This week on Legion’s Landing, Kristen takes us through a snapshot of good Commander cards to pick up for budget prices as Mystery Booster releases. Like last time, she’ll be looking at a range of cards, with a focus on EDH reprints. Prices are correct as of the date of publication.

Today, I’ve got a little bonus entry in the Budget Blitz series. Every quarter, I review the latest Standard set, and make my recommendations for cards to pick up. The series is mainly aimed at budget conscious players, so aims at the lower end items and big savings, but I do point out some good opportunities to get in low on hot cards too. As we’re between entries of the main series, I’ll be leaving the January Review for the Ikoria edition, and instead we’ll jump straight into Mystery Booster.

Budget Blitz: Mystery Booster

Mystery Booster released on Friday, March 13th, and it’s a great draft set. If you haven’t had a chance to draft it at conventions, I’d heartily recommend it. I didn’t open much value, but I did get to pilot this super fun brew to victory at FNM. Shriekmaw with Mimic Vat is *chef’s kiss*.

While it’s not impossible, with a set as large as Mystery Booster, going through every good pick would certainly be imprudent. Let’s instead look at some cards that a lot of EDH players would love to grab copies (or extra copies!) of now that they’re at a more accessible price. We all know that cards like Teferi’s Protection, Selvala, Heart of the Wilds and Mana Crypt have come down, but what about the more middle of the pack cards?

Alhammarret’s Archive

Alhammaret’s Archive is a fantastic card to increase consistency of draw in Red, White, and Orzhov decks. Previously pushing $20, this mythic is $8 and dropping. Being able to double draw from sources like Endless Atlas, Dawn of Hope, and the Monarch (such as from playing Palace Jailer) is a solid way to catch up to the draw enjoyed by other colors. Builds featuring White will also enjoy the extra lifegain; and, whilst not as immediately impactful as Well of Lost Dreams, the continued advantage the card brings is most welcome. Drawing four cards off of Mask of Memory—a $1 reprint in the set—feels great.

All is Dust

All is Dust is the premier way to get around hexproof and indestructible, and short of Sigarda, Host of Herons or another artifact based deck, it’ll likely be able to solve most problems you’ll encounter in a game of Commander. It can be played in all decks, and at only $4, is an absolute steal.

Ashnod’s Altar

Ashnod’s Altar is an all star of the Commander format. If you’ve been wanting to grab one to enable that sweet, sweet combo you’ve had your eye on, now’s the time. These things will always go back up again, being such an in-demand card, and at half the price it was ($5 versus $10), the reprint has certainly made this more accessible for everyone.

Caged Sun

Caged Sun is a one-sided Gauntlet of Power, and with a drop from $10 to $6, is a card I’d like to suggest for anyone running a budget-conscious monocolor deck. It’s a curve topper, but can let you untap with a considerable amount of power. I’ve seen this thing do a lot of work in mono Blue decks in particular, where it functions as a way to generate game winning mana in a color that otherwise struggles.

Coat of Arms

Coat of Arms is the premier tribal anthem, especially for tribes that lack a serviceable number of lords. The effect stacks buffs and rewards going wide, and is one of the best cards to enable aggro tribal strategies you’re likely to find. Being colorless, it’ll fit in more decks than say, Cathar’s Crusade, and is as much a finisher for the five mana you’ll spend. An $8 card is now $4, so I’d consider picking one up.

Grasp of Fate

I’ve never really been much of a fan of Oblivion Ring-style effects in Commander, as they’re sometimes unreliable and can feel like a wasted card. Grasp of Fate, on the other hand, is a card that can tuck away multiple pieces and actually feels like it’s worth the risk. I’ve previously avoided picking one up due to the cost, but at half the price it once was, $7 makes it something you should probably consider.

Master Transmuter

Another card seeing a drop in price from around $15 to just $7 is Master Transmuter. In more casual decks it’s a great way to ramp (or simply drop in a Wurmcoil Engine or Blightsteel Colossus ahead of curve), and in more focused builds is a great way to combo off. This is a blue card I can see bouncing back eventually, so now’s a great time to grab one.

Grave Titan

If there was ever a “staple” for Black decks, graveyard based decks, or just value based decks, then Grave Titan might be it. It’s a big, splashy army in a can, and has commanded a strong $15-20 price tag for a long time now. Mystery Booster has seen that price drop to around $8, and I’d say that’s a great price point to pick up that spare copy you’ve been wanting for a while.

Mizzix’s Mastery

A fun finisher in spells based builds, Mizzix’s Mastery has been priced out of casual builds for a while now at a ripe $15+. The reprint here has done exactly what it needed to, sending the card back down to $5 territory. This is a solid example of the idea of price inflation from lack of supply, rather than over demand.

Rhys the Redeemed

Scratch that. Here’s a great example of lack of supply artificially inflating the price. Rhys once sat at $30, and while the Shadowmoor copy might hold up, the reprint can be had as low as $5, with a settling price of a little above that. Whether you want him to helm your elf deck, or just join it, you can now make that dream a reality.

If you’re more competitively minded, and want to tune up your decks, now’s also a good time to look at Demonic Tutor ($20), Carpet of Flowers ($14) and Rhystic Study ($15). These are cards that are bound to creep up again after the first month of box openings.

The Rest

Beyond Mystery Booster, there are a couple of cards I’d like to keep an eye on at the moment. The first is Arcane Signet. Back in January, I suggested that we’d seen the floor and that the only way for this card to go is up. I stand by this, and the flutterings of activity on the card at the moment are upwards of $6, which I believe to be the floor. As soon as the hype machine for Ikoria lifts off the ground, I can see demand for this going up, and the price is unlikely to go below what it is now unless we actually see them reprinted in the pre-constructed decks.

 

The next card in my scope is Mox Opal. After being banned in Modern this year, the price on Mox Opal has steadily declined. This card still has room to cool off, but price memory is very much a thing. I don’t see it going below $40-50, especially if the cEDH and EDH communities continue to grow as they have been. If players have access to cheaper Mana Crypts, this will be the next card on their lists if they want to try out playing at higher power levels.

I don’t think this is a particularly good investment from a finance point of view, but I do think it’s a card to have in mind as the year progresses—if you don’t have one in your collection for Commander, it might be worth a look. Cards like this will naturally ebb and flow in price with each new release, and you just might find yourself a good deal while everyone is focusing their budget on the hot new products in the bursting-at-the-seams year of products that is 2020. Oh, and with the banning of Underworld Breach in Legacy, now’s a good a time as any to grab a foil. We’ve reached peak Theros unboxing, and when the foils aren’t much more than a non-foil, it’s usually a good chance to pick one up.

Closing Thoughts

The secondary market is in an odd place. Thanks to current events, people are less likely to want to spend money on new products. This has the potential to do two major things: firstly, more people may sell cards they don’t need, in order to raise savings and be more comfortable. This can lead to prices dropping across the board. Secondly, the products released in the next couple of months will be purchased less than they might have been had the economy been in better shape. This could lead to them being good investments down the line. It’s too soon to tell if either of these will come to fruition, and the more likely outcome is that not much will change at all.

Either way, I encourage you to be mindful of what’s important to you right now. It’s a great time to pick up some cheap cards, but if you’re not going out as much due to decreased socialization, it might not be the best way to spend money. Have fun sorting through your collection, building a Wizard’s Tower, or just taking a break with those you love. Magic will still be here on the other side.

If you’d like to get your toilet paper PSA graded, however…

Based in the UK, Kristen is a lover of both Limited and Commander, and can most often be found championing the Boros Legion when called upon to sit down and shuffle up.

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