Worlds coverage has given us an in depth look at the formats of Standard, Extended, and Vintage. As per usual, were going to use that information, and extract what we can in the way of cards that should see a relative price increase because of it. Continuing with its popularity, Faeries was heavily played in the extended portions of the event. Being a deck that relies more on play skill and familiarity rather than auto-wins, its bound to be a deck that does well in the hands of seasoned pro-tour and national championship competitors. Because of this we can expect to see a small bump in the price of cards from the UB menace, though I expect this to be short lived. If Faeries becomes a deck of popularity, Jund will once again rise to bring balance to the force.

But enough about Faeries, lets talk about this weekends real price upset, Necrotic Ooze. This thing jumped from almost pennies a piece to highs of up to $5.00 through online vendors in less than an hour. The window is getting smaller for people looking to snag the freshly released tech pieces, and the Necrotic Ooze flight left long ago. We all knew it was coming, and you can't say you didn't. After how well Gerry Thompson (@G3RRYT) did with it in the Legacy open recently, running a deck that showcased the awesome interactions between the ooze and graveyards, we all knew that the next format to abuse it in would be extended.

With both Fauna Shaman and Necrotic Ooze being in extended, it was just a matter of adding in the already discovered engine of Quillspike and Devoted Druid to make things degenerate quickly. Personally I love the deck, and you can expect me to be playing it this year for PTQ's. I've even added one card to the list for an additional kill outlet, but since this is a financial article, I'll just leave it at that.

Going over the extended meta game there are many strategies that put up a decent finish. Revamped decks from last year, recent type 2 decks, and artifact based aggro decks were all present. Combo in the form of Valakut based Scapeshift decks, Pyromancer Ascension, and Pestermite/Splinter twin were all there. Speaking of artifact based aggro strategies its something to be on the lookout for as the extended season is about to really start heating up, and so will those cooled off card prices. Expect to see the staple cards in every deck see a bump in price, with just a few seeing a continual surge while the others return to their average prices.

Picking up a few Tempered Steel, Etched Champion, Ethersworn Canonist, and Burrenton Forge-Tender while they are  still below peak prices will net you a sizeable profit to the right person. Many uncommons from Lorwyn block will currently go for a higher price than many current standard rares, and should be an item to watch for as you flip though binders.

Legacy didn't have much in the way of results, showing the team competition as two already well known decks played against each other, being aether vial driven Merfolk and Counter-top. The public event for Legacy was won by Survival, and from what I've been able to find so far, there isn't much in the way of innovation currently in the format.

Standard as a format is relevant all year long thanks to the ongoing Starcitygames.com open series, which is doing more events than it did last year. Brian Kibblers (@BMkibler) Caw-go deck was one highlighted all over the internet including here on this site, and can be expected to be a player early in this years open series events. The top 8 of Worlds saw a large majority of control which was surprising but not completely unexpected.

As the meta shifted to aggro strategies to combat RUG and other ramp ideas, control had to shift as well. This time it went back to winning games on the back of Consume the Meek, Sea Gate Oracle, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, and Grave Titan. I expect the black titan will see a rise back to its rather recent highs as the finals were a U/B control mirror, so if you were able to pick any up during the price lull now would be a good time to use Worlds hype and mark their price up a bit to gain some profits.

Primeval titan held its crown as the king of the titans, though all of them including Abyssal Persecutor and Wurmcoil Engine showed up in the standard portion of decks with more than 13 points. The trend of 1-2 copies of Inferno titan in R/G Ramp style decks continued, as did the need for Avenger of Zendikar. As long as ramp strategies continue to have a place in the metagame, expect those cards to carry a decent price. Watch the metagame closely and when the decks no longer show results, take advantage of the lower prices.

We were given a pair of preview cards from Mirrodin Besieged, a pair of 2/2's for 3. The first being 1WW has double strike and protection from black and green, and its counterpart costing 1BB with first strike and infect, protection from red and white. If Infect becomes a viable archetype with the second set, expect to see both of these cards with at least moderate demand. Paladin en-vec always saw demand in every set that it was printed in, and with White based aggro decks missing few pieces to be a upper tier deck, now is the time to stock up on key components of both Infect and White based aggro. Its also worth noting that the black card is currently one of the hardest creatures to kill in standard, with disfigure being its biggest threat.

Know what card was underrepresented at worlds that can still get you a good price to most players? Molten-tail Masticore. Its made almost no impact in standard since its release, and I see its value dropping off unless

something in the next set makes this card shine. As we have seen with the -ling type cards; Torchling and Thornling, the various Masticore style cards can't compete with the original, and will only see fringe play. Get rid of any extra copies of the card you have while they still maintain the "masticore" card type price boost, because more and more people are coming to realize that its a bit of a bust.

Mox Opal's numbers aren't looking good for standard either. With another two sets to come out in the Mirrrodin block, it could see its value rise, and the inclusion in extended gives us a good sign for the card. I would hold what you have and try to pick them up at a decent rate because a metalcraft strategy could see a boost come the next set.

That's all for this week, as usual please feel free to comment.

Stephen Moss

@MTGstephenmoss on twitter

E-mail me: MTGstephenmoss@gmail.com