Welcome back to Ben’s Corner! Today’s update is wedged between States and our Power Nine Chicago tournament so it will be a little shorter than usual. Fret not! I’ve a few things to discuss.
Coldsnap
The week’s biggest news is the announcement that Wizards of the Coat will be releasing a fourth, Standard-legal expansion in July of 2006. This set is called Coldsnap and you can read Randy Buehler’s FAQ about the set here. In brief, Coldsnap is the long lost third set of the Ice Age block. It will be tournament legal in Standard, and it will have booster packs, preconstructed decks, fat packs, and a prerelease. Will the set use the themes of Ice Age, such as Snow-Covered lands and Cumulative Upkeep? Will the preconstructed decks contain high-demand cards such as Force of Will? I don’t know the answer to either of these questions, but they are the questions on the lips of players worldwide, so stay tuned over the coming months to find out some answers!
Card of the week: Ice Age Booster Box!
Coldsnap is purported to be the third set of the Ice Age block, so now’s the time to pick up those Ice Age and Alliances Booster Boxes to do Ice Age/Alliance/Coldsnap booster drafts! The prices on Ice Age block sealed product are virtually assured to rise over the coming months as demand for sealed product for earlier sets in that block skyrocket. If you plan on doing these sorts of drafts, pick up boxes sooner than later, as the supply of these boxes will dry up as July of next year approaches.
The 100 Most Essential Extended Commons: Now for Sale!
When I wrote my list of the 100 Most Essential Extended Commons a few weeks ago, I had not intended to have the lot offered for sale. However, dozens of people have written to me asking if we can make the cards on this list available as one package, and we have done so! I’ve resurrected Ben’s Special, an ever-changing item depending on my whims for the week. The first Ben’s Special of the new Ben’s Corner will be the 100 Most Essential Extended Commons — four of each — for a total of 400 cards! All the cards in these lots will be in near mint condition, and I’ve selected the more desirable edition for each card when possible (for instance, picking black-bordered Memory Lapses from Homelands rather than white-bordered Memory Lapses from 7th Edition). The total price on this lot is $100 for all 400 cards — it works out to $0.25 per card, and it includes four copies of cards such as Duress, Wild Mongrel, Basking Rootwalla, Counterspell, Deep Analysis, Llanowar Elves, Sakura-Tribe Elder and other higher dollar cards. If you’re looking to grab all these cards at once, or are just getting back into Magic, this is a perfect lot for you! Please note that I can only make ten copies of this lot at this time, and unfortunately I cannot substitute editions. Here’s the list:
Aether Burst – Odyssey
Aether Spellbomb – Mirrodin
Ancient Den – Mirrodin
Annul – Urza’s Saga
Aquamoeba – Torment
Barren Moor – Onslaught
Basking Rootwalla – Torment
Bonesplitter – Mirrodin
Boomerang – Mirage
Cabal Ritual – Torment
Careful Study – Odyssey
Chromatic Sphere – Mirrodin
Circle of Protection: Black – Ice Age
Circle of Protection: Green – Ice Age
Circle of Protection: Red – Ice Age
Civic Wayfinder – Ravnica: City of Guilds
Consult the Necrosages – Ravnica
Counterspell – Tempest
Darksteel Citadel – Darksteel
Daru Spiritualist – Scourge
Deep Analysis – Torment
Disenchant – Ice Age
Dismantling Blow – Invasion
Distress – CoK
Duress – Urza’s Saga
Echoing Decay – Darksteel
Echoing Ruin – Darksteel
Echoing Truth – Darksteel
Electrostatic Bolt – Mirrodin
Elves of Deep Shadow – Ravnica
Faceless Butcher – Torment
Farseek – Ravnica: City of Guilds
Fiery Temper – Torment
Firebolt – Odyssey
Force Spike – 5th Edition
Forgotten Cave – Onslaught
Frogmite – Mirrodin
Frostling – BoK
Ghastly Demise – Odyssey
Great Furnace – Mirrodin
Hearth Kami – CoK
Innocent Blood – Odyssey
Kami of Ancient Law – CoK
Kodama’s Reach – CoK
Krosan Tusker – Onslaught
Lava Dart – Judgment
Lay of the Land – Apocalypse
Llanowar Elves – Revised
Lonely Sandbar – Onslaught
Mana Leak – Stronghold
Matsu-Tribe Sniper – BoK
Memory Lapse – Homelands
Mental Note – Judgment
Mesmeric Fiend – Torment
Molten Rain – Mirrodin
Moment’s Peace – Odyssey
Muddle the Mixture – Ravnica
Myr Enforcer – Mirrodin
Naturalize – 8th Edition
Nightscape Familiar – Planeshift
Ninja of the Deep Hours – BoK
Opt – Invasion
Overload – Invasion
Perplex – Ravnica
Pyrite Spellbomb – Mirrodin
Raise the Alarm – Mirrodin
Ravenous Rats – Invasion
Recoil – Invasion
Rend Flesh – CoK
Renewed Faith – Onslaught
Repulse – Invasion
Rushing River – Planeshift
Sakura-Tribe Elder – CoK
Seat of the Synod – Mirrodin
Secluded Steppe – Onslaught
Seething Song – Mirrodin
Serum Visions – Fifth Dawn
Shatter – Mirrodin
Shock – Onslaught
Skirk Prospector – Onslaught
Sleight of Hand – 9th Edition
Stone Rain – Ice Age
Sunscape Familiar – Planeshift
Syncopate – Odyssey
Terashi’s Grasp – BoK
Terminate – Planeshift
Terror – Mirrodin
Thought Courier – Fifth Dawn
Tranquil Thicket – Onslaught
Tree of Tales – Mirrodin
Trinket Mage – Fifth Dawn
Unsummon – Revised
Vault of Whispers – Mirrodin
Vine Trellis – Mercadian Masques
Volcanic Hammer – 8th Edition
Wayfarer’s Bauble – Fifth Dawn
Wear Away – CoK
Werebear – Odyssey
Wild Mongrel – Odyssey
Wipe Clean – Scourge
If you have any questions about this special, please feel free to e-mail me at Ben@StarCityGames.com
That’s all the time I’ve got this week. I hope you all enjoyed Ben’s Corner, and if you’re in the Chicago area stop by Pastimes on Saturday for our Power Nine Chicago tournament. I’ll be there buying and selling cards all day, so if you’ve been looking to sell cards to StarCityGames.com in person, now’s the time to do so! I’ll see all you Midwesterners this weekend and everyone else next Friday!
Ben Bleiweiss
General Manager, StarCityGames.com
Ben@StarCityGames.com