MTG Salvation

I am a Johnny who likes to play around with cute cards, and I almost always buy to play with very little eye towards flipping them.

The cards I am willing to get at current TCG Market price:
Tamiyo, Field Researcher x2- I tend to hedge my bets on borderline PW and only buy 2 at the time of release if they interest me. Those are some SOLID activated abilities, and bant really should be the colors that could make the mana cost lest painful, but three colors is rough. I really like her with Oath of Nissa.
Nibilis of Frost x4- 4 mana is expensive, but it is the kind of card I really like trying to break and at $0.58 it is almost a risk free purchase.
Elder Deep-Fiend x4- This one I am eyeing more for Standard play, and might be a card I trade away if it peeks well enough, but the potential for value plays fills me with delight. At around $5 it is a bit of a risk, so this is probably my biggest gamble.

Cards I like but think they will drop a good % in the next few weeks
Sigarda's Aid x2- mostly for EDH.

I think Thalia could see play, but with all the value in EM's rare/mythic cards there is no way she is a $8 in three weeks. Testing could change things for me, but I can't see buying until it is below $5. I would jump in at $3 or less. In between those I would just have to gut call it.

What really hurts it for the kind of deck I would use her in (D&T, maybe Hatebears) is that it competes with some very strong cards at 3 cmc. With decks like that you are edging into "finisher" territory (4 cmc top out most of the time), and she doesn't do that.

I think the odds of a Hierarch reprint before next summer are small. It could be in Conspiracy 2, but it doesn't seem like the rarity you want for mana fixing in a draft set. Then again I am ***** at drafting, so I may be way off. Mechanically too...attacking with one creature seems like the opposite of what I see in draft much of the time.

Next summer I expect we will see another Modern Masters, but who knows if it will be in.

Quote from gkourou »

Eldtritch Evolution: What do you predict about this card's value? Will it go up or not?

I don't follow Standard, but I think that card is way over hyped for Modern.
1. It is a rare, and only the best rares stay in the $10 while in Standard.
2. It is a Sorcery. Decks that might run it have better options.
3. It exiles itself. That keeps combos or synergy from being unfair.
4. I think there is are a lot of tasty morsels at the top of the rarity for this set, and that will spread out value over more cards.

If TKS can barely stay above $5 then I just can't see EE doing any better.

Quote from Lodrrr »

hi dudes!
i have following question. I do love me the Ultra Pro Pro-Matte Non-Glare sleeves: http://www.ultrapro.com/product_info.php?products_id=3334
actually i recently started to like the "normal" ones, too: http://www.ultrapro.com/product_info.php?products_id=1075

My question now is related to the backside of the sleeves. Is the backside identic? Or are there differences on the back, too? Thank you for your answers

I have both in blue- the regular I bought a few years ago, and the matte front ones have trickled in via Puca trades. The backs of most are the same, but there are a few of the matte front sleeves that are a slightly darker blue. it is not so you would notice if the two aren't side by side, but you couldn't use them (the darker ones) both in a deck together. Otherwise I have been known to absent mindedly put them in decks without noticing until I draw that card.

@Xenfire: I can attest that kmc perfect fits slide easily into both DS mat and KMC hyper mat. The tighter fit keeps them from sliding up.

Re: DS opacity- all DS non-metallic color of their original product line are noticeably less opaque when empty and held up to a light. In the right light I have been able to see the card back through when my opponent is using the green and blue ones, but in most settings I can't.

KMC makes a standard glossy sleeve in almost the same blue as DS, and I realized I had both when taking inventory of my sleeves. There was just the slightest hint of one behind darker than the other. It is enough that I could tell if they had cards them and were in the same deck, but it was really hard to tell in indoor light side by side when they didn't have cards. I finally was sorting them in bright natural light and realized that their opacities are dramatically different, which made sorting possible.

I seem to recall that the red matte DS are as opaque as hyper mats, but I only checked once when my son bought them. I have just stuck to hyper mats so I can't say for sure on the red or any finish or metallic color.

Quote from Worzel »

So I was curious to see if anyone had bothered MaRo about this yet, and searched the Blogatog for Donate. The results: a page full of posts about how he will never reprint the card (the effect, possibly, but not the card), regardless of reserve list. Enjoy.

This should just be a lesson that MaRo is not the sole arbiter of what goes into a set, and when he comments on Blogatog it should be understood that it is not hard policy. I'm gonna guess that he was not thrilled about the card you can cast from exile either, though I'll bet the flavor in both cases was enough to keep him from working to get them left out.

Quote from Ayiluss »

EDH Commander with Geist of Saint Traft plays is. It's probably related to that by this deck being popular now.

Normally I might disagree with that, but the fact that it is a future shifted land changes that. In general cards with the future shifted frame are more likely to hold value over time due to that novelty alone. I, personally, think it is a terrible frame for several reasons but even I agree that lands with the future shifted frame look pretty stellar. Heck, of all of the FS lands (not counting Cairn) Nimbus Maze is one of the only ones I could even imagine as part of a traditional cycle, and it is still has pretty good odds of holding the value you put into it. I think that River of Tears is the other, and it is more in line with the power level we see in modern sets, but I think it would be harder to fit in to a block. Grove would make for a terrible standard metagame, and I loves me some Horizon Canopy, but I can't see Wizards ever allowing that level of card cycling in Standard.

Keep in mind I am talking about cycles in the traditional style of dual lands- 5 or 10 cards, all with the same mechanic. Dual lands are almost always printed that way in Standard.

Quote from Weebo »

Mythic and being printed 5 years ago...

Good lord, has it really been that long? It is still filed under "cards printed pretty recently" in my old brain.

Sigarda is pretty nutty in EDH, and she has a lot of new EDH player appeal since using her for a enchantress voltron deck is pretty straight forward. She may even have seen a bit of an uptick when the last Sigarda was spoiled due to it highlighting how great the first one was. I'm too lazy to check if that's true.

Edit: I double checked and it has actually been 4 years (05/04/2012), but that is still longer than it seems to me.

Quote from gkourou »

Nahiri did not last finally, right? Huge drop during the latest days. The weird thing is that there are some Standard lists(4c-rite company) that encorporate her, in addition to Jeskai and Kiki Chord.

One factor is that we are just about hitting peak supply to play ratio. From here on out less boxes will be opened, with much of the additional copies in the marketplace coming from redemption, all the while more and more will be bought by speculators and folks like me who put them in their modern tool box- effectively removing them from existence.

Clearly her hype spike having run it's course is also a factor, but the last one I picked up was traded at $27 in value, and I am comfortable paying that.

One of the arguments against running non-hexproof creatures that do not have an etb effect is that you are concentrating the hate your opponent runs towards those creatures. If your opponent can't target any of your non-land permanents then the targeted removal that they have are all dead cards. Every non-hexproof permanent you run makes that removal a little more effective. That is one of the reasons I was (at one time) using wall of roots- because even if it gets destroyed I have a chance to use it at least once before it goes.

Interestingly there comes a tipping point where the number of targetable permanents becomes greater, which then makes your opponent's removal less and less effective if you can out-play them. More choices means your opponent has a greater chance to make the wrong one. If you can draw out removal with less important plays then it means less chance your opponent will have that removal for your important threats. The ideal ratio for your opponent is for them to draw as much efficient removal as you do targetable threats- any more targets forces your opponent to play smarter and gives you the chance to out-play them. Any less just assures that those permanents are removed, but as you approach zero those cards become less and less useful. That, however, is besides the point in this case. The best play for your opponent to make late game is to remove your targetable creature when it is the only creature propping up worship. For each creature that can potentially enable that play, you need to have a really good reason for it's inclusion over the alternatives.

Compounding that when there are some small non-zero number of non-hexproof creatures in this deck is that game two you are allowing your opponent to play more threat dense. After all, if their removal is less effective their is less a point in running those cards when they can run more threats and answers that don't target creatures (like proactive disruption and reactive instants). They may not be able to win if you keep a creature in play with worship also in play, but if they are more threat dense they have a better chance of getting you to zero if your worship is never drawn or comes too late.

Re: Mana Tithe- I have found that for the skilled player it is a very good card game one. After that is is absurdly easy to play around, but game one leaving open a single white mana source that cannot also tap for blue can make an opponent more reckless with their plays if what they are playing has a good etb effect (or also has hexproof for that matter). I'm not sure what the appropriate number to run MD is, though.

Anyway, I haven't played this archetype for well over a year, so I have no real clue if this specific meta makes it more effective, the points I stayed are just generally true. Specific metas may make them less so.

Linvala has a combination of being relatively uncommon even for a Mythic, and always popping up in Modern sideboard as the meta changes. If you look every time the price has gone up it never really comes back to it's old norm, so over time it has become pretty spendy for a card that is rarely ever more than a 2x in the 75.

I do think that whatever is driving her up to $50 is likely temporary and if I wanted to bother I would drop the couple I have and get them when they are back at $35 or less. I doubt they will be up for more than a few months.

Quote from damagecase »

There, no more ambiguity or semantic tom****ery.

So, define what a tempo deck is in regards to magic? Control? Archetype? These are just three that have driven me nuts in the past with people using the term and talking about very different things. What is apparent each time I do get this bee in my bonnet is that there is no established definition for many "slang" terms that the magic community has adopted. As much as I would like for there to be an official MTG dictionary that everyone goes by, or even to use the actual OED definition in some cases, people will usually just assign their own meaning and not change.

For my part a staple is a card that season after season, or perhaps cyclically, keeps being a relevant card in the most played decks. This is a useful definition for me because it is how I separate out cards that I have put in deck after deck into two binders because it would be a pain to repeatedly have to put them back in their set binders. I can't even begin to count the number of times I have put Serum Visions into a tier 1-1.5 deck, only to take them out when I need the cards to build another top deck. That is what defines a "staple" for me. The loss of Kitchen Finks from the format would probably change it little, but even if it isn't the most relevant card right now I am confidant it will be again. I know where to look for it when that day comes.

Nahiri does not fit this because there has not been enough time to judge it, however since I also put all of my Planeswalkers in those binder regardless (just easier to have them all in one place) it matters little.

Oh, and I (for one) do not think that Modern would look all that different if Goyf were banned (which should not happen). It would just be replaced by the next most efficient beater in the same way that Serum Visions replaced Ponder and Preodained when they were banned. that does not make Goyf any less of a staple as far as I'm concerned.

Quote from rcwraspy »

I've found eBay to be much easier than Puca. I don't need to maintain an active trade binder but can instead sell whatever card(s) I want at the time(s) I want and keep the PayPal money for when I see cards I want to buy. If you have impulse control you don't need to spend any more on eBay than you do trading through Puca, and can actually make a little without much effort at all.

To each their own, but I already have shelves of cards in binders, and would even if I weren't doing Puca. On Puca I am never low-balled and don't have to pay fees for trading. I do have to pay for shipping when I send cards, but I don't when I am receiving cards, so it balances out. It's not perfect, and it is a poor choice for people who want cards in less than a week, but it is very good.

If I need a card quickly I will use my store credit at Cape Fear Games (online) or just buy a card off eBay. I have sold stuff on eBay before and it is just not worth the hassle for me. I also hate the rating system because if you want to rate someone honestly below 5 stars you risk getting retaliatory low ratings regardless of whether it is warranted. It's just not for me.

Quote from cfusionpm »

You can get her as cheap as $22 on TCG Player and $23 on eBay.

Sure, but I primarily use Puca trade because I can't pump much money into magic right now. I have cards like Flusterstorm and TNN in binders that have never been played. Puca values seem high when compared with free market sites like TCG, but when you are able to get full retail (trade credit) for the cards you send others it all balances out. When I recently shipped my last Flusterstorm I got the equivalent of $63 for it (spent $2 or less on shipping), and it would be hard and tedious to do the same on EBay. That additional value that I got for my card makes up for the full retail value that the cards I want are priced at.

While I wouldn't mind if Nahiri was more in the $20 range, I think it is a $30-$35 card all day long. I certainly wish I had gotten on board with her earlier, I have been quite happy trading for her at her current value.