A Penny Saved, a Mite Earned

12 Jun
by Ryan Cole

Hello again everybody! Penny Pincher here with a few more cards I scavenged from the back rooms here at MTGStocks. I have to be careful no one catches me at it, and with all our new writers it’s getting harder and harder to sneak them out. So I hope you’re all excited to see what I found!

Let’s get to it though, I hear we have a new security detail on the case of the missing penny cards so I gotta get out of here fast!

Evacuation

Want to play with a Cyclonic Rift in your deck but can’t afford a copy of your own? Want to start out selling lower money cards but aren’t sure where to start? Evacuation is where you can start in either case! With a pretty steady rise compared to infrequent falls, this one looks like it should hold its own as a low value card for the small budget collector, and packs a punch in any blue deck for the low budget player.

It’s not exactly the same as Cyclonic Rift, but its ability is still nothing to write off as bland. Yes, it hits you, and no, it doesn’t hit all permanents. But a board wipe is a board wipe whether they go to your hand, the graveyard, or into exile. And every little bit counts when you’re facing a swarm.

At right around $4.50 for the Stronghold printing, it won’t break your wallet. And the price comparison to its other printings shows this card shouldn’t drop in price any time soon. I actually think I need this one in my Commander deck!

Evacuation
Evacuation
Evacuation
Evacuation

Skullclamp

Everybody knows how this one works. You attach it to a 1/1 creature, watch your faithful cohort die in agony, draw two cards, and then you repeat the process. Along with cards like Reckoner Bankbuster, this one can really be a value engine for your budget token creation deck, as well as other 1/1 heavy builds. With this printing sitting at $4.50 (and the original sitting at just a dollar more), we can see that the value of this one should match suit in any rises and falls in its price. 

Though we all normally use it as mentioned above, it does give your equipped creature plus one on the front end, so if you just need that extra boost on a bigger creature to slam in, Skullclamp has you covered. Try not to get too sad when your opponent Abrades it. They know it's gonna be a long game if they let you draw as much as this one can allow!

Skullclamp
Skullclamp (Borderless)
Skullclamp
Skullclamp

White Sun's Twilight

This one has been sitting pretty steady around the $2 range since the economy settled after the release of Phyrexia: All Will Be One, and I’m delighted by this fact! In any deck where you need to get rid of an oppressive board state, cards like Wrath of God and Farewell are the best, but if you need a little life gain you can pay a little into your X value in order to get your X value back in the form of a swarm of 1/1 Phyrexian Mite creature tokens with Toxic 1. And if you pay five or more into it you not only get that many more Mites, but you wipe the board first! Life gain plus creatures with Toxic? Who wouldn’t want to wipe the board when their life is in danger, as well as fill the board back up with an army of their own?

Whether you want to play with it, or if you just want to grab up a fresh card with no available reprints to hold onto for your Penny Portfolio, this card is it!

White Sun's Twilight
White Sun's Twilight (Extended Art)

That’s all I have for you guys today. I have to go because I’m getting a weird look from that new security guy I mentioned before. I hope if you’re looking for any more info on your favorite cards that you’ll head over to the main page of our site and pick out one of our other writers to see what each of them is raving about this week! Hope you’re all well and I’ll see you next time!

Check out these other articles:

History, Restapled - Tills, We Meet Again by Steve Heisler

New Horizons: From Cute to Brute by Matt Grzechnik

Tom the Bomb by Jason Alt

Ryan Cole

Ryan Cole

Ryan Cole lives in Canton, Ohio with his new wife Julia. He began playing magic in 1995 with cards he bought with money he found odd jobs for, just to play the game. At 35 he is happy at home and living as full a life as is possible. He is starting a career in freelance writing and works as a cook while he pursues that dream.


More from Ryan Cole:

A Penny Saved, An Exchange Earned

Aug 14, 2023

Ryan's back with more stolen goodies from our Premium Penny Stocks page.

Ryan Cole
Ryan Cole