STANDARD

Glint-Sleeve Siphoner has seen a surge in Standard popularity online, where it’s being played in multiple decks beyond the Sultai Energy deck that was its only real home previously. One place where it’s seeing play is in Temur Black lists, some of which are going deeper into the black splash and cutting Longtusk Cub for the card-drawing capabilities of Glint-Sleeve Siphoner. I’ve seen it splashed into Electrostatic Pummeler-based Energy decks. , and the card has also been adopted into some versions of God-Pharoah's Gift decks, where it digs for key cards and plays well with the energy generated by Ministry of Inquiries. The menace creature also sees some play in Mono-Black and Red-Black Aggro decks.

Any of these decks using Glint-Sleeve Siphoner could have a breakout this weekend at Pro Tour Ixalan, and that would mean a price increase. Its price has seen a real spike this week on MTGO, where it grew from 4 tix to nearly 7, which could indicate that its paper price is still a bargain around $2.50, up from the $1 it at at the beginning of October.

Treasure Map hasn’t received a lot of attention, but its price has quietly more than doubled since its release, up from under $2 to over $4. In the past couple days its increase has accelerated, and it’s now nearly at $5, with higher prices to come if the card breaks out at the Pro Tour. Its ability to generate card advantage is desirable to many decks, and as an artifact it’s accessible to all of them. It has seen the most play in Abzan tokens, where it’s supercharged by Anointed Procession doubling its Treasure output and can be sustained by Treasure from Vraska, Relic Seeker. It’s also seen play in various blue control decks, and I expect it will be played in many more at the PT.

Electrostatic Pummeler has seen a sudden increase in play on Magic Online, so I see a ton of upside potential for what is the most powerful card that uses the best mechanic in the format, energy. It’s awfully cheap at under $0.75, and could easily double or triple if the deck becomes widely played, and its online price doubling from 0.1 tix to 0.2 in the past week could be indication that it’s set to do so in paper too.

Bontu the Glorified has more than doubled in price online over the past week, from 0.6 tix to 1.4. Some of this increase in demand could be from people redeeming sets, but it seems more likely that such a big movement over a short period would indicate some real increase in demand from people playing it, or perhaps even a buyout from people in the know who are speculating before a Pro Tour breakout. The card seeing play does have precedent, as a team of top pros played a Black-Green Aristocrats-style deck using it at Pro Tour Amonkhet, so it’s clearly on the radar of pros, and they may have found a new way to make the most of the card. Its paper price has reached an all-time low of just $2, so now could be a great time to make a move on it.

MODERN

Modern’s Five-Color Humans deck followed up its Open win in Cincinnati with a Classic win last weekend in D.C. We’ve seen some of its staples spike, notably Ancient Ziggurat and Meddling Mage, but a few cards lagging behind look like they could provide some nice gains.

Mayor of Avabruck is an essential piece and a card unlikely to see reprint. Its price had sunk to $2.50 before the deck broke out, and it’s now nearly $3 but looks to have more to gain.

Thalia's Lieutenant had been slowly falling in price until the Humans deck broke out, but its price has come up from $1.30 to $1.50, with plenty of upside in the short and long term.

A bargain spec is Mantis Rider, which was $0.50 but has grown to $0.60, and could easily rise to the psychological barrier of $1. It just seems too cheap right now. A good comparison is Siege Rhino, which sees some minor Modern play in Abzan and demands slightly over $1.

The Modern deck built around putting Emrakul, the Aeons Torn into play with Through the Breach with a blue Blood Moon core had a big finish last weekend with a finals appearance at the SCG Modern Classic alongside the Legacy Open in D.C., and it has been gaining in popularity online. The deck had been a minor rogue deck, but the printing of Opt helped make the deck more consistent and has elevated it to a new level. The price of Emrakul, the Aeons Torn has seen a minor price increase online this week, from 7.5 tix to 9 for the original printing, and from 7.5 tix to 8 for the reprint. The paper prices of both versions has been stagnant around $40 for the better part of the year, but if this rogue deck that plays four copies becomes more popular, it could send the price to new highs.

MODERN FOILS

A black-red deck that uses Burning Inquiry to supercharge Hollow One has broken out in Modern, and it brings to my attention the possibility of foil versions of its pieces spiking. Burning Inquiry demands $9, but it’s down from a high of $15, so it could see a spike.

The deck only plays a copy or two of Call to the Netherworld, but with the foil version from this ten-year-old set at just $1.50, it could be set to spike, especially since it’s now just half of its previous high of $3.

The deck also uses Flameblade Adept, and while it’s a narrow spec, at just $1 there’s the potential for big gains if the deck becomes popular.