• STORE
  • EVENTS
  • ARTICLES
  • NEWS
  • DECKS
  • BUYLIST
  • HELP
Advanced Search
Deck Builder
  • Hello. Sign In.
    YOUR ACCOUNT

    forgot your password?

    New customer? Start here!

  • CART

    View Cart ( items)

    Checkout

  • WISH
    LIST
       
  • Magic Singles
    • English
    • Foil English
    • Non-English
    • Foil Non-English
    • BGS/Graded Cards
    • Complete Sets
    • Misprints and Rarities
    • Wholesale Lots
  • Magic Sealed Product
    • Expansion Sets
    • Booster Packs
    • Booster Boxes
    • Starter & Tourn. Packs
    • Starter & Tourn. Displays
    • Theme Decks
    • Event Decks
    • Intro Packs
    • Fat Packs
    • Two-Player Games
    • Standalone Sets
    • Archenemy
    • Commander
    • Duel Decks
    • From the Vault
    • Planechase
    • Premium Deck Series
    • Misc. Box Sets
    • Non-English Sealed
  • Gaming Supplies
    • Binders
    • Books & Fat Pack Guides
    • Boxes & Bags
    • Clothing
    • Deck Boxes
    • Dice
    • Life Counters
    • Playmats
    • Sleeves
  • Specialty Items
    • Ascension
    • Gift Cards
    • Lithographs
    • Original Artwork
  • Digital Products
    • Grinder: The Brad Nelson Story
    • Next Level Magic
    • OMG: Official Miser's Guide
    • Tha Gatherin'
  • We Buy

The Financial Value Of Return To Ravnica: Daily Edition

Ben Bleiweiss
9/18
#Finance 
  •  
  •  

Hello everyone and welcome to your daily installment of The Financial Value of Return to Ravnica! For previous financial reviews I'd waited for the entire set to be spoiled. However card values are rapidly in flux the first few days (and weeks) after spoilers go live—so for this set I am going to talk about each set of new cards as they are spoiled and give updates for previously spoiled cards as movement happens! This will allow me to give you the most up-to-the-moment financial information so you can make informed choices regarding Return to Ravnica.

We'll be handling the reviews slightly differently. I'll be giving the starting price of the card and my thoughts about the card—whether it'll go up down or stay about the same. The entire set should be fully spoiled on Monday September 24th so that day I will revisit every card in the set see how the card performed since the beginning of the spoiler season and give my predictions for the longer-term value of these cards!

A Quick Note about Return to Ravnica: This set is going to be chock-full of good commons and uncommons due to the guild structure. There are also five proven high-dollar rares to start with (the shocklands). Therefore the overall value of many rares/mythics that might otherwise be higher will be suppressed due to the high number of boxes that will be cracked for singles. I think short-term a lot of the cards will be lower in price than they would have been in another set but long-term that makes them really good buys for once the supply dries up a year down the road.

Tuesday September 18th

New Cards

Azor's Elocutors

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts: Tons of cards were spoiled these past two days thanks to MTGSalvation. This was not one of those—it was spoiled on Twitter. An interesting alternate win condition and one that may have been borderline playable with proliferate in the mix—but without proliferate it's just a bulk rare.

Deathrite Shaman

Starting Price: $3

Thoughts: Current Price: $6 though started at $3 when we got it up for presale yesterday. I personally think this is a trap card—it has a lot of utility it costs very little and it's an Elf—but it has a conditional activation especially for the mana ability. While there's a lot of hype around it right now I think this is a card that will drop significantly once the set is released.

Firemind's Foresight

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts: Bulk rare. I know this is a financial review but I just wanted to note that it's disconcerting to the OCD person inside of me that this costs seven mana instead of six (1 + 2 + 3).

Grave Betrayal

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts: Starting at bulk rare price but I believe this card will end up being extremely popular with the casual crowd. A casualty of the number of boxes that will be opened for singles; but I believe this has potential a year down the road after Return to Ravnica goes out of print.

Mana Bloom

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts: This is an odd card. The interesting part to this card is that you can remove counters on both your and your opponent's turn so it can do double duty to giving you access to mana. Up to $1.25 from $1 and this is a card I'd advise picking up because it might have the potential to be really good.

Palisade Giant

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts: Bulk rare.

Rakdos Lord of Riots

Starting Price: $10

Thoughts: Seems absolutely insane for Commander play but less so in Constructed. I was not a fan of Abyssal Persecutor and this is a similar “large flying creature with a drawback” which in this case is “cannot be cast.” Should drop in price from $10.

Rest in Peace

Starting Price: $4

Thoughts: One of the strongest graveyard hosers ever printed. Combos with Helm of Obedience giving that deck a weapon it can easily hard-cast and find (Enlightened Tutor) for Legacy. When Leyline of the Void was big in Extended (before reprinting in M11) it was a solid $7-$10 card depending on the Constructed season. This is going to be heavily played in Legacy and has a place in Modern and Standard.

Righteous Authority

Starting Price: $1.25

Thoughts: Reminds me of Celestial Mantle—very popular stayed at around $1 forever and then after it rotated it started slowly rising in price. Righteous Authority appeals to the same player that Celestial Mantle appeals to; and there's the built-in self-Howling Mine effect that might make this Standard playable as well. Worth picking up now can only go up.

Search the City

Starting Price: $1.25

Thoughts: I believe this card will end up being a bulk rare. With that said—it's a card advantage card (albeit very conditional for any type of card outside of basic lands) and a Time Walk effect so I compare this to Jester's Scepter. Extremely powerful when you get it going but extremely conditional to get going in the first place.

Utvara Hellkite

Starting Price: $4

Thoughts: Utvara Hellkite is a Dragon that costs 6RR and is a 6/6. It reads "Flying; Whenever a Dragon you control attacks put a 6/6 red Dragon creature token onto the battlefield." Casual bulk mythic. Should drop to the $2-3 range—by the time you drop it you should have already won the game with Dragons you have in play (unless you're running some weird Changeling/Dragon concoction).

Friday September 14th

New Cards

Ash Zealot

Starting Price: $2

Thoughts: Much like Precinct Captain—a good body with good combat abilities (first strike and haste in this case) with a secondary ability that will not hit often since the opponent can play around it. I don't see this going up much more but I don't see it dropping either.

Pithing Needle

Starting Price: $2

Thoughts: Pithing Needle is one of the ultimate strategies to shut down planeswalkers—but how many planeswalkers are going to see play in a post-Scars world? When it first was printed (Saviors of Kamigawa) Pithing Needle hit $20-$25. When it was reprinted in 10th Edition it dropped to $10-$15. When it saw a third printing in M10 it dropped to the $2-$3 range. Is there a reason Pithing Needle will on a fourth printing suddenly spike in price? On one hand there's a precedent for it being a higher-dollar card than $2. On the other hand—there's a stronger precedent that the market is flooded with Pithing Needle so while I would recommend picking up a set to have for Standard (it won't drop below $2) don't expect it to suddenly shoot up a lot in price even if it's seeing moderate play.

Ultimate Price

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts: Comparable to Terror Go for the Throat and Doom Blade. All of these have commanded a premium when they are Standard legal (yes even as commons) so $1 seems like a solid price on Ultimate Price. It would be higher ($2+) if there weren't going to be so many gold creatures played in Standard post-Ravnica—but it will also be a fantastic removal spell for Commander players where it will hit a lot more targets.

 

 

10 Best Sellers for the Past Week

Last week I presented the list of the 10 best selling Return to Ravnica cards. This week I'm going to give you a list of the 10 Return to Ravnica cards that sold the most copies between Friday the 7th and today!

1) Desecration Demon

Starting Price: $2
Current Price: $4

Thoughts: Desecration Demon was our best-selling card this week partly in thanks to being spoiled during our coverage for SCG Open Series: Portland. Half the people I've spoken to think it is junk and the other half think it is Abyssal Persecutor 2.0. I'm of the former school of thought but not enough so that I discount this card entirely.

2) Nivmagus Elemental

Starting Price: $3
Current Price: $4

Thoughts: Many are banking that this will be strong in both Modern and Legacy—but not so much in Standard or casual play. Missing out on the two most popular formats is what is keeping the price of Nivmagus Elemental in check.

3) Loxodon Smiter

Starting Price: $4
Current Price: $5

Thoughts: Solid but unspectacular creature. One of the stronger Selesnya cards spoiled so far in a guild that has still been lagging behind the other guilds two weeks into spoiler season.

4) Abrupt Decay

Starting Price: $10
Current Price: $15

Thoughts: There were three cards that were in the top 10 list last week and are also in the top 10 list this week. Abrupt Decay has overtaken Overgrown Tomb as our best-selling rare in the set and we are going to sell out of it before the end of next week.

5) Lotleth Troll

Starting Price: $6
Current Price: $10

Thoughts: The second card to make the Top 10 list both weeks so far. Golgari is the strongest guild (overall) spoiled so far and Lotleth Troll is good enough to be considered for Legacy play. Extremely solid creature and we are likely to sell out of it before the Return to Ravnica Prerelease.

6) Cyclonic Rift

Starting Price: $2
Current Price: $4

Thoughts: With all of the amazing outright-removal spells in this set I just don't feel that a bounce spell that needs seven mana to “go large” will command a $4 price tag once the set is released. Still you can't argue with sales and they continue to be strong even after the initial price of Cyclonic Rift doubled.

7) Overgrown Tomb

Starting Price: $10
Current Price: $15

Thoughts: The only shockland that makes the Top Seller list this week. Overgrown Tomb was the best-selling Return to Ravnica card on the Top 10 seller list last week and continues to move well thanks to black and green getting the goods in this set. (For reference—Temple Garden was #17 Hallowed Fountain was #21 Blood Crypt was #26 and Steam Vents was #27).

8) Slitherhead

Starting Price: $0.25
Current Price: $0.25

Thoughts: Nothing to see here please move along.

9) Trostani Selesnya's Voice

Starting Price: $3
Current Price: $4

Thoughts: A great casual ability but not looking great for Constructed play. Will likely be a popular Commander general but we really need to see the token creatures that are in Return to Ravnica.

10) Angel of Serenity

Starting Price: $5
Current Price: $10

Thoughts: I still tink Angel of Serenity is being undervalued—precedents for popular mythic Angels are more in the $15-$20 range and Angel of Serenity is quite playable—more so than Avacyn Angel of Hope (which is still a solid $12 card half a year after release).

Thursday September 13th
display/collapse

New Cards

Counterflux

Starting Price: $2.50

Thoughts: Bumped to $3 based on rate of sales but steady at that price. There are better ways to hose storm decks in Legacy (Flusterstorm) and Modern (Mindbreak Trap) and there isn't really a control-on-control matchup where this will be the trump card (for now). A solid but unspectacular counterspell in the mold of Absorb or Undermine.

Mercurial Chemister

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts: Bulk Rare.

Necropolis Regent

Starting Price: $3

Thoughts: Bulk Mythic. Should be popular with casual players (it's a Vampire and it doubles the size of your guys) but with so many good mythics in this set semi-good borderline cards without a huge upside are going to be at the top-end of bulk pricing.

Sphinx's Revelation

Starting Price: $4

Thoughts: Already up to $5 based on being bought out between when I put this card live at 10:30 and when I wrapped up this article at 11:00 today. I think that this card is not very good—Rakdos's Return is the flip side of this card but is much more powerful just by virtue of being one mana less. For five mana you draw two cards and gain two life—that's not too good. For five mana you can get a life gain spell that gains you a lot more life (Thragtusk) or is better card draw (Amass the Components Divination Think Twice). To put it this way—how often did you see Blue Sun's Zenith get played in Standard?

Wild Beastmaster

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts: Bulk rare but one that might have an upside. The ability is one that appeals very very much to casual players. I wouldn't discount this in Constructed if Selesnya becomes a thing as it combos very well with other cards you'd like to play such as Rancor equipment or Giant Growth effects. One of the bulk rares I'd advise picking up 4x copies of because worst case it halves in price but the upside is much higher than a $.50 swing.

 

 

Quick Updates

Angel of Serenity

Starting Price: $5
Current Price: $10

Thoughts: I don't think we've reached the ceiling price of Angel of Serenity during the preorder period—I still think that price is $15 minimum. It's mythic it's an Angel and it's playable both in casual and tournament settings.

Epic Experiment

Starting Price: $5
Current Price: $8

Thoughts: I'll state this again—if Modern were a popular format this card would be much higher in price. This card will likely be broken in Modern because the Blue/Red Storm deck will love this card as the new version of Mind's Desire. There's also talk of this being run in High Tide decks in Legacy—but we'll see if that deck wants to start running Volcanic Islands or not.

display/collapse
Wednesday September 12th
display/collapse

New Cards

Angel of Serenity

Starting Price: $5

Thoughts: The most underrated/underpriced card in the set so far. Already up to $6 but this is going to be a $10-$15 card at the least. Typically things that “temporarily remove creatures from the game until this dies” (think Oblivion Ring) return the creatures to play if they themselves die. Angel of Serenity returns those creatures to the hand so you can't play Angel of Serenity and then get alpha-struck if your opponent kills it at end of turn. Get these now—the price is going to shoot up on this card by a lot.

Detention Sphere

Starting Price: $10

Thoughts: Maelstrom Pulse and Oblivion Ring put together. Maelstrom Pulse started at $15 when Alara Reborn was released and Abrupt Decay is already at $15 so I am pretty sure that this will hit $15 within a day.

Epic Experiment

Starting Price: $5

Thoughts: Genesis Wave for instants/sorceries. I'd compare this to Mind's Desire—at six mana you're flipping four spells (without the need to storm first) and probably getting to cast 2-ish of them on average. If you're going for pumping your mana up to a ridiculous amount (Dark Ritual/Cabal Ritual/Seething Song-type effect) I can see this being Mind's Desire version 2.0. I am fairly certain this is good enough to be a deck in Modern and since Modern season doesn't start until December this may take a while to start rising in price. Get them now.

Martial Law

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts:Bulk rare though good enough to see a bunch of Commander play.

Precinct Captain

Starting Price: $2

Thoughts: Another White Weenie two-drop that has to compete with other White Weenie two-drops. Seems like a prototypical $2 White Weenie rare—solid but not overpowered or exciting.

Sphinx of the Chimes

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts: Bulk rare and just not useful in Commander. Please note that you can go infinite with Sphinx of the Chimes and two of the same-named dredge cards but a double-blue six-drop creature in a deck like that is pushing it as far as an engine goes.

 

 

Quick Updates

Cyclonic Rift

Starting Price: $2
Current Price: $4

Thoughts: I really don't see this going up any higher than $4 but then again I didn't think it should hit $4 to begin with. There are so many good cards in this set that I think Cyclonic Rift is not enough of a stand-out to maintain this sort of premium pricing.

display/collapse
Tuesday September 11th
display/collapse

New Cards

Cryptborn Horror

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts: Bulk rare—though probably has a lot more applications in multiplayer games than in Constructed one-on-one Magic.

Cyclonic Rift

Starting Price: $1.50

Thoughts: Already bumped to $2 from $1.50 based on speculators buying 20-40 copies at once after I put it up for sale. With Vapor Snag rotating this is probably going to be the bounce card of choice in Standard (unless something else comes along) because of the late-game applications of overload—but then again will new Standard need as much bounce as pre-Return to Ravnica needed? People are comparing Cyclonic Rift to a one-sided Upheaval but Upheaval hit lands and that's what made Upheaval powerful. This is not Upheaval—it's more like a one-sided Evacuation.

Growing Ranks

Starting Price: $2

Thoughts: The problem with most of the Selesnya cards so far is that we've seen a bunch of rares that have the keyword populate but we haven't seen enough of the token generators to see if populate is even worth it! It's hard to judge how good/bad Growing Ranks (or other populate cards) will be in a vacuum without the common an uncommon Selesnya cards being spoiled which is usually not the case for a new keyworded ability! I have a feeling that all of the Selesnya cards will start out low drop lower and many will start rising in price a year from now because the populate effect is going to be very popular with casual players but not so much with tournament players.

Jarad's Orders

Starting Price: $1.50

Thoughts: Could be the card that finally puts Frites over the top—between tutoring for one creature and getting another ready for an Unburial Rites Jarad's Orders seems really strong. Also seems very strong for Commander play. I don't think it'll shoot super-high in price (since it's a roleplayer of a card) but I do believe it has some upside beyond bulk rare pricing—maybe $2-$2.50 in the shorter term. Definitely a card that goes up due to play value and not initial hype.

 

 

Quick Updates

Trostani Selesnya's Voice

Starting Price: $3
Current Price: $4

Thoughts: Slight bump in price based on rate of sales—but I don't see this miraculously shooting up much higher in price.

Nivmagus Elemental

Starting Price: $3
Current Price: $4

Thoughts: People are really drawn in to the unique ability on Nivmagus Elemental so they are buying early in case the card will be broken. Whether you get this card now or wait until later depends on whether you think someone will prove this is overpowered. I think it is not so I would not recommend picking them up until they drop back down in price post-release—but based on our sales there are many people who disagree with this assessment.

Underworld Connections

Starting Price: $4
Current Price: $3

Thoughts: Sold much more slowly than I would have expected so I dropped the price by $1. I have a feeling this is one of those cards that is a good pick-up because the effect looks underwhelming but is very powerful.

display/collapse
Monday September 10th
display/collapse

New Cards

Chaos Imps

Starting Price: $0.50

Thoughts: Let's start today off with a bulk rare. It gets better from here trust me.

Nivmagus Elemental

Starting Price: $3

Thoughts: I've seen a few people misread this card so allow me—you counter your own spell that is on the stack to give Nivmagus Elemental the two +1/+1 counters. Quite a few people have found applications for this sort of effect already including eating storm copies of a spell or going all-in on turn-one with Pacts and aiming to pitch 4-5 Pacts/Gut Shots/Gitaxian Probes on turn one to make Nivmagus Elemental a 9/10 or 11/12 creature. Now I personally think that most of these are best-case not reliable-deck scenarios. While I think the design on this card is cool I think in the end it will drop into the $1-$2 range once the set is returned. This is the kind of card that if broken will shoot up to a ridiculous price level but I'm betting against.

Trostani Selesnya's Voice

Starting Price: $3

Thoughts: Pretty much at bulk mythic pricing. Angelic Chorus has been a very popular casual effect but right now populate looks to be a semi-unpopular mechanic. Wizards needs to spoil the token creatures in this set before we can really determine just how good populate is.

Underworld Connections

Starting Price: $4

Thoughts: The spoiler on this card was in Italian so there won't be a picture up on Underworld Connections until tomorrow. Allow me to give the spoiler here: 1BB Enchant land. Enchanted land gains “Tap Pay 1 life: Draw a card.” So yes this turns your land into a Phyrexian Arena. Yes it costs one more mana than Phyrexian Arena each turn (since you are losing that land). Yes Phyrexian Arena hit $8-$10 when it was a focus point of the Orzhov decks the last time Ravnica block hit. Extremely solid in Standard and this card will see a bunch of play over the next two years.

 

 

Quick Updates

Desecration Demon

Starting Price: $2
Current Price: $4

Thoughts: This is the same card with the same price arc as Slumbering Dragon—a huge guy for a discounted cost but with a drawback that keeps it from really being able to attack or block easily. Slumbering Dragon also went from $2 to $4 during the preorder period. I think Desecration Demon will go back down to $2 after release as well.

Overgrown Tomb

Starting Price: $12
Current Price: $15

Thoughts: Golgari decks continue to get strong—and this card gets the love from Underworld Connections as well. Black/Green is going to be a force in the new post-Return to Ravnica Standard.

display/collapse
Friday September 7th
display/collapse

New Cards

Loxodon Smiter

Starting Price: $4

Thoughts: We started preselling these at $4 when they were eBaying at $5-$6 each. eBay is now at $6-$7 each and we're up to $5 each. I think that price will settle down to the $3-4 range post-release. Against most decks it's basically a 4/4 for three mana which is good on the curve but nothing so extraordinary that it would demand a huge price tag. The uncounterable clause seems fine as does the Obstinate Baloth ability of returning to play if discarded—but in the end you're mostly valuing this as a vanilla 4/4 creature for three mana. Wizards is really pushing board control in this set (Abrupt Decay Dreadbore Supreme Verdict Mizzium Mortars) so the four toughness and three mana cost is the most relevant part of this creature. The tipping point will be how Legacy-relevant he is and that won't be determined for another three weeks.

 

 

Quick Updates

Return to Ravnica Booster Box

Starting Price: $100
Current Price: $120

Thoughts: We talked about this yesterday but I'll bring it up again—Return to Ravnica is likely going to end up being the most popular set ever printed as well as the most powerful set to see print in the modern era of Magic set design (Invasion forward). I raised the price on booster boxes from $99.99 to $109.99 three days ago and sales increased during that time. I raised the price from $109.99 to $119.99 late yesterday afternoon and sales have yet to slow down. This set is going to sell out everywhere before release date and the EV of opening packs for this set is already far and beyond any set we've seen since Future Sight—and that's with half the set left to be spoiled. I said this yesterday and I'll say it again today—buy boxes sooner rather than later because I can see this set topping MSRP.

 

 

Top 10 Pre-selling Return to Ravnica Cards (as of 11 AM Friday Sep. 7)

#1) Overgrown Tomb

Starting Price: $10
Current Price: $13

Thoughts: Shocklands take four of the five top positions and Overgrown Tomb is the best selling due to the strength of the Golgari cards spoiled thus far.

#2) Hallowed Fountain

Starting Price: $10
Current Price: $15

Thoughts: The most expensive of the original run of Ravnica/Guildpact/Dissension shocklands. Many people who didn't pick up shocklands the first time around went straight for Hallowed Fountain at half to a third of the Dissension version's price.

#3) Steam Vents

Starting Price: $10
Current Price: $15

Thoughts: When Modern was announced as a format red-blue combo decks became all the rage. As a result Steam Vents jumped ahead of the Ravnica/Guildpact shocklands (which exist in higher quantities than the Dissention shocklands) by a wide margin. Steam Vents continues to be very popular even with this reprinting.

#4) Abrupt Decay

Starting Price: $10
Current Price: $14

Thoughts: An instant staple for not only Standard but also Legacy. One of the strongest single-target removal spells ever printed. The only card to upseat a shockland on our best seller's list and that's with one-and-a-half fewer days of presell time than the shocklands had.

#5) Blood Crypt

Starting Price: $10
Current Price: $12

Thoughts: Probably would not have sold as well or been above $10 if it wasn't one of the three Dissension shocklands. Tip: Breeding Pool is going to be the best selling shockland out of Gatecrash for the same reasons that Hallowed Fountain and Blood Crypt are doing well.

#6) Dreadbore

Starting Price: $5
Current Price: $8

Thoughts: Sales on Dreadbore slowed down after Abrupt Decay was spoiled but there's still a lot of this set left to go before we see how powerful Rakdos is/isn't. I don't think this will go up much more and it may drop if Rakdos continues to get upstaged by Golgari cards.

#7) Lotleth Troll

Starting Price: $6
Current Price: $10

Thoughts: Did I mention that Golgari (B/G) has had the most powerful cards spoiled so far? This is just another of those guys and another Golgari card that will likely see some Legacy play.

#8) Temple Garden

Starting Price: $10
Current Price: $10

Thoughts: Unless Selesnya sees a whole lot of love going forward this may be the only shockland that both doesn't increase beyond the $10 original presell price and falls out of our Top 10 pre-sellers list.

#9) Mizzium Mortars

Starting Price: $2
Current Price: $4

Thoughts: I think people initially ignored this card because it compared somewhat poorly to Bonfire of the Damned. Then they realized that it could be compared to Bonfire of the Damned without getting you laughed out of the room and it doubled in price. Yes Bonfire is much better—but this is absolutely playable in Standard.

#10) Chromatic Lantern

Starting Price: $4
Current Price: $5

Thoughts: Not flashly splashy or as outright powerful as many of the other cards spoiled but super-solid and currently underrated. It does what it does very well and it has appeal to virtually every Commander player on the planet. Will continue to sell solidly but just be overshadowed by more 'wow!'-type cards.

display/collapse
Thursday September 6th
display/collapse

New Cards

Abrupt Decay

Starting Price: $10

Thoughts: Abrupt Decay has already gone from $10 to $12 within the first two hours of being put up for sale based on a) how quickly it's sold and b) the fact that many eBay buy-it-now auctions have been ending at $52-$60 for sets of four. The Source is the foremost forum for discussion of the Legacy format and the people there think Abrupt Decay will make a major impact on their format. I like this much better than Dreadbore—so I expect Abrupt Decay to hold a much better long-term value than Dreadbore (which I think will drop to the $4-$5 range post-release at this point).

Collective Blessing

Starting Price: $1.50

Thoughts: I dropped Collective Blessing from $1.50 to $1 (which triggered a couple of Price Protection Guarantees) because this is the type of card that will stay at the $1 level for the short term but will begin to rise a year from now—see Caged Sun and Celestial Mantle for cards that stayed at $1 forever and then slowly started creeping up and selling well as new casual players get into the game.

Supreme Verdict

Starting Price: $4

Thoughts: Bumped slightly from $4 to $5 so at $20 a playset now. Without any Day of Judgment / Wrath of God in Standard how important will a four-mana unconditional Wrath be? Day of Judgment started seeing increased play towards the beginning of this year but the value of that effect was way down compared to Wrath of God. Wrath was a solid $8-$10 card when it was in Standard—Day of Judgment has been hovering at $2-$3 the past year. On the other hand Terminus has been seeing some play in Legacy and this gives decks a way to clear the board against Force of Will (I'm looking at you Merfolk) and this will be a fantastic casual card. I don't think Supreme Verdict will jump above $5 during the preorder period but I think this is one of those cards that will have a quick jump in value if it starts getting played after Return to Ravnica has been released since there is still room for it to go up in value.

Guild Feud

Starting Price: $0.50

Thoughts: Bulk Rare

 

 

Quick Updates

Return to Ravnica Booster Box

Starting Price: $100
Current Price: $110

Thoughts: It's no secret that the allocations for Magic product has been getting tighter during the presale period—we sold out of Avacyn Restored three weeks before the set was even released! We weren't the only ones—it was very difficult to find a box of Avacyn Restored online leading up to the set release and the ones that were available kept going up in price.

Return to Ravnica is going to be the most popular Magic set ever and so far the cards spoiled are living up to the hype of the set. This isn't the case of Scars of Mirrodin block where people were hyped but the cards underwhelmed (until New Phyrexia at least). The cards in Return to Ravnica are very powerful and the EV of opening a pack is very high—and we've still got half the set left to be spoiled!

Almost every Magic product at this point is selling at (or sometimes above) MSRP due to the huge demand on the game. The only product which consistently is selling under MSRP are booster boxes; they have an MSRP of $143.64(!) but generally presell at $90-$100 a box. For the past three (non-M13) sets the booster box price has gone above $100 before the presale period is over and we (and most other major online retailers) have had no problems selling out. In addition we had no fewer than three people call up yesterday asking if they could buy all ten booster cases we had in stock. The last time we started getting calls like that? Zendikar right after hidden treasures were spoiled. Boxes of Zendikar spiked to (and sold out at) $129.99 a box.

Return to Ravnica is better than Zendikar. Buy boxes now—based on how quickly they are selling now I expect the price to be up by the time the Monday update of this article rolls around. There are still EIGHT mythic rares yet to be spoiled and I can't ever think of a time where there were this many $5+ rares (much less $10+ rares) in one set.

Vraska the Unseen

Starting Price: $30
Current Price: $40

Thoughts: Selling a lot better than Jace and so up to $40. Sales have been steady at $40 but not fast enough that I think Vraska will take another jump. However the caveat here is that Golgari keeps getting the goods in this set (Lotleth Troll Abrupt Decay) so if B/G ends up being a powerhouse in Standard Vraska will surely be a part of that deck.

Lotleth Troll

Starting Price: $6
Current Price: $10

Thoughts: Speaking of Lotleth Troll—jumped from $6 to $7 to $8 to $10 over the course of yesterday. Our biggest seller of the day and still going very strong at $10. Slitherhead only makes Lotleth Troll that much better and it's looking like B/G (and maybe even B/G Zombies in particular) is going to be a force in Standard.

Overgrown Tomb Blood Crypt

Starting Price: $10
Current Price: $12

Thoughts: Overgrown Tomb saw a bump in sales over the past 24 hours because the Golgari cards spoiled have been so great. Blood Crypt has sold very well. Blood Crypt is also one of the Dissension Shocklands which were in much less supply than the ones printed in Ravnica or Guildpact and therefore came into this block starting at a higher price. The only shockland which hasn't risen from $9.99 so far is Temple Garden and not surprisingly the Selesnya cards spoiled so far have really lagged in excitement behind the ones from the other guilds.

display/collapse
Wednesday September 5th
display/collapse

New Cards

Lotleth Troll

Starting Price: $6

Thoughts: There are just so many good cards in this set so far and we're not even half spoiled. Lotleth Troll is selling at a solid $8-$10 on eBay already and I'm starting us at $6; it's lower than the “market value” but as I mentioned yesterday I think overall a lot of the rares in this set will have somewhat lower values than they might have had otherwise because so so many packs are going to be opened. Return to Ravnica will be the best-selling Magic set of all time—and likely one of the most if not the most popular. As far as Lotleth Troll goes keep an eye on Unburial Rites. Lotleth Troll is a very strong creature on its own (reminiscent of Spectral Lynx) but it combines the best feature of Putrid Imp. I don't think there have been any great scavenge cards printed yet—but if some of those get spoiled they just make Lotleth Troll that much more powerful.

Slaughter Games

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts: Jester's Cap / Cranial Extraction-type cards used to pull a $4-$5 premium at release. As time has gone on this has become more of a niche ability and other versions (Thought Hemorrhage anyone?) have continued to go down in value. I'm starting Slaughter Games at $1 which is bulk pricing. If Rakdos Control becomes a thing Slaughter Games will become an important trump card in the mirror match—a race to see who can land (or remove) their Rakdos's Return first. It's also good to note that this card wrecks control in a way that other versions of capping effects have not—no fear of tapping out and having your spell countered means you can remove their win conditions with impunity. Problem is—most of Standard is not keyed towards control or one-to-two win conditions right now and Return to Ravnica looks to continue the trend of varied powerful threats.

Vraska the Unseen

Starting Price: $30

Thoughts: One of two planeswalkers in Return to Ravnica and stronger than Jace. Traditionally five-mana planeswalkers are hard to swallow for Constructed play but Vraska has three advantages—a high starting loyalty a plus ability that really discourages getting Vraska off the board and one of the strongest middle abilities ever printed on a planeswalker. Vraska just DEALS with whatever the opponent has on the board in a way that few other cards can do—and that's without even making Vraska go down too far in loyalty. $30 is middle-ground for the starting price on a planeswalker and while there's a wide variance on where the value of planeswalkers land after release I believe Vraska will be one that stays closer to $30 than bottoming out at half-value.

 

 

Quick Updates

Hallowed Fountain Steam Vents

Starting Price: $10
Current Price: $15

Thoughts: Hallowed Fountain and Steam Vents started yesterday at $10 climbed to $12 and then ended the day at $15. Both have continued to sell strongly at the $15 mark. Overgrown Tomb Temple Garden and Blood Crypt are very solidly selling at $10 and will likely hit the $12 mark before long.

Dreadbore

Starting Price: $6
Current Price: $8

Thoughts: Selling solidly on eBay at $32-$40 a playset. I raised our price to meet the eBay low.

Mizzium Mortars

Starting Price: $2
Current Price: $4

Thoughts: I thought that this card had a lot of upside and based on orders many players agreed with me. I don't think Mortars will rise too much more during the preorder period but it may have one more jump in it right after release if it comes out of the gate swinging in top Standard decks.

Jace Architect of Thought

Starting Price: $20
Current Price: $25

Thoughts: Very popular seller at $20. Bumped to $25 after we sold a ton on the first day and still selling solidly at $25. If the price goes any higher I'd hold off buying until after release—I think Jace won't be going up in price once the Return to Ravnica street date hits.

Rakdos's Return

Starting Price: $5
Current Price: $15

Thoughts: By far the breakaway card of the set so far. Hit $5 $6 $8 $10 and finally $15 in the past 24 hours. eBay is supporting these prices as well. The upside of a top-tier tournament mythic is around $50 (not counting Jace the Mind Scuptor—think Primeval Titan Baneslayer Angel and Bonfire of the Damned) so even at $15 Rakdos's Return isn't at the top price that a top-tier Standard rare would demand. I'm not saying it will hit $50 (it won't) but I could still see Rakdos's Return getting up a little higher if it playtests well over the next few weeks.

Dryad Militant

Starting Price: $1
Current Price: $1.25

Thoughts: I think there's a good chance Dryad Militant ends the preorder period at $2—it's just strong splashable and potentially playable in Legacy and Modern. Buy them now if you intend on playing with them.

Judge's Familiar

Starting Price: $0.50
Current Price: $1

Thoughts: Probably should top off at $1 for the rest of the preorder cycle unlike Dryad Militant.

display/collapse
Tuesday September 4th
display/collapse

Mythics

Isperia Supreme Judge

Starting Price: $4

Thoughts: All of the guild leaders will have a boost in popularity because they are guild leaders. Isperia seems unexciting to me and in a set where there are a lot of large creatures already spoiled I see this going down to $3.

Jace Architect of Thought

Starting Price: $20

Thoughts: Jace Architect of Thought may be the first planeswalker designed primarily for multiplayer games. Both the first and third abilities scale with extra players in the game. This is reflected in the starting price of Jace—at only $20 this is a lot lower a price point to start at than most planeswalkers have presold for in the past. Maybe this is also a signal that planeswalkers are no longer going to presell for a price that is a multiple times what they settle at just a few weeks out from the set release.

Jarad Golgari Lich Lord

Starting Price: $4

Thoughts:This card would probably be a little higher except it's also being pumped into the market as part of the Izzet vs. Golgari Duel Deck. It also doesn't play great with the Golgari mechanic so I don't see a big upside for Jarad right now.

Niv-Mizzet Dracogenius

Starting Price: $10

Thoughts:A great finisher—Niv-Mizzet's five toughness is a huge upgrade over Isperia's four given that Mizzium Mortars will see a bunch of Standard play. In addition Niv-Mizzet is an aggressive creature—he can get through even if he can't swing in—and he provides card advantage all the while. It should be much desired given the popularity of the first Niv-Mizzet.

Rakdos's Return

Starting Price: $5

Thoughts:This is the first card on the list that has risen in price on our website since singles went live last night. People are comparing this to a "bad Mind Shatter" or saying "it's more inefficient than Blightning"—but Blightning isn't in Standard and this is a Fireball + a Mind Shatter for only one more mana. The problem is that it can't target creatures which has always been the "upside in a pinch" of playable Standard X burn spells. It will be popular but it should drop a little off the current price tag.

Worldspine Wurm

Starting Price: $4

Thoughts:Eleven mana is a lot for a creature that you can't easily cheat into play in Standard. Isn't this guy really good in Legacy though? It combos great with Sneak Attack and I hear people are playing that deck right now. It should remain in the $3-$4 range but Legacy players are going to be hunting down the foil versions to finish out their decks.

 

 

Rares of Note

Blood Crypt Hallowed Fountain Overgrown Tomb Steam Vents Temple Garden

Starting Price: $10

Thoughts:I'll lump together all five shocklands—they have an established value of twice the starting price (at least) of the Return to Ravnica reprints. I think the truth will be a little more in the middle—the ones that get played (Hallowed Fountain Steam Vents) will go up while the others will stay the same. I don't see these dropping below $10 for any length of time; they may go slightly down when the initial rush of cards hits the market right at release but they will rebound immediately because they are that good.

Chromatic Lantern

Starting Price: $4

Thoughts:My pick for the best card spoiled so far in regards to long-term value. It's Constructed playable mana acceleration and mana fixing and a near auto-include for 2+ color Commander decks. It appeals to all varieties of players and has no real downside.

Corpsejack Menace

Starting Price: $1.50

Thoughts:A casualty of the pack-opening menace. Normally Doubling Season / Parallel Lives effects start out at a higher price but there are going to be a lot of solid-to-good cards printed in this set. I think this set will operate very similarly to Eventide—there are a lot of $2-$4 solid rares under long-term values but a lot of them will take a year to get there. This is one of those rares.

Dreadbore

Starting Price: $5

Thoughts:I'm not as high on this card as other people seem to be because I think sorcery speed spot removal spells that primarily kill creatures are not great for Constructed but Dreadbore is very mana efficient for what it does. It probably would be a higher-dollar card in another set but it probably will drop down to the $3ish range in the short term because of the number of cards being opened.

Hypersonic Dragon

Starting Price: $1.50

Thoughts:Is this better than Thundermaw Hellkite? Thundermaw Hellkite is larger and clears the path of blockers but it doesn't play as well with Snapcaster Mage. Hypersonic Dragon is another tool that makes Snapcaster a little bit more powerful in Standard. It's interesting that the power creep in Magic has gotten to the point where I'm marginally excited about a 4/4 flying haste creature with an upside ability for five mana.

Mizzium Mortars

Starting Price: $2

Thoughts:Currently underrated. Unlike Dreadbore Mizzium Mortars scales as the game goes on—so late game you're one-sided Wrathing your opponent instead of just one-for-one-ing his best guy. I'd pick these up now because I don't see them going down in price.

Pack Rat

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts:High upside (in terms of value) tribal creature with major casual appeal—Rats are a very popular tribe! This is another card I'd expect to see hitting $2-$2.50 a year from now but that will probably languish in the bulk rare bins while Return to Ravnica block is still being drafted.

 

 

Bulk Rares

Archon of the Triumvirate

Starting Price: $1

 

Carnival Hellsteed

Starting Price: $0.50

 

Deadbridge Goliath

Starting Price: $1

Click to see text.

Death's Presence

Starting Price: $0.50

 

Grove of the Guardian

Starting Price: $1

 

Havoc Festival

Starting Price: $0.50

 

Wayfaring Temple

Starting Price: $1

 

 

 

Uncommons of Note

Azorius Charm

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts:All of the Charms are going to see Constructed play and Azorius Charm is the narrowest. Basically you're looking for the third ability (Time Ebb) and generally you're looking for it on an attacking creature. Still it's two-mana removal that can cycle if needed so it can't all be bad.

Dryad Militant

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts: Stops Snapcaster Mage and is on the Savannah Lions curve. This card is so ahead of the curve on the mana cost to power/toughness ratio that it's silly—and while 2/1 for one with an upside is still good we'll have to see how good a 2/1 creature is in Standard these days.

Guttersnipe

Starting Price: $0.50

Thoughts:Keep an eye out to see if this causes Storm combo to become the dominant deck in Modern.

Izzet Charm

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts:The best of the Charms spoiled so far but also a victim of being in the Izzet vs. Golgari Duel Deck. Spell Pierce Careful Study or (creature) Shock are all very useful abilities and adding only one mana to the cost of any of these to have the versatility of casting all of them makes this one of the most versatile spells ever printed.

Judge's Familiar

Starting Price: $0.50

Thoughts:Already up to $0.75. Flying Cursecatcher—and while it's in the wrong tribe (being a Merfolk MATTERS) we must respect that Cursecatcher is hitting $4 these days so people may want a cheaper alternative for Legacy play.

Selesnya Charm

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts:Did I mention that all of the Charms are great so far? Kill a fatty or Giant Growth or make a 2/2 token creature (which matters thanks to populate). It's interesting but so far the Return to Ravnica Charms (at two colors and two mana) seem more powerful than the Shards of Alara Charms which were three mana and three colors.

 

 

Commons of Note

Goblin Electromancer

Starting Price: $0.25

Thoughts:Normally sets will have 5-10 commons that hit the $0.25+ range and only a handful of the most powerful ones hit over that $0.50 mark—we're talking cards like Ponder or Preordain or Lightning Bolt. Original Ravnica had a lot of solid commons (bouncelands Signets and various spells and creatures) and Return to Ravnica is going to have even more of these—cards like Wee Dragonauts Stinkweed Imp and Coiling Oracle amongst others. Goblin Electromancer belongs in that class and will eventually hit the $0.50-$1 mark just like Etherium Sculptor did for Shards of Alara.

Golgari Guildgate

Starting Price: $1

Thoughts:All of the Guildgates will follow the same pattern as the original Ravnica block bouncelands—solid $0.50 cards that see a ton of casual play and some degree of Standard play. Note that there are not many enemy-color dual lands that have this type of drawback (comes onto the battlefield tapped)—most of these cycles have been allied-color only (Coastal Tower and friends) so the enemy-color ones might be more popular than the allied-color ones.

Grisly Salvage

Starting Price: $0.15

Thoughts:Impulse that works well with the Golgari mechanic and/or super Mulch. Another victim of how many cards are going to be opened in this block but Grisly Salvage has a lot of upside so I expect the foil version to be at a premium.

See you tomorrow for more discussion about the Financial Value of Return to Ravnica!

Ben Bleiweiss
General Manager StarCityGames.com

display/collapse
  •  
  •  
#Finance 
« Previous Article
Brad vs. Gerry: U/W Delver vs. Mono-Green Infect
Next Article »
SCG Open & Classic Series Preview: Portland And Birmingham

About Ben Bleiweiss

Ben is one of the foremost Magic: The Gathering financial experts in the world. His accomplishments over his 15+ year involvement with Magic include two tenures as a weekly columnist for Wizards of the Coast, global travel as both a Pro Tour player and reporter, and his position as General Manager for StarCityGames.com.

BenBleiweiss

Read more by
Ben Bleiweiss



ORGANIZED PLAY
  • THIS WEEKEND
  • NEXT WEEKEND
  • +
  • THIS Saturday, May 25
  • OPEN Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
  • Super IQ Indian Trail, NC - Be There Games
  • Super IQ Orlando, FL - The Game Academy
  • IQ Duluth, MN - Berserkson!
  • IQ Tallahassee, FL - Gamescape
  • IQ Valley Stream, NY - Mark's Comics & Collectibles
  • IQ Tempe, AZ - Pop Culture Paradise
  • IQ Eau Claire, WI - Nomad Game Center
  • THIS Sunday, May 26
  • OPEN Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
  • Super IQ Tallahassee, FL - Gamescape
  • IQ Farmingdale, NY - Empire Gaming & Comics
  • Saturday, June 1
  • OPEN Baltimore, MD
  • Super IQ Denver, CO - Denver Comic Con!
  • IQ Columbus, OH - Comic Town
  • IQ Louisville, KY - Bluegrass Magic
  • IQ St. Louis, MO - Ogres Games
  • IQ Reno, NV - Comic Kingdom
  • IQ Houston, TX - R&R Comics
  • IQ Spokane Valley, WA - Trade Winds Gaming Zone
  • Sunday, June 2
  • OPEN Baltimore, MD
  • IQ Kansas City, MO - Spanky's Card Shop
  • IQ Staten Island, NY - Get There Games

STARCITYGAMES.COM EVENTS

  • May 25-26: OPEN Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
  • Jun 1-2: OPEN Baltimore, MD
  • Jun 8-9: OPEN St. Louis, MO
  • Jun 15-16: OPEN Columbus, OH at Origins Game Fair
  • Jun 22-23: OPEN Philadelphia, PA
  • Jun 28-30: GRAND PRIX Miami, FL
  • Jul 6-7: OPEN Worcester, MA
  • Jul 20-21: OPEN Richmond, VA
  • Jul 20: CLASSIC Lansing, MI
  • Jul 26-28: INVITATIONAL Somerset, NJ

ELITE QUALIFIERS

  • Jun 9: Atomic Empire - Durham, NC
  • THIS WEEK: See all Open Trials

EVENT FINDER

  • Complete SCG Schedule - Coverage Archive
NEWS
  • 5/22 YMTC 4 Final Round!
  • 5/21 Weekend Results! May 18-19
  • 5/16 M14 Spoiler: Megantic Sliver
  • 5/15 M14 Spoiler: Vastwood Hydra
  • 5/14 Weekend Results! May 11-12
  • 5/14 YMTC4 Voting Begins!
  • 5/10 The Final Greg Staples Lithograph is...
  • 5/9 Revisions to Premier Play Changes
  • 5/9 Check out the #3 Greg Staples Lithograph...
  • 5/8 Greg Staples Lithograph #2 is...
  • 5/7 Greg Staples lithograph #1 is...
  • 5/7 Slivers in M14! Sealed in D14!
  • View All News Items - Submit Magic News
DECKLISTS
  • STANDARD
  • LEGACY
  • MODERN
  • 5/19 SCG Open Nashville, US
  • 5/19 SCG Classic Springfield, US
  • 5/12 Pro Tour Qualifier Madison, US
  • 5/12 SCG Open Charlotte, US
  • 5/12 SCG Classic Pittsburgh, US
  • 5/12 Pro Tour Qualifier Chicago, US
  • 5/05 Invi Qualifier north myrtle beach, US
  • 5/05 SCG Open Somerset, US
  • 5/05 Invi Qualifier Lenexa, US
  • 5/05 Invi Qualifier Bristol, US
  • 5/05 SCG Elite IQ Centerville, US
  • 5/04 Invi Qualifier Maryville, US
View More Standard Decks - Search Decklists
  • 5/12 Grand Prix Portland, US
  • 4/07 Invi Qualifier Glen Burnie, US
  • 3/17 Pro Tour Qualifier Melbourne, AU
  • 3/17 Grand Prix San Diego, US
  • 3/10 Pro Tour Qualifier Magic Online,
  • 3/10 MTGO Daily Event
  • 3/03 Pro Tour Qualifier West Nyack, US
  • 3/03 Pro Tour Qualifier Roanoke, US
  • 3/03 Pro Tour Qualifier Philadelphia, US
  • 3/03 Pro Tour Qualifier Toronto, CA
  • 3/03 Pro Tour Qualifier Madison, US
  • 3/03 Pro Tour Qualifier Magic Online,
View More Modern Decks - Search Decklists
  • 5/19 SCG Open Nashville, US
  • 5/19 SCG Open Nashville,
  • 5/12 Annecy, FR
  • 4/21 SCG Open Seattle, US
  • 4/14 Invi Qualifier Bristol, US
  • 4/14 SCG Open Milwaukee, US
  • 4/07 SCG Open Atlanta, US
  • 4/07 SCG Invitational Atlanta,
  • 4/07 SCG Invitational Atlanta, US
  • 3/24 SCG Open Kansas City, US
  • 3/17 SCG Open Washington, US
  • 3/10 SCG Open Indianapolis, US
View More Legacy Decks - Search Decklists
SOCIAL

StarCityGames.com on Facebook


StarCityGames.com on Twitter

Join the conversation


WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Exclusive Deals & Content Every Week



 

ACCOUNT
  • Login/Register
  • My Account
  • Order History
  • Credit History
  • Wishlists
  • Premium
  • Digital Items
  • Gift Card Redemption
CONTACT US
  • Customer Service/Order Issues
  • Advertising
  • Articles
  • Game Center
  • Gift Cards
  • Inventory Issues
  • Organized Play
  • SCG Premium
  • Selling to SCG
  • Shipping
  • Submit News
  • Website Bugs/Problems
ORDER QUESTIONS
  • Customer Service Hours
    Monday through Friday
    10AM - 6PM EST
    Ph: (540) 767-GAME (4263)
  • Email
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Refund/Return Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Statement
  • About StarCityGames.com
SCG ORGANIZED PLAY
  • Overview
  • Schedule
  • Coverage Archives
  • Invitational Qualifiers
  • Host an Invitational Qualifier
  • Judge Rewards
  • Open Points
  • Standings
  • SCGLive
GAME CENTER
  • Star City Game Center
    5728 Williamson Road N.W.
    Roanoke, VA 24012
    Ph: (540) 767-GAME(4263)
  • Email
  • Hours & Info
ARCHIVES
  • Search our Articles
  • Coverage Archives
  • RSS Feed
MORE SCG
  • SCGMobile
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Newsletter
  • SCGLive
  • TheManaDrain.com
  • CubeDrafting.com
All original content on this page is © 2012 StarCityGames.com and may not be used or reproduced without consent. Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering, and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC. © 2012 Wizards. All rights reserved. StarCityGames.com is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast LLC.