The Five-Color Humans deck that Collins Mullen used to win the SCG Modern Open in Cincinnati has received a lot of attention over the past couple of weeks, and this has been reflected in the market with its staples seeing significant price increases. The deck has seen continued success, like winning the Modern Classic the following Sunday in D.C., and has become very popular online, so everything indicates that the deck is here to stay as a legitimate top-tier contender.

Last week, I advocated its lower-priced staples that had yet to spike as potential specs, and this week new technology is emerging that could become a staple of the deck and yield large profits. Last weekend, SCG Modern Regionals was held all over the USA, and Collins Mullen himself outright won his event with an updated decklist.

Collins increased the number of Mayor of Avabruck from three to four, which only makes me more confident that the card is due for a price increase.

A completely new addition to the deck is a Riders of Gavony in the sideboard. The card is incredibly powerful against other tribal decks, so it’s a very effective way to win the mirror match, and it’s effective against the new Blue-Green Merfolk deck. I expect the card to see widespread adoption, and it might see play as more than a one-of as the mirror becomes increasingly important.

Collins also added a pair of Dark Confidant to his sideboard. Less-than-playset demand from the sideboard isn’t likely to spike the price, but as Humans begins to rise to one of the best decks in Modern with Dark Confidant as part of the deck, then its price will trend upwards.

On the Standard front, last weekend’s Pro Tour had a big impact on the market, spiking the price of Vraska, Relic Seeker, which has been adopted into the popular Temur Black deck, and of Angel of Invention, which is the headline card of the White-Blue God-Pharaoh's Gift deck that reached the finals.

Nissa, Steward of Elements has continued to grow in popularity as a sideboard card in Temur, and was adopted into the winning Sultai deck, so its price has surpassed $7. The planeswalker seems to be coming into its own, and it seems like a $10 pricetag is inevitable.

Glint-Sleeve Siphoner has seen more growth, now up to $3, and I’ll continue to harp on it as a card that is being undervalued.

Angel of Sanctions wasn’t a defining card of the Pro Tour, but sideboard play as a three-of in the finals White-Blue God-Pharaoh's Gift deck means it’s something of a Standard staple now. Its price has started to move slightly upwards and is now approaching $3, but its online price has move to nearly 5 tix, up from 2 at Ixalan’s release and 4 before the Pro Tour.

A White-Blue Cycling deck with a set of Drake Haven finished 8-2 in the Pro Tour, and while it wasn’t very high profile, its existence is a great case for Drake Haven as a competitive card. Its price online has seen huge growth over the past two weeks, growing from bulk worth pennies up to over 0.2 tix. The card probably doesn’t have a ton of upside, but $0.60 is a low entry point.

A strong Amonkhet rare spec may be Vizier of Many Faces, which is being used in Temur decks against the mirror match. It is being played as up to a four-of in sideboards, and even infiltrated some maindecks at the Pro Tour. Its price is just $0.50, up from $0.40 at the Ixalan release, and looks like it will continue to grow because Temur isn’t going anywhere.

The biggest trend in Legacy seems to be the rise of Stoneblade decks, which did surprisingly well in the post-Sensei's Divining Top metagame at Grand Prix Las Vegas over the summer, and followed up with a strong performance at the North American Legacy Championships at Eternal Weekend, and then won the SCG Legacy Open in D.C. Its increased prevalence and rise to the top of the metagame has had a big impact on the price of True-Name Nemesis online, where it has moved from under $30 to over $40. Perhaps the paper price, which sits below $30, could soon see a similar trajectory.

A Necrotic Ooze combo deck made it to the finals of the Legacy Challenge on Magic Online last weekend, and it brings to attention a couple of cards. Necrotic Ooze being playable in Legacy isn’t going to spike its price, but it does lead me to believe the card has too much utility and potential power to be worth only $1.50. Necrotic Ooze has seen some Modern play, and its potential there is where most of the value lies. The card only gets better with time, and each new creature with an ability offers a new potential synergy. If one day the perfect card is printed and Necrotic Ooze becomes great, then its price is going to rise. This isn’t a card that will make money overnight, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it worth a lot more one day. At the very least, remember this card exists and always be on the lookout for ways to abuse it when a new set is released.

A more actionable piece of technology from the Necrotic Ooze deck is Phyrexian Devourer. The card happens to be on the Reserved List, so at just $7, it offers a very reasonable entry point into a class of cards that seems to have nothing but upside in this market. The fact that it’s Legacy playable makes it all the more attractive.

Shallow Grave is a four-of in this deck and sees plenty of play in various Legacy reanimator decks, so $9 for the Reserved List card could be a bargain, especially considering at one point its price was over $20.

–Adam