Weekly Winners 2024 - 04

Previews for Murders at Karlov Manor are in full swing, and we see more cards moving in price because of it. But there's also enough to talk about in constructed formats.

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

• Harvey's article How to Sell Your Magic Cards provides invaluable insights into the different methods of selling cards, from individual listings to bulk sales and buylists. It's a comprehensive guide for anyone looking to navigate the market effectively, balancing time investment against potential financial returns. This article is a must-read for collectors and players considering selling their cards.
• In Magic Cards You're Overlooking for Commander Steve looks at underrated cards from the last year that can significantly enhance your Commander decks. It's a great article for players seeking to discover hidden gems that can elevate their game, offering fresh perspectives on deck-building strategies in Commander.
• Corey's article Shocklands and the Ramifications of Staple Reprints in Magic in the "Modern Times" series explores the economic impact of reprinting staple cards, using Shocklands as a case study. The piece examines the delicate balance between original and reprint card values, offering insightful analysis for players and collectors navigating the complex dynamics of the game's economy.
• In Cards to Watch for the Upcoming Final Fantasy Set Jason provides speculative insights into cards that might synergize with anticipated mechanics in the upcoming set. It's a strategic guide for forward-thinking players looking to get ahead of the curve by identifying cards that could become more valuable or relevant.

Hello, Yu-Gi-Oh!

This week we launched our first version of Yugi Stocks. A new member in the TCG Stocks family especially for Yu-Gi-Oh TCG. As you may have been aware, we already had FaBStocks (for Flesh & Blood) and Pika Stocks (for Pokemon). But it was too much work maintaining those sites and keep them in sync. That's why we started re-evaluating how we do these two websites along with MTGStocks. We reworked a bunch, and now much more of the code bases are shared, allowing us to roll out members of the family more easily.

The first test was LRC Stocks (for Lorcana) that has been running smootly for a few months now, so we decided it was time to try to add another one. We know that MTGStocks is visited mainly by casual and regular players. It's an indispensable tool for players to buy cards at the right time, for a price they want and can afford, and to keep their hobby and collection affordable. That's why we're branching out to other TCGs to be able to do that to help other communities as well.

• Yugi Stocks: https://www.yugistocks.com and on X at @YugiStocks
• LRC Stocks: https://www.lrcstocks.com and on X at @LRCStocks
• Pika Stocks: https://www.pikastocks.com and on X at @PikaStocks
• FaB Stocks: https://www.fabstocks.net and on X at @FnBStocks

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Onto the Weekly Winners!

#1 Nantuko Shrine $4.61 (+249%)

What's this? A rare from Odyssey spiking? Nantuko Shrine was released in October 2001, making it over 22 years old already. Do you feel old yet? This enchantment generates 1/1 Squirrel tokens. Whenever you cast a spell, you get to create X of them, where X is the number of cards with the same name in all graveyards. About a week ago you could still find this card for around $1.20, and it wasn't really a popular card. One of the most driving factors in prices nowadays is (casual) Commander, but an enchantment that cares about spells with the same name usually doesn't cut it in a format where you can only play one of each.

Of course there are cards like Persistent Petitioners or Rat Colony, but those are in different colors, and aren't really worth it. But in Murders at Karlov Manor a new card has arisen that can have any number of cards in a deck. And Slime Against Humanity is also a green card, perfectly fitting the color identity. For you get to create a trampling Ooze token, with a number of +1/+1 counters on it equal to two plus the number of Oozes and Slime Against Humanity cards you own in exile or in your graveyard.

$0.30$0.49

$2.81$2.99

You can see with these two cards you can quickly generate a whole lot of tokens. So the question remains... does this combo go in an Ooze typal deck or a Squirrel typal deck? Because we can easily go with Aeve, Progenitor Ooze or Chatterfang, Squirrel General. Also, as is usually the case when new popular cards without number of card restrictions are printed, we're seeing some movement in Thrumming Stone.

Nantuko Shrine	CardKingdom $1.99	TCGPlayer $4.61
Slime Against Humanity	CardKingdom	TCGPlayer $5.54
Aeve, Progenitor Ooze	CardKingdom $0.49	TCGPlayer $0.30
Thrumming Stone	CardKingdom $2.99	TCGPlayer $2.81

#2 Venerated Rotpriest $7.09 (+50%)

I decided to use the prices of the regular print of Venerated Rotpriest, which is the cheapest and has the least gain in the past week; the extended art version and the promo pack print have been moving up faster. When this card was previewed almost exactly one year ago, it quickly rose to almost $20. It was supposed to be the fabled insane new combo to beat in multiple constructed formats. And indeed, in Modern players tinkered with Rotpriest Storm decks where they try to target it as much and quickly as possible. Eventually it saw some play in Modern as an inclusion in Infect decks, but it never really took off, and nowadays barely sees any play.

Now it's a year later, and Venerated Rotpriest did find its way again into a constructed format: Standard. Bant Toxic decks are doing alright at the moment, and, as we've mentioned in the last few weeks, since it's Standard RCQ season, the cards tend to move up a little bit faster than is usual for Standard cards.

The deck seems to be putting up some decent numbers, and people are trying to get the cards needed to play.

Venerated Rotpriest	CardKingdom $4.49	TCGPlayer $7.09
Venerated Rotpriest (Extended Art)	CardKingdom $4.99	TCGPlayer $6.50
Venerated Rotpriest	CardKingdom	TCGPlayer $6.80

#3 Magus of the Moon $14.13 (+40%)

I had a great opportunity to clickbait you here, but decided I'd take the high road. The Future Sight print of Magus of the Moon shot to $30, but you can still buy other versions for far less. However, it did give me a way to talk about this card, because while the spike has the hallmarks of a buyout, we do see the other prints moving upwards.

Magus of the Moon is basically a Blood Moon on a creature. It has the exact same ability, has the same mana cost, but is a 2/2 Human Wizard instead of an enchantment. Both these cards thrive in environments where the meta consists of greedy manabases. A "greedy manabase" refers to a deck's land configuration that ambitiously includes many different colors or types of mana or utility lands (i.e., a lot of non-basic lands). Being able to deny your opponent one, two, or even all of the colors they need to play their deck can be a free win. Since the Magus can also attack, it's also a win-con in itself when your opponent is unable to answer it, but it has the downside of being removed more easily than an enchantment.

The card sees play in multiple archetypes in Modern, like Rakdos Scam, Izzet Aggro, and Cascade Rhinos, among others. In some decks its played mainboard, but we often also see copies in the sideboard. On our Most Played page we see that Magus of the Moon is currently the #4 card. But there's another format in which people love to lock their opponents out of their game plan. In Legacy this is the #21 most played card. Funnily enough, we also see it in Cascade Rhinos there. Furthermore, it's also a popular sideboard card. Especially in Legacy with lands like Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors and another accelerator you can play Magus on turn one, immediately disabling your opponent's Fetchlands.

Magus of the Moon	CardKingdom $15.99	TCGPlayer $30.00
Magus of the Moon	CardKingdom $11.99	TCGPlayer $12.00
Magus of the Moon	CardKingdom $15.99	TCGPlayer $30.00

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.

Archmage Emeritus $4.55 - Moving up!

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

Cloudstone Curio (Retro Frame) $9.69 - Stabilizing

Gishath, Sun's Avatar $6.14 - Moving down

Archmage Emeritus	CardKingdom $5.49	TCGPlayer $4.46
Cloudstone Curio (Retro Frame)	CardKingdom $11.99	TCGPlayer $9.58
Gishath, Sun's Avatar	CardKingdom $5.99	TCGPlayer $6.00