It’s planeswalker time! Four planeswalkers were spoiled for M15 overnight (two reprints, two entirely new), so let’s take a look at these four Mythic Rares! Hey wait – there’s a bonus fifth Mythic Rare – Soul of Theros!
How I review:
Starting Price: The first price we assign to the card as a preorder.
Current Price: The current price of the card by the time this article goes live.
Future Price (Short Term): The price I believe the card will be at before Magic Online redemptions go live for Magic 2015.
Future Price (Medium Term): The price I believe the card will be at by the time the next set (Khans of Tarkir) comes out.
Future Price (Long Term): The price I believe the card will be at a year from now, when M16 is released.
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Ajani the Steadfast |
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Starting Price: $20 Current Price: $20 Future Price (Short Term): $15 Future Price (Medium Term): $10 Future Price (Long Term): $10 |
I think the new Ajani (name might be slightly different than this, since it’s being translated from Japanese – we’ll find out tomorrow) is about on par with Ajani, Caller of the Pride. The +1 ability on both are debatably equal in power, the -2 on the new Ajani is better than old Ajani’s minus ability, and the ultimate on most planeswalkers are irrelevant to actual game play. The great thing about this Ajani is that it plays great in a Superfriends style deck (since the -2 boosts other planeswalkers), making it one of the first Planeswalkers that is designed specifically to be played with other Planeswalkers.
In short, I see this Ajani falling down to half its price, just like Ajani, Caller of the Pride did after release.
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Starting Price: $10 Current Price: $10 Future Price (Short Term): $8 Future Price (Medium Term): $10 Future Price (Long Term): $10 |
Should follow the same price pattern as other playable, reprinted core set Planeswalkers (See: Liliana of the Dark Realms, Garruk, Primal Hunter, Jace, Memory Adept) – a slight drop-off in the short term as supply hits the market, and then a rebound to a better price shortly thereafter. Chandra, Pyromaster was $12 right now for the M14 version – so a drop short-term to $8 and a rebound to $10 seems likely.
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Starting Price: $10 Current Price: $10 Future Price (Short Term): $8 Future Price (Medium Term): $6 Future Price (Long Term): $8 |
See my thoughts about Chandra.
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Starting Price: $25 Current Price: $25 Future Price (Short Term): $20 Future Price (Medium Term): $15 Future Price (Long Term): $15 |
Nissa, Worldwaker is really, really good. Like the first Nissa, she is more situational than an average planeswalker (the second +1 ability only hits Forests, for instance), but both of the +1 abilities are quite good. You’re going to want to run Nissa, Worldwaker for the ability to untap four Forests. Note that this can target Shocklands/Revised Dual Lands, making Nissa an insane value in two/three-color ramp decks. I think we’re going to see a lot of games where Nissa comes down on the fourth turn (because you’re already ramping), followed by another four-drop that same turn, followed by some game-ending ramp spell the turn after. Going from five mana to ten mana (assuming a land drop) the following turn via a permanent that can’t be easily removed (4 Loyalty Planeswalker) is huge.
I think NIssa will see a good amount of Standard play. While there will be some price drop because of the typical Planeswalker preorder hype, I also think Nissa is playable in Standard (though not other formats) and should maintain a $15-$20 value while Standard-legal.
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Starting Price: $1.50 Current Price: $1.50 Future Price (Short Term): $1 Future Price (Medium Term): $1 Future Price (Long Term): $1 |
Generic Crusade effect for a generic creature type. This is a card I think has a lot of 2+ year down-the-road potential (see also: Adaptive Automaton), but for the next year this will be easily acquired as bulk.
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Starting Price: $12 Current Price: $12 Future Price (Short Term): $8 Future Price (Medium Term): $6 Future Price (Long Term): $6 |
Yes, I understand that the Souls are not Titans. I also understand that Titans aren’t around in Standard, and we have no clue what things will look like in a post-Return to Ravnica world. I think that people are underestimating how relevant the second ability (play from graveyard) on these Avatars are, as many of these spells are good enough to swing a game on their own. Yes, Soul of Theros might meet a Doom Blade. That also means that you untap and attack with 3x White Weenie creatures that suddenly deal twelve points of damage and give you twelve points life to boot.
Changes Since Yesterday:
Aggressive Mining: From $1 to $1.25
Avarice Amulet: From $1 to $0.50
Cruel Sadist: From $1.50 to $1
Ob Nixilis, Unshackled: From $3 to $4
Return to the Ranks: From $1.50 to $2
Sliver Hive: From $2 to $3
Soul of Innistrad; From $8 to $6
Soul of Ravnica: From $5 to $4
Pack Value
To determine the value of a booster pack, I’m going to start with the following formula:
(2R + 1M) / 80
That isn’t enough of a picture though. In fairness, $0.50 to $1 bulk rares don’t really amount to “real” value if you’re looking to trade with other players. So I’m omitting the value of any Rare that is below $2 (rounded from $1.99) and any Mythic that is below $4 (rounded from $3.99).
21 out of the 53 Rares have been spoiled. Here are the ones that are $2 and up:
Chasm Skulker: $2
Genesis Hydra: $2.50
Jalira, Master Polymorphist: $2
Ob Nixilis, Unshackled: $4
Return to the Ranks: $2
Sliver Hive: $3
Spirit Bonds: $2
Waste Not: $10
Yisan, the Wanderer Bard: $2
Total Rare Value: $29.50
Ten out of the Fifteen Mythic Rares have been spoiled:
Ajani the Steadfast: $20
Chandra, Pyromaster: $10
Liliana Vess: $10
Nissa, Worldwaker: $25
Soul of Innistrad; $6
Soul of New Phyrexia: $15
Soul of Ravnica: $4
Soul of Shandalar: $10
Soul of Theros: $12
Soul of Zendikar: $5
Total Mythic Value: $117
So plugging this into the formula, we get the following:
(2R ($29.50) + 1M ($117)) = $176
$176/80 = $2.20 value per pack, or $79.20 per box.
Keep in mind that this is only 40% of the Rares and 66% of the Mythics left for the set, so there is a lot of room left for value on this set. At $99.99 per box, this looks like it’s a set worth getting already!