Hello, everyone and welcome to a new edition of the Daily Stock Watch! I've been hearing a lot of things from players lately that Standard is slowly becoming Modern, due to the fact that card prices of the best cards in the format are slowly getting out of hand. It is hard to argue with this observation, as big names such as Karn, Scion of Urza, Lyra Dawnbringer, Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, Mox Amber and History of Benalia have all commanded prices north of $20 for the majority of their existence in the world of Magic. Because of the movement that they are causing, a lot of other cards are also experiencing major spikes and decline in their prices but today's featured card is one of those that have benefited from these events.

Thanks to the success of Blue White Control, Gideon of the Trials has suddenly surged back to $24.50, after dropping to as low as $9.12 in the past. This has been caused by some major exposure on varying lists of the UW Control decks that made it to the top eight of events online and the recently concluded SCG Team Open Baltimore.

This UW list is starting to look like a good stuff list of old, as it packs the best creatures and planeswalkers that its colors has to offer in one solid core. Gideon's role in this deck is to make sure that your opponent is busy at all times in defending itself from your plethora of solid threats, and the added power of semi-invincibility that its ultimate has to offer, which could very well be a solid form of defense since you have creatures, other planeswalkers, some counter magic, and mass removal to defend the fort. As a three mana walker that could come in at any point of the game and make an impact, it is well-positioned right now to make a good push in Standard as one of the best walkers to finish games.

It's obvious here that Karn and Teferi are the flagbearers of the current metagame, but it's no secret that Gideon is up there with Chandra, Torch of Defiance for as long as both of them are still in rotation. It is also seeing some fringe play in Modern UW Control variants, so there is quite a demand for this card from a set that's barely opened anymore. However, I do think that this price tag is just part of the hype that's surrounding it as the Pro Tour is nearing. I am a fan of the card's power level, but I would rather be inclined to move it around, especially if I'm not going to use it in my deck.

At the moment, you could get Gideon of the Trials from online stores such as StarCityGames, TCGPlayer and ChannelFireball for anywhere between $19.19 up to $24.99, while Card Kingdom is out of stock at $18.99 and is expected to refill soon enough at the $25 range. Foil copies are just $10 higher than normal ones, and I wouldn't really recommend getting them unless you crack them open from packs. Gideon will make a strong push until the Pro Tour reveals what the best decks in the format are, so don't fooled by this resurgence. Just remember how hard Vraska, Relic Seeker made a push after the Pro Tour where it made some camera time, only to plummet hard after a few months. Try moving around spare copies, especially if you're not really into Standard for the long haul. This will eventually crash back to earth once everything has settled down. I'd play it safe here rather than take my chances.

And that’s it for today's 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!