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Last week on our podcast, we found ourselves talking about the current Standard format and how many cards seemed underpriced, including the entire Return to Ravnica set. This got me thinking about other cards that have slowly drifted to the wayside over the past few years and just how many underpriced cards there are. For this article, I am going to venture outside of Standard and talk about some of the Eternal staples that have not been receiving enough love over the past few months—or years—and are due to take a price hike the moment they see a set of sleeves again.
Another green card I have had on my radar for a while is Natural Order. For a while, NO Bant and other similar builds were dominating the Legacy metagame while this card was topping out around $50. Just as quickly as the deck appeared, it seemed to fade into memory as Show and Tell, Reanimator, and other, faster combo decks took over. I do not believe this card should only be fetching between $25 and $30 considering just how powerful the effect is and given that each new set has the potential to break this wide open. I see no reason not to pick these up in trade. Natural Order is a card that will always be worth money, and although it has already seen two reprints, I doubt we will see a third any time soon, meaning the current price is probably the floor. I would not go looking to buy a ton of copies, but if I see them in binders and can strike a deal, I would certainly jump on the opportunity.
Okay, I promise this is the last one . . . I think. Birthing Pod has been puzzling me for the better half of this past year, not because I don’t understand the deck or the card, but why is it only $3 to $4? I would consider this a staple in the Modern arsenal, and in any deck that does run it, you will almost always find the full four copies. With cards that are barely board-playable—such as Fulminator Mage and Wilt-Leaf Liege—reaching astronomical heights, I don’t understand why Pod is still so low. I imagine one day I will wake up and this will be a $20 card, but before that happens, I encourage you to at least go out and pick up your set if you ever plan on playing this deck in Modern.
I was trying to stray away from Standard cards this week since we covered them so heavily during the podcast; however, one card in particular has again dropped in price. Jace, Architect of Thought has now dropped below $10, and if you didn’t feel that they were a good pickup for a long term hold before, I think you would be crazy to still pass this guy up. Let’s cover the basics: His name is Jace, so he automatically has the fan-boy appeal, he costs 4 mana, meaning he is extremely playable, and to top it off, he has both the ability to lock out token strategies, slow down aggro, and he provides much-needed card advantage versus control. Had you told me when Jace was first spoiled that he would be $10 while he was still legal in Standard, I would have laughed. It is in fact a sad day we live in when one of the best ’walkers ever printed is less than his 5-mana double-printed equivalent. I will digress since I could have written my whole article about how good this guy is and what the likelihood is of him hitting $20 or more during his remaining time in Standard, but beyond that, he is also beginning to break into Modern, meaning his price may not even fall off once his two years in the spotlight are up.
If you have any cards that you believe are criminally underpriced, please post your opinion in the comment section below, and share your ideas as to why. I think the most important part of this game is the community aspect, and that includes the financial realm, so take some time to let people know why you are investing in certain cards or dumping others. I am but one voice in a pool of many, and there is no way I can cover every card, so I encourage each of you to think of a card and a reason and post it, and if you are so inclined, feel free to leave feedback on others as well. That’s all the time we have this week—join me next week as always, as we cover more up-to-date financial information. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to tweet me or leave a comment below.
Ryan Bushard
