(Guest Article) Bang for your Buck: Born of the Gods – Legacy, EDH, and Modern

For the first time on The Japan Hobbyist, we have a guest writer that has shown interest in breaking down the eternal formats in Magic the Gathering (Modern, Legacy, and EDH), and has written an article on investing in certain cards in these formats before the newest set has time to change many prices. Please join me in welcoming SB Jackel to The Japan Hobbyist website!  As with the other Bang for Your Buck articles, I must post a disclaimer here. TJH, myself, and Mr. Jackel can not be held responsible for any purchases you might make in regards to this article. As a player of the other formats, Mr. Jackel will do his best to explain his reasoning for investing in each card, and if you agree with his reasoning, then by all means head out to your local game store and pick up some copies. 

With the release of Born of the Gods and the start of a new Modern meta, I was asked to write a financial review for the eternal formats: Modern, Legacy and Commander (EDH). When we talk about eternal formats, we see a smaller percentage of new cards entering the format because there is already a large list of cards that are legal and a single set doesn’t add that many cards to an already huge pool. To put this into perspective, after Born of the Gods was released, Legacy contained 13573 cards. With the addition of 165 cards from this set we only see a 1% increase to the card pool size. This is also the same for Modern, which only saw a 2% increase, versus standard which saw a 12% increase to the card pool. When we are talking about card prices we need to remember that true prices will not be actualized until after the cards have stopped being printed and the supply becomes limited.

Modern

Brimaz, King of Oreskos

I am not certain on how this card will perform in Modern. It is competing with Hero of Bladehold for the same slot. Comparing the two, Brimaz makes 1 token a turn and attacks on turn 4 for 4, turn 5 for 5, and turn 6 for 6 totally 15 damage, whereas Hero of Bladehold makes 2 tokens and attacks for 7 on turn 5 and 11 on turn 6 totally 18 damage. Add the fact that Brimaz is a legendary creature and it really starts to look mediocre. For Brimaz to go up in price it needs to find a deck. I expect that if he does find a deck it would be a very aggressive aggro deck such as Zoo, or as Hero of Bladehold 5-7 in a token deck. Currently he is selling for $34.25 which is overpriced for modern, unless a deck running 4 top 8s GP Richmond this weekend with no other cards that contain significant value. If you want him for modern wait until after he rotates out of standard where you should be able to pick him up for between $7-$12.

Eidolon of Countless Battles

This is my call for the biggest breakout in the set. The Modern deck Boggles, which runs hexproof creatures and enchantments, has always been a tier 2 deck but has been able to perform, and should hit tier 1.5 with the banning of Deathrite and accordingly fewer Liliana of the Veils. The deck is typically a 2 color deck, but moving into a third color shouldn’t be too much trouble with the manabases available in Modern. The card I am most excited about seeing enchanted is Geist of Saint Traft which turns a 2/2 hexproof into a 5/5 when he makes a 4/4 angel. Boggles also runs a lot of enchantments which makes it susceptible to wrath style removal, but the Eidolon turns into a creature post removal. This allows you to attack with a creature after a wrath negating the full effect of mass removal. Additionally, Eidolon also protects your creatures from Anger of the Gods.

This card is currently worth around $2.75 but should begin falling to the $1 range as they are opened and not played extensively in standard. If you see any foils and can pick them up for below $3 or get them as throw-ins in a trade in the next few weeks/months grab them, because if I am correct they should hit between $10-15 post rotation. Keep in mind this will be the riskiest
call I am going to make today.

Courser of Kruphix

At Pro Tour Born of the Gods this card saw 9 copies of play for modern decks that finished with a positive record (6-4 of better) with the best record being 7-2-1 (finishing 10th overall). This deck fit nicely into Jund as it allows the deck to regain the much needed life it loses to Dark Confidant. The card is interesting and if Jund can produce results in GP Richmond I can see this card being the replacement for Deathrite that Jund really needs. Courser of Kruphix is currently sitting at $9.00 and I expect it to stay at this price for the foreseeable future while it is in standard, or at least until it is replaced in G/R and Jund monsters. The best time to buy this card is around this upcoming rotation or the following rotation where we will see Courser dip to the $3-$4 range. Speaking Long term, I don’t believe it should be valued above $10-$15 unless it becomes an irreplaceable card in Jund.

Legacy

Spirit of the Labyrinth

This is a card that should see play in Death and Taxes, and as a sideboard card for a few other decks. I don’t see this card being a 4 of in any deck so I am not going to suggest picking them up to profit as there will be far more available on the market then the demand. The non-foil Spirits are selling for around $5 whereas the foil ones are currently selling for $30. The more this set is opened (sealed PTQ season is happening now) the cheaper the foils will get. Pick one or two up if
you can get them for below $15-$20 as they should spike up to around $40-$50 in the next year or two.

Commander (EDH)

Perplexing Chimera

This is an interesting card because it prevents combo decks from operating. The card looks like a fun addition to most blue Commander decks and I would pick up and foil ones you find for $3 as the card should hit $5 within the next 12 months. Personally I am excited to cast this guy because my local Commander meta is dominated by combo decks.

Fated Cycle

Fated Retribution

Fated Infatuation

Fated Return

Three of the Fated cycle will see play in Commander. Fated Retribution as an instant speed wrath, Fated Return as an
instant speed reanimate spell that also makes the creature indestructible, and lastly Fated Infatuation that allows you to clone a creature you control at instant speed. Add this to the fact that if you want to play with them on your turn you
get to scry, too. Currently these 3 are valued at around $2-$3 but should slowly start gaining value over the next year.
Foil versions are the ideal investment because collectors only need 1 per deck. I expect foil versions to double or triple in value over the next 18 months. The other two cards of the Fated cycle, namely Fated Intervention and Fated Conflagration won’t see an increase on the Commander side because they just are not good enough to make a significant impact. They may increase because of Standard but as the set rotates they should be bulk rares sitting at less than $1.

God Cycle

The new multicolor mythic gods are always a good choice for Commander because they can be used as commanders. If you don’t already have a Commander set of the gods I suggest you try and pick them up as we get closer to rotation this fall when Return to Ravnica rotates out. They should always remain a favorite in the future and will do nothing but appreciate in value as they become more and more scarce. If you see the a god for below $5 pick it up as they will
become a Commander staple from this point forward.

Afterward

There are a few modern cards worth picking up right now that are undervalued and will see play this upcoming summer. Picking up Scars of Mirrodin dual lands is a wise investment if you can pick them up for around $6-$8 each because theywill increase in price as people begin to pick them up for the upcoming Modern season.

So what do you guys think of the effect of Born of the Gods on the eternal formats? Do you have any cards you’d like to recommend for the upcoming season before prices really start to take off? I want to thank SB Jackel again for writing this article, and I would like to welcome any of you to write articles in the future as well if you feel inclined to do so. I’ll be back before the weekend with another new article, so I hope to see you then, Thanks for reading!