Some have dismissed EDH as another fad, the next "big deck" or five color format that seems to come and go as quickly as the PTQ season changes. until recently, I had similar concerns myself. EDH seemed to be a fun casual format for judges, rules gurus who love bizarre interactions, and nostalgic Magic players who longed for the days of yore. I personally love the format, though I have had concerns about its longevity and potential as a casual-only format. Those concerns are still valid, but much diminished as of late.

Having just returned from Grand Prix: Nashville, one thing caught me by surprise. Almost everyone with whom I traded this weekend was in search of EDH cards. Even other traders, who would usually be sharking for extra value, were looking to foil out their EDH deck. This phenomenon prompted me to do some serious thinking on the drive home, and after reflection, it became clear to me that EDH is the future of Magic. There are a few reasons why.

Accessibility

For the most part, the cards that are good in EDH are bad in other Arena of competitive play. With the exception of some of the universal mana cards, the staples if the format are remarkably cheap. We'll Explore some of these cheap staples a bit later on, but by and large, the cards you will need to compete are far cheaper than those needed to fill a Standard deck or a Legacy deck. The fact that you'll only need a single copy of the expensive cards means that even though you'll need to drop $50+ on a Mana Crypt, you won't have to drop $200 on a playset.

Nostalgia and Reuse

Magic players love to get nostalgic about their old cards, especially those of us who have been playing a long time. It gives me a tremendous amount of pleasure to cast a Jace, the Mind Sculptor on turn 2 with the help of my beat-to-death Beta copy of a Sol Ring. There's something about the juxtaposition of new and old that appeals to a lot of players

, and EDH provides that in spades. Just in case you're wondering, yes, Planeswalkers (especially Jace) are totally ridiculous in EDH. When you're taking extra turns, ramping to 5+ mana on turn 2, and starting at 40 life, Planeswalkers get out of hand real fast.

Power Level (The Timmy Effect)

"Tap Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, and Mana Vault, Underground Sea, Tropical Island and a Swamp, Time Stretch. Untap, Eternal Witness, bring back Time Stretch. Demonic Tutor for Crystal Shard, repeat." Yes, all this and more can be yours. Absurd, convoluted 5-card combos are commonplace in EDH, so Spikes with a flair for the dramatic will feel at home next to Timmy and his Craw Wurm. Clearly, it helps to match up with similarly-minded opponents, but EDH is all about who can do the most spectacular or bombastic play.

There is a schism between the people who enjoy Competitive EDH, which plays like Vintage without Power, and Casual EDH, which plays like Kitchen Table Magic. There is a lot of work to be done to address this issue, and while this area is not my specialty, I have a few ideas. I will discuss it in a future article if my readers care to hear about it, but for today's purposes, I'll just say this: just put together a hardcore Spike deck and a Timmy deck. I usually run some form of Esper Control for my spike deck, since instant speed board wipes and turn 3 Magister Sphinxes agree with me quite well. For casual play, I like to run a 5-color deck with a lot of "random" effects and things like Krark's Thumb. Whatever your psychographic, EDH will have something for you. In that way, it's rather microcosmic of Magic as a whole.

EDH for Financiers

Don't worry, I know my readers. You're sitting here asking me when I'm going to give you a hot stock tip or something. Well, the good news is that EDH is the Wild West of Magic right now. There are a few ways to make money on the Burgeoning EDH marketplace and I'll cover them right now.

Pricey Staples

EDH staples come in all shapes and sizes. Some, like the ones in this section, are not cheap cards you'll excavate out of someone's dollar box. The truth is, if you want to hang with the big kids and play in the 4-man EDH side events at most premiere events these days, you'll need these cards no matter what deck you play. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but a good start.

Mana Crypt - The only Magic card currently seeing any play that was never printed in a core set or an expansion, this absurd artifact was released as a promotional card for the original Harper Prism Magic: The Gathering novels. There are only two versions I am aware of; a black-bordered English version and a white-bordered Spanish version. The Spanish one is often cheaper by a fair bit because, frankly, it's butt-ugly. No disrespect to the Spanish on that; the white borders really ruin the card and it's just not worth the $15 you'll save. If you're on a tight budget, however, there's no shame in sporting it. After all, it still taps for 2 mana and its drawback is laughably irrelevant in this format. 3 life just ain't what it used to be, especially when you start at 40. As EDH gets more popular, I see this card becoming fabulously expensive. It's banned in Legacy, thank goodness, and Vintage can't really drive market prices like EDH can. Thus, as EDH grows in popularity, you'll be awfully glad you had your copy. It would be prudent to buy a few extras, since I have literally only ever seen one in a person's trade binder, which is where I got mine.

Sol Ring - It's not as expensive as Mana Crypt, since its inclusion in Revised Edition made available plenty of copies, but it's as close to a staple as you'll get in this format. It's much more ubiquitous than Mana Crypt for this reason, but the Crypt is almost strictly better since it allows for some -really- busted plays. You'll need both if you intend to compete in EDH, and even Revised Sol Ring are getting expensive. A mint one will set you back $15 from a dealer in most cases, but you can still find more played copies in trade binders for less. This card is about as important is they come, so there's no reason not to stockpile the hell out of them in preparation for EDH going mainstream.

Mishra's Workshop - Though it's not likely to increase in value any, since it's already ridiculously expensive, Workshops are legal in EDH for the time being. I would venture to guess that if EDH goes mainstream, this card will be banned, though this is baseless speculation mixed with a bit of hope. I don't want EDH to turn into Vintage Highlander, and Mishra's Workshop would allow that. Imagine the series of plays that could follow from a first-turn Workshop into a Sol Ring and Mana Crypt. It's not out of the question to Mindslaver lock someone before they've made their third land drop, and that's not "fun" nor does it require any level of technical skill whatsoever. Truth be told, I'd like to see Mana Crypt get the axe too so the format stays accessible, but I'm more interested in seeing Workshop gone. Regardless, since it's currently legal, I have to inform you that this card is da nuts (as if you didn't already know).

Dual Lands - The Shock Lands from Ravnica make great alternatives, but real EDH masters know you need both to run a deck. Combined with all 10 fetch lands, the revised duals are staples of the format, ensuring that any fetch land can grab you any color of mana you need. Got a Verdant Catacombs and need White? Grab a Scrubland! Got an Arid Mesa and need Blue? Volcanic Island to the Rescue! This is the most important interaction in the format, and is unfortunately a very expensive commodity.

Crucible of Worlds - Here's a card that might see some additional love once EDH really hits its prime time. It's already trading above $10 today, and that is on the back of EDH and casual play alone. If EDH becomes even more mainstream or, heaven Forbid, a sanctioned format, Crucible of Worlds has an outside shot at hitting $20. They're crucial to the format, since they allow you to Strip Mine lock a player, let you reuse Fetch Lands at your whim, and allow you to play the oft-unplayed Armageddon effects with a guarantee you'll Recover faster than anyone else on the board. You'll want one in almost every deck you build, and they have upside.

Cheap Staples

Here's where you can really make money by putting smart bets on cheap cards. The following cards are absolutely wonderful in EDH, but still don't reflect it in their price. I am referring to the basic versions of these cards, not foreign/foil versions. Most "upgraded" versions of these cards are already expensive, since the few people who DO want them are willing to fork over the big bucks for them. If you're stocking an EDH binder, here's where you want to start.

Mana Vault - Shocked to see the word "mana" in this section too? I know! Mana Vault would be a $100+ card, except it was printed to death in 3rd and 4th edition. That makes it almost free on most dealer sites. They can often be had for a buck or two, but in anticipation of EDH's popularity rush, I'd stockpile them. They're not as easy to find as they once were, so don't be surprised when they start selling for $5 with no complaints. I am constantly surprised by how many orders for this card I can't fill, so that leads me to believe it's current price is entirely too low.

Austere Command - It doesn't get better than Austere Command for cleaning up shenanigans in a game of EDH. You can almost always find a mode that fits the situation. I find that blowing up a bunch of tokens and utility guys along with some problematic Pacifism-type enchantments on my big beaters is often enough to end a game, but it's also great as a Wrath of God, a Shatterstorm, Tranquility, or any combination thereof. You will play this in literally every white EDH deck you ever make, and the foil is still under $10. If you happen to chance upon a Japanese Foil, by God, you'd better grab it, since it will trade for a huge price to a deck-pimping EDHer.

Rout - 5WW for an Instant Wrath of God? Sign me up! This would be way too slow for Standard or any other competitive format, but in EDH, 7 mana isn't nearly as much as it sounds like. The option to save 2 mana and cast it at Sorcery speed is nice, if rarely relevant. The same foil/japanese foil comments from Austere Command apply tenfold to this card, since it is from a much older set. I chanced upon a foil English copy this weekend which went immediately into my Sen Triplets deck. For reference, I don't play with non-English cards since I live in America and hate explaining what my cards do when I teach players how to play. Rout itself is still cheap, but won't be once there's a critical mass of EDHers looking for it. Get in now.

Academy Ruins - It's no longer a vital card in Extended, it's not too popular in Legacy or Vintage, but almost every blue EDH deck will need this card. The list of cards that get absurd with Academy Ruins is hundreds long and it begins with Mindslaver. It's pretty tough to win a game in which you do not take a single turn and your opponent makes all your decisions for you with the worst possible intent. Don't even get me started about recurring Sundering Titan, since that's just dirty. As this card grows in popularity alongside its new format, its price will rise accordingly.

Mind's Eye - This is the best card-draw spell in the format. Period. Once you have it on the table, you'll be drawing at the very least an extra card per turn cycle. Considering that most EDH games are multi-player, you'll be drawing at least 3 extra. Once your opponents start playing things like Rhystic Study or their own Mind's Eye, the game gets out of hand -very- quickly. It just doesn't get better than Mind's Eye for EDH, and they're still easy to get at $5 or less. That won't last long, and foreign foils are probably already scarce and overpriced. Regardless, get these while you can, where you can.

Mirari's Wake - There's no deck that can support this that won't run it. Doubling your mana, pumping your dudes, and doing it all for 5 mana is about the nuts in EDH. Token decks a la Rhys the Redeemed are pretty popular and Rhys the Redeemed is another great pickup right now, by the way. Mirari's Wake is still barely $5 on a good day, and is a staple card in token decks. Get greedy, since they're from a rather old set. Though it dates me, I remember how absurd the card was when it was in Standard, and it's far scarier in EDH. It gets you to your Eldrazi tians much faster, which means you win much faster than normal! Hooray!

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - Now, Urborg's not as much of a staple as the rest on this list, but it allows for some pretty dumb interactions. First, it's a key card in colorless EDH decks, since it allows your non-mana-producing lands to create Black mana (which is automatically generated as colorless mana instead). Tapping Maze of Ith for mana is really great, since Maze of Ith is yet another staple of the format. It also turns Cabal Coffers into a total house-of-pain.

Those are only a few of the myriad EDH cards that you should keep on your radar. Share some of your favorites in the comments section below. The best part of EDH is the ongoing discovery of new tech, and even I could use a few new weapons in my arsenal. Whatever your goals, EDH is a fantastic format that provides play opportunities for everyone. I believe very strongly that we have not seen the majority of the potential growth in this format, and even if you don't catch lightning in a bottle, it is hard to fathom a scenario in which you will lose money.