Before I go any further, let me say that I was at Grand Prix Portland last weekend and had an absolute blast. It was great to meet everyone I did, the time at the house with the podcast community and listeners/readers was awesome, and I got the chance to write a story for coverage I’m probably more proud of than anything I’ve done in Magic before.

But that’s not the topic on hand today. With Modern on the downswing (one I expect to continue for several more months at least), Standard in a holding pattern until rotation (or at least pre-rotation pickups, which I covered in part last week and will do more of in the coming weeks), and not much else to do during the summer, I want to look at a different subsection of cards.

The Casual Market

One of the most important things in Magic finance, of course, is diversification. I understand we’re using the word a bit differently than it’s used in the real world (and you certainly shouldn’t be tying up all your money in Magic cards), but even within Magic diversification is important.

Specifically, this is the best time of the year to stock up on the “casual” card. These cards, often reprinted in the Core Set, bottom out in the fall before rising at the end of the year and beginning of the next.

So today I want to look at some historical trends and then target some of the cards in Magic 2015 that we want to look at.

In the past, I’ve suggested getting on these card around now, in August. Part of this is just the reality of a writing schedule, where it’s easier to find a week to talk about them now than in September and October when Standard is shiny and new.

But looking at some past cards like Vexing Devil or Quicksilver Amulet, it seems the bottom comes not in August on the most recent set but around rotation, even if it’s not affected by rotation. We’ve seen some of these go lower the year after they’re in Standard, and while there’s something to the argument of waiting to pick them up there’s also the fact that it’s much harder to find these things in binders a year later.

That’s why I like picking up Magic 2015 goodies a few months from now rather than 12 months from now. So let’s look over what cards I’ll be targeting.

Sliver Hivelord

I’m not positive yet how far this will fall. I certainly don’t think you pick it up before October, since there are enough Slivers in Standard right now to try and make it work. I think we’ll see a fair dropoff come rotation, and depending on how low it drops you want to either pick it up then or wait. I’ll be looking to acquire these in November-December. The same goes for Sliver Hive.

Liliana Vess

On the one hand, I feel good about calling this a pickup at $5 before prerelease weekend, since it’s now $10 as I expected. That said, I thought it would make this list as a more appealing target as well. This feels like a rotation 2015 pickup, or possibly sooner if it plummets before then (which I doubt).

Chandra, Pyromaster

$5 still just feels wrong to me. It’s got Standard power, Modern power and it makes this list because it also has Commander power and insane kitchen-table appeal going for it. I’m picking these up now in Standard preparation with the fallback that planeswalkers rarely hold under $5 ever.

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

In the same boat, $5 for this feels wrong long-term. The original was $20+ before the reprinting, and in a few years this printing will have easily doubled up just based on the built-in appeal.

Perilous Vault

I really like getting into this once it hits $2-3. It will be an EDH player for a long-time to come, and given how it’s taking up a mythic spot in Magic 2015 I don’t expect them to retain that premium real estate for it going forward. This seems to be like it can easily find $10-12 in 18 months.

The Chain Veil

Certainly don’t advocate going deep on this, or going in at all at the current $3 pricetag, but if this really hits the basement I want in simply because of how unique the effect is.

Old Favorites

Something Wizards does every year is reprint an old casual favorite that had gotten expensive. In recent years we’ve seen Darksteel Forge, Sanguine Bond and recently Door of Destinies, which is off its lows and feels like a solid pickup at $2.

This year we have a few that had created expensive cards in the past. Preeminent Captain and Crucible of Fire may not seem like much, but both were $5 before the reprint. I think it will take some time to see them climb back that high, but I have faith that both will be solid $3 in 18-24 months. Given that they’re essentially bulk throw-ins right now, it’s hard to lose.

Remember that I’m not advising you to go blow your next paycheck on any one of these. But if it comes down to the choice on a throw-in between a random Standard rare and or something like this, it’s a perfect time to keep your eye to the future and go with the solid long-term plan. This is why I love casuals and their cards, and I’ll be doing my best to pick these up in the coming months.

Thanks for reading,

Corbin Hosler

@Chosler88 on Twitter