Making The Most of Your Magic Money – Worldwake’s Impact
28 Feb 2010 | David Li Wang
As some of you probably know from watching and reading Pro Tour San Diego coverage, Worldwake had quite a major impact on Standard. Prominent cards that have starred in decks include:
- The Manlands
- Jace, the Mindsculptor
- Stoneforge Mystic along with Basilisk Collar
- Cunning Sparkmage
- Kor Firewalker
- Kalastria Highborn
- Everflowing Chalice
- Sejiri Steppe (to a lesser degree)
It would be right to say that the two ‘new’ major decks to emerge from San Diego in terms of ‘deck tech’ are Boss Naya (designed by Tom Ross and played by Team ChannelFireball which includes LSV) and U/W Jace Control (played by Pat Chapin, Gabriel Nassif and co). In this article, I will look at the costs of these decks and also their potential value that they will provide.
1. Boss Naya
Lands (24)
5 Forest
2 Mountain
2 Plains
4 Arid Mesa $68.00
3 Misty Rainforest $60.00
1 Raging Ravine $8.00
1 Rootbound Crag $15.00
1 Sejiri Steppe $0.25
2 Stirring Wildwood $16.00
1 Tectonic Edge $1.50
2 Terramorphic Expanse $1.00
Creatures (25)
2 Birds of Paradise $24.00
4 Bloodbraid Elf $20.00
4 Knight of the Reliquary $48.00
4 Noble Hierarch $80.00
4 Ranger of Eos $48.00
1 Scute Mob $5.00
2 Stoneforge Mystic $18.00
4 Wild Nacatl $2.00
Non-Creature Spells (11)
2 Ajani Vengeant $30.00
1 Basilisk Collar $5.00
1 Behemoth Sledge $1.50
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant $35.00
3 Lightning Bolt $6.00
2 Oblivion Ring $1.00
1 Path to Exile $6.00
Sideboard
2 Baneslayer Angel $110.00
1 Basilisk Collar $5.00
1 Behemoth Sledge $1.50
4 Cunning Sparkmage $4.00
2 Dauntless Escort $12.00
1 Goblin Guide $10.00
2 Manabarbs $8.00
1 Oblivion Ring $0.50
1 Stoneforge Mystic $9.00
Total $659.25
2. U/W Jace Control
Lands (26)
3 Island
4 Plains
2 Arid Mesa $34.00
4 Celestial Colonnade $36.00
4 Glacial Fortress $60.00
4 Halimar Depths $1.00
1 Scalding Tarn $17.00
4 Tectonic Edge $6.00
Creatures (1)
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria $12.00
Non-Creature Spells (33)
4 Cancel $2.00
1 Celestial Purge $1.50
3 Day of Judgment $45.00
2 Essence Scatter $1.00
4 Everflowing Chalice $4.00
2 Flashfreeze $2.00
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor $240.00
2 Martial Coup $16.00
2 Mind Spring $2.00
1 Negate $0.50
3 Oblivion Ring $1.50
1 Path to Exile $6.00
4 Treasure Hunt $2.00
Sideboard
3 Baneslayer Angel $165.00
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant $35.00
1 Essence Scatter $0.50
2 Flashfreeze $2.00
3 Kor Firewalker $9.00
1 Mind Control $1.00
2 Negate $1.00
1 Perimeter Captain $1.50
1 Plains
Total $704.50 (I think we’ve got a winner)
Evidently, these two ‘new’ decks are riding on the hype of new cards in Worldwake and some quite powerful cards (cough Baneslayer Angel) to push their price up this high. It’s quite rare to see Standard decks costing this much. The question is “Are these decks worth it?” Most of you will immediately come to the conclusion of no. Generally speaking, that conclusion will be right as Jund, the most popular deck, the most consistent deck and arguably the best deck in the format, sits at the $500 mark. If you plan to build these decks, ask yourself why play these decks over Jund?
Current Value: Both of these decks are strong decks without a doubt, but U/W Control is packed with cards that have volatile prices, making it a not a safe investment, unless of course it is perfect for your metagame and will allow you to win back some money. Boss Naya is more stable but still quite expensive to build from scratch. However, if you play Zoo in Extended or a similar aggressive deck, it’s not that difficult to build Boss Naya, as several of the cards are Zoo staples or played in other Extended decks.
Future Value: Boss Naya is unlikely to be hit as hard as U/W control in the future, despite several of the cards facing rotation at the end of the year. The reason why is purely because of its large pool of cards that are playable in Extended including: Arid Mesa, Misty Rainforest, Noble Hierarch, Knight of the Reliquary, Ranger of Eos and Baneslayer Angel. Jace, the Mindsculptor is a key card affecting U/W Control’s value. If Jace takes a dip to $40 as some people expect, you’ve just lost $80 from your playset. Baneslayer is also a key card, and if it takes a price dip, you won’t be smiling too much. U/W control is definitely inferior to Boss Naya in future value, unless Jace continues to rise.
Tip of the week:
There has also been a lot of speculation going on about Eye of Ugin potentially becoming a very good and expensive card when Rise of the Eldrazi comes out. I wouldn’t bet on it as do take into account that Eye of Ugin is a legendary land and therefore it won’t necessarily be played as 4 of and its 1st ability of reducing the cost of Eldrazi spells by 2, may not make a significant amount of difference. I’m not saying the Eldrazi will not be extremely good, but what I’m trying to get through is that even if the Eldrazi are powerful, it’s probably not because of having an Eye of Ugin. However, that’s just my own speculation. Pick up 1 or 2 Eyes of Ugin as a throw in when trading if you think Eldrazi will be good. Otherwise, just pray Eye of Ugin doesn’t become the next Dark Depths, which jumped from $1 to $30.
Hope that helped you! That’s all for this week! Good Games! Good Times! GG!
By David Li Wang aka RedBluePlayer on Good Games Forums and MTG Salvation
For discussion.