It’s no surprise some older cards have peaked and are now pulling back. What DOES surprise Sig is that some cards are back on the climb and nearing previous highs. Why the split? This week, Sig looks at the numbers.

When you think of the “Four Horsemen” sets, cards from Arabian Nights, Legends, and Antiquities readily come to mind. But lately, Reserved List and other cards from The Dark have been on the rise. This week Sig highlights this recent trend.

With newer formats, a card’s value is highly correlated to its playability. This isn’t always the case with cards from Magic‘s earliest sets, as evidenced by recent buyouts.

One day it’s Devoted Druid, the next it’s Mana Matrix. Buyouts are a daily occurrence, but one that’s not too hard to capitalize on if you can get ahead of the spike.

Price spikes are becoming a routine occurrence. In some cases it makes sense to buy into the hype and at other times it’s best to sell. Sigmund outlines the criteria he uses to make these decisions and provides some recent examples.