I took a break from MTG Metagame Finance last week to start the new What’s Next series. If you haven’t seen that yet, you can check it out here. Now that Ravnica Allegiance has been making its way into all the formats, we’re starting to get a feel for how it's affecting the different metagames. So let’s dive into that this week.

It’s also still very early so I suggest a couple of ways to stay ahead of everyone else.

Ways to Stay ahead of Everyone Else

1. Quiet Speculation Discord Channel (Paid)

This is probably one of, if not, the most active MTG finance chat group that discusses cards before the movement actually happens.

 

Members

If you have a membership, sign in to the Discord channel here.

Future Members

If you don't have a membership, you can purchase one here.

2. Public MTG Metagame Finance Spreadsheet (Free)

I update this spreadsheet often, especially before I write and post my articles. I also update this spreadsheet every time I buy a card right after I place the order.

Article Series Main Focus Points

• Cards that you should hold on to or pick up for tournaments if you need them before they rise in price. These cards are either seeing increased play in one or more formats, the supply is drying up, or they’re pretty far from the next reprint.
• Cards that you should consider selling or trading away. Their prices are pretty much at the ceiling owing to inflation from speculation, reprint inevitability in the near future, a lull in tournament play, or some combination of these.

Recent Buys

Silhana Wayfinder - Ravnica Allegiance (Foil)

Purchased Price
$1.25

I must admit I misread this card at first. I thought that you put the creature or land into your hand. Sad face. This card is much worse than I had originally imagined. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad card. I think it could still see play in Standard. But I don’t think it’s good enough for Modern.

Here are a couple of brews that I think could have some legs with some testing and adjustments.

This is an interesting build because Silhana Wayfinder helps you find powerful Angels that can take over the mid to late game such as Shalai, Voice of Plenty and Angel of Grace. It also sets up a sequence where you can play this, find one of those Angels, cast Kaya's Wrath, and then cast the Angel after you’ve cleaned up the board.

Since there aren’t any effective tutor effects in Standard, Silhana provides a decent way to dig for Prime Speaker Vannifar. It comes down early, and you can sacrifice it later for a Jadelight Ranger or Knight of Autumn.

Ill-Gotten Inheritance - Ravnica Allegiance (Foil)

Purchased Price
$0.25

Thanks to Ari Lax, it’s probably not really a secret anymore that this is a good card in Limited. There’s a slight chance this could see play in Standard in midrange or control. But I think it has the most potential in Pauper.

We’ve already seen the foil price of Curse of the Pierced Heart shoot through the roof. That could be a good sign for this card. Twenty-five cents is pretty cheap, so get them while you can now.

Frilled Mystic - Ravnica Allegiance (Foil)

Purchased Price
$3.25

This has already been showing up in Standard Simic decks. It started out kind of pricey, then dropped a bit. But it’s starting to tick back up in price. I also think this card could have potential in the longer-term outside of Standard in something like a Simic or Bant Wizards deck in Modern.

I don’t think WotC is going to stop printing Wizards anytime soon. So there will probably be a point in time where there are enough powerful Wizards in Simic or Bant to build a new deck. And it’s possible that cards I mentioned in previous articles, like Senate Guildmage and Wizard’s Retort, will make the cut.

It’s too bad the manabase in this deck doesn’t really allow you to consistently cast Incubation // Incongruity. However, if you really want to cast it, the next deck allows you to do so.

Benthic Biomancer - Ravnica Allegiance (Foil)

Purchased Price
$2.25

Speaking of Wizards, here’s another one from Ravnica Allegiance that’s already seeing play in Modern and Legacy.

I would bet that a decent number of people are overlooking the fact that Wizards is the more commonly shared creature type over Merfolk now in this type of deck. But it certainly seems like LE_PIP got the memo and incorporated Wizard's Retort this Mono-Blue Merfolk Wizards deck.

Holds

Lavinia, Azorius Renegade - Game Day & Store Championship Promos

Target Purchase Price
$10ish

These are still pretty expensive right now on eBay. But that might be because they won’t be officially released to the public until February 16-17. I would wait to see what the price is shortly after that weekend.

This card showed up all over the place in the Vintage Challenge on January 27. Vintage is in its own bubble and doesn’t really cause the prices of most cards to move like other formats do. However, we might see a trickle down effect into Legacy and Modern. If that happens, we’ll probably start to see this card rise in price. Just remember, this is a blue card and can be used with Force of Will to stop opposing Force of Wills.

Assassin’s Trophy - Guilds of Ravnica (Non-Foil)

Target Purchase Price
Under $10

Now that Ravnica Allegiance has hit the market, we might be close to the floor on this card. This was the talk of the town when it was spoiled, but has kind of faded into the sunset a bit. However, it shouldn’t be forgotten as it still does see quite a bit of play in multiple formats.

Deputy of Detention - Ravnica Allegiance (Non-Foil)

Target Purchase Price
Under $2

The price of this has finally calmed down, yet the number of decks that play it continue to rise. This means we could start to see a slow uptick in the near future. It’s also a blue Wizard. So if you didn’t read anything before this, what that means is that it could see play in a new Wizards deck in Modern or alongside Force of Will in Legacy. And it’s already showing up in Legacy Humans.

Karn, Scion of Urza - Dominaria (Non-Foil)

Target Purchase Price
$15-20

I think we’ve been pretty much at the floor on this card for a few months now. I’m not sure how much lower it can go during rotation in October. Can it hit $10? I doubt it since it sees a decent amount of play outside of Standard.

However, if you’re worried about that and have a some extra cash to spend, I would pick up the Mythic Edition version. There are a lot fewer of these in the market, and it has cool full-art artwork.

Folds

Massacre Wurm - Mirrodin Besieged (Non-Foil)

Target Sell Price
$20+

A lot of people seem to be going crazy over this in EDH/Commander since the release of Teysa Karlov. I would sell into the hype if you have these, especially because there’s only one printing of this card. Wizards could easily reprint this in a supplemental set.

Surgical Extraction - New Phyrexia (Non-Foil)

Target Sell Price
$30-40+

This might be a tougher pill to swallow since it sees play in so many decks.

Phyrexian mana as a mechanic is essentially broken, which makes this hard to reprint in any kind of normal set. I could see them adding a Phyrexian mana theme to a supplemental set, though. In any case, this card is at least more resilient to reprints because of its weird mechanic.

Nivmagus Elemental - Return to Ravnica (Foil)

Target Sell Price
$1-2

This has been showing up recently on the fringes in Legacy. I suspect this is a flash in the pan. I would get rid of these if you have any, especially because a ton of Return to Ravnica was opening owing to the reprint of shocklands.

Card Kingdom is buying these for $2.50 cash and $3.25 store credit.

Searing Blood - Born of the Gods (Foil)

Target Sell Price
$7-10

Burn has started to pick up steam again in Modern with the printing of Skewer the Critics and Light Up the Stage. We’ve seen many different builds with a lot of them running this card in the sideboard. It only has one printing. And as the metagame continues to adjust, Burn usually gets pushed to the wayside. With that said, I would lock in your value now on these if you have them and aren’t using them.

Card Kingdom is buying these for $7 cash and $9.10 store credit.

Viashino Pyromancer - Core Set 2019 (Foil)

Target Sell Price
$2-5

Red really hasn’t put up the numbers in Standard. And it might be a while before we see this Wizard used in Modern. I mentioned this in article #14. So if you picked them up then to play with, you can still sell these at a profit now if you’re not playing with them anymore. You can pick them up again cheaper after they rotate in October.

Card Kingdom is buying them at $2 cash and $2.60 store credit.

Bump in the Night - Innistrad (Foil)

Target Sell Price
$1-3

Here’s another card that’s seeing renewed play in Modern due to Skewer the Critics and Light Up the Stage. I’m not sure if Rakdos Burn is the most optimal build. But if you have these and aren’t using them, you can cash in on the hype before it dies down.

Card Kingdom is buying them at $1.70 cash and $2.21 store credit.

Summary

Recent Buys

• Silhana Wayfinder - Ravnica Allegiance (Foil)
• Ill-Gotten Inheritance - Ravnica Allegiance (Foil)
• Frilled Mystic - Ravnica Allegiance (Foil)
• Benthic Biomancer - Ravnica Allegiance (Foil)

Holds

• Lavinia, Azorius Renegade - Game Day & Store Championship Promos
• Assassin's Trophy - Guilds of Ravnica (Non-Foil)
• Deputy of Detention - Ravnica Allegiance (Non-Foil)
• Karn, Scion of Urza - Dominaria (Non-Foil)

Folds

• Massacre Wurm - Mirrodin Besieged (Non-Foil)
• Surgical Extraction - New Phyrexia (Non-Foil)
• Nivmagus Elemental - Return to Ravnica (Foil)
• Searing Blood - Born of the Gods (Foil)
• Viashino Pyromancer - Core Set 2019 (Foil)
• Bump in the Night - Innistrad (Foil)

Public Spreadsheet

Stay up to the minute on what I’m looking at on a daily basis via the MTG Metagame Finance Spreadsheet. Don’t forget to bookmark it, because I update it on the fly. This way you can see what’s going on as the market moves and before articles about certain cards are published.

Let me know what you think in the comments below. Agree? Disagree? Why? You can also connect with me on Twitter at @edwardeng.

Important!!!

You can also catch me in the Discord channel (edward.eng#4978) if you have an Insider membership. I would go as far to say that this is one of the most valuable things you receive as a member. The Discord channel is very active and real-time discussions revolve around cards that move before anyone sees the actual movement—it’s usually already too late when you see this movement on sites like MTG Stocks, MTG Goldfish, and MTG Price. Hit me up on Twitter at @edwardeng, and I’ll answer any questions you have.

I’m also open to suggestions on how to make this series more valuable. Hit me up.

Have fun,
Eddie