MTGGOLDFISH: Holiday Coal Exchange

[MTGGoldfish][Magic Newsletter] [width="1"] --------------------------------------------------------------- Budget Magic: 10-Rare Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor (Historic Brawl) --------------------------------------------------------------- 2Ejpg Historic Brawl is already considered to be one a strong budget format because you only need one copy of each card, but what if you add another layer of cheapness by playing just 10 rares?[Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Finance Update w/ Saffron Olive --------------------------------------------------------------- [Moraug, Fury of Akoum](Rising/Moraug+Fury+of+Akoum#paper) [Crystal Spray](Spray#paper) [Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines](Will+Be+One/Elesh+Norn+Mother+of+Machines#paper) This week in the world of Magic finance things were fairly quiet as the world gears up for the holiday season. One of the biggest gainers was [Moraug, Fury of Akoum (showcase)](Rising/Moraug+Fury+of+Akoum-showcase#paper) with the Zendikar Rising mythic shooting up 33% to just under $10. The Minotaur has always felt a bit underpriced compared to how much play it sees in Commander, especially when you consider that other mythics from the same set that see a similar amount of play - like [Ancient Greenwarden (planeswalker stamp)](Rising/Ancient+Greenwarden-planeswalker+stamp#paper) and [Ashaya, Soul of the Wild (planeswalker stamp)](Rising/Ashaya+Soul+of+the+Wild-planeswalker+stamp#paper) - have been over $10 for a while now, so in some sense this price increase is just bringing Moraug in line with other similar cards. This said, the catalyst for this price increase seems to be [Mishra, Claimed by Gix](Brothers+War/Mishra+Claimed+by+Gix#paper), which really likes attacking, which makes it a perfect home for [Moraug, Fury of Akoum (showcase)](Rising/Moraug+Fury+of+Akoum-showcase#paper)'s extra combat steps. It's also worth mentioning that we're now two full years past Zendikar Rising, which is often the time when we start to see prices rise on cards that are heavily played in Commander. When you add in smaller gains from things like [Drana, the Last Bloodchief](Rising/Drana+the+Last+Bloodchief#paper), [Emeria's Call](Rising:Foil/Emerias+Call#paper), [Tazri, Beacon of Unity (planeswalker stamp)](Rising/Tazri+Beacon+of+Unity-planeswalker+stamp#paper), and [Ashaya, Soul of the Wild (planeswalker stamp)](Rising/Ashaya+Soul+of+the+Wild-planeswalker+stamp#paper), this week it might be time to snag the Zendikar Rising cards you need. Prices are likely to continue to creep up until they are eventually reprinted. In stranger news, [Crystal Spray](Spray#paper) nearly doubled up this week to almost $5 after being a bulk rare just a couple of months ago. This is because of the new, fringe [Dandan]( format, which is a two-player game in which both players play off the same preconstructed deck, which essentially makes [Dandan]( a fan-made Magic board game. It just so happens that two copies of [Crystal Spray](Spray#paper) are used in a [Dandan]( deck, and with the total deck costing under $50, it seems that a meaningful number of people are buying into the format, which is causing the [Crystal Spray](Spray#paper) price jump. While the idea of [Dandan]( is interesting, it's worth mentioning that most fan-made formats have pretty short shelf lives as people get hyped for them for a few months before moving on to the next thing. Is it possible that [Dandan]( breaks the mold? Of course, but a safer bet is to sell your [Crystal Spray](Spray#paper)s now, because if the [Dandan]( format fizzles, demand will be non-existent once again. Finally, a word of warning about [Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines](Will+Be+One/Elesh+Norn+Mother+of+Machines#paper). While the Phyrexia: All Will Be One mythic isn't even out yet, it's already generating a lot of conversation, including an article this week by the leader of the [Commander Rules Committee Sheldon Mener](y which talks about his dislike of the card (to the point where after getting an early look at the set, he told Wizards not to print it) and how Elesh Norn seems to be high on an unofficial watch list for potential banning in Commander. If all of this sounds a bit absurd to you, well, it sounds that way to me too, but there are important financial ramifications here. Currently [Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines](Will+Be+One/Elesh+Norn+Mother+of+Machines#paper) costs around $50. While this price is likely inflated because we're currently in presales, considering that [Sheoldred, the Apocalypse (phyrexian)](United/Sheoldred+the+Apocalypse-phyrexian#paper) and [Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider (phyrexian)](Monstrous+Raider-phyrexian#paper) - two other praetors that are popular in Commander and/or Standard - are both in the $30-$50 range, even once Phyrexia releases, it's unlikely that [Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines](Will+Be+One/Elesh+Norn+Mother+of+Machines#paper) will be cheap. Now that we know that the person with the most power to ban a card in Commander dislikes it, thinks it shouldn't exist, and is tracking it for a potential banning, is it worth buying [Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines](Will+Be+One/Elesh+Norn+Mother+of+Machines#paper) immediately upon the release of Phyrexia? I'm not so sure. A wiser plan might be to proxy Elesh Norn for the short term to see if it does indeed get banned and if six or nine months (two or three ban list updates) go by and [Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines](Will+Be+One/Elesh+Norn+Mother+of+Machines#paper) is still legal, then buy real copies for your decks. It's hard to see Elesh Norn costing much more than its current $50 price tag, so if anything you are likely to save some money by waiting for a bit anyway, and this is doubly true now that there are legitimate concerns about the card's future legality in the Commander format. --------------------------------------------------------------- Holiday Coal Exchange | Commander Clash --------------------------------------------------------------- The crew anonymously gifts each other decks that they hate! It's Evil Secret Santa[Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Podcast 412: Is Phyrexian Obliterator Good in 2023? --------------------------------------------------------------- The crew talks Phyrexia: All Will Be One spoilers, the Storm Scale and answers #MTGFishmail --------------------------------------------------------------- Red has been on the rise and with Eidolon of the Great Revel on Arena, the deck is cooking --------------------------------------------------------------- What are the odds of turning Bruvac the Grandiloquent and Terisian Mindbreaker into a game-ending Splinter Twin–like combo on Magic Arena? Let's find out![Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Vintage 101: A Look Back at 2022 Vintage --------------------------------------------------------------- Joe Dyer looks back at 2022 in Vintage![Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Satoru Umezawa Ninjas & "Ninjas" |$60, $100 --------------------------------------------------------------- Tomer shows you how to crush tables with Ninja Tribal or "Ninjas" on a budget --------------------------------------------------------------- We all know Nykthos is good in Mono Green but what about Mono Black?[Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Much Abrew: Mono-Red Devotion (Explorer) --------------------------------------------------------------- What absurd things can a mono-red devotion deck do in Explorer now that Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is on Magic Arena? Let's find out | Explorer --------------------------------------------------------------- Mono White has to be the absolute worst color for Nykthos but there's no harm in trying, right!?[Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- #Trending Cards --------------------------------------------------------------- The five most viewed cards on MTGGoldfish this past week were: United/Sheoldred+the+Apocalypse#paper United/Sheoldred+the+Apocalypse-phyrexian#paper Neon+Dynasty/Fable+of+the+Mirror-Breaker#paper Will+Be+One/Elesh+Norn+Mother+of+Machines#paper Brothers+War/Urza+Lord+Protector#paper - [Sheoldred, the Apocalypse (Dominaria United)](United/Sheoldred+the+Apocalypse) - [Sheoldred, the Apocalypse (Dominaria United)](United/Sheoldred+the+Apocalypse-phyrexian) - [Fable of the Mirror-Breaker (Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty)](Neon+Dynasty/Fable+of+the+Mirror-Breaker) - [Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines (Phyrexia: All Will Be One)](Will+Be+One/Elesh+Norn+Mother+of+Machines) - [Urza, Lord Protector (The Brothers' War)](Brothers+War/Urza+Lord+Protector) --------------------------------------------------------------- Limited Edition Playmat! --------------------------------------------------------------- [Ebb and Flow]( Until July 31st, pre-order our new "Ebb and Flow" Limited Edition playmat! 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