The flow of Standard pricing is about to change drastically. Pro Tour Amonkhet is upon us and we’re about to see what the format really looks like with this new set in the mix. So far, the tournament results have seemed innocent and not much innovation has developed in the format. Hopefully the Pros will change all that and throw the format in a brand new direction. Will Zombies really be a competitive deck? Is Red-Green Gods actually viable? What other new strategies will emerge? All these questions and more will be answered this weekend.

Here’s what’s happened so far in anticipation of this event.

There are some basic things that I’ve noticed, like the Gods trending upward a little and Zombies jumping in price. Relentless Dead has gone up since Amonkhet’s release, but in this past week, it jumped again for a total increase of quadruple its pre-Amonkhet price! There's plenty more value bumps, though. All of the following cards have doubled in price recently.

Dread Wanderer seems like an obvious candidate for a price increase, but it is surprising that it went up from its preorder price. This seems to indicate that Zombies might have some traction in the format. It could be casual players buying in on the tribe, but with Masterpieces, I think they wouldn’t be able to have this much impact to bring the price up to $4.

Are we looking at another Sphinx's Revelation here with Pull from Tomorrow? I doubt it, but this seems like a misevaluated card that got a price correction once competitive players got their hand on it. A $5 pricetag seems more reasonable than basically bulk for a playable draw-X spell in Standard. I expect the pros to be all over this one. Testing with my playgroup has indicated this draw spell is the real deal too. Finally, my last piece of evidence this price is legit is that this is a card I identified as a potential gainer from this set.

Fatal Push already had a strong price at $5, and I’m wondering what pushed this to jump again. My guess is that more players are leaning on black thanks to Zombies, plus there should be more control players thanks to Pull from Tomorrow as well. Is there another catalyst that I’m missing here? Where do you guys think this price will go? I think we’re heading back downward, but let me know your opinion in the comments below.

Jumping back up to its previous heights, Torrential Gearhulk is back up over $25 once more. My assumption is that control payers are relying more on this guy to win games. I’m skeptical of this price bump, though, because this Gearhulk doesn’t pair well with Pull from Tomorrow. So if Pull is the future, Gearhulk should be the past. We’ll see if there’s room for both in controlling strategies or if it comes down to one or the other.

I’m feeling really good about Anointed Procession, and after a little post-release dip in price, we’re back to increasing once more. Maybe I should be a little less excited about this fun token doubler getting back over $3, but I love this card in the long term. Remember, Doubling Season started off as a bulk rare before the Commander community formed. Pick these up at every opportunity possible.

Okay, I’ll be honest, there aren’t a lot of good reasons why I included Smuggler's Copter in this section. This was the template I saved and I wanted to see what’s happened since its banning. Unsurprisingly, this vehicle has dropped under $2. I wondered if it would hold around $4, but it kept dropping below even that. Recently, though, I’ve been tinkering with it in Modern, so if you can pick up cheap copies like this will little risk, I think it would be a solid investment. If vehicles start seeing play in Modern, the price will explode.

MMA17

Lastly today, I want to mention a little about what’s happening with Modern Masters 2017. Overall, most of the cards from this set seem stable, and I haven’t changed any prices for most of the cards in weeks. This past week, though, I noted that the fetches are increasing a little. Not by a ton, but a couple bucks here and there. They certainly didn’t crash as much as some anticipated. Since they are on their way back up, it may be too late to get them at their lowest, so if you’re still interested, I’d start looking for the best deal you can find.

Here are the other cards from the top end of the set that have really been impacted by the reprint.

Tarmogoyf seems to have stabilized around its current price. These Modern Masters sets have really made a dent in the enormous price tag of the best creature in multiple formats. Another reprint, presumably in 2019, will likely bring it down to an even more manageable $50. I’m not sure how Wizards could structure Modern Masters 2019 so that it has enough value to be worth $10 a pack, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Liliana of the Veil is hanging right there with Tarmogoyf in terms of price. Her value hasn’t really changed much, especially now with this jump back up over $70 again. She’s still under three digits, but holding value well. In my opinion, she should definitely be included in Modern Masters 2019.

Honestly, of these three MMA17 reprints, Snapcaster Mage surprised me the most. I figured that good old Snappy would be stable around $30 or $35, but he’s picked right back up where he left off. Maybe the new artwork helped generate some buying hype, but personally I don’t think it gets better than the original art for this staple.

With the Pro Tour being this weekend, we should have a lot to discuss next week, so check back for all the sweet decks and info on them. Don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel too and pass the link along to someone you think would like it.

Until next time,
Unleash the Force!

Mike Lanigan
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