Welcome back! Last week we talked about Jace and Survival, but this week I want to talk more about cards that don’t cost a million dollars.
I’m not going to talk about mythic rares today. The article would be useless if it just said stuff like “Lotus Cobra is good.” We know that right? We know that the most dominant mythics in Standard are Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Primeval Titan, Frost Titan, and Vengevine. All these have the potential to be played in Extended. Anyone who reads this column should be able to see that, so there isn’t much to say in that sense. That’s why I want to talk about rares.
Remember how back in the day, yearbooks used to have those sections like, “Best Smile,” “Cutest Couple,” or even “Most Likely to Become a BAMF.” That was the title that I won in my yearbook. In that same spirit, I’m going to write a “Most likely to succeed” list for Standard and Extended. These are cards that I have my eye on. Typically, for me to have my eye on a rare, it needs a card that I think has potential in its current format and older formats.
Standard
Right now Standard is owned by the number of the beast (6/6 for 6’s), but I don’t think the Standard metagame is doomed to this state forever. With the release of each set, more deck design space opens up, and I expect some of these cards to rise in demand.
Brittle Effigy
: Now that Trinket Mage is legal in all formats again, this card is riding a wave of success. The only reason that it’s not above $5 is because it’s usually only run as a 1-2 of. This is currently seeing play in Legacy, and it will always be the go-to removal spell for Trinket Mage to fetch.
Recommendation: Trade for these to keep them in stock. I doubt that the price will break $4, but it’s a card that you’ll always be able to trade.
Fauna Shaman
: It’s obvious that this chick is good. I expect this to see play in Extended; it’s already showing up in some Elves lists. It also sees play as a four-of in Legacy. Vengevine just puts this little lady over the top in power.
Recommendation: Pick these up at $7 or less. I expect it to follow the same path as Noble Hierarch and Knight of the Reliquary.
Mimic Vat
: This card has teeth. It’s already proven its power, and it has a long journey ahead. There’s some talk about this in Legacy and in Extended. None of this talk has materialized, but the effect and the curve is solid for older formats.
Recommendation: Trade for these at $3; this is a safe number. If nothing comes of this card in Constructed, then you can always trade it to EDHers for at least $3.
Necrotic Ooze
: This card is awesome. Gerry Thompson made it to the finals of the last SCG Legacy Open on the back of this card, and Survival of the Fittest, and Fauna Shaman, and Vengevine… Okay maybe not “on the back of,” but at least the card was his deck. It’s like Ranger of Eos in the sense that it gets better with every creature that’s printed with an activated ability.
Recommendation: This card typically goes for $1 to $2, and it’s not a $1 card. Pick these up at $2 or less and hold onto them.
Pyromancer Ascension
: This card is under-costed for what it does. It’s seen play in Extended (Amsterdam), and I think it might even be playable in Legacy where there are efficient draw spells, better mana bases, better burn spells, and cards like Enlightened Tutor.
Recommendation: This is another $2 card that has no reason to be $2. Pick these up at $2 or less and hold onto them.
Stoneforge Mystic
: I’ve doubled up on this card twice already. When are people going to learn that this card is worth $5+? It can be played in any format, and it gets better with every new piece of equipment that’s printed.
Recommendation: If you can get these for $4 or less, then pick them up. If it’s more than $4, then let it sit; the ceiling on this card is probably $10, so if you start picking them up at $6 and $7, then you may end up losing when it dips again.
Extended
This is an undefined format right now. Amsterdam showed us what it could look like, but my brain would have to be massively huge to process what effect
the rotation should have on the Amsterdam format. I took a look at some of the decks from Magic-League (
Here
and
here
), but I wasn’t impressed. I think the format is going to be much more interesting than what these results show.
There was an Extended tournament in Kentucky this last weekend; it would be wise to look at the results of that tournament. I’ll post a link in the forums (link at bottom). Despite the fact that the Extended landscape is fuzzy, I’m sure that this list of cards will show up in top-tier decks, and their demand will spike during Extended season.
Faeries (Fae)
Before we hit the list, I want to talk about a preconception about the format. Back in the day, the Fae ruled Standard with an iron fist. People remember that, and they assume that this will happen in Extended. Here’s my prediction. It’s not going to happen. Fae aren’t going to rule Extended, but that doesn’t mean that their card values won’t go up. You can count on all Fae cards to see a price spike in Extended season, because people want to play the deck. I expect Fae to take a few tournaments down, and this is when everyone will rush out and buy Faeries and say “I knew it, they’re making a comeback!” This is when you should sell all the Fae cards that you bought, because decks like Jund and (probably) Pyromancer Ascension won’t allow Fae to continue its reign. Anyway, let’s get down to the list.
Cryptic Command:
This card is still redonkulous (yeah, that’s a word. Google it). Even if Fae doesn’t reign supreme, you can expect blue decks to be running this hot-rod of a counterspell.
Recommendation: These are $6 to $8 right now. Do you honestly think that they’ll stay at that price during Extended season? I expect them to be at least $12. Decide how many $5 bills you want, and then go buy that many Cryptic Commands.
Knight of the Reliquary
: Tarmogoyf is gone, but who needs him when you have this beast. Knight will be played in whatever Zoo-style build surfaces. It was also in the Doran deck in Amsterdam. You can expect to see a lot of this card next Extended season. You really can’t lose with this card because it’s already a Legacy staple as well.
Recommendation: Pick them up at about $7 or less; I’m guessing that this will get as high as $15, but it shouldn’t be any lower than $10 in Extended season.
Maelstrom Pulse
: This is another card that was in the Doran builds in Amsterdam. This season you can expect to see Jund builds sporting it as part of the removal package, and we may see the return of GB Elves.
Recommendation: Pick these up at $8 or less; I expect them to be $10 to $12. Keep in mind that these are going to be the GP Promo, so that may affect the price.
Mutavault
: This is a great card in any deck, but with the Extended rotation into a Tribal block, I expect this to be very well represented this Extended season. It will be played in Fae, Folk, Elves, and even Polymorph decks. It’s already a staple in Legacy Merfolk, so that will protect you from a price drop.
Recommendation: A few weeks ago these were around $12, but now they have crept up to $15. In the heat of Extended season, we can expect to see them at $20+. If you plan to play with this card, pick up a set now; if not, I’d leave it alone. You don’t want to tie up $15 a piece to make a possible $5 dollars. Prices do weird things sometimes; they aren’t always 100% predicable, so it could be that everyone is buying their Mutavaults now and that their price is only going to reach $17. The reason that I bring this up here is because out of the cards that I’ve listed so far, this is the only one that I’ve seen an upswing on.
Murmuring Bosk
: It’s like a dual land, only it makes three colors. It can also be sacrificed with Knight of the Reliquary. This is one of the few lands that I can actually say is a “pick-up” right now. Its fetch-ability landed it in the Ad Nauseam deck last year, and I expect to see it used to smooth over mana bases in the new Extended.
Recommendation: Pick these up at $4 or less.
Noble Hierarch
: This card is obviously good in Bant and Doran. It wasn’t played in Amsterdam because of the prevalence of Punishing Fire combo. Now it’s safe for the Hierarch to come out and play. I’m also pretty excited about what Rafiq of the Many builds that we might see, maybe an exalted, double-striking, infect creature will be ruining people’s day in Extended. Noble Hierarch is also a Legacy staple now, which basically means protection from being worthless.
Recommendations: See Mutavault. When this rotated out of Standard, I was able to pick them up for around $7; now I’ve seen an up-tick to around $10.
Ranger of Eos
: This guy has dropped like a rock since he’s left Standard. He was a big player in the old Elf Combo deck, and I expect that deck to be a player in new Extended. This guy also fits nicely in Boros and Naya builds which could possibly make an appearance.
Recommendation: Buy, and buy hard. You can get these guys as low as $3 and on MTGO you can get him for .80 tickets. I expect him to be at least $5 to $6 in real life (maybe 4 tix on MTGO).
Thoughtseize
: This card is a staple in every format where it’s legal. It’s even used in Vintage; this is why the foils are worth exponentially more than the non-foils. This is a card that will def see play in the coming Extended season.
Recommendation: These have recently spiked from $8 to around $14. The great thing is that some people still value this at around $8 to $10.
Vendilion Clique
: Last season, this card finally started to get the price tag that it deserves. It made an appearance in Extended Bant decks and in the long-forgotten Canadian Threshold Legacy deck.
Recommendation: This is currently sitting around $6; I expect it to be around $9 so if you can pick them up for $5 or less, I’d recommend it. If you can’t get them for $5 or less don’t bother.
The biggest advice that I can give about Extended is to pick up what you’ll need for next season now. Check out the results for the tournament last weekend and make some buys.
Sleepers
Before I take off, I want to leave you with some “sleeper” picks for both Standard and Extended.
Genesis Wave
(Standard): This card at its worst is an awesome ramp spell, and at its best, it does ridiculous things. My favorite narcissist Michael J. Flores is into this card, and I don’t blame him. This card has the power to be a player in Standard because of the speed of the format. I’d keep an eye on this card.
Prismatic Omen
(Extended): This card has a lot of potential in Extended. It’s seen play in some Jace control decks with Blood Moon last season and also in Valakut decks. This season, I expect to see it combo with Scapeshift with Valakut. You can even run an infect deck with Might of Alara (that one was for the Timmy’s out there).
That’s all I have for this week, guys and gals. I wanted to touch on some of the Legacy cards that are “Most likely to succeed,” but I’m in a car on the way to the Kentucky Open, so I have to leave you for now. We’ll touch on Legacy next week. Have a great week.