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Tiny Leaders Finance: Part 1

It’s hard to believe the not-so-tiny growth of Tiny Leaders! Chas catches you up on the newest great format, its implications in the financial world, and the biggest dangers it will face in staying relevant.

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Back in November, I wrote an article called The Next Commander. It was an
in-depth look at Magic variants with an eye on finding the next breakout casual format. Out of everything I reviewed, my favorite format was a little
upstart called Tiny Leaders, which is essentially Commander with lower life totals, 50 card decks, and a CMC
limit of three. The biggest issue facing Tiny Leaders back in November was a lack of exposure, and I was worried that the format wouldn’t see enough press
to have a shot at making it big.

What a difference three months makes, eh?

Tiny Leaders passed the tipping point about a month ago, and these days it’s hard to find someone who hasn’t heard of the format. Dozens of people are
playing it at my local store, strategies guides are popping up everywhere, and the best foil Tiny Leaders are disappearing from inventories across the
world. It’s unclear whether Tiny Leaders will have the staying power of something like Commander, but at this point, it’s clear that the format will have a
chance to succeed or fail based on its merits.

Before we take an in-depth look at the format’s staples, let’s take a moment to review all of the basic rules:

  • Like Commander, Tiny Leaders is a singleton format. All Tiny Leaders decks have a Commander that starts the game in the command zone. The same color
    identity and casting rules apply-you can’t have a card in your deck that doesn’t correspond to the color identity of your commander, and you can re-cast
    your commander from the command zone for two colorless mana more each time it leaves play. Commanders must be legendary creatures.
  • Unlike Commander, Tiny Leaders is primarily a two-player format, though multiplayer is also supported.
  • Decks must contain exactly 50 cards, including your Commander.
  • Each player’s starting life total is 25.
  • Each deck may have a ten-card sideboard.
  • The big one: No card may have a converted mana cost greater than three. If X is in a card’s converted mana cost, X is considered to be 0.

If you want to see the comprehensive format rules as written by an actual judge instead of a lowly finance writer, they’re available here.

All successful Magic formats fulfill a need that isn’t currently being met. Commander caught on because it allowed people to play with big, splashy spells
that were too slow for Standard and Legacy. Modern became popular because it found a middle ground between the utter brokenness of Legacy and the endlessly
rotating Standard. Magic players like it when their favorite cards are good again.

What need does Tiny Leaders fill? Interestingly enough, it seems to bridge a gap between Modern and Commander that I didn’t know existed. While Commander
is an inherently casual format by nature-the 100-card decks and multiplayer encouragement have always made competitive play somewhat problematic-Tiny
Leaders is unabashedly spikey. By encouraging two-player combat and demanding that each player stick to spells with 3 CMC or less, games are often quick
and brutal. The 50-card limit practically demands a focused deckbuilding strategy, but the singleton aspect encourages accessibility and limits any one
card from being too important. Playing green in Modern without owning four copies of Tarmogoyf is difficult, but your Tiny Leaders deck won’t miss any one
card all that much. And even if your deck really needs a ‘goyf to function correctly, you only have to go get one copy. And that’s just a lucky Modern
Masters pack crack away!

In many ways, Tiny Leaders is the perfect respite for both Commander and Modern fatigue. Sick of every Commander deck being full of seven-CMC haymakers and
having to tune the competitiveness of your deck to your playgroup? Tired of having to buy four copies of the latest expensive whatever, only to have your
deck’s engine banned by WotC? Tiny Leaders is the format for you. It won’t replace either format, but it isn’t designed to.

The format’s biggest potential weakness-by far-lies in the risk of it being solved too quickly. Tiny Leaders is a brewer’s paradise right now, but it’s
very possible that two or three dominant strategies will rise to the top. If either innovation or bannings prevent the format from becoming too stale, I
see a very bright future ahead for Tiny Leaders. If not, we could be looking at a flash in the pan. I’m hopeful for the format, but it’s a cautious
optimism. As always, it’s up to all of us to build the Tiny Leaders community we want.

So you’re ready to build yourself a Tiny Leaders deck. Where to start? Let’s begin by taking a look at the banned list. In addition to the ante and manual
dexterity spells, the following cards are banned:

Banned as commander:

All the usual suspects are here-the Power Nine, Chaos Orb, a majority of the Legacy banned list-but there are a few surprising choices here too. All the
best fast mana is banned, including Mana Vault, Mana Crypt, and Sol Ring. Not only are they far better in Tiny Leaders than in Commander, but smaller deck
sizes means that they’ll show up twice as often. I’m glad we don’t have to dedicate 3 of our 49 cards to these spells in every deck in order to compete.
Also banned: the most egregious pieces of equipment, the best tutors, the best two-card combo pieces, the most broken control cards, and a few other
game-warping effects like Strip Mine and Edric, Spymaster of Trest. Tiny Leaders is a fast and powerful format, but this banned list does a good job of
trying to make sure that very few games will be decided by one unanswered card. This should make Modern mages happy, but the Legacy/Vintage crowd might be
turned off a bit by the lack of access to things like Yawgmoth’s Will and Necropotence.

But enough about what we can’t do-let’s focus on what we are able to build. I’ve made lists of the best Tiny Leaders commanders in each color and listed
their current retail price alongside the foil value. This is a very new format, so it’s possible that I’ve missed or discounted a really awesome Tiny
Leader. If you’ve built a great deck around a card I haven’t listed here, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

It’s also worth noting that several color combinations only have one possible commander available-I’ll make note of them below. In those cases, the foil
price is likely on an upward trajectory by default, and it’s possible that we can find some great deals hiding in plain sight.

White

White has a ton of great choices depending on what you want your deck to do. Isamaru is fantastic at headlining a generic white aggro deck, Mikeaus is
excellent in conjunction with tokens, and Eight-and-a-Half Tails is perfect as either a control commander or as the leader of a Voltron-style equipment
deck. Mikaeus is probably the most undervalued thanks to a low From the Vault: Legends reprinting, and I could easily see this foil settling in the $5-$6
range.

Foil copies of Kemba, Kha Regent also have some room to grow. While I personally prefer Eight-and-a-Half Tails as an equipment commander, Kemba is a little
more flavorful and likely belongs in that deck regardless. Brimaz and Thalia’s prices are linked much closer to tournament play than Tiny Leaders, a fact
that shouldn’t change anytime soon.

Blue

As expected, most of the good blue commanders in Tiny Leaders skew toward control. Ambassador Laquatus, long a casual oddity, has the most growth potential
here by far. When it comes to milling, Tiny Leaders effectively have 49-card decks-closer to Limited than anything else. In a duel-oriented format,
Laquatus can kill pretty fast. The foil is ludicrously undervalued at $4, especially compared with the other elite commanders, and if Tiny Leaders keeps
growing, I’d expect a price closer to $20-$30.

If you don’t like the mill plan, there are loads of other great commanders in blue. Vendilion Clique is probably the most versatile, Kira is a decent aggro
commander, and Ertai can lock down a game all by himself. Even Thassa provides card filtering while threatening to take over the lategame. There isn’t much
financial upside here, though Ertai is on the reserved list, and I doubt foil Thassas are going down in price any time soon.

Black

Black doesn’t have that many great choices in Tiny Leaders, but there are a few cards here with promise. Maga is great as a big lategame threat-something
the format doesn’t have many of-and is great as a control general. Toshiro is solid if you’re playing an attrition deck, as is Kiku. Maralen of the
Mornsong is risky, but powerful if you’re confident in your coming down before your opponents’ does.

If I had to pick a breakout card here, give me Toshiro. He’s the best black aggro Tiny Leader, and he’s also fun to build around. I can see the normal
version hitting $4-$5 and the foil rising to $20 or so.

Red

  • Feldon of the Third Path – $2.39 (No foil printing)
  • Jaya Ballard, Task Mage – $0.49 ($0.99 foil)

    • Red is pretty straightforward in Tiny Leaders. Ashling and Zo-Zu are great aggressive commanders, Feldon is your man if you’re up to something with
    artifacts or graveyards, and Jaya helps with board control. Financially, Jaya isn’t really worth looking at-not only did she have a Wal-Mart foil printing,
    but she was in Premium Deck Series: Fire and Lightning. Zo-Zu is the best deal here by far-the little goblin has been a Cube staple for years, and it’s
    probably the general you want for your Tiny Leaders burn deck. There’s strong potential for the foil to double in price.

    Green

    Ezuri is almost certainly the most powerful Tiny Leader right now. It’s possible that he’ll either get banned or hated on a little more as the format
    matures, but as of today there’s no real reason to play an aggressive mono-green strategy without using him as your commander. That $5.99 foil price is out
    of stock, and I can’t find a foil copy available for less than $12 right now. His future value in foil is probably $15-$20 unless the format adjusts
    significantly.

    Azusa and Omnath are also powerful Tiny Leaders, but their prices are strongly tied to other formats. I don’t see any real Tiny Leaders growth potential
    here.

    Azorius (U/W)

    Hanna has long been a Commander favorite, and Tiny Leaders isn’t likely to move the needle much. In fact, the best Tiny Leaders Hanna deck is likely to be
    similar in construction to the big version. Geist of Saint Traft is probably the best overall Azorius commander, though Daxos is a decent cost-effective
    alternative. Foil copies of Daxos might go up a little, but I figure most people who want to play Azorius will spring for the Geist instead.

    Selesnya (W/G)

    At first glance, putting Gaddock Teeg on this list might seem silly. After all, aren’t all spells with a CMC of 4 or greater already banned in Tiny
    Leaders? That’s true, but the quirk of Tiny Leaders incentivizes people to play X spells in nearly every deck. Teeg deals with them nicely. Rhys is another
    commander staple making the leap to Tiny Leaders whose value I don’t expect to shift much. Ditto Selvala, who is far better in a multiplayer environment
    like Commander.

    Dimir (U/B)

    Sygg, River Cutthroat is the only Dimir Tiny Leader right now, so you’ve got no other choice if you want to play UB. The good news is that he’s an
    incredibly solid option and a longtime Commander all-star. Sygg’s price might go up a little simply because anyone who wants to play Dimir has to run him,
    but the foil’s already at $25 so there’s not much additional room for growth.

    Gruul (G/R)

    Much of what I just wrote about Sygg applies to Radha as well. She’s the only possible Gruul Tiny Leader right now, so it’s a good thing for GR players
    that she’s a very solid choice. There’s a little more growth potential available here, and non-foils are especially undervalued. I like the buy at $1.29
    and could easily see a $4-$5 price tag going forward.

    Golgari (G/B)

    Golgari has a wealth of options available, and all three of these cards are all great. Varolz, the Scar-Striped is probably the best Tiny Leader in
    Golgari, giving you card advantage, a versatile threat, and a sac outlet all in one card. Given the unpopularity of Dragon’s Maze, I can see this foil
    hitting $10-$12.

    At first glance, it seems like you need a bunch of artifacts to make Glissa, the Traitor good. That’s certainly a fair way to build a Glissa deck-I have a
    Commander version of her that loves looping Wurmcoil Engines-but honestly, the fact that she has first strike and deathtouch can be good enough on its own.
    Throw a sword on her and go to town. Glissa’s price is low thanks to being the prerelease card for Mirrodin Besieged, but there’s upside here at $1.49.

    Orzhov (W/B)

    Teysa has long been a Commander powerhouse, so there’s not much more Tiny Leaders can do to the price. Athreos is more interesting, especially in a single
    player format with 25 life and a lot of creature combat. That three life each time something decent dies adds up over time. I’d expect Athreos to become
    the most played Orzhov commander in this format before long, and the price should tick up as a result. All of the gods are undervalued over the long haul
    anyway.

    Boros (W/R)

    I wouldn’t be all that high on Anax and Cymede if there was another Boros general in the format. The first strike and vigilance are nice, but only a few
    decks are going to want to target this with any regularity. As of now though, this is your only choice of you want to play the most popular two-color
    aggressive color combination in the game. Theros is a recent set, so there might not be as much upside here as in some of the other Tiny Leaders, but if
    this is a real format, $1.99 for this foil will seem crazy in four or five months. The future price should be more in the $5-$7 range, at least until WotC
    releases another Boros legend with a CMC under 4.

    Izzet (U/R)

    These are the only two Izzet commanders, and neither is particularly inspiring in Tiny Leaders. Jhoira’s ability is nearly irrelevant in a format with a
    CMC three or less restriction and no access to Obliterates and such. Nin, the Pain Artist is so much better than Jhoira here that she might as well be the
    only legal Izzet commander. She can take out pretty much any opposing creature, though it comes at a pretty large cost. The better option most of the time
    is to use Nin on your own stuff, especially if it’s already going to die or there’s a death trigger you want to abuse. Nin was only printed in Commander
    2011, so there’s some growth potential here. She’s $4.75 right now, but she could hit $10 if enough people want to play UR in Tiny Leaders.

    Rakdos (B/R)

    Tymaret is fine, and you can certainly build some kind of crazy goblin cannon deck with him, but Grenzo is the real gem here. Earlygame, you can throw him
    out as a three-mana 3/3, and it’s a guaranteed hit on any creature when you use his ability. Lategame, his power and toughness scales to the point where
    you can almost assuredly make the biggest threat on the table. Conspiracy was reasonably popular as a draft set, but it wasn’t opened nearly as much as a
    normal set. Both the foil and non-foil have room here, with normal copies capable of hitting $5 and foils hitting $30 or more. The fact that this is a Cube
    and Commander staple too helps his growth potential by quite a bit.

    Simic (U/G)

    With Edric, Spymaster of Trest banned, Vorel of the Hull Clade is the only Simic Tiny Leader for now. Building around Vorel in this format is kind of
    difficult-you either have to go with evolve or some kind of combo brew-but he’s got some value due to being mandatory for all Simic players. I don’t think
    he’ll jump to $15 or anything, but $5-$6 is certainly very possible. Needless to say, I’m glad I have a couple of Japanese foils socked away.

    Bant (W/U/G)

    Have you ever actually seen a copy of Angus Mackenzie? I’m not convinced it’s a real card. I’ve read dozens of conspiracy theories based around less
    evidence than my anecdotal observations, so I’m going to assume that Angus Mackenzie is an elaborate plot by Wizards of the Coast to get us to believe that
    Jenara, Asura of War isn’t the only Tiny Leader available for Bant players. We want the truth, darn it!

    Regardless, Jenara has been a Commander staple for years and is even more effective in Tiny Leaders. Scalable creatures and spells are at a premium in this
    format, and Jenara can get out of control rather quickly. She could see a small Tiny Leaders bump, though her foil doesn’t have much more room to grow.

    Esper (W/U/B)

    • Merieke Ri Berit – $0.59 ($19.99 foil)
    • Sydri, Galvanic Genius – $1.49 (No foil printing)

      • Sharuum the Hegemon isn’t in Tiny Leaders, so Sydri is your gal if you want to play around with artifacts in Esper. Her first activated ability is far
      worse in a format where the highest possible CMC is three, but giving your animated spellbombs deathtouch and lifelink is still fairly potent. Sydri is
      niche enough that I don’t expect much gain here, but all the Commander 2013 cards are dirt cheap, so she’s a fine buy right now.

      Merieke Ri Berit has been a popular Esper good stuff/steal stuff Commander for a long time. Most of the popular Control Magic style effects can’t be played
      in Tiny Leaders, but you can run Merieke and Vedalken Shackles as a pretty solid board control plan. I expect Mereike to be the go-to Esper commander,
      though the fact that she was printed in Ice Age and again in Time Spiral means that there’s not much upside for the non-foil. The foil could gain $5-$10
      without much trouble though.

      Jund (B/R/G)

      Jund doesn’t have any great options in Tiny Leaders. Xira Arien’s ability gives you card advantage, but it’s slow, expensive, and attached to a worthless
      body. Adun Oakenshield is better, but he wasn’t printed in Chronicles, which means you’re facing down a $45 price tag for what amounts to a marginal
      upgrade over Xira Arien. Some people will probably take this format seriously enough to make the plunge, but I’d guess that most people will simply run
      Xira Arien or a different color combination entirely. If Tiny Leaders really does take off though, Adun Oakenshield certainly does have a little bit of
      upside. It is a reserved list card, after all.

      Naya (W/R/G)

      The only option in Naya other than Marath is Mayel the Anima, and she’s not going to see much play in this format. After all, how many creatures have a CMC
      of three or less and five or more power? Nope, Marath is it – which isn’t a bad thing, because it’s one of the best commanders in the format. The two
      things you want in Tiny Leaders are scalability and versatility, and Marath gives you both. You can slot it into any kind of Naya deck you want to build,
      and it’ll pretty much always do what you want. Price-wise, Marath is in a similar position to Sydri, Galvanic Genius. Commander 2013 cards aren’t going
      down in value any time soon, but they were printed to the point where their upside is very limited. Grab a copy now if you want, but there’s no rush.

      Grixis (U/B/R)

      At least Jund has Xira Arien to fall back on-Grixis has just one Tiny Leaders commander, and it’s a reserved list rare from Legends. Tetsuo isn’t
      awful-destroying tapped and blocking creatures for RBBU is going to be relevant some small portion of the time-but his real value lies in reserved list
      scarcity. As of now, owning a copy of Tetsuo is mandatory if you want to play Grixis in Tiny Leaders. I can’t help but believe his value will climb as the
      format continues to grow.

      Abzan (W/B/G)

      It’s almost embarrassing how good Abzan has it compared to some of the shards we’ve examined so far. Doran and Anafenza are both tier one options in Tiny
      Leaders, and The Siege Tower is probably the hardest hitter out there. Foil copies spiked a few days prior to the writing of this article, and I can’t find
      any FTV foils cheaper than $12 or set foils cheaper than $30. It’s too early to say whether or not the price spike will stick, but long term, I do think
      Doran is a good bet to stay above $10. Anafenza has also been slowly rising since December, and foils are a good bet to rise in the future due to both
      casual and Modern interest. I like holding a few at $15.

      Mardu (W/B/R)

      Foil copies of Alesha have already spiked due to Tiny Leaders demand, and part of that is because people are using her as a commander in their Boros decks
      as well as Mardu builds. While Anax and Cymede might be the only true Boros leader in the format, Alesha doesn’t actually require black mana to do her
      thing, making her arguably the best leader in two different color combinations. Again, long term, we’re looking at a $30 foil if Tiny Leaders is the real
      deal. Otherwise, she’s probably overpriced even at $15. I’m not buying, but if you want to build an Alesha deck, grabbing a copy at retail now is fine.

      Temur (U/R/G)

      Animar is an MVP in normal Commander, but it’s merely decent here-the protection and growing abilities are both excellent, but very few of your creatures
      will get much of a discount with Animar in play. Much like the other known Commander generals, I doubt Tiny Leaders will move the needle here all that
      much.

      Yasova is the better call, especially because most of your opponents’ creatures will be targetable with Yasova’s ability thanks to the format’s
      restrictions. Yasova also works as a potential second choice for both Simic and Gruul decks, making her one of the most versatile Tiny Leaders out there.
      Foil copies are undervalued at $5.99, especially because Yasova is already a solid card in both Cube and Commander.

      Jeskai (W/U/R)

      It’s impossible to overstate just how important Yasova, Dragonclaw, Alesha, Who Smiles at Death, and Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest are for Tiny Leaders. Fate
      Reforged was designed long before Tiny Leaders was a thing, so it’s mostly coincidence, but a big part of why I believe that format has taken off so
      quickly is that three of the best leaders are from the current expansion. Much like the other two, Shu Yun gives Jeskai its only leader while also
      providing both Izzet and Azorius with an additional solid choice. I like Shu Yun best in a blue/red build, playing fish-style aggro control, but he’s
      fairly effective no matter what you do with him. Like Yasova, $5.99 is too low for foil copies of Shu Yun if Tiny Leaders is going to be a real format
      going forward. I’m a believer.

      The overall impact of Tiny Leaders on card prices is still fairly unclear. Some of the demand is certainly real, but the vast world of speculators and
      dealers tend to overreact to exciting new trends like this. It’s possible that everyone wants Tiny Leaders to be a thing more than it actually is, and that
      some of these price spikes will collapse under their own weight. Because of that, I recommend only speculating on Tiny Leaders with obvious upside (foil
      copies of Ambassador Laquatus, Anax and Cymede, Yasova Dragonclaw, etc.) and very little downside. I have no doubt that many of the cards on this list will
      see short-term bursts in price and demand. The real question is what happens to their values in two or three months.

      If you want Tiny Leaders to catch on, the best thing you can do is pick a general and start brewing. Bring it to FNM and show it off to your friends. Make
      a second deck and loan it out. Run a tournament. Talk about sweet plays you’ve made. A format is only as strong as the number of people who want to play
      it.

      My Tiny Leaders retrospective will continue next week with a look at all the non-Leader format staples. For now, let’s talk about –

      This Week’s Trends

      – The Elspeth vs. Kiora decklists are out, and…they’re not that exciting. Other than the two planeswalkers, the best card in there is Mother of Runes.
      Expect her price to drop down towards $2-$3 once this deck is released. Also included: Inkwell Leviathan, Explosive Vegetation, Temple of the False God,
      Simic Sky Swallower, and Lorescale Coatl. None of these cards are in very high demand right now, but they will all drop at least a little.

      – Commander’s Arsenal foils are spiking, probably due to buyouts. Sylvan Library went first, and now foil copies of Kaalia of the Vast have disappeared
      everywhere. This makes sense, because the product was extremely limited, and Kaalia plays very well with the dragons that are currently making casual
      players go nuts. Even still, selling into hype is fine on these. We’ll probably see a spike to something crazy followed by a slow price decline as very few
      actual players prove willing to pay the new amounts for these cards. Folks are predicting Scroll Rack and Maelstrom Wanderer are next to spike, so someone
      will probably force the issue. Heck, they’ve probably already done so by the time you’ve read this.

      – Puresteel Paladin is also spiking, probably due to a combination of Tiny Leaders play and how good the card is in the white Commander deck that came out
      a few months ago. The paladin is a casual equipment all-star, so I’d expect the price spike to stick, at least a little. I’d expect it to settle in around
      $5 retail.

      – Modern has settled down a little following the Pro Tour. Snapcaster Mage, Liliana of the Veil, Azusa, Lost but Seeking, Wilt-Leaf Liege, Pact of
      Negation, Splinter Twin, Omniscience, Primeval Titan, and more have all seen significant price increases in the last two weeks, but their prices have
      plateaued over the past several days. It’s fine to sell basically any Modern card you aren’t going to use this season at some point over the next six to
      eight weeks, though I expect the overall market to keep trending upward through at least mid-March if the historical trends hold.

      – Standard is still a mish-mash of red-based aggro and Abzan decks, with Sultai Reanimator having fallen mostly out of favor. Check out this brew though:

      Sultai Control
      Karl Schroeder
      3rd Place at Regionals on 02-13-2015
      Standard
      Magic Arena

      Creatures (4)

      Planeswalkers (7)

      Lands (25)

      Spells (24)

      Sideboard

      Magic Card Back


      This is similar to the Sultai planeswalker decks we saw on day one of the new Fate Reforged Standard, and it’s nice to see that they’ve had some staying
      power. FNMers love planeswalkers, so expect a lot of demand for these cards. Ugin continues to go up in price, and Garruk, Apex Predator has started to
      make a move as well. I don’t think any one deck will dominate Standard over the next month or two, but I’d be shocked if we don’t see more decks like this
      alongside the red/x, Jeskai, and Abzan brews.

      – This was my 150th article for StarCityGames – can you believe it? Assuming an average article length of 3,500 words, that’s over half a million words
      about Magic Finance. That’s a lot, but it’s still not even halfway to the total amount of words in the Harry Potter books. I still have a long way to go,
      and I’m grateful I have all of you along for the journey.