Hello everyone, and welcome to the second installment of my Financial Value of Kaladesh! There weren’t a ton of cards spoiled in the past two days, but many of the ones that were spoiled are very exciting indeed! Let’s go take a look at the new cards and then look at the singles/box value as a whole.
Common(s) of Note
Though it’ll be noted that if a dedicated Energy deck emerges, most of the Thriving creatures (Thriving Grubs, Thriving Ibex, Thriving Rats, Thriving Rhino and Thriving Turtle) will be contenders for slots.
Uncommon(s) of Note
Aether Hub – Patrick Chapin gave a pretty comprehensive rundown of Aether Hub in yesterday’s preview article. Long story short: For competitive play, Aether Hub is an improved Tendo Ice Bridge. It’s going to be played a lot in Standard (especially as a replacement for painlands in Eldrazi decks). It’ll likely be a staple in Modern as well (especially in Zoo decks that run Voltaic Brawler), so just go ahead and pick up a playset now – this is a sure thing to be played in both Standard and Modern.
Rares
Aetherflux Reservoir (Started at $1, currently at $1.50) – Such a strange card. I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for feedback on Aetherflux Reservoir. There’s general agreement that it’s going to be a Commander staple, but not as much agreement about how (or if) it’ll be used in Constructed play. This is one of those “build around me” cards that is worth playing, as it’s essentially a built-in Storm engine (play X spells, kill opponent). In addition, it works great in multiples (since each Aetherflux Reservoir will separately trigger gaining life).
I think that there are decks that already would want to incorporate Aetherflux Reservoir (Soul Sisters in Modern could really use an efficient win condition, for instance), but I also think there are combo decks in Modern that will just use Aetherflux Reservoir as the kill card. I think this is going to end up being Constructed-playable, but I think it’ll appeal to few enough players (die-hard combo players) that it won’t shoot up too high in value.
Kambal, Consul of Allocation (Started at $1, currently at $1) – Could easily have been a card printed in Orzhov in a Ravnica block. Kambal is the latest anti-storm measure, but it is a lot more casual-friendly than something like Pyrostatic Pillar for Commander play. I’m not sure it’ll see much more than sideboard play, but if the Humans deck makes a big push in Standard, this could be a staple in that deck. I’m not willing to write it off as a completely bulk rare, even though it’s starting at bulk price.
Key to the City (Started at $1, currently at $1) – Madness enabler, Zombie feeder, and aggro deck friend. I’m not sure there’s been so reliable a “can’t be blocked” effect that could change creatures every turn (Whispersilk Cloak is the next closest I can think of, and it costs a lot more to use). Yes, you have to pay two mana to reap the benefits of drawing a card. You can build your deck around this, where discarding the card becomes neutral to an advantage (Prized Amalgam, anyone?), and this just becomes “Tap: Target creature can’t be blocked this turn. Pay 2 during your next untap step: Draw a card.”
I think this card might be the sleeper of the set so far, as it’s extremely versatile and allows a style of deck (small creatures with sabotage/combat damage effects actually hitting an opponent reliably) that hasn’t been viable before.
Lost Legacy (Started at $1, currently at $1): A cheaper Cranial Extraction, and one that can hit yourself to potentially act as a deck-thinning engine. On the MtgTheSource boards, one user suggested playing a deck with 30-ish Shadowblood Initiate and using Lost Legacy to pilot out a quick Laboratory Maniac victory. Assuming you have four Shadowblood Initiate in hand, you’d thin your deck by half and draw four cards – all of which are likely combo pieces at that point. It’s interesting to see if this style of deck would be viable (draw four cards turn three and remove half of your deck, drawing only into combo pieces that you want for the rest of the game), so I’d keep an eye on Lost Legacy.
Master Trinketeer (Started at $1, currently at $1) – We need to see how many efficient Servo/Thopter generators there end up being in this set before we’ll know if a Servo/Thopter lord is playable in Standard. The jury is out on this card until the full spoiler is revealed!
Bulk Rares ($0.49 to $0.99 and not much potential to rise)
Paradoxical Outcome (though I’ll note that the foil version will have a premium, as this is likely going to be sought after by Vintage players who want to incorporate this into Storm / Retract decks).
Mythic Rares
Angel of Invention (Started at $6, Currently at $5) – While there are certainly people who are excited about Angel of Invention, conversations around the office today went a lot like this:
Person 1: “Do you like Angel of Invention?”
Person 2: “Nope, do you?”
Person 1: “Nope, but I really want to, and I feel like I’m missing something.”
Person 2: “Me too!”
Consider me in that camp – I just don’t see that Angel of Invention is going to be good in Standard.
Scenario #1: You get a 2/1 flying/vigilance/lifelink creature plus two 2/2 creatures for five mana (which shrink to 1/1 once the 2/1 creature dies), and which gives your other creatures +1/+1.
Scenario #2: You get a 4/3 flying/vigilance/lifelink creature that gives your other creatures +1/+1.
I’ll note that this is in the same set as Aerial Responder – another white flying/vigilance/lifelink creature. So the question is: Is Modular 2 + Glorious Anthem (for your other creatures) worth two extra mana over Aerial Responder? I think the answer is no; as a 2/1 this is too fragile, and as a 4/3, you’re essentially getting +2/+0 and a Glorious Anthem against Aerial Responder, and I think there are better options (Avacyn?) to play in Standard right now.
Noxious Gearhulk (Started at $6, Currently at $6) – All of the Gearhulk creatures from this set are going to be played in Standard, some more than others. This is just like the original Titan cards from M11/M12 – each of them had a time where they were the front-running metagame deck in Standard, because they provided both value and a win condition.
Noxious Gearhulk is the most straightforward of the four revealed Gearhulks so far, even moreso than Verdurous Gearhulk. You simply play it, kill anything, and gain a bunch of life. It’s also got pseudo-evasion, so it’ll likely hit if left to creature combat. The kill on this creature is unconditional enough that it’ll likely be a one-of in reanimation decks in Legacy and Tinker decks in Vintage, though I wouldn’t count on being a one-of as something that will buoy prices too much more than the Standard play it’ll see.
Set Value
A Magic print sheet is typically 121 cards. For rares and mythics, this typically means that there are 53 rares and 15 mythics in a large set, which equates to 121 total cards (each rare printed twice on the sheet, and each mythic printed once). The formula for determining pack value therefore is:
((2R + 1M)/121) *36
…where “36” represents the number of packs in a box.
I exclude all bulk rares from this calculation, so they count as $0. I also don’t include unspoiled card slots, so the value will only go up from here as more cards are spoiled!
Rares of Note ($2+)
Animation Module – $2
Blooming Marsh – $6
Botanical Sanctum – $5
Concealed Courtyard – $5
Fleetwheel Cruiser – $2
Ghirapur Orrery – $2
Inspiring Vantage – $6
Inventors’ Fair – $2
Panharmonicon – $3
Spirebluff Canal – $7
Rare Total: $44
Mythics of Note ($5+)
Aetherworks Marvel – $8
Angel of Invention – $5
Cataclysmic Gearhulk – $8
Chandra, Torch of Defiance – $60
Nissa, Vital Force – $25
Noxious Gearhulk – $6
Rashmi, Eternities Crafter – $8
Saheeli Rai – $25
Skysovereign, Consul Flagship – $6
Torrential Gearhulk – $6
Verdurous Gearhulk – $15
Mythic Total: $177
The formula yields:
2R ($88) + 1M ($177) = $265
$265/121 = $2.19
$2.19 * 36 packs/box = $78.84 per box.
So right now, the box value is at $78.84. There are two more mythics (another planeswalker and the red Gearhulk) left to be spoiled, and another 24 rares. And Monday, we’ll be back to discuss any newly-spoiler cards and look at the value of foils!