Last week we touched on the subject of the "new" format that the bannings will bring. We talked about which cards you should be looking to rise, and what the general consensus is for old staples. We will see after this upcoming weekend how everything pans out, but I stand by what I said.

Titans - At this point, we're almost certain the whole cycle is going to be reprinted. Their demand currently will be capped by that confirmation of each, and their value will drop from there. Get what you can for them, since I don't expect them to stay at current levels, even with a higher demand for them

Avenger of Zendikar - The first of many rotating cards on this list, get him cheap if able, but move him asap.

Splinter Twin - A bit of a trap, but I think many players will be flocking to the Twin deck in the next few weeks. I expect this card to drop shortly, and continue down until rotation.

Koth of the Hammer - A lot of talk about red is going on in a lot of forums, playtest groups, and the general social ring of magic. Koth won't be rotating, so its worth remembering that he is a decent planeswalker in his own right, and worth picking them up cheap when able.

Mindbreak Trap - The most "meh" card on this list in my opinion, though it always holds possibilities. Its a decent effect, though I don't think permission decks are going to be running rampant.

Summoning Trap - Rotating, so be careful when getting these. Eldrazi green and a few other decks use them though, and if it shows up in force they may have a bit of a spike before they go back down.

Inkmoth Nexus - Since its not rotating, getting some of these cheap is worth it. They may continue to be in demand over the next few months, time will tell.

Jace Beleran - With a new one shown, Beleran will be rotating out this fall. His price will steadily drop form this point, only slowed by his demand for tournament play.

Vengevine - Elves and other green based decks love this card. I would expect him to continue to see play in other formats as well, and regardless, he will always be a fan favorite even after rotation.

Eldrazi - Another safe investment, much like Vengevine. They will see a significant price drop from the rotation, though their casual appeal will remain high.

As a general rule of thumb, you don't want to trade for these unless you have someone that's actively looking  for them. That's where this weeks bit comes in. Currently, the most common question in everyone's mind is "what am I going to play next week?". This is the best question for you, since it allows you to take results from previous events that weren't dominated by caw-blade style decks, and offer those decks up to friends and other players. As it just so happens, you also have some of the staple cards that they need. Setting the pitch up with a proven list is one of the best ways to move excess inventory of key cards I know, since it helps them with what they need, and helps you move cards out before they become worthless.

I've done a bit of the research here for you, but there is always more that can be done. This should give you a good working start though.

Valakut

What you offer: Valakuts, Primeval titans, Summoning trap

Audience: The players who enjoy the damage/combo to the face set-up, you should be able to pick them out easily, just look for the guys that played caw-blade because they had to.

Eldrazi Green

What you offer: Giant space aliens, All is dust, Summoning trap

Audience: Anyone who scoffs at the idea of Valakut, but is still looking for a high quality deck; spike players

Exarch-Twin

What you offer: Splinter twins and any necessary uncommons. These can command a high price if they are in scarce supply

Audience: People who didn't switch over to Twin-blade in the last two weeks. Many caw-blade lovers are sad to see the deck go, so offer it up as the next best piece of it. After all, it made it into the Blade deck, didn't it?

Infect

What you offer: Inkmoth Nexus, Phyrexian Vatmother, Phyrexian Crusader, Infect support cards

Audience: The guy who wants to play one of the "cooler" decks of the format, usually the timmy/johnny style players that still attend tournaments.

Kuldotha Red

What you offer: Koth of the hammer, Mox Opal

Audience: Anyone looking to play the faster deck of the format, the aggro player looking to crush people in the early game.

I feel like I'm missing something still, but we're going to run with that. While some of these bleed into each other for cards demanded, that's even better for you. If someone says they want to play with Primeval Titan again, you can offer them more than just one deck, and possibly trade out multiples if they are indecisive.

I also wanted to cover a few of the preview card's that we've seen so far, and highlight my top 4 that I'm looking at.

1. Jace's Archivist - Oh the awesome things this card can do. The possibilities are quite large with a windfall you can use every turn. It's just another piece in a possible very degenerate combo deck that looks to be close at hand. I want to pick up a few of these early, though since its only rare, I'll get them at the pre-release.

2. Visions of Beyond - Awesome blue spells are awesome. It cantrips itself early in the game, and later on becomes a mean draw engine. It also combos well with Archivist, which is always nice.

3. Grim Lavamancer - Woohoo! Grimmy is back! Odyssey R/G beats was a ton of fun to play, and this guy won me more games than he ever should have. While it may just be nostalgia kicking in, I have a feeling that he's going to find his way into the top tier of cards from this set.

4. Goblin Grenade - Was there ever a more "fair" burn spell? Sure, its sorcery speed, but when its 5 damage for 2 cards, does it really hurt that much? When those 1/1's are sitting on the field knowing all they can do is chump block, suddenly they can sacrifice themselves for the greater glory of you! Or at the very least, 5 damage.

Lavamancer and Grenade are both reprints, so I wouldn't expect them to go too high, and the Grenade is only an uncommon, with many older versions out there for people.

That's about it for this week, thank you for reading!

Stephen Moss

MTGstephenmoss@gmail.com

@MTGstephenmoss on twitter