Let's get one thing straight before we begin. When new sets come out, hype always kills the prices of the chase cards. Just because I recommend you sell a card due to the high price does NOT mean I'm saying the card is bad. All it means is that this chase rare will likely drop in price. That being said, I've decided to change the format up a little bit and comment on cards individually, rather than put them in broad groups of "buy, sell and hold." So now, let's look into how things will pan out when the smoke of hype disappears...
Bitterblossom - This card appears to be good because who doesn't want free tokens? Ya, you take 1 damage per turn, but the damage you'll end up dealing off the tokens should compound a lot more quickly than the damage you take right? (Kind of like a reverse Grove/Kavu Predator combo)? In all honesty, I think the card is fine and should end up being a $3-4 staple rare in the end.
Boldwyr Heavyweights - It's like a Hunted Wumpus... except now people can fetch the creature card they don't have in hand. Free Shriekmaws and Sowers of Temptation anyone? eek! Running the risk of playing this guy and crossing your fingers that your opponent can't kill it is something that will ruin his value eventually. Trade them away early if you can, because you won't be able to later if you don't.
Chameleon Colossus - Green four cc 4/4's come and go like no one's business. This one I actually really like though. With protection from black AND an insane pump ability, it's no wonder this changeling is fetching $8-10 in pre-sells. It will definitely drop from that price, but not by too much. Spike drives prices, but Timmy keeps them afloat; and this is a card for both of them.
Countryside Crusher - To be 100% honest, I don't know what to say about this guy. All the early ranting and raving says he's ridiculous, hence an early $10-12 pre-sell price. In my Ext testing, he's never lived more than a turn or 2. I don't know whether that's good or bad. What I do know is everyone is looking for the next Tarmogoyf and that is a big factor in this card's crazy price. Trade/ trade for this guy with caution. It's a good card, but don't let the hype get the best of you.
Door Of Destinies - If Coat of Arms only helped your creatures, it'd be pretty good, right? That's what this card is trying to do. The thing is, in recent years, Coat of Arms rarely saw tournament play and this card won't either. It won't be bad for Timmy's tribal _____ deck though, so having them handy for trade won't be the worst.
Earwig Squad - Giving Goblins a control element like this could be potentially dangerous. However, Cranial Extraction was always overpriced. Though this card isn't, it probably won't get to be much higher than it's $3-4 price tag online.
Indomitable Ancients - Indomitable Ancients is only good with Doran in play, just like Treefolk Harbinger and many of the other big butt treefolk from the block. However, as we've seen with Worlds, Doran is good all by himself outside the awkward treefolk deck and sure doesn't need the support of a clunky 2/10. Though it has a little more trading potential than other junk rares, it's still a junk rare.
Kinsbaile Borderguard - When looking at this card, it is hard not to draw a comparison to Caller of the Claw. Though it doesn't require you to keep 3 mana open in order to get the effect, it does require you to build your army ahead of time. I really like this card and think it should go up if Kithkin can ever overtake the power of Elves. You should be able to get them for cheap early on (around $1-3 each), so the investment isn't as risky as others.
Leaf-Crowned Elder - LCE has one of the, if not the most, powerful effects of any card in the set. A card like Dark Confidant is a creature that allows you to draw cards; this card goes one step further and lets you play the cards you reaveal for free. LCE is obviously optimized with decks that are built around him, but considering a few of the other playable Treefolk and Shaman cards in Standard (Troll Ascetic, Masked Admirers, Doran, Wolf-Skull Shaman) fitting this 4 drop into the curve shouldn't be difficult. I consider it a good value at $3-5.
Maralen of the Mornsong - Maralen was very hyped when she was initially spoiled. Shutting down blue draw, but giving both players a Grim Tutor effect seems powerful, except that your opponent gets the effect first. Basically, if they think they can hurt you worse than you can hurt them they'll let it live. If not, they'll likely just fetch something to kill it. Either way, it's kind of a lost cause and the price will drop once people realize this.
Mind Shatter - In my opinion, this card is much better than its' blue counterpart. However, it seems that the market has yet to settle on how much this card is worth. I've seen eBay auction final prices range from $2 to $8+, all in the same day. Comparitively, Stupor hits for 2 cards (w. only one random though) at one less casting cost. But, at six mana, this card is strictly better than Haunting Hymn... I guess it fits somewhere in between playability-wise. Price-wise it should land somewhere under $4.
Mind Spring - This card might be crazy if you had a huge mana combo and could force your opponent to lose the game by drawing cards or something (like Stroke of Genius). However, with X = 3, this card is strictly worse than Tidings and at sorcery speed, I don't really see this being that awesome in mono blue mirrors. Trade them away while you can because the market already sees the lack of value in this card.
Murmuring Bosk - After all that fluff we have a hardcore chase rare. At first I wondered what the big deal was about this card. Though it DOES produce 3 colors, the come into play tapped line is killer. One word makes this card ridiculous though: Forest. This means you can fetch it! I don't think the card should drop too much below the $15-16 it's currently fetching online, but it might be too early to tell. Regardless, my gut tells me this card is ridiculous and will be staple for BGW decks.
Mutavault - This is probably the biggest "sure thing" someone can put money on as far as investment goes in this set. However, once everyone knows they have a "sure thing", they'll all try to get in, hence pushing the price up. Regardless, I really think that this card will still be worth at least $20 even after the hype dies down (about how much they are right now). Get them early if you can. We all know you don't want to have another "I need Tarmogoyfs!!!" episode like you did at last year's Regionals...
Preeminent Captain - The Kithkin have some very flavorful, very cool cards in this block, and Preeminent Captain is one of them. In combination with Militia's Pride, a White Weenie player can build a pretty large army pretty fast, setting up for a pretty huge Kinsbaile Borderguard. I see this card as being a definite staple in any Kithkin or Soldier deck, as being able to play cards for free is just awesome. PC is ranging from $1 to as much as $4 each online right now, but if you can get them on the low end, your small investment should pay off later, even if you decide to use them as trade fodder.
Reveillark - Obviously "combo" is the first word that comes to mind when one sees Reveillark (namely, Project X 2.0). But without Teysa in the format, I don't know how this deck can win. The infinite life combo is still there with both Essence and Soul Warden still legal, but this can scarily lead to a lot of draws. Regardless, this card is and will be sought after and won't drop much below the $4-5 range it's hitting online.
Rhys the Exiled - This card just isn't very playable, especially with all the other things you could do in green w. 3 mana (Troll Ascetic, CoTH, Ohran Viper, etc.). Even in an Elf deck, Imperious Perfect or Elvish Champion is a much better 3 drop. Get rid of these before they get stuck in your junk binder. Anyone who will take one for even $1 is doing you a favor.
Scapeshift - Scapeshift is another one of those cards that is just screaming to be used in a combo/ big mana deck. Don't look to spend too much more than $8-10 for a set if you're going to play them though. They're solid staples, but not playable in Standard yet.
Taurean Mauler - Reverse Quirion Dryad anyone? I really thought that Dryad would make a splash once it hit Standard, but it really didn't. This card might actually do the trick though, especially if you can land one early. The market is expecting big things from this guy, with early prices ranging from $4-6. I'd put a "buy with caution" tag on this card, if anything. If it pans out to be as good as hoped, it shouldn't rise any higher than $8, but if it drops, it'll drop well below $6.
Titan's Revenge - Seems like every block they have to make a Fireball variant and this one is this one's. I guess they're really pushing you to play a Giant deck (as opposed to an aggro or burn deck) if you want to be able to win the Clashes (no Clash of the Titans pun here), but I really don't see that happening. All in all, I still like Molten Disaster better as a finisher and that card isn't worth more than $2. Don't expect Titan's Revenge to pass that until MD rotates out of Standard.
Unstoppable Ash - Crazy Treefolk all crazy with Doran and stuff. I really think they should've allowed the Race/Class flexibility on the Champion cards from Lorwyn as well, but cest la vie. Four cc for a 5/5 trample is strong and the +0/+5 helps all your attackers from dying even without Doran. This card is pretty solid, but I don't know how well it would really fit into a deck. Don't pay more than $7 for a playset if you want to try this guy out.
Vendilion Clique - The good thing about this ability is that it says "target player". Meaning if you don't like your hand, you can just dump the best card for another one. If your hand is fine, you can pop the best card from your opponent's hand. And not only is it a decent attacker, but it has Flash as well (you can pop an opponent's card in after their draw step!). Sets of four are going for around $9-15 and should settle somewhere around $10 or 12.
And as always, we have the top 5 list of Power Commons and Uncommons that you should expect to rise in price (at least for foils) in no particular order, mind you:
1) Wolf-Skull Shaman
2) Ballyrush Banneret, Frogtosser Banneret
3) Shard Volley
4) Obsidian Battle-Axe
5) Oona's Blackguard
Finally, good luck to anyone playing Release events this weekend! Note that if you do see these cards in your local shop, expect at least a $1-2 markup. The cards are, however, constructed legal, so GO support your local store if you need some singles. Until next time, keep your eye on the market!
Related to:
Magic: the Gathering
