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By: eddie112, Josh Rabbitt
Jul 16 2009 11:22am
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Hey MTGO enthusiasts!



The purpose of this article is to examine some cards that i think are currently quite undervalued.  This doesn't always mean it will jump in value (sometimes that is the case) it's more an examination of playability verses cost.  Card values jump all over the map in magic, so it's important to seize the opportunity to get playable cards before they peak in value. I will also give a short writeup on why you should pick them up.  



I am hoping to examine 10 cards from across multiple formats every week, so tune in!



 Prices are of course courtesy of everyone's favorite dealer, mtgotraders, and neither me or mtgotraders is responsible for changes of these prices between now and when my article is published, or after my article has been published.



 First of all my steal of the week:



Meddling mage: 2.25



Currently everyone's favorite grizzly bear is holding around two bucks.  Two bucks? Meddling mage? are you kidding me?  This guy is a staple in every format.  Buy your 4, and wait for a deck to be built around him.  Currently his home is in standard, in the u/w lark deck, but he will probably find a home in aggro or control in extended, and he is always good off a vial in classic.  The new rarity system has really allowed some cards to be greatly undervalued.



Broodmate Dragon: .60



This guy is the best win condition mid range has had in quite some time.  In the previous rarity systems, this guy is probably a 5 dollar rare.  No it's not going to jump in value, it just wont.  However, it's one of the best cards in standard and block and his value in standard will hold for a long time as it isn't going anywhere.  This isn't a card that will suddenly be outclassed.



Cruel Ultimatum:  .25



Yes it costs 7.  Yes it's a very hard to cast 7.  However, you can get these 4 for a dollar.  Anyone who has played standard or block recently realizes the crazy things that happen when you cast this card.  I also think there is an outside shot it could pick up some traction in extended play in a grixis control type deck.  Also, even if you only pick up one of these, having one for grixis 100 singleton is a fantastic plan!



Cheap fae guys (I'm already cheating) Mistbind Clique .50 Scion of Oona 1.00 Secluded Glen .90 Sower of Temptation 3.00 Vendilion Clique 2.50



Yes they are rotating.  No it's not *all* the cards in fae.  However, Fae is not going anywhere people.  It will be good in extended, that you can be sure of.  These cards are probably not going to be low for very long, once extended starts picking up so I would grab these ASAP.  Honorable mentions here are the more expensive cards from Fae, but those probably have a little room to drop before extended season starts.  Don't miss out!



Tarmogoyf: 15.00



This guy needs no introduction.  And he is not a budget card by any means.  However, any green base deck in extended and classic plays him as a win condition.  It's that simple.  If your going to spend 50 bucks on 4 cards, this is the guy to do it on.  Lets look at some top classic decks that play him:  zoo, bant gat, loam, pox rock, rock, blue green based counterbalance.  Extended?  How about zoo, loam, rock, g/w slide.  Heck Ravager was trying to squeeze him in before master of etherium was printed.  Crazy crazy good card.  It will probably not go up in value, but I highly doubt it will go down.



Squee, Goblin Nabob: .35



What?  Squee?  He's played in nothing?  He's not that good?  This is all well and good.  But Survival is coming soon, and this guy could spike to a buck or two when he does.  Even if he stays the same, you'll have him for your own super fun survival decks.



Earthcraft: 10



This is the best card, in one of the top 3 decks in classic right now.  And it's the ONLY expensive card in the deck.  it has been climbing steadily from about 7, and I highly recomend getting a set.  Until we see a clamp banning in classic, this is going to be a top line deck, even with some power house cards like oath, whatever we have in me3, and ftv exiled coming up.



Arcbound Ravager: 9.50



The last 2 times an extended que fired, I played ravager.  Both times it was me and one other guy.  Both times we top 8'd.  Ravager is an absolute beast in extended.  All the hype is on hypergenesis (i crack myself up) but they struggle to beat cannonist and chalice at 0.  Those are cards played in almost every sideboard (is that a hint to something?).  Ravager meanwhile, racks up wins until people start putting kitaki back in their boards.  It might not be the best deck come extended season, but i promise it will be playable all season long, and will compete with anything.



Chalice of the void: 3.50



Do me a favor.  If you want to play classic, or extended, buy 4 of these.  Right now.  Seriously, they are probably the best sideboard card ever printed.  Not to mention the maindeckability (did i just invent that word?) in decks like dragon stompy, stax etc.  This card is absolutely amazing.  I am a spike, so I've been known to multi tournament every now and then, and this is one card I've considered buying 8 as only having 4 tends to cause me issues.



Ethersworn Canonist: 1.30



When i first thought about this article this guy was #1 on my list.  At .50 cents.  I guess the world is waking up to canonist.  He's broken in the following formats:  Classic, Block, Extended, Standard with Vangaurd.  Cards like this just have so much utility coming out of the board it's amazing.  They literally shut down any combo deck.  Yes combo decks have answers.  Lots of them.  But making them draw those answers is what slows them down enough to let you win. 

15 Comments

Can I suggest you do the main by Flippers_Giraffe at Thu, 07/16/2009 - 11:59
Flippers_Giraffe's picture

Can I suggest you do the main card images as (pic=blah) so we can see the picture of the card rather than the link, I was checking prices and noticed Battlegrace Angel is now down to 0.50 another bargin for standard decks if we start seeing some mono White builds in std after M10 is released.

I am a bargain hunter that by Anonymous (not verified) at Thu, 07/16/2009 - 12:01
Anonymous's picture

I am a bargain hunter that still can't muster up dropping 1 whole tick on a great uncommon like path to exile. I really enjoy articles like this one. Hope to see more in the future.

wrong credits on twitter by rukcus at Thu, 07/16/2009 - 12:03
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4

but a great article for aspiring constructionists (new word for magic)

The great thing about when the Standard format rotates is the availablity of low prices on those outdated cards. This is when its the best time to pick up Extended and Classic staples that were too expensive before. Look out for Bitterblossom and Cryptic Command to drop in value some too in the next few months.

I agree by eddie112 at Thu, 07/16/2009 - 12:46
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I agree with all the comments thus far. Extended rotation is a good or terrible time to pick up cards, depening on how you look at it. The prices may fall futher if they dont get traction in extended, or if they do they can bounce right back. Some of the fae stuff is really priced to sell right now which is why it is included. Battlegrace is a good value right now, but i'm not sure how viable it will be with new angel in m10. White may play one, but probably not both. Also, look for uncommons to come with the next edition! :)

What does everyone think? Pictures or links? I'll bow to the will of the people :D. If it's pictures do you want big or little.

Pictures and links! by hamtastic at Thu, 07/16/2009 - 13:22
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I'd say both pictures and links for the next article, since they're equally important (picture for those who don't memorize the cards and the link for them to buy them up if they want to :) )

Meddling Mage is insanely cheap right now, considering how powerful that card can be, given the right circumstances.

I agree, and blame it's low by rukcus at Thu, 07/16/2009 - 13:25
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I agree, and blame it's low price on how easy it is to kill him in Standard.

With all the removal and token decks are still out of control. Oh man, no wonder I left standard for classic :)

Why not take the best of by Dr_TRex at Thu, 07/16/2009 - 14:44
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Why not take the best of both? Linked pictures :P

Oh, and the grammar nut in me forces me to note that it's Bazaar, not bazzar.

Good advice. I just grabbed by Kensey1 (not verified) at Thu, 07/16/2009 - 14:22
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Good advice. I just grabbed a Squee and Broodmate Dragon for my singleton decks.

Great value by Anonymous (not verified) at Thu, 07/16/2009 - 14:30
Anonymous's picture

Really is a great value for all of the cards described... I had no idea some of those were that low... Gonna be picking them up cheap when I can

Some others that come to mind by Mishras Sweatshop (not verified) at Thu, 07/16/2009 - 15:41
Mishras Sweatshop's picture

Some others that come to mind for the digital investor

Forbidden Orchard @ 2tix
-With Oath in the wings (eventually) these will likely be a hot commodity

Burning Wish & Cunning Wish (have dropped significantly floating between 3 and to apiece respectively)
With Balance supposedly coming online, better to have 4 search instances and 1 restricted in the board. Burn wishes may spike up in price a bit.

----

Another thing I can think of, is some high priced cards that can & will drop

One of the main reasons I haven't picked up Lion's Eye Diamonds at 30, is I can't see how they're going to remain unrestricted forever. I don't think Yawg Will, assuming it's not flat out banned, and unrestricted diamonds can exist in the same format.

Trust me there will be more by eddie112 at Thu, 07/16/2009 - 16:21
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I had to limit myself, or there would be hundreds of cards on there. Heath keeps his prices very fair, and there are tons of worthy cards out there. In fact, most of the cards mentioned were considered. LED was not.

LEDs are fair by rukcus at Thu, 07/16/2009 - 18:19
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I mean really, when's the last time you've seen LED placing Top Eight in the Classic Daily Events?

I can count on 1 hand the number of times LED has been in a T8 deck in the last month.

LED by Anonymous (not verified) at Thu, 07/16/2009 - 23:21
Anonymous's picture

Part of that is a playset of LED goes 120ish, and the LED deck uses other expensive cards too. You'll note the Earthcraft and Ravager classic decks (also pox while I'm there) don't play MED 2 dual lands.

Price is a barrier.

I do this by Katastrophe at Thu, 07/16/2009 - 23:33
Katastrophe's picture
4

Aw man, good article. I do this in my spare time. I follow Hamtastic's stuff, I watch the marketplace ads, and I always buy low. Sometimes I play with it, sometimes I sell it. Meddling Mage is something I've been watching for a long time. I'm not a hoarder by any means. I never own more than 4 of anything. But I actually kind of enjoy 'winning' the marketplace.

Goyf isn't budget, and neither are the MED2 duals, but now is also the time to buy MED2 duals. I heard that they were dropping in anticipation of MED3 duals, which will apparently satisfy some of the demand for duals. But Underground Sea and Taiga are kind of awesome, aren't they? I don't think demand is going to drop. I think they're just cheap(er) today because no one is entering classic right now, and the classic players already own them. Right now on this very website Taiga is $17 and Sea is $31 with dozens in stock. And if I login online: 28, 23, 16, 13.5, 13.5. Really?

I can actually see Goyf going by Anonymous (not verified) at Fri, 07/17/2009 - 00:43
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I can actually see Goyf going back up as soon as another extended season rolls around and people start testing on MTGO again. Definately going to have to get a playset of those monsters.