Sig predicted the rise of Alpha cards—including the commons and uncommons—a while back. While he’s out of town, enjoy this reprisal of his article from December that laid out the case.

Rather than dwell on a single topic from MTG finance this week, Sig shares a few headlines worth following: something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.

People have started moving on Alpha cards, and many are disappearing from the market completely. Sig highlights the unfolding trend, and shares ideas on how to take advantage.

In stock market investing, “Alpha” and “Beta” are concepts used to describe risk. Sig explains the terms and how they can be applied towards smarter investing in MTG finance.

Some seemingly random commons and uncommons from Magic‘s first two sets are priced surprisingly high. Sig discusses what they are and why they’re holding value.

A busy schedule can mean missed opportunities. Sig introduces “window shopping,” a new approach to MTG finance that’s low-risk, high-reward, and easy to do at your own pace.

MM17 is a huge hit and Amonkhet is right around the corner. But not everything can be bought blindly—Sig believes there are some real value traps out there.

Doug Linn makes the case for an effective floor on competitive Modern decks–the price the market is willing to pay, which inevitably pulls up the price of budget decks over time.