $70
Noble Hierarch – $58
Bitterblossom – $35
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth – $30
Leyline of Sanctity – $30
Fulminator Mage – $25
Surgical Extraction – $20
Tezzeret the Seeker – $12
Third Printing
Dark Confidant – $50
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn – $43
Vendilion Clique – $28
All Is Dust – $23
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre – $20
Eldrazi Temple – $12
Iona, Shield of Emeria – $10
We’re back to Modern Masters 2015 now, which brought us key
reprints like Fulminator Mage, Karn Liberated, Mox Opal, Noble Hierarch,
and Surgical Extraction. At this point, it’s been long enough that we’re in
a stage of total uncertainty. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mox Opal in Masters 25, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if most of these
cards don’t come back until 2019 or 2020. You shouldn’t feel bad about
buying any of these cards if you need them, but you shouldn’t really be
surprised if they come back soon.
The “third printing” cards that haven’t come back since 2015 are holding
pretty well. While no third printing card from 2017 broke $20, both Dark
Confidant and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn have proven pretty resilient. It’s
also worth noting that 2015 and 2016 each only have one “first printing”
card worth more than $20 right now. So much for immediate post-rotation
gains!
2014
First Printing
Ajani, Mentor of Heroes – $16
Garruk, Apex Predator – $15
Sliver Hivelord – $13
Ajani Steadfast – $13
Athreos, God of Passage – $13
Brimaz, King of Oreskos – $10
Eidolon of the Great Revel – $10
Second Printing
Sword of Feast and Famine – $25
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth – $21
Bloodstained Mire – $20
Polluted Delta – $20
Wurmcoil Engine – $20
Wooded Foothills – $18
Batterskull – $18
Flooded Strand – $18
Vedalken Orrery – $14
Windswept Heath – $16
Chord of Calling – $10
Elspeth, Sun’s Champion – $10
Third Printing
Grave Titan – $12
Reflecting Pool – $10
4+ Printings
Elspeth, Knight-Errant – $16
There was no Masters set in 2014, so most of the reprints here are
from Commander 2014, a Modern event deck, Conspiracy, M15, and Khans of Tarkir. The fetchlands are obviously
the biggest draw here, and it’s interesting to me how steady they’ve been
over the past four years. When you combine that information with the fact
that most of the first printing cards are also stagnant-even Eidolon of the
Great Revel, which sees a lot of play in Modern-you start getting the sense
that there is a BIG difference between supplemental set reprints and main
set reprints. While a card can quickly rebound after a Masters set
reprint if it sees enough play, there are still enough copies of cards from
these 2014 sets to go around.
2013
First Printing
Purphoros, God of the Forge – $18
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx – $10
Rise of the Dark Realms – $10
Second Printing
Chalice of the Void – $85
Doubling Season – $55
Arcbound Ravager – $48
Sword of Fire and Ice – $45
Engineered Explosives – $45
Sword of Light and Shadow – $33
Pact of Negation – $30
Academy Ruins – $20
Summoner’s Pact – $20
Tooth and Nail – $19
Watery Grave – $18
Sacred Foundry – $17
Glen Elendra Archmage – $16
Kira, Great Glass-Spinner – $15
Glimmervoid – $15
Stomping Ground – $15
Godless Shrine – $14
Breeding Pool – $13.50
Ethersworn Canonist – $13
Sarkhan Vol – $11
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad – $11
Third Printing
Maelstrom Pulse – $20
Mutavault – $16
Gilded Lotus – $13
Kitchen Finks – $12
Life from the Loam – $12
4+ Printings
Progenitus – $10
The big story here, of course, is Modern Masters 2013. More than
half of the set’s best cards haven’t been printed again, and they’ve jumped
in price quite a bit over the past five years. If Masters 25 has a
lot of Modern staples in it, I’d expect a bunch of these to come back. If
not, they’ll be in the next Modern Masters set.
It’s also worth noting that we’ve gone another year back in time without
finding an exciting “new” card. Other than Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, is
there a single first printing card up to this point that you’d be excited
to open in a future Masters set? This really speaks to the
diminishing returns that WotC is about to face if they’re going to keep
relying on yearly (or twice-yearly) reprint sets.
I’m also a little shocked that WotC decided to print Progenitus four times
in five years. Is that a record? It has to be, right?
2012
First Printing
Omniscience – $26
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed – $25
Exquisite Blood – $20
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben – $20
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage – $18
Sigarda, Host of Herons – $16
Vexing Devil – $11
Second Printing
Akroma’s Memorial – $18
Boseiju, Who Shelters All – $18
Steam Vents – $18
Venser, the Sojourner – $15
Dryad Arbor – $10
Overgrown Tomb – $10
Temple Garden – $12
Blood Crypt – $12
Ah, the pre-Masters era! Now it’s finally time to start looking at
first printing cards for some interesting spec opportunities. We’re a
couple of months late on Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, though, and the rest
of these are either casual or Legacy cards.
Again, it’s absurd to me that the Return to Ravnica shocklands are
still $10-$15. WotC printed just a ton of every set from here on out, and
the player base’s stagnant growth hasn’t really helped, either.
2011
First Printing
Phyrexian Obliterator – $40
Blightsteel Colossus – $28
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas – $20
Sword of War and Peace – $18
Inkmoth Nexus – $18
Balefire Dragon – $18
Darksteel Plate – $11
Massacre Wurm – $10
Thrun, the Last Troll – $10
Second Printing
Leyline of the Void – $24
Sorin Markov – $18
Omnath, Locus of Mana – $16
Doran, the Siege Tower – $10
4+ Printings
Grave Pact – $16
It’s weird how fast the calendar turns from “there’s nothing worth
reprinting” to “wait, they haven’t reprinted that yet?” I assume we’ll get
a Masters set with Phyrexian Obliterator, Blightsteel Colossus,
and Inkmoth Nexus in it, but that last card represents an intriguing buy
until then. Infect isn’t super popular at the moment, but we are talking
about a card that’s been as high as $50 in recent history. The WMQ promo
might have hurt the price more than I’m giving it credit for, but it’s
still a fairly strong buy regardless. I also kind of like Thrun, the Last
Troll, which shows up in the occasional B/G and Jund Modern deck. It might
see a bit more play if Bloodbraid Elf is unbanned.
2010
First Printing
Celestial Colonnade – $65
Vengevine – $30
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon – $23
Nirkana Revenant – $23
Creeping Tar Pit – $20
Blackcleave Cliffs – $19
Platinum Emperion – $18
Lighthouse Chronologist – $15
Training Grounds – $15
Darkslick Shores – $13
Elspeth Tirel – $13
Asceticism – $12
Eldrazi Conscription – $12
Fauna Shaman – $12
Khalni Hydra – $12
Leyline of Anticipation – $12
Razorverge Thicket – $12
Copperline Gorge – $11
Second Printing
Steel Overseer – $18
Master Transmuter – $16
Sword of Body and Mind – $13
Ancient Ziggurat – $12
I’ve been mostly ignoring the casual cards in this analysis because it’s
pretty clear that they’re going to tank as soon as they’re reprinted. With
a few exceptions (Doubling Season, Chromatic Lantern), it’s hard for casual
demand to rise to the point where it can bounce right back following a
reprint. The further back in time we go, the more $10-$20 casual cards
we’re going to find that will be $5 casual cards once they show up in a Masters set.
Beyond that, it looks like WotC has already mined 2010 for a lot of its
juiciest possible reprints. We’re basically just waiting for the
creature-lands and Scars of Mirrodin fastlands to come back. My
guess is that at least one of these two cycles will show up in Masters 25.
2009
First Printing
Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund – $30
Sen Triplets – $25
Maelstrom Nexus – $23
Oracle of Mul Daya – $20
Lich Lord of Unx – $16
Lord of Extinction – $15
Maelstrom Archangel – $14
Master of the Wild Hunt – $12
Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet – $10
Mindbreak Trap – $10
Second Printing
Meddling Mage – $20
Dragon Broodmother – $15
Trinisphere – $12
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle – $10
There aren’t a lot of Modern staples in this 2009 crop, which probably
explains why Meddling Mage jumped so hard once it started showing up as a
four-of in Humans. It also tells me that Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle is
probably underpriced at $10-it’s also a four-of in a solid tier two deck.
Beyond that, Mindbreak Trap is good across multiple Eternal formats, and
seems like a safe bet to end up in the $20+ range at some point.
2008
First Printing
Scapeshift – $58
Fetid Heath – $40
Runed Halo – $40
Prismatic Omen – $35
Greater Auramancy – $34
Bloom Tender – $30
Mana Reflection – $30
Twilight Mire – $28
Rugged Prairie – $27
Cascade Bluffs – $25
Rhys the Redeemed – $23
Mystic Gate – $20
Flooded Grove – $19
Idyllic Tutor – $18
Sunken Ruins – $18
Deathbringer Liege – $15
Wooded Bastion – $14
Fire-Lit Thicket – $13
Scarecrone – $13
Helix Pinnacle – $12
Painter’s Servant – $10
Second Printing
Death Baron – $25
We’re back to the Runed Halo era now, and it’s pretty clear that any
Modern-legal card that hasn’t been reprinted since 2008 has a shot at being
worth $40+. Scapeshift might actually be undervalued at $58, though I
suspect it’ll be reprinted at some point this year or next.
Just like with 2010, it’s clear that WotC is lagging a little behind in
reprinting lands than most of the other cards. The Shadowmoor
block filterlands dominate this list, and most of them will end up in the
$5-$10 range once they’re reprinted. For now, it’s good that they don’t see
a ton of Modern play.
It’s also interesting how scarce the reprints are once you go back this
far. There were a handful in core sets and supplemental releases, but
that’s it.
2007
First Printing
Sliver Legion – $45
Rings of Brighthearth – $35
Thorn of Amethyst – $20
Gilt-Leaf Palace – $18
Gaddock Teeg – $17
Vigor – $17
Mistbind Clique – $13
Cloud Key – $10
Forced Fruition – $10
Sower of Temptation – $10
Timber Protector – $10
Time Stretch – $10
Second Printing
Crucible of Worlds – $65
Doubling Cube – $15
Coalition Relic – $14
Third Printing
Seedborn Muse – $23
4+ Printings
Lord of the Undead – $15
Can you believe that Crucible of Worlds hasn’t seen a major reprint since
2007? No wonder it’s almost a $70 card. This one is coming back soon for
sure. They’ll probably save Sliver Legion until we get a Masters
set with a Sliver sub-theme in it, though.
In terms of Modern play, Gaddock Teeg is an interesting call. It’s a
sideboard card in several decks, including G/W Hexproof, which means that
it might break through at some point. Gilt-Leaf Palace has potential,
too-Modern Elves always feels like it’s a card or two away, and it won an
Invitational without dropping a match not long ago.
2006
First Printing
Living End – $30
Infernal Tutor – $26
Flagstones of Trokair – $23
Gauntlet of Power – $20
Shattering Spree – $15
Arcum Dagsson – $13
Protean Hulk – $13
Tidespout Tyrant – $12
Gemstone Caverns – $11
Swarmyard – $11
Sedge Sliver – $10
Scrying Sheets – $10
We’ve got an interesting crop of cards here in 2006. Living End is, of
course, a recent spike-it was under $20 about a month ago and I’m kicking
myself for not writing this article a little earlier. Shattering Spree has
also tripled in price since the summer, but this one looks like it still
has some room to grow-even though it’s an uncommon, it was printed in a
small set and it sees play in a bunch of different Modern brews. I’m also
intrigued by Flagstones of Trokair, which always seems to show up in a new
Death and Taxes or Mono-White variant every now and again.
It’s worth reiterating that all of these cards are in very low supply,
which means that even a small increase in demand could cause a real and
lasting spike. That’s what happened with both Living End and Runed Halo.
There are downsides here too, though. For one, it’s fairly easy to
manipulate the market on cards like these-if someone wants to buy the world
out of Tidespout Tyrants, for example, they can. Also, low supply cards
usually tank harder than most during a reprint. Infernal Tutor is only a
$26 card because it hasn’t been printed since Dissension. It would
be a $4 card if it were in Iconic Masters.
2005
First Printing
Goryo’s Vengeance – $50
Oboro, Palace in the Clouds – $20
Privileged Position – $18
Sakashima the Impostor – $17
Mikokoro, Center of the Sea – $16
Mirror Gallery – $16
Miren, the Moaning Well – $12
Cloudstone Curio – $10
Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker – $10
Reki, the History of Kamigawa – $10
Second Printing
Greater Good – $12
Weathered Wayfarer – $12
There were loads of good cards printed in 2005, but most of them (Dark
Confidant, Doubling Season, the shocklands) have been reprinted at least
once. That leaves us with a motley crew of weird legends, rare lands from Saviors of Kamigawa, and Goryo’s Vengeance. Goryo’s Vengeance
could spike to $80-$90 if the deck ever spikes a high finish, but it’ll be
a $15 card if it’s reprinted, so I’m a little too risk adverse to buy in
now. Weathered Wayfarer, Cloudstone Curio, and Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
all see occasional Modern play and are worth keeping an eye on as well.
2004
First Printing
Azusa, Lost but Seeking – $55
Through the Breach – $40
Mycosynth Lattice – $30
Staff of Domination – $25
Minamo, School at Water’s Edge – $23
Mycosynth Golem – $16
Hall of the Bandit Lord – $12
Marrow-Gnawer – $12
Eiganjo Castle – $11
Seshiro the Anointed – $10
It’s crazy to think what Azusa, Lost but Seeking would be worth if Summer
Bloom hadn’t been banned, but the card still sees a decent amount of play.
Ditto for Through the Breach, which is cheaper than Goryo’s Vengeance
despite seeing more play in Modern. Both cards have to be reprinted soon,
right?
2003
First Printing
Mesmeric Orb – $23
Extraplanar Lens – $18
Second Printing
Bribery – $23
Intruder Alarm – $10
Third Printing
Ensnaring Bridge – $43
We did it! This is the birth of Modern. Fifteen long years ago.
As you can see, it doesn’t take much for one of these cards to spike.
Mesmeric Orb is $23 despite only really seeing play in a fringe U/B Mill
deck. By that metric, Ensnaring Bridge is probably underpriced at $43
despite the number of pre-2003 printings it has. (I also expect that Seventh and Eighth Edition rares have a combined
scarcity figure higher than any rare in Mirrodin). I wonder if
cards like Ensnaring Bridge, Through the Breach, etc. are a little cheaper
than they “should” be precisely because everybody knows that they’re
overdue for a reprint.
Now that we’ve finished our journey, I have to admire the job that WotC has
done reprinting Modern’s most important staples. Almost every key card has
been reprinted at some point in the past five years, most of them in the
past three, and even outliers like Through the Breach were given
Masterpieces to help take the pressure off. Modern is still expensive, but
it would probably be an impossible format for most people to play had the Masters sets not come along.
At the same time, it’s even more clear just how precarious the future of
the Masters sets are. I talked about this at length last month,
but just take a look at the numbers: fetchlands aside, you have to go
back to 2012 before you can find a decent crop of cards that 1) haven’t
been reprinted at least once, and 2) you’d be happy opening in a $9.99
booster pack. And since the player base hasn’t really grown since then,
it’s unclear how long it’ll take before we’re actually going to need to
reprint cards like Eidolon of the Great Revel and Hallowed Fountain. Two
more years? Five? Ten?
This leads me to the following conclusions:
-
It’s worth grabbing staples from Masters sets once they
hit their post-reprint lows. These cards do rebound, and it doesn’t
take forever in most cases.
-
You don’t have to rush to buy cards from non-Masters sets
at their post-rotational lows. While some of these cards will
increase in value a bit, most will not. Collected Company sees
plenty of Modern play, but it has only gone up about $5 since
rotation-and that was one of the bigger success stories.
-
Any Modern card that hasn’t been reprinted since 2012 or so is ripe
for a spike. And if it does end up seeing a moderate amount of play
(Meddling Mage, Runed Halo, Living End) that spike will stick.
-
WotC does a good job of paying attention to what people are playing
and trying to make those cards affordable and accessible (as long
as you think $10 boosters are affordable and accessible).
-
WotC is going to have to re-think their Masters sets at
some point soon, which will likely change the game again. Buckle
up!
What do you think? Did I miss anything in my year-by-year dive through
Modern’s reprints? Hit me up in the comments and let me know!
This Week’s Trends
Standard is still on the rise as everybody looks to innovate in the
post-ban format. One thing seems certain: Jadelight Ranger, Rekindling
Phoenix, and The Scarab God all have a place in Standard’s newest
iteration. They are, unsurprisingly, the three biggest gainers of the week.
Legion’s Landing and Sanctum Seeker are also up a bit as W/B Vampires
begins sneaking into the Standard metagame.
On the other side, Profane Procession. Blood Sun, and Kumena, Tyrant of
Orazca are the biggest Standard losers. All three cards are good, but they
haven’t quite lived up to their hype yet. The first two don’t surprise
me-Profane Procession has always felt like a sideboard card, and Blood Sun
was never going to do anything in Standard. It’s a tad early to give up on
Kumena, though-Merfolk didn’t do terribly at SCG Dallas, and it’s possible
that a tuned version of the deck will emerge at some point over the next
few weeks.
The 2018 National Promo has been revealed, and it’s Flooded Strand! While
it bothers my internal need for order that they only did one card in a
ten-card cycle, it’s a pretty promo that’s likely to remain expensive for
quite some time. As always with these Nationals promos, it won’t affect the
price of the non-promo at all. Flooded Strand is still a hold.
Speaking of reprints, the Explorers of Ixalan version of
Aggravated Assault spiked to $10 after being a $4-$5 card since the box set
came out. I don’t think they printed too many of these, and the Onslaught version was worth $20 before Explorers was
announced. It’s a very popular casual card, and I expect that both copies
will end up back in the $15 range soon enough.
As I predicted last week
, Goblin Lore jumped from bulk to about five bucks due to the Saffron Olive
deck. If you’ve got these, sell into hype-it’s not a great card, and people
will move on to the next cool new budget deck soon enough.
Surgespanner also jumped from the $1 rare bin to about $5, probably because
it’s a sweet Commander combo with Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca. She’ll be a
popular Commander for a while, so expect Surgespanner to remain in the $5
range as well.
The Pauper market continues to rise, with Oubliette the big winner this
week. It’s an Arabian Nights card, so there’s no telling how high
it will go until a reprint comes around to save us all. You don’t really
need the card in many builds of Pauper Mono-Black, though, so I have a hard
time believing that this one will be a hot seller in the $50 range. This
was likely a Magic Finance buy-out, and the price will probably end up
settling in between $30 and $40. Plenty of the other Pauper spikes-Standard
Bearer, Prismatic Strands, Moment’s Peace-are also dropping off a bit after
what appear to be speculation buyout spikes.
I keep thinking that the Reserved List buyouts will stop at some point, but
they haven’t yet. This week, it was Invoke Prejudice, Forcefield, and The
Abyss. Meanwhile, some of last week’s big gainers, like King Suleiman,
dropped off a little again. Some of this movement is simply small sample
size among the number of cards sold, and some of it is manipulation. At
this point, though, it’s clear that the overall market for cards from the Legends/Arabian Nights era is still on the rise.