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Hello, investors! We had another calm week, and due to the lack of Constructed events in the coming weeks, things should remain like this until the release of Aether Revolt in mid January. Standard prices should slowly go down as a general rule. In most cases, when they hit their historic lows, speculators tend to buy them. This is what I will be monitoring until Aether Revolt reaches the stores.
Let's discuss the five cards I selected for today's Buy, Sell or Hold:
Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
Nissa, Voice of Zendikar was one of my speculations that was doing poorly, specially after Kaladesh. Fortunately, the Aether Revolt spoilers plus being featured in a Saffron Olive budget deck rebounded it price. Nissa is a card I would like to have in my portfolio before the first glimpse of the Standard metagame with the new cards, but the card should drop it price in the very short term, making the smartest move selling it now and rebuying in a few days for cheaper.
Verdict: SELL
Sigarda, Heron's Grace
Sigarda, Heron's Grace is particularly good in a metagame full of Emrakuls. We don't know what Emrakul's power level will be in Aether Revolt Standard, but its predominance should at least decrease – and with it, Sigarda's price. The legendary angel was recently featured in one of the actual few new decks in Standard, WG Humans. The hype in new decks doesn't remain strong for a long period of time unless they prove to be really powerful, however, so I don't expect Sigarda to go anywhere else than down the hill.
Verdict: SELL
Oath of Nissa
Oath of Nissa's price went up last week pushed by Aether Revolt WG spoilers, and it is another card I want to have in my portfolio before the new Standard metagame shows up. If you are using a short-term strategy, selling it is fine. The problem is that the price won't adjust too much to rebuy it for cheaper later. I value having it in my portfolio more than missing the short-term adjustment.
Verdict: HOLD
Emrakul, the Promised End
Emrakul, the Promised End is the most representative card of the current Standard metagame, but that might be about to change with Aether Revolt. More cards in the format means a wider range of deck possibilities. The first SCG tournament with the new cards will be critical for the Eldrazi's price, because it will show how good the new decks are versus the ones already established. For nowm I think selling it is the best and safer option.
Verdict: SELL
Cinder Glade
Two-colors rare lands are very sensitive to metagame changes. Cinder Glade is currently above its average historic price. With Aether Revolt around the corner, common sense says now is a good moment to sell.
Verdict: SELL
See you next time. Have a wonderful week!
Hi Nicolas,
Great article this week. Is January-April typically a good time for standard cards? Last year, I focused on rebuying modern in January, and a lot of those positions didn’t do well. Do you think it is correct to focus on standard for this period of time?
We are one month away from Aether Revolt release and a standard Pro Tour, this is a great moment to buy the cheap standard card that were played before but are currently out of the metagame. This will make modern singles price drop, plus treasure chest pushing prices down in the long term and Modern Master 2017 being release a few month later. I wouldn’t invest in any modern position right now, but buying the non reprinted staples after full MM17 has been spoiled is a good investment opportunity.