Hello, readers and welcome to the Thursday edition of the Daily Stock Watch! We will continue with our monitoring of Modern cards that I think would either benefit from the results of the upcoming Pro Tour, or be good enough to let go now while it's being hyped. My pick for today is one of those cards that's really, really good, regardless if there's an upcoming big event or none, but I think should be at its peak by now.

Mox Opal is without a doubt, a very nasty card. It was designed to be a legendary artifact because of its power level, and it continues to benefit from the continuous printing of low casting artifacts that it could work well with in an artifact-based deck. It's hard to imagine its price going down after catapulting to its all-time high today of $69.58, but I also think that its ceiling is near unless it really breaks through in the upcoming Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan. Its price started trending upwards early this year, and it has slowly climbed its way up to its current price tag. I'm not so sure how paper stocks are affected by pros who are testing their decks online, but if the supplies are really running low right now, this could only mean that a lot of players are leaning towards playing Affinity or Lantern Control.

Sam Black brought Lantern Control back to the map using this list that's powered by Whir of Invention. Similar lists started popping up in both paper and online tournaments after his masterful performance, and Mox Opal hasn't looked back since. It plays a vital cog in this deck, as it allows the Lantern player to power out all the cheap artifacts in the early turns, so it could lock out opposing creatures via Ensnaring Bridge with an empty hand, or just manipulate the opponent's next movements using hand disruption, Codex Shredder, and Lantern of Insight.

Mox Opal is also a four-of in Affinity lists, and we might not be seeing a lot of Affinity decks winning tournaments lately, but it could be due for another breakout using a different build that pros have tested, or it could just surprise everyone if the field was primed to combat big mana decks. The Utility Checker states that 8.6% of winning decks last year have utilized a full set of Mox Opal, and it is the third most used artifact in the format behind Expedition Map and Walking Ballista. It is also used in Legacy and Vintage where Affinity and MUD decks are aplenty, so there's no question that this is a legitimate multi-format superstar.

These cards are starting to become absurdly expensive, and it's actually funny when we realize that they've been all part of a Masters set (except for Ensnaring Bridge) over the last couple of years. WotC has a knack for reprinting cards that are worth too much, and I wouldn't be surprised if one or more of these artifacts will be present in Masters 25. I'm not here to scare you, but history tells us that it's very likely to happen. Don't get caught up in a card's financial surge. Always get out of your investments while you're ahead.

Right now, you could still get copies of Mox Opal from TCGPlayer and Channel Fireball for as low as $58.84 (heavily played copies), but near mint copies are all priced between $75-$79.99 from the same stores including Card Kingdom. Star City Games is out of stock for non-foil copies, and they still have a couple of foil copies at $89.99. I promised myself that I would write about this card once it reaches the $75 plateau, and urge people to let go of them once it reaches $80. My mindset hasn't changed, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it reach $100 if 16 or more copies of the card reach the top eight of the upcoming Pro Tour. Plan your purchases and disposals wisely.

And that’s it for the Thursday edition of the Daily Stock Watch! See you again tomorrow, as we check out a new card that should be on the go, or good enough for speculating. As always, feel free to share your opinion in the comments section below. And if you want to keep up with all the market movement, be sure to check in with the QS Discord Channel for real time market information, and stay ahead of the hottest specs!