Pop quiz hot shot: What are the five most played cards in Magic? Take a minute if you need it. I can wait as long as you need to come up with your answer.

Got it?

Good, because I don't - at least not yet.

You might hate me for what feels like a waste of your time. But that's usually how I start my points: highlighting something you don't usually stop to consider. How do you know which cards are played in each format? How many do you think are out there? Perhaps more importantly, how do you know which cards you should pick up even if you don't need them?

I'm talking about Milton Waddams' hot little (and unusually red) number: staples.

A Cautionary Foreward

Let me be clear and frank upfront: I'm not Kelly Reid, John Medina, or some other noted bastion of Magic money knowledge. I don't do prediction on which cards with be best or bust from new sets. I don't pretend to have insider knowledge of which cards are “legit” to invest in before the results of events are posted. If you asked me for deck lists for specific decks across a variety of formats I'd do a Google search.

So what does a contentedly casual player want to do with staples? Let's start with a basic definition of “staple” in Magic terms:

Staple: a card that is popularly used across a broad range of decks

It's deceptively simple but surprisingly concise. Consider this:

Hot Card: a card rapidly rising in value due to changes in the environment considered

Chase Rare: a rare (and now mythic rare) from a set that is one of the most desirable cards in that set

A recent case of a card "getting hot" was Linvala, Keeper of Silence during Grand Prix DC. I was there and I was able to move several Linvalas for an appreciable value in both trade and dealer sale. While she'll still trade close to $10, now the buy price from dealers is down to around $3.50 to $4. Linvala is still a cute card that sees strategic play in formats like Elder Dragon Highlander but she cooled off before she really even got started.

However she is neither a staple nor a chase rare. Would you rather open Linvala or, say, Gideon Jura in a random pack of Rise of the Eldrazi? As a sidebar, why would you rather open one than the other? It's because Gideon is a chase rare and a hot card – commanding significant premium over most other cards in the set. While I'm sure the one person who really wants to open Linvala is out there many of us would be happy to nab a Gideon which can be traded for Linvala (and then some) later.

Some cards are a different story – like Knight of the Reliquary. Everyone who has been playing Standard for the past two years remembers the moderate hype around the good Knight, the lack of an immediate deck to be featured in depressing the card as low as the $3 price point, then the surging climb to today's $14 mark when the Magic world seemed to realize just how good the card performs. (And those with even longer memories will recall that Tarmogoyf is far more busted beast that did more than just rise quickly: it broke barriers. But let's not dwell on the past.) Most dealers will buy Knight for $5 to $6, giving anyone who stocked up at $3 a tidy little profit just from dealers.

I won't elaborate on the specifics of why and how (that's not my job here anyway). What's important is that card prices exist in near constant flux. Perhaps they haven't changed significantly for years only to suddenly double in a month (like the dual lands used in Legacy did at the start of this year). Perhaps they will undergo a meteoric change overnight (like Grim Monolith did due to its recent Legacy unbanning).

But what does that have to do with staples? Quite a bit, actually. A card that is needed by many decks will invariably be more desirable and, thanks to the basics of economics, will become more expensive to acquire. Desire is demand, and demand drives the prices up regardless of availability. Ever needed to buy a single Lightning Bolt or Sign in Blood? They are priced amazingly high for commons yet you'll find few that ask to trade for them. When a player needs one copy for a deck for an event about to start “right now” paying 50 cents to the dealer becomes the viable, reliable acquisition option.

Lightning Bolt, Doom Blade, and other commons like Rampant Growth and Llanowar Elves are staples. They find homes in a diversity of decks – competitive or not – and provide some of the most desirable basic functions available. Brainstorm and Counterspell are staples too but, if you had happened to click the card links, you'll find they cost a little bit more. The different in price comes from the availability of the cards: Brainstorm and Counterspell have been out of print for awhile. I've also had more success trading away these two blue spells than all of the M10 commons preceding.

But why are all those cards staples? If Brainstorm hasn't been around almost a decade (Coldsnap Theme Deck reprints aside) why is it still referred to as a staple? A big reason is that there are writers and sites that make it a point to tell use exactly which cards are the most played and break down a deep variety of decks: like Christopher Walton did for Legacy.

The other chunk of the story is played out through friends. Staples are created by their sheer force of will (and, yes, Force of Will is a staple too) since the effect is exactly something desired by a broad range of decks. Brainstorm sees a lot of play today for a great variety of reasons:

• sculpt relevant cards to be in hand at instant speed
• find or otherwise dig for a land card to play on the next turn
• order the top of the library to obtain a specific benefit
• you can see three new cards for just one mana

Restated:

• flexible in a variety of decks
• provides consistency for any deck
• provides combo and control interactivity
• efficient (just one mana)

The Modern Road

The recent release of the Deck Builder's Toolkit included all of the M10 commons listed above - and then some. Staples are the building blocks of decks - decks that are focused, consistent, powerful, or explosive - and perhaps even all of the above.

Revisiting the original question, the reason everyone should understand which cards are staples is that these are the cards that need to be shared the most. Most of us can live life without ever owning a Jace, the Mind Sculpter. Even competitive players can find alternative decks and strategies that don't rely upon our friends $80 blue mythic. Have you tried building decks without basic lands?

Basic lands are the most essential staple card (since it's the games primary resource). Stepping forward try building an elf deck without Llanowar Elves (or other Elf creatures that cost one mana and provide mana on the next turn). How about a big creature or big spell deck (i.e. EDH decks in a very general sense) without anything that can help ramp your mana? It doesn't matter the era of burn deck: if Lightning Bolt was legal it was there.

The very exercise of the Toolkit is to provide a basic platform for a player to get into the game. Can you make a deck with a mix of creatures and spells across every color and mana cost? Sure, since Sealed in a format based around just that. But between Limited and Constructed (starting with booser packs versus coming with an already complete deck) is huge in terms of card availability.

Would you rather have one Borderland Ranger or three to four available for a deck chock full of landfall effects? Part of the appeal of singleton formats, like EDH, are the fact that you only need one copy of card to complete a deck. It seems simple enough but virtually every deck, regardless of color or focus, wants cards like Sol Ring, Wasteland, Strip Mine, Reflecting Pool, or Maze of Ith. These are cards that provide a highly desirable tool even in the world of over-the-top mana costs and the near full library of Magic cards available.

Identifying these staples is a little trickier than just looking it up or starting out with building a deck. It takes observational skills in games and discussion, listening to what other players are looking for to put into their decks, and seeing the cards laid out in the dealer cases at stores and events.

In summary, staples are identified:

• By consistent appearance in a variety of competitive decks (or breakdowns thereof)
• By desirable function that aids in building a variety of decks
• By existing as a powerful tool that can be included in a variety to decks
• By always finding room in decks across different formats and environments

And knowing which cards are staples can help you with a variety of interesting ventures:

• Start a deck off by knowing what you'll need to start looking for
• Which cards that your extras should slip into your trade binder
• Which cards can be grabbed for throw-ins and trade fillers when there is a price differential
• Pull donations that should make their way to the newest members of your Magic troupe

Staples are the things that can fill trade binders – they are all generally desirable. The final wish I have to share is that while staples should be shared it's important to not lose out on what you already have. Anytime you're trading or sells cards be mindful of the prices to avoid losing your tail. Giving cards away is one thing but checking to ensure your “random old card” didn't become the next Grim Monolith or Wasteland is important.

I hope the next time you check things over you take a second look at those cards that go into every deck – and perhaps find a few extra to bring to trade. The rest of the Magic would will appreciate it.