Bang for your Buck: Investing in cards for Dragon’s Maze – Multicolor and Hybrid

Disclaimer: I can not be held responsible for any poor decisions I make in regards to any cards you might buy in response to my article. I’m going to post my thoughts and plead my case for each card I recommend, and if you agree then by all means head out to your local gaming store or buy cards online and try to snap up some good deals. I’m basing my information off of months of standard gaming experience as well as prices in my area and how they’ve reacted to the ever changing metagame. I can only hope that the decisions I make are good ones and that my gamble pays off after buying the featured cards.

Well, there is a month before M14 is released, which pretty much makes this article moot, but who knows! The entire set has yet to be spoiled so there is still a chance that prices can change before then. Let’s take a look at my suggestions from the previous article

• Gisela, Blade of Goldnight – I thought that her value would go up slightly, and thanks to other formats like Commander, it did ( from $4 to $7)
• Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker – I thought that Bolas might see more play, but alas nobody has been using Grixis that much. If anything, he’s fringe and in sideboards. While his value is up slightly from what it was before, I wouldn’t really say I was correct.
• Havengul Lich – It’s a fun card, but I was definitely wrong on this one. I thought it would go up from it’s $4 value, but it’s actually down to about $2.50 now. Fun to play, but fringe.
• Sphinx’s Revelation and Deathrite Shaman – I said they would keep their value, and they did. Both stayed in the $25 and $15 range respectively.
• Armada Wurm – It went from $5 to $3.50, so I was wrong that it would gain in value, HOWEVER, recent results show that it’s on its way back. We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks.
• Loxodon Smiter – Smiter has become a staple of hexproof, naya, and GW aggro decks. It went from $3 to $4, so I was correct that it would go up in value again.
• Supreme Verdict – It was pretty easy to guess that Esper would get big after Gatecrash. It hit a high of about $6 for a while there, but now it’s around $5 again. I said it would go up so rack up another win for me.
• Detention Sphere – Sphere lost some value since control fell out of standard, but for a while the price was up there. It’s down to $2.50 from $3.50 before. Bad call on my part.
• Rakdos’s Return – While Grixis didn’t take off, Jund did, and in that deck is Rakdos’s Return. Thanks to that deck strategy, the card has seen a rise in value from before, which means I was correct in thinking it would go up in value and see more play.
• Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord – Jarad is seeing some play recently in a few Jund/Golgari aggro builds, but not enough to help him hold his value. He went from $2 to $1, which means I was incorrect with my prediction.

I think I did alright with my multicolor predictions, finishing just above a .500 average. I think I’ll do even better this time as well. With only a month until M14 though, I think these predictions will be made more with that set in mind and rotation as well. There are tons of cards to go through for multicolor, so let’s get started.

M13, Innistrad, Dark Ascension, and Avacyn Restored Multicolor Cards

I’m not going to make the same mistake with Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker ($4.50) this time. He’s too big to get out, in colors that don’t get played often, and he’s too slow in this aggro happy metagame. We might see a fringe deck that uses him, but I don’t see his value going up before rotation this fall. I think Geist of Saint Traft ($24) will keep his value up there until 1 month before rotation, but if you’re not planning on using him before fall, put him up for sale now to get the most profit. Olivia Voldaren ($9) should also keep her value because I think Jund and RWB decks will see a decent amount of play in order to keep her in the meta.

Falkenrath Aristocrat

Between Huntmaster of the Fells ($15) and Falkenrath Aristocrat ($15), I think our vampire lady will continue to see more play in Aristocrats and other aggro decks while Huntmaster will start to taper off as people sell him before he rotates. Aristocrat could see a slight increase, but Huntmaster will probably fall to $12 or so in the next few months.

Sigarda, Host of Herons

I have no idea if Gisela will continue to see play in Commander or find its way into standard, or if Bruna will fit into sideboards against Hexproof decks to steal wins away from them (absolutely hilarious btw), but I do think that Sigarda ($6) will see more play in standard before rotation in September. GW aggro will definitely use her, so be on the lookout for this deck to make a comeback. Her price won’t change I think, but she should hold her value for the next few months before dropping close to rotation.

Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash Multicolor and Hybrid cards

Armada Wurm

Naya (GRW), Bant (GWU), and Junk (GWB) are going to be losing some key cards in a few months, and in order to fill those spots I think people will be buying up Armada Wurm ($3.50). It’s undervalued, and I believe it will hit at least $5 or more in the next few months. Deathrite Shaman ($13) will continue to hold it’s value, but with possible loss of Arbor Elf and Innistrad/M13 dual lands in standard in fall, we could see Shaman go up a few dollars as people look for ways to fix their mana outside of Gates and shocklands.

Dreadbore

With the new planeswalker rule going into effect when Theros is released, I think Dreadbore ($3.50) will see an increase of a few dollars, at least as people prepare for Planeswalker craziness. I see no reason that Sphinx’s Revelation ($23) will change in value from what it’s at right now at all. There are enough hate cards in the format now to keep it in check, but at the same time everybody running white and blue will have this in their deck. Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice ($7.50) seems like it’s a little overvalued at the moment, but what do I know? It could become even bigger if GW decks take off, and it’s great against aggro decks where you need to keep your life above a certain level. If we lose Thragtusk and Rhox Faithmender after rotation, Trostani is definitely in the running to fill that void in the sideboard.

Aurelia, the Warleader

It’s looking more and more likely that Thundermaw Hellkite will NOT be reprinted in M14, which means naya players will be scrambling for finishers when Theros hits standard. Aurelia, the Warleader ($7) is already seeing play in a few Naya decks, and I think she’ll become more commonplace the closer we get to the new set. Sticking with the Boros color theme, I think that Firemane Avenger ($1.20) will also see more play after rotation. It’s been under the radar, but lately quite a few people have been buying playsets of her. She’s a decent card, and for a little over a dollar you should pick her up.

High Priest of Penance

The High Priest of Penance ($0.75) is an unsuspecting card. He’s removal in human form. While we will be getting Doom Blade in M14, we’re going to be losing an entire block of removal when Theros is released and there’s going to be a shortage. I don’t think he will go up a lot, but I could see the priest reaching about $2 in a few months.

Obzedat, Ghost Council

The last card in my list is Obzedat, Ghost Council ($12). He’s dropped in value a lot from when Gatecrash first hit standard. In Japan he’s still sitting around $18, but I think after the next set he’ll see another increase in value as more people switch to GWB and RWB midrange decks. We don’t know if Esper control will be back with him in the sideboard, but the point is that there are quite a few decks out there that use him. It’s also possible that the new legendary rule will affect his playability as well, so keep an eye on him. I’d expect Obzedat to go back up to at least $15 in the near future, so get him now while he’s cheap. 

And that’s a wrap

This took way too long. I can’t apologize enough for taking so long to do this article. I appreciate you taking the time to read them all, and I look forward to working on it again in another month or so (in a timely manner of course). So what’s next for the Japan Hobbyist? There are some Grand Prix Trials coming up in June, a PTQ in July, and of course the M14 core set. The visual spoilers put the set at more than 50% revealed at the moment, but we won’t know for sure what the set holds for another 2 weeks or so. 

Over the next few weeks I’ll be talking about the metagame here in Nagoya, posting new deck ideas, and posting initial thoughts on M14 too. Thanks for reading today’s article and and be sure to stop back in a few days for a new post!