Monday, March 25, 2013

Lethargy Trap - 03/25/2013

Hey everyone and welcome to City of Traders!

I'm making it a SUPER quick one tonight.  Thanks for understanding and good luck out there trading in the upcoming week.  Cheers, and remember Never Stop Trading.

GATECRASH
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
 RETURN TO RAVNICA
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
AVACYN RESTORED
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
DARK ASCENSION
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
INNISTRAD
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
 MAGIC 2013
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date

Monday, March 18, 2013

Run Wild - 03/18/2013

Hey everyone and welcome to City of Traders!

Folks, I'm not going to lie, tonight I'm tired.  Really, really tired.  I've got to get up early tomorrow and since no one is paying me to write this blog, I'm gonna take a night off.  :D

I know you won't mind.

But fret not everyone, I'm still going to give you what you're really here for; the price trends of the Magic cards currently in Standard (not that you don't enjoy my colorful commentary).  So here is the raw data, and some brief highlights for your enjoyment.  Don't miss these as some of these cards are poised to skyrocket!

GATECRASH
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com a the given date
TRENDING UP

Assemble the Legion $1.48 (+0.18)

Crypt Ghast $3.00 (+0.13)

Prime Speaker Zegana $8.98 (+0.98):  At the height of all the hype Zegana was a $14.33 card, if she continues to see play and her prices continues to go up, she could easily be a $15+ card.  Get in now if you expect her to go up.

TRENDING DOWN

There are quite of few high dollar Rares/Mythics that have been steadily declining in price.  This is true for each set, and rather than say this same thing over and over 6 times, I recommend checking the chart and moving out accordingly depending on which set you are looking at.

RETURN TO RAVNICA
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com a the given date
TRENDING UP
Abrupt Decay $7.48 (+0.39)

Angel of Serenity $9.00 (+1.05)

Rakdos's Return $5.15 (+0.15):  I'm expecting this card to blow up, it's been sitting on the cusp now for a while so grab some copies now while it is still cheap.

Sphinx's Revelation $20.99 (+1.05)

AVACYN RESTORED
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com a the given date
TRENDING UP

Griselbrand $11.99 (+0.83):  Since The Grisely One is the only card moving up this week in AVR I thought I would say a little something.  Despite being banned in Commander, Griselbrand is seeing play in Standard and Legacy, so it probably wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on his price before getting rid of any of your copies.

DARK ASCENSION
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com a the given date
TRENDING UP

Nothing to see here, move along, move along.

INNISTRAD
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com a the given date
TRENDING UP

Kessig Wolf Run $2.62 (+0.14)

Liliana of the Veil $37.42 (+3.42):  Surprise, an all star multi-format Mythic is going up in price!  Just keep in mind, Lili was a $70 walker at one point.  I'm not saying we will see numbers that high again, but hey, it could happen.

MAGIC 2013
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
TRENDING UP

Akroma's Memorial $5.97 (+0.35)

Mutilate $3.21 (+0.16)

Omniscience $7.26 (+0.27):  While I appreciate the fact that this card's price is finally reflecting its power level, I am cautious to recommend investing too heavily because I feel that if this card were to be banned in Commander, its price would drop fairly steeply.  That having been said, if you don't share my sentiments, then by all means hop on this train before it completely leaves the station.

That just about wraps it up for this week folks.  I appreciate you letting me slack a bit this week, but at the same time, don't use this as an excuse to stop reading.  If you find this blog this blog helpful, keep sharing it with anyone you think may benefit from it and I will continue writing it.  Thanks again for reading, and as always Never Stop Trading.

Kyle

Monday, March 11, 2013

Righteous Charge - 03/11/2013

Good Evening everyone and welcome once again to City of Traders!!!

I've got a big day tomorrow, so I'm going to have to make this a short one tonight, but in exchange, I'm going to give a fairly detailed financial breakdown of the new Duel Deck: Sorin vs. Tibalt.  Before we get to that however, here is some data for you viewing pleasure.

GATECRASH
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
 RETURN TO RAVNICA
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
AVACYN RESTORED
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
DARK ASCENSION
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
INNISTRAD
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
MAGIC 2013
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date

That is it for the data.  My recommendation this week?  Pick up Supreme Verdict $4.46 (+0.26) because this card is going to continue to go up in price thanks to the prevalence of creature based decks in Standard.  Oh and it's also an uncounterable four mana Wrath of God.  I suppose there is that too.

And now here is my evaluation of the new Duel Deck from a financial standpoint.  For you convenience, a link to each decklist can be found here.

SORIN'S DECK

The Rares:

Butcher of Malakir $0.83 - Commander card, although if you don't already have one, a fine way to get it.

Twilight Drover $1.97 -  Commander card.  This card isn't the reason you should buy the deck, but if you like tokens, and you like +1/+1 counters then it never hurts to have a copy around right?  Additionally, this hasn't be reprinted since the original Ravnica, so it will be nice to have additional copies floating around.

Ancient Craving $7.81 - Now we are talking!  This card was most recently printed in 1999 so there aren't that many "near mint" copies available.  Getting a fresh copy from this deck is awesome for anyone who is looking forward to drawing some cards in Commander.

Death Grasp $1.07 - I suppose someone may find a use for this outside of Commander, but I don't see that as being very likely.

Sorin, Lord of Innistrad $18.65 - Ah the man himself.  This card is going to be one of the primary reasons you are buying this deck.  It is important to note that since Sorin is being rereleased and is currently showing up in both Standard and Modern builds that people will be buying these decks solely to get copies of him.  I predicted a couple weeks ago that his price would begin to fall and foresee that trending continuing.  If you still have any copies of Sorin left, trade out of them quickly, and replenish your collection when you purchase your Duel Deck.

The (Notable) Uncommons:

Tainted Field $1.57 - This is a sweet card.  In Commander it acts like a second copy of Isolated Chapel and you get two copies to put in two of your favorite decks!

Vampire Nighthawk $0.90 - This is still a ~$1 uncommon even if you do already have 20 copies sitting somewhere.

Wall of Omens $1.08 - Value is value.  And drawing cards is FUN!

Lingering Souls $2.25 - Not only do you get the FNM promo art, you also get a sweet card.  I expect this card to be more valuable than its brother from Dark Ascension due to its alternate art.

Mortify $ 0.94 - It never hurts to have extra copies of sweet ~$1 Uncommons sitting in your binder, and this is no exception.

Spectral Procession $5.09 - This is an Uncommon.  It is trading at $5!  You get TWO of them!!!  Enjoy.

Zealous Persecution $0.86 - This card has shown up in sideboards in Modern, so it never hurts to have an extra copy lying around.

TOTAL VALUE for the Sorin Deck: $49.68 (And that's just the Rares and Uncommons)

TIBALT'S DECK

The Rares:

Hellrider $13.63 - This is a sweet inclusion, especially considering that Tibalt himself isn't that valuable of a card.  I will say this though, Hellrider is trending down.  This is partly due to lack of tourny winning play, and partly due to his reprinting in this deck.  That having been said you are still getting a $10+ card.

Lavaborn Muse $0.39 - This is a cool card, even though it isn't valued very highly.  I expect some newer players may be happy to get their hands on a copy though.

Breaking Point $2.62 - Conditional removal is fun sometimes, although in Commander, I can see this being a little too conditional.

Devil's Play $0.83 - Flashbackable Fireballs are fun, but this isn't the reason you're buying this deck by any stretch of the imagination.

Sulfuric Vortex $4.12 - I like this in Commander, I like this in Cube, I like this as an inclusion in this deck.  This card hasn't been printed since Scourge so this is a Great way to get a fresh copy of a fun card.

Tibalt, the Fiend Blooded $2.67 - Unfortunately, this isn't the Planeswalker you are buying the deck for, but Tibalt still has some merit.  You can play him in your goofy random chance red Commander deck or get a copy of a card for your collection that you may not have previously had.  And who knows, if Madness ever makes its return, then Tibalt could be worth something in the future.

The (Notable) Uncommons:

Hellspark Elemental $1.69 - Does your RDW need some more pep?  Did you miss out on buying any conflux cards?  Well here are two copies of a sweet little two drop.

Blightning $1.10 - This card is still fun even though its best buddy got the axe in Modern.  Oh, and did I mention that you get an alternative art?  That means that this copy is going to probably end up being worth more than the original.

Browbeat $2.44 - Browbeat may be the most fun a Red mage can have for 3 mana.  Even though your opponent gets to pick his poison, you usually end up winning the game once you've cast this card.  The fact that you get two helps fill the slots in that janky Modern deck you were working on.  And it's an alternative art!

Flame Javelin $1.12 - Another fine fiery $1 Uncommon to have additional copies of.

Terminate $1.01 - I know Termiante is a Common and not an Uncommon, but I didn't want to make an entirely different header for just one card.  Thanks to Modern this card is solidly $1, so even if you don't need it, stick it in your binder and trade it away!

TOTAL VALUE for the Tibalt Deck: $36.75

GRAND TOTAL FOR BOTH DECKS: $86.43

Not bad for a $19.99 investment.  Pick these up folks and enjoy your spoils.  That's it for this week, I sincerely hope you enjoyed City of Traders, and until next time, Never stop Trading.

Kyle

Monday, March 4, 2013

Horrowing Journey - 03/04/2013

Goooooood Evening everyone!  Welcome to City of Traders! 

As always thanks for joining me as we dive into what is happening in the world of Standard Magic the Gathering price trends.  Today I'm going to look at the fun things happening in what I believe is a wonderfully interesting Standard format.  I was going to do a price break down of the new Duel deck (Sorin vs. Tibalt) coming out in 11 days, but Wizards hasn't given us a list yet, so look for that next Monday.  With that having been said, let's dig in!

GATECRASH
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
TRENDING UP!

There really isn't anything to mention here.  Most of the set is either leveling out, or steadily declining in price.  Look at this as a time to pick up singles that you didn't have and were looking for, or to invest in some sleepers that you think are going to blow up in the future (read: buy Crypt Ghasts).

TRENDING DOWN:

This is where almost all of the set falls right now.  If a card isn't staying consistently at the same price, then it is going down right now.  The biggest cards to cash in on because their prices are still high are going to be:

Boros Reckoner $21.99 (-2.32)

Aurelia, the Warleader $13.08 (-2.86)

Aurelia's Fury $11.05 (-2.92)

Domri Rade $18.99  (-1.36)

Duskmantle Seer $6.28 (-1.33)

Gideon, Champion of Justice $9.76 (-1.06)

Lazav, Dimir Mastermind $5.11 (-0.79)

Obzedat, Ghost Council $18.00 (-0.79)

Prime Speaker Zegana $7.34 (-1.14)

The overarching theme here is High dollar Mythics (excepting of course Boros Reckoner) which are currently not seeing a great deal of tournament play (excepting of course Boros Reckoner), thus causing their prices to steadily fall.  My advice?  Trade out of these cards if you can into more stable cards if you are looking to maintain value.

RETURN TO RAVNICA
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
TRENDING UP!

Abrupt Decay $6.95 (+0.45):  Uncounterable?  Check.  "Control" playable?  Check.  Kills annoying three drops that make you lose the game out of nowhere when comboed with a certain two cost instant and a relatively full graveyard?  Double Check.  Seems like a winner to me.

Mizzium Mortars $2.60 (+0.11):  Not a big jump, but a solid trend.  I would keep an eye on this card due to it's ability to indiscriminately hit (and more importantly kill) most of the popular creatures in Standard.

Rest in Peace $1.95 (+0.05):  Hey, it could be a thing.  It probably isn't but give me a break, it's a slow news day.

Sphinx's Revelation $19.04 (+1.05):  This card probably isn't going to go up too much more, but then again, it keeps proving itself and showing up in winning decklists.  I wouldn't trade out of any copies you have yet unless this takes a turn for the worse and heads in the other direction.

Supreme Verdict $4.20 (+0.21):  If you can't beat 'em, blow em to kingdom come.  I like Supreme Verdict a lot.  I remember a time when Wrath of God was quite expensive during it's time in Standard.  Granted the Blue in the cost makes it a little less accessable, it will still see play in the right decks.

Temple Garden $10.76 (+0.28):  Do you really need me to tell you again why this card is good?  I Didn't think so :D

TRENDING DOWN:

Angel of Serenity $8.75 (-0.71)

Armada Wurm $3.60 (-0.15)

Ash Zealot $4.44 (-0.26):  This was on the rise for a while when Mono Red Aggro was gaining popularity, now that people have found other decks to slot Boros Reckoner into Ash Zealot is reasonably seeing less play.

Jace, Architect of Thought $12.34 (-0.61):  Still trending down.  Any guesses as to where Jace will end up?

Vraska the Unseen $6.29 (-0.21)

Just a note, some of the Shocklands from RTR have lost a little value as well.  If you still don't have a playset of any of them now may be a good time to assemble one in case any future need arises.

AVACYN RESTORED
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
TRENDING UP

Gisela, Blade of Goldnight $8.25 (+0.25):

Gloom Surgeon $0.44 (+0.06):  I'm not sure exactly why this is happening, but I think Conley Woods may have something to do with it...

Griselbrand $10.95 (+0.96):  Turn 3 Crypt Ghast off of Arbor Elf.  Turn 4 Griselbrand, draw 7?  Hey it's a thing.  Respect the thing.  Oh and if that doesn't work, I guess we can just rip him out of the graveyard too.

Restoration Angel $17.33 (+0.86):  Make sure you look at the graph on this one.  That is a full week's worth of solid upward trend.  I could easily see this hitting $20 so you may want to get in now if you need some.

TRENDING DOWN:

Bonfire of the Damned $25.46 (-0.74):  Can't fool me with your off the top surprises, I knew you weren't going anywhere weeks ago.  In all seriousness, please trade this card off, at least until their are like 20 mana dorks in Standard again.

Entreat the Angels $10.99 (-0.67):  Not a good week for miracles.

Silverblade Paladin $9.47 (-0.52):  I mentioned last week that this was on the way down.  It doesn't look like it's stoping anytime soon either.  Trade accordingly.

Somberwald Sage $1.59 (-0.13):  With the green Craterhoof Behemoth version of Reanimator deck seeing less play it makes sense that this card's price is dropping.

Tamiyo, the Moon Sage $17.66 (-0.89):  Jammy (that's Jace and Tamiyo's celeberity nickname for those of you who may have been unaware) were the ultimate Planeswalker power couple for a while there, but recently a string of bad decisions, lover's quarrels, and a scandal involving a certain certain lady Planeswalker have caused the couples sad and untimely split.

Wolfir Silverheart $2.41 (-0.22):  Uh, this came as a surprise to anyone.  Shame.

DARK ASCENSION
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
TRENDING UP!

Nope!

TRENDING DOWN:

Geralf's Messenger $5.00 (-0.31)

Gravecrawler $6.29 (-0.16)

Hellrider $14.98 (-0.45):  Time to trade out of this one peeps.  It has peaked!

Huntmaster of the Fells $32.29 (-0.91):  Huntmaster is the man, but this may the highest we see his price for a while.  This is a card that is popular in Modern and Standard, so it should be pretty easy to unload if you are looking for something like that.

Predator Ooze $4.49 (-0.26)

Sorin, Lord or Innistrad $19.37 (-0.61):  TRADE OUT OF THESE IF YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY AND ARE LUCKY TO GET EVEN CLOSE TO $19 FOR YOUR COPIES.  He's coming out in a Dual deck in 11 days.  Remember what happened to Koth and Venser when the last Planeswalker themed Dual deck came out?  Their prices dropped fast.  You will buy Dual decks, and you will make up the value in some way/shape/form once you buy it, so go a head, feel free to bail on this one now.

Thalia, Guardian of Thraben $5.83 (-0.32)

INNISTRAD
All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
TRENDING UP!

Hinterland Harbor $9.49 (+0.13):  Lands R Good.

Isolated Chapel $13.53 (+0.54):  O S M R

Kessig Wolf Run $2.37 (+0.35):  Remember when there was an entire deck named after this card?  Well it may no longer be the figurehead of any specific Standard Decks anymore, but it still makes attacking with your RG deck on turn 6-7 with 8-9 mana in play all the more fun.  This is headed up.  Get in now if you need them, but don't expect this one to go too too much higher.

Liliana of the Veil $33.60 (+1.66):  Although this card has turned in the past few days, it is important to note that it was headed up.  I would keep an eye out here and make your move based on what its price does in the next few days.

Mayor of Avabruck $2.94 (+0.35):  PUMP ALL THE HUMANS!!!  I hope you took my advice last week.  This is definitely a steel at $3 especially if this card keeps going all the way to $5-6.

Nephalia Drownyard $1.15 (+0.16)

Snapcaster Mage $22.98 (+0.76):  I would say we are going to see Snapcaster back up to $25 by next week.  He is showing up in more and more RWU builds and will always see play, so it makes sense that his price is going up.

Witchbane Orb $0.78 (+0.19):  Know how to stop a bullet?  Wear Body armor.  This does effectively null all direct damage, all while conveniently making all of your creatures immune to "target player sacrifices..."  I don't think this is going to skyrocket, but don't let this one slip out of your trade binder for less that it's worth.

TRENDING DOWN

Angelic Overseer $2.14 (-0.11)

Bloodline Keeper $3.35 (-0.25)

Clifftop Retreat $13.90 (-1.04)

Garruk Relentless $10.99 (-0.38)

Stromkirk Noble $4.70 (-0.16)

Sulfur Falls $6.78 (-0.20)

All prices are mid on tcgplayer.com at the given date
TRENDING UP!

Akroma's Memorial $5.51 (++0.12):  I'm going to keep mentioning this every week until it stops going up.

Drowned Catacombs $4.27 (+0.28):  There are some Magic players that are of the opinion that people shouldn't get to do whatever they want and that they shouldn't be able to cast whatever spells they fell like.  Those players like to say "No"  They are called Control Players, and they use UB.

Elvish Archdruid $0.91 (+0.07):  This is why I love writing this column.  I get to see every little movement and every little change of every card's price every day.  This could be nothing, or it could be the start of the next Standard Elfvolution.  Knowledge!

Mutilate $2.99 (+0.37):  Swamps + Boardwipe = Dead stuffs.  Black mages have a lot of tools at their disposal right now.  If only someone could put all of them together in just the right mix, then win a tournament with them, I imagine their prices would skyrocket.  If only....

Omniscience $5.95 (+0.95):  I'm surprised it took this long.  This card is SOLIDLY trending up.  Get in now before it becomes another one of those expensive cards.

Primordial Hydra $6.50 (+0.51):  +1/+1 Counters are fun!  But only fun.  Not actually constructed playable.  Never constructed playable :D

Rootbound Crag $4.03 (+0.13):  Gruul mages need mana too.

Stuffy Doll $1.34 (+0.09):  Casual and Commander favorite, Stuffy is on the rise!  Don't expect much, but some decks may want to be seen playing Boros Reckoners 5-whatever.

TRENDING DOWN:

Jace, Memory Adept $17.16 (-0.31):  Has anyone actually used this to successfully one shot anyone yet?  Seriously, let me know :D

Master of the Pearl Trident $2.26 (-0.12):  Turns out this may actually not be the next Lord of Atlantis.  HOWEVER!  If a Fish deck wins a big name legacy tournament packing 4 copies of this card, its price will spike, so this could be a super looooong term sleeper.

Sublime Archangel $17.41 (-2.52):  Well the bubble burst.  This card was hovering around 19.99 for a while and it finally has started to really drop.  Trade out now if you can.

Thragtusk $14.27 (-0.22):  Thraggy's decline has slowed, but it hasn't stopped.  Bummer.

Thundermaw Hellkite $30.89 (-1.51): I think Thundermaw is going to keep declining if you haven't taken my advice and traded out of yours yet, I would recommend doing so soon.

And with that we wrap up another fun week of City of Traders.  I hate that I couldn't bring you the analysis of the new Duel deck this week, but hey, there is always next time :D

On a side note, in case you missed this article on the mothership this week, I wanted to make you aware of the fact that Paradise Mantle the linchpin of the featured deck has shot up from ~$2.00 to $8.75 (as of today).  So, go and dig your copies out of that old box of Fifth Dawn Uncommons that you have sitting at the bottom of your closet collecting dust and see if you can do something with yours.

Thanks for reading and remember Never stop Trading!

Kyle