I love looking into cards the hivemind deems "not good enough", cards that could get there if only they had a few more pieces to work with. My job for you, the reader, is to help open your mind to possibilities. I do not speculate on cards, per say, but I will let you know if I think a card is a bargain at the current rate with room to grow. Why wait until the hivemind says a card is good and pay $10.00+ if you do not have to!

Runes, Runes, and more Runes!

Considering Kaldheim is fresh and at the forefront of everyone's minds, I'm going to spend some time talking about what cards to keep an eye on! After looking through the set, the thing that stands out the most is the runes. Conceptually, they're fantastic, as they offer card advantage for every color, they can be attached to equipment as well as creatures, and the buffs they offer are nothing to sneeze at!

If you have the means to do so, it might be worth it to acquire foils of the runes now. At this moment, they're averaging around $0.50 per copy (mtgstocks.com). Outside of Standard, the format I feel these are likely to find a home is Pioneer; and, the ones with the most room to grow are Rune of Mortality, Rune of Flight, and Rune of Sustenance. As for Rune of Mortality, Mono-Black Aggro is an obvious suitor, but there are some Blue-Black options out there as well. For example, this deck took second in the recent Royale 3.04, making use of cheap interaction and Rogues like Soaring Thought-Thief.

Dimir Aggro | Pioneer | Impatienttraveller, 2nd Place Royale 3.04

• Creatures (19)
• 3 Nighthawk Scavenger
• 4 Brazen Borrower
• 4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
• 4 Soaring Thought-Thief
• 4 Thieves Guild Enforcer

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Liliana, the Last Hope

• Instants (15)
• 1 Cling to Dust
• 2 Anticognition
• 2 Eliminate
• 2 Mystical Dispute
• 4 Drown in the Loch
• 4 Fatal Push

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Thoughtseize

• Lands (22)
• 3 Island
• 3 Swamp
• 1 Castle Locthwain
• 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 2 Fabled Passage
• 4 Clearwater Pathway
• 4 Drowned Catacomb
• 4 Watery Grave

• Sideboard (15)
• 3 Aether Gust
• 2 Grafdigger's Cage
• 2 Legion's End
• 1 Liliana, the Last Hope
• 2 Mystical Dispute
• 3 Unmoored Ego
• 2 Witch's Vengeance

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Regarding both Rune of Flight and Rune of Sustenance, the best home in Pioneer is going to be Spirits. Most Spirit decks are packed with fliers already, but there are some non-fliers we could plug to make use of Rune of Flight. Here is a list of some that might not be meta-friendly but can be put to use by budget-minded players.

1. Usher of the Fallen (potential for meta, but needs testing)
2. Ascendant Spirit
3. Thoughtbound Phantasm
4. Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
5. Clarion Spirit
6. Departed Deckhand
7. Eidolon of Obstruction (Possible meta sideboard piece)
8. Flitterstep Eidolon
9. Ghostly Pilferer (Possible meta sideboard piece)
10. Eidolon of Countless Battles
11. Ghostblade Eidolon
12. Skyclave Apparition (Possible Meta Slot)
13. Uninvited Geist
14. Phantom General

Depending on whether they find a place in the format, I believe foils of these Runes have to potential to hit over the $2.00. Don't be surprised if you start seeing people using them in the future!

Going Berserk Over Bloodsky Berserker!

Bloodsky Berserker looks "vanilla" at first, but take a second to read into this one. Starting with the price, it's only $0.15 for the non-foils and $0.35 (mtgstocks.com) for the foils. At this current price you are better off just getting the foils, and you would only be paying $0.80 more for a playset. Yes, every little bit adds up, but when prices are that close, I would suggest getting the foils if you can.

The Berserker has a potential home in any deck geared toward playing multiple spells in a turn. Once it's out, the buffs can stack on fairly quickly. In a hypothetical, yet very real scenario, you can play two spells on your opponents' turn three, and then play two on your turn four. That would leave you with a 5/5 Menace to attack with. No opponent wants to see that out on the board and will very likely try to answer it, if possible. Of course, the ever-popular rallying cry of "dies to removal" is applicable here, and it has some merit. Should it die before attacking, Bloodsky Berserker will have had no meaningful impact on the board state, but I have a response. The Bersekrer is not the focal point of the deck. The point is to have a creature with upside like this in your deck that can distract your opponent from what your real threat is. It is going to get buffed off what you are going to do already, play spells. Not to mention, as we touched on earlier in the article, we have access to runes. In a Black/White build, we can give it lifelink with Rune of Sustenance. A 5/5 with menace and lifelink is quite the threat attacking on turn four.

This package could find a home in any Aggro/Weenie build, meta or non. Mono-Black Aggro looks to be the best suitor regarding meta, with Dimir being a close second. In a budget, non-competitive Commander build, this has potential for a slot for those looking for an early creature play. Just be sure to watch the foils on this one going forward.

Closing Statements

There are plenty of great options in Kaldheim and we are going to continue looking at those budget friendly options before looking at the higher priced cards. Always keep an open mind when looking at cards, and do not just go off what everyone else thinks. To give you an example, I was ridiculed harshly (putting this very mildly) by the mtg finance subreddit for giving my thoughts on Agent of Treachery when it was released at $0.25 for the non-foils. I was called every name under the sun, and was told to stop giving insight on cards. As we all know, it spiked in price some time later that fall. I'm not saying I am right all the time by any means, I just want you all to always think for yourselves. Trust your own insights and intuition. Thank you for reading this article, and I hope you come back for the next one!