Weekly Winners 2023 - 52

The end is near! Or, at least, the end of 2023. While the finance market is cooling down a bit, there is fortunately still plenty to talk about.

Like every week, just in time for FNM, I'll tell you about the Magic: the Gathering cards that'll be the talk of the town tonight! Come discuss this week's price movements with us on Discord.

Articles

• Discover Corey's picks for the most game-changing cards of 2023 in the Modern format, and see how this year's releases have reshaped the competitive landscape in his latest article Top 10 MTG Cards for Modern in 2023.
• Join Deven as he explores the intriguing world of Magic finance, revealing why now might be the perfect time to invest in a coveted Commander card and other hidden gems in the market. Discover his expert insights and predictions in this must-read article for collectors and players alike, and answers the question Is now is the time to buy a Jeweled Lotus?
• Unleash the power of rule-breaking in Commander with Jason's expert picks for budget-friendly cards that defy the singleton format. Dive into his latest article, Cheap Pickups for Commander Singleton Rule-Breakers, for unique strategies and unexpected deck ideas

Yearly Winners

The end of the year is very close now, which means we'll be posting the first part of the Yearly Winners on January 1st. Keep an eye out for them! If you want to see what you can expect, you can check out the winners from last year:

• Top Winners and Losers 2022
• The Reserved List 2022
• Absolute Value 2022

If you want to receive an e-mail in your inbox when a new article is published, you can enable it in your e-mail preferences and/or join the Discord.

Onto the Weekly Winners!

#1 Bloodthirsty Adversary $23.55 (+124%)

This mythic creature from Innistrad: Midnight Hunt is probably not an unknown card for most of you. Immediately after it was printed it quickly found its home in Standard mono-red decks. Having a 2/2 hasty creature for is already decent for aggro decks in the early game, but Bloodthirsty Adversary is also a decent draw during the mid-game when you may have sufficient mana to pump it once and cast a (burn) spell from your graveyard for free.

Hasty 2/2s with upside are frequently adopted in Standard mono-red decks. Recently we've had Feldon, Ronom Excavator, Robber of the Rich, and of course Charming Scoundrel, which all fit that bill. However, the last one can also be a 1/1, but is (in my experience) usually played with the Wicked Role attached to it, making it a 2/2.

$1.55$2.49

$1.29

I tried finding a reason for Bloodthirsty Adversary to move up all of the sudden, but the most valid reason I could find is that mono-red aggro is doing really well in Standard currently. In the MTGO Challenge a few days ago, it ranked #1 with the deck below.

Bloodthirsty Adversary	CardKingdom $10.99	TCGPlayer $23.55
Bloodthirsty Adversary	CardKingdom	TCGPlayer $23.03
Bloodthirsty Adversary (Extended Art)	CardKingdom $11.99	TCGPlayer $13.82

#2 Virtue of Loyalty $25.99 (+78%)

Next up is a mythic from Wilds of Eldraine that is quickly moving up. The Ardenvale Fealty side of Virtue of Loyalty can give you a 2/2 white Knight with vigilance, while the enchantment side will buff your entire team at the end of your turn and untap them, giving them pseudo-vigilance. Since this is a versatile card, we see it appear in Standard Soldier decks and decks that want to go wide with tokens. Recently the card has also been popping up in Pioneer in Spirit Aggro decks. It remains to be seen if it's here to stay, but interesting to note that it's being tinkered with.

Virtue of Loyalty has also found its way onto kitchen tables in Commander. Recently some interesting commanders have been printed that like to play this card. These obviously are decks that want to go wide and play a bunch of smaller creatures and make them grow. Interesting commanders among these are Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon, Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation, and Aragorn, Hornburg Hero (Borderless).

$20.00$16.99

$3.00

Virtue of Loyalty	CardKingdom $21.99	TCGPlayer $25.99
Virtue of Loyalty (Showcase)	CardKingdom $21.99	TCGPlayer $18.99

#3 Zellix, Sanity Flayer $14.99 (+216%)

This particular version of Zellix, Sanity Flayer has gone up quite a bit this past week. Zellix obviously wants to be played in a deck that tries to mill yourself and/or your opponents. Whenever a creature card is milled, you get to create a 1/1 Horror. It also comes with a Background, and it seems that the most common one chosen with Zellix is Haunted One which (probably not coincidentally) is also gaining value.

It's very possible that this commander couple is getting more popular due to the printing of newer cards that support one of two strategies: milling and/or Horror typal. In The Lost Caverns of Ixalan we see several cards that may work very well with Zellix. Examples of these are Roaming Throne, Restless Reef, and Starving Revenant.

Zellix, Sanity Flayer	CardKingdom $3.99	TCGPlayer $14.99
Zellix, Sanity Flayer (Extended Art)	CardKingdom $6.99	TCGPlayer $4.50
Haunted One	CardKingdom $4.49	TCGPlayer $7.18

Cheap Pickups

Please note: for our 'record low' we consider the price of the card over the past seven years. Many cards were even cheaper (a) decade(s) ago. Also note: some cards are still going down, and might be even cheaper pickups next week.

Insurrection $4.00 - Moving up!

Insurrection has been identified by the MTGStocks Premium Penny Stocks feature as a card that has reached its bottom and is starting a consistent uptrend.

The Ur-Dragon (Borderless) $21.66 - Starting to move up

Razaketh, the Foulblooded $7.48 - Starting to move up

Insurrection	CardKingdom $5.49	TCGPlayer $4.00
The Ur-Dragon (Borderless)	CardKingdom $27.99	TCGPlayer $21.66
Razaketh, the Foulblooded	CardKingdom $9.99	TCGPlayer $7.48

 

That's it for this week. Make sure to check back next week for more Weekly Winners!