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When I was a younger man, I foolishly emptied my trade binder many times to vendors, happily taking dimes to free up space for better trade bait. Thorn of Amethyst is a card that I owned back then, though it was one that I never wanted to sell. It was a type of effect that I knew was relevant in older formats, and as such I expected it to someday be worth something. It was worth nothing for so long that I never bought further into the card, but I still have my sets from back in the day. With the spike that occurred this week, it's finally time for me to move off of them.
Buylists haven't caught up just yet, but Thorns just jumped to the $15 range on TCGPlayer. the reason is the hype train for Legacy Eldrazi. Thorn fits the deck like a glove, as it's looking to use Ancient Tomb to cast artifacts to slow down opponents in the vein of traditional Stompy decks. Thorn enables them to then play a second land and immediately start dropping boom-booms, while Sphere of Resistance would slow down their own game plan. I've been on the record saying that Eldrazi is too good for Modern, but I have no such feelings about the deck in Legacy.
I could be wrong here, but Ancient Tomb decks have been around in Legacy forever, and while they are powerful they don't do anything that the format can't keep up with. Most Modern decks get left behind by fast mana because most fast mana is banned in Modern. Legacy is full of both fast mana and cards that are simply far more efficient that those featured in Modern. I think that Legacy Eldrazi is good, but I don't think that it has the tools necessary to be oppressive. Notably, it is a deck that is relatively cheap for a player newer to Legacy to transition into the format and play, but I don't expect it to have a hugely warping effect.
The deck is experiencing a lot of hype right now, and as a detractor, I will naturally be finally selling my Thorns. I'll be waiting to see a good buylist price, and if I'm wrong I stand to lose money as more people invest in the deck. If the Eldrazi deck puts up results and people who are invested in the Modern deck decide to port it to Legacy instead of selling it before it gets banned, then I'll definitely be leaving some value on the table. That said, I'm more than happy to lock my value in now.
Hello Ryan, I’ve been a MUD player for awhile but GP Houston is this weekend and because everything is out of control and I’ve got other legacy decks, would it be a good time to get out of MUD and try to pick the pieces up later? Thanks!
At least for now, I think Eldrazi is just a better version of MUD in Legacy. I’m not an expert on that format, but from what I’ve seen it’s a strict upgrade. That’s what I’d be looking to do if I were you. The deck is solid against the meta too.
I wouldn’t sell off of any Reserve List stuff like City of Traitors, but the hype on some stuff is real right now, like Chalice of the Void. I would evaluate piece by piece, but if you’re happy playing a different deck then there are definitely elements that I like selling right now.
It seems to me, looking at SCG, that the card got bought out just before (hours/minutes?) they posted two legacy videos with that card as part of the list. Looks like a manufactured demand to me and I think Ryan hit the nail on the head. Lock in your value while you can because it is doubtful that it will last very long.
I’ve seen a few “Will Eldrazi work in Legacy” decklists running Thorn via Reddit now. I bought these a little over a week ago because I wanted to try them out in the deck and I would say that I may not have been the only person with that idea.
Link to one of the articles I read about it:
http://southfloridamagic.com/the-evolution-of-eld…