This week proved to be mildly interesting. We still see a lot of movement on the oldest cards in Magic (because of the 93/94 format), but not in the top 3 winners this week. Once again, I present you the cards that will be the talk of the town tonight.
Another week, another buyout as the #1 winner. Kabira Evangel spiked hard this week, and to me, it is quite a mystery why the card was bought out. Sure, allies are back with Battle for Zendikar, and Kabira Evangel is an ally. But normally we will see a reason why a card like this spikes. No recent good tournament results, no mention of the card on forums, no mention of the card on Reddit, and no chatter on the speculators' channels.
Sometimes these weird buyouts happen. The price usually drops right after the spike, like we see with Kabira Evangel too. Sadly, usually the price will settle higher than before the spike.
Ensnaring Bridge is a piece in both Modern and Legacy. In Modern, Ensnaring Bridge is played in Lantern Control. In Legacy it is mainly a sideboard card in decks like Burn, MUD, Thopters and Tezzeret Control. So basically most tier 2 or 3 decks in Legacy.
There is no big reason why Ensnaring Bridge is up this week, other than the fact that it is a very good card in the right competitive deck. It has a unique ability that can prove devastating when it hits the board. In Legacy, dropping an Ensnaring Bridge when your opponent resolves Show and Tell can simply win you the game.
Ensnaring Bridge will be a card we might see popping up in the interests every now and again. It has competitive and casual appeal, and is fairly unique. To me it is a classic card that everyone should have in their binders.
Crucible of Worlds is taking off and seems to be heading right for the $50 mark. The card sees play in both Modern, Legacy and Vintage. In this case, Crucible of Worlds is up because of steady sideboard play in Modern. Both the Eldrazi Green and UW Control decks run it in the sideboard. Sometimes as a 2-off, but most of the time just 1 copy.
And that is the big reason why we see a gradual price increase on Crucible of Worlds. There is no big reason why it should spike, but a continuing demand drives up the price of the card. When you build a deck, having to buy only 1 or 2 copies of an expensive card lowers the barrier to pop out those $40 and complete your competitive deck.
Don't expect Crucible of Worlds to go down in price anytime soon. There is no reason why it would suddenly drop in demand. The card does not see a lot of play in Legacy recently, but that could change. In a format that can use cards like Wasteland, Ghost Quarters, Life from the Loam and Exploration, one can always expect Crucible of Worlds to be suddenly relevant again. A archetype like Lands can suddenly take off when a new, powerful land or other card is printed.
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