Daily Financial Value of Magic Origins – June 24th

Merfolk Looter has been an extremely playable Standard card every time it sees print, whether it be actual Merfolk Looter, Looter il-Kor, or Thought Courier. Jace is a better version of these cards (two toughness actually matters!) that can flip and become Snapcaster Mage. Traditionally the two-mana looter has been a common, so it’s really odd pricing it out at Mythic rarity – but both sides of this card are very good, the flip trigger is easy to hit, and so we have a winning Mythic pseudo-planeswalker!

	Jace’s Sanctum
	Rarity: Rare Starting Price: $2 Current Price: $2 Future Price (Short Term): $3 Future Price (Medium Term): $3 Future Price (Long Term): $3

Reducing Instants and Sorceries is a big effect for Commander play. For combo decks in Standard (or maybe event Modern), making all of your combo pieces one mana cheaper while allowing you to dig one card deeper every time you cast a combo piece is huge. I think that Jace’s Sanctum has what it takes to be part of a winning spell-based combo deck, and have priced it accordingly.

	Kytheon’s Irregulars
	Rarity: Rare Starting Price: $3 Current Price: $3 Future Price (Short Term): $6 Future Price (Medium Term): $5 Future Price (Long Term): $5

Hey look, it’s Cepahlid Retainer! Cephalid Retainer was just short of being playable back in Standard, but not by much. Every measurable aspect of Kytheon’s Irregulars are an improvement over Cephalid Retainer:

A) Starts with +2 power.

B) Gets +1/+1 if it connects in combat.

C) Can tap any creature, not just non-flying creatures.

I think that Kytheon’s Irregulars are an extremely powerful four-drop for Standard, but it will compete with a lot of other powerful four-drops in Standard. In the end, Kytheon’s Irregulars can play both offense or defense with the tap ability, making it a fantastic card for both the top end of an aggro deck, or as a stall tactic in a midrange/control deck. I’m definitely a fan of creatures that are large enough to kill an opponent quickly that can also control the entire board of the game without any other cards needed.

	Mizzium Meddler
	Rarity: Rare Starting Price: $2 Current Price: $2 Future Price (Short Term): $3 Future Price (Medium Term): $2 Future Price (Long Term): $2

A one-shot Spellskite that has a surprise factor that Spellskite does not. I don’t think there are many Modern decks that would want to run Mizzium Meddler over Spellskite, but there are plenty of Standard decks that would love this effect – especially since Mizzium Meddler has that magical four toughness. Current eBay finishing prices are $10-$15 for a playset, but I’m guessing it’ll settle in the $8-$10 range until set release, at which point the price will spike by $1 each due to play.

	Relic Seeker
	Rarity: Rare Starting Price: $5 Current Price: $5 Future Price (Short Term): $6 Future Price (Medium Term): $4 Future Price (Long Term): $4

The spiritual successor to Stoneforge Mystic. It’s pretty inferior compared to Stoneforge (you don’t automatically get the equipment, you can’t cheat the equipment into play), but Relic Seeker is still a strong tutor. If you use a spell to force the issue (creature pump/removal) to make sure Relic Seeker hits, you’re still coming out even when you grab the equipment you want from your deck. In addition, you also end up with a 3/3 creature for two mana, which is very much on the curve for where you want to be on an aggro deck. Playable and priced accordingly.

Changes Since The Last Article

Dark Petition: From $3 to $4. High demand on this card. Should hit $5 Sidisi values before release. Probably won’t hold that value long-term.

Honored Hierarch: From $10 to $6. Adjusting for market value. I’m glad people aren’t buying into the hype on this card, as per my recommendations yesterday.

Pack Value

To determine the value of a booster pack, I’m going to start with the following formula:

(2R + 1M)/121

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).

16 out of the 53 Rares have been spoiled. Here are the ones that are $2 and up!

Dark Petition: $4
Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen: $2
Honored Hierarch: $6
Jace’s Sanctum: $2
Kytheon’s Irregulars: $3
Languish: $7.50
Mizzium Meddler: $2
Pia and Kiran Nalaar: $3
Relic Seeker: $6
Total Rare Value: $35.50

7 out of the 15 Mythic Rares have been spoiled!

Avaricious Dragon: $10
Day’s Undoing: $25
Jace, Vryin’s Prodigy | Jace, Telepath Unbound: $20
Kytheon, Hero of Akroas | Gideon, Battle-Forged: $25
Liliana, Heretical Healer | Liliana, Defiant Necromancer: $25
Nissa, Vastwood Seer | Nissa, Sage Animist: $20
Starfield of Nyx: $10
Total Mythic Value: $135

So plugging this into the formula, we get the following:

(2R ($35.50) + 1M ($135) ) = $206

$206/121 = $1.70 value per pack, or $61.20 per box.

We’ve nearly got all of our allocations in from our distributors, and it looks like the numbers have been cut back significantly from previous main-release sets. We started preorder prices at $90 a box, raised to $95 last week, and are now at $100 a box. I don’t think it’ll go higher than $100, but there’s still a ton of cards left to be spoiled from this set, including the majority of reprinted Rares/Mythics – and these could greatly impact the final prices on this set.

See you all tomorrow!