Get your shopping carts ready!
I love deals. I’m the sort of person who feels bad when I have to buy things at full retail, and my entire house is furnished with thrift stores and estate sale finds. There’s something special about finding something truly awesome, and then realizing that the price is that good you can’t afford not to buy it. At least, that’s what I tell myself to justify the fact that I have three vintage atomic starburst-style wall clocks hanging within sight of each other.
The same goes for Magic cards. There are always plenty of cards I’m interested in buying, either for myself or as a long-term spec, but I can’t always bring myself to pull the trigger. Sometimes, the price is a touch high, but more often, it’s a matter of needing the dopamine rush that comes with finding a truly great deal. I don’t just want to pay a low price for a card; I want to shock people when I tell them how low it ended up being when all was said and done.
So, what’s the deal with today’s Mayhem Promo? The credit percentage works out at 10% for everyone on ALL products (card singles, supplies, and products) and around 13% (12% base plus the 1-3% loyalty bonus!) for TCGplayer subscribers. The Mayhem Promo begins on 05/17/2024 at 9 am ET and finishes at 11 pm ET!
Plus, even a small savings can really add up when you’re buying in bulk. Say I want to speculate on a hundred copies of a Rare that’s currently selling for $1.25. If I can get even 5% off on that order, I can buy myself a nice drink at Starbucks or a gallon (or two) of gas. 10% off that order would cover the cost of my lunch tomorrow. Heck, if I’m making a large spec order with a notable kickback, I can afford a nice dinner out on the savings from an order that I was going to place at some point anyway. Small discounts like this can really add up long-term.
To that end, I’m going to spend the rest of this week’s article covering some cards that are worth picking up during TCGplayer’s Mayhem promotion that’s taking place this Friday. This is far from an exhaustive list, and you should consider this sale the best opportunity this season to snag whatever cards you’ve been thinking about picking up for a while. I’m intending this article to be more of a jumping-off point than a comprehensive list of great deals, so follow your instincts, not just my words.
Also, don’t forget that you aren’t the only one looking for deals when this promotion drops on Friday, so don’t hesitate. Get a shopping cart going in another tab while you’re reading because the cheapest copies of everything will be snapped up fast on Friday, as always happens during one of these sales.
The Outlaws of Thunder Junction Breaking News Mythics
Market Price: $31.87
There were some nice cards reprinted in the Breaking News subset of Outlaws of Thunder Junction, and they’ve become nice and cheap due to the set’s expected value crunch. Cards like Mana Drain, Mindbreak Trap, Thoughtseize, and Reanimate haven’t been cheaper than this in a very long time. Take a look at the price chart for Mindbreak Trap since the start of the year:
Market Price: $12.69
Market Price: $150.45
And here’s Thoughtseize:
Market Price: $43.83
These are highly pedigreed cards that are unlikely to drop any further without an additional reprint or a massive change to the metagames where they see play, and this sale is the perfect opportunity to snag an additional discount beyond their current lows. If you need any of these Breaking News reprints for your collection, now’s the time.
Wilds of Eldraine Enchanting Tales
Market Price: $48.26
Market Price: $12.24
Market Price: $15.75
While many cards in the Wilds of Eldraine Enchanting Tales subset have rebounded some, most of them are still fairly cheap, and this sale should be able to lower the price enough that you’ll essentially be able to buy in close to their lowest-ever price anyway. For instance, take a look at Bitterblossom:
Market Price: $14.10
Market Price: $12.70
Market Price: $53.37
While Bitterblossom bottomed out at just over $13 last September, the price is only at about $15 now, and you can save at least $1.50 per copy during the sale today. That’s essentially no different than if you’d bought in the back when Enchanting Tales first dropped. And without another reprint, Bitterblossom will almost certainly be back above $20 again soon.
Market Price: $44.00
Market Price: $46.26
Market Price: $217.84
Doubling Season is another no-brainer. This card was reprinted twice last year, and it still never really dropped below $35. It’s still in the $40 range, and you can probably get the price under that benchmark when you factor in the sale discount. Wizards probably isn’t running this one back for at least another year, and it could make another run back toward $100 at basically any point. If you need any personal copies, now’s your chance.
Waste Not has already made a run from $2 up to about $6, but it should trend much higher now that we’re at the start of Pioneer season. This is a flagship card in one of the best decks in the format, and this reprint won’t be enough to satiate demand. I expect it to easily break $10 this summer. Speaking of Pioneer, let’s take a look at some—
Pioneer Staples
Market Price: $12.70
Market Price: $13.34
Pioneer feels like Magic’s second most popular tabletop format right now, after Commander, and over the past year or two it has definitely proven to be the competitive format most responsible for price spikes. Modern’s short-term future is too hard to predict at the moment, since Modern Horizons 3 is about to hit shelves, but Pioneer is heading into its tournament season with a healthy metagame, and we’ll see dozens of spikes this summer as folks hit the Regional Championship Qualifier (RCQ) circuit with the hottest tier decks they can build.
We’ve already talked about Waste Not, but how about Liliana of the Veil? She doesn’t just see play in Mono-Black Midrange, but in Rakdos Vampires as well, making her one of the most-played cards in the format. Throw in the play she sees in both Modern and Standard as well, and you’ve got the recipe for a scorching hot card.
Yet, Liliana’s price chart looks like this:
Market Price: $18.81
Market Price: $16.78
Market Price: $13.07
Will the price spike come? I’m not sure, but it wouldn’t take much to get Liliana above $20 again. If you don’t have a playset of these in your collection and you’re a competitive constructed player, now’s the time. I doubt she’ll be dropping below $10 again soon, and you’re going to want to own a set of these regardless.
Market Price: $11.03
Market Price: $23.47
This cart belongs to Vein Ripper, and while I hate buying into a card that might be at its absolute peak, it bears mentioning here regardless. Rakdos Vampires is the hottest deck in Pioneer right now, and it really does need a full playset of this card to work properly. Wizards aren’t going to immediately reprint a brand-new card from a set that just came out, nor is this deck likely to fall out of the metagame’s top tier anytime soon. If you want to play Rakdos Vampires, now’s the time to hold your nose and buy high on Vein Ripper. At least you’ll be getting a nice discount due to the sale, and you’ll be able to run your deck all summer at a slight discount.
I talk more about Arclight Phoenix in my newsletter this week — you should really subscribe if you haven’t yet because it’s free and has a bunch more cards in it that are worth buying during the sale — but I wanted to at least slot that chart in here as well. Speculators are already making a run on this card before the sale, knowing that demand for it will shoot up during the upcoming Pioneer season. If you still need a set of these, this is going to be your best shot until the fall.
Recent, Popular Commander Cards
Market Price: $27.36
Market Price: $26.18
Market Price: $43.72
In all of my card-by-card set reviews, I talk about Commander staples that I’m going to target later on, when the price has calmed down, in the hopes of snagging them before long-term trends cause them to surge in value. While this can backfire if a card is too good — hi there, Roaming Throne — there are still plenty of cards well worth snagging as long-term specs, especially when you can buy in at a discount during a sale.
To that end, let’s take a look at the top five Commander cards in some recent sets, according to EDHREC’s current rankings. I won’t go into depth on every single card because then we’d be here all day and you’d miss the sale, so just know that any of the cards on this list are worth thinking about snagging, regardless of whether or not I pull up their current price charts.
Outlaws of Thunder Junction
- [[Great Train Heist]
- Lavaspur Boots
- Insatiable Avarice
- Tinybones, the Pickpocket
- Return the Favor
You really can’t go wrong with a spec like Great Train Heist. It’s the most popular Commander card in Outlaws of Thunder Junction well after release, it’s going to be hard to reprint because it uses a unique mechanic, and it’s still right around the $2 mark. You may have to wait a year or two for it to pay off, but it’s not hard to imagine this one settling in closer to $8-$10 before Wizards gets around to bringing it back.
Insatiable Avarice is another super safe spec. It has literally never been cheaper, it sees play in Standard and Modern as well as Commander, and it has the same mechanical uniqueness as Great Train Heist. While it might dip a little further this summer before eventually rebounding, it has the sort of outstanding long-term profile I’m looking for.
Want a bonus pick? Here’s Thunderclap Drake, the most-played card in Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander subset. You can already see that the card’s on an upward trajectory, and unique, desirable rares from the Commander decks can hit the $20-$30 range fairly easily. This is a great little snag at the current retail sale, or not.
Murders at Karlov Manor
Market Price: $16.46
Market Price: $10.24
- Demand Answers
- Archdruid’s Charm
- Undercity Sewers
- Underground Mortuary
- Hedge Maze
I really hope most folks bought the Surveil Lands back when Murders at Karlov Manor first hit shelves, as I told folks to do during my Buyer’s Guide. If you didn’t, though, you may want to snag a few of them now. Check out the price chart for Undercity Sewers:
Market Price: $34.24
Market Price: $26.04
While these prices have more to do with competitive play than Commander — Undercity Sewers sees play in Vintage, Legacy, and Modern — these cards are unlikely to get cheaper in the short term. Wizards will need to reprint them for that to happen, and that might not be for another few years, at least.
Archdruid’s Charm is another card I was super high on during my set review, and you can see that it continues to trend upward in price due to play in Commander as well as Pioneer. I can easily see this card hitting $15 or even $20 by this time next year, and you may want to snag a few copies now if you don’t have them yet.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
Market Price: $27.36
Market Price: $22.13
Market Price: $10.61
- Roaming Throne
- Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar
- Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation
- Bloodletter of Aclazotz
- Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant
There aren’t any real bargains to be had here, as four of the five cards here are already selling in the $15-$30 range, but Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar is an auto-include in most Selesnya +1/+1 counter decks, which are incredibly popular in Commander. Here’s the card’s price chart:
And here’s the foil price chart:
We’re several months past the point when this would have been a home run spec, but I don’t think the new prices have quite solidified themselves yet so there are deals to be had if you’re quick and can get a little lucky. Non-foils are likely to end up in the $3-$5 range before long, with foils kicking around $10-$15.
Reserved List Staples
Market Price: $278.24
Market Price: $227.40
Market Price: $825.13
I haven’t talked much about the Reserved List recently, and it has been quite some time since the last price spike, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be one in the future. It’s hard to get deals on these cards in general, so you might as well take advantage of a kickback sale if you’re in the market for one.
Market Price: $316.92
Market Price: $285.42
Market Price: $64.33
This is my attempt at making a chart of the average price of a Revised Dual Land since the start of 2023, though you’ll have to squint to see the trendline since there’s so much price variance between the cheapest and most expensive dual. Even still, you can see the prices have ticked up a bit since last November, when they were at their yearly low. While I don’t know if prices will stay low or keep rebounding, it’s worth at least considering snagging one of these now if you’ve been coveting them for a while.
Gilded Drake is another card I have my eye on. It’s super unique, very good at what it does, and will be a Commander staple forever. It has ticked up from a low of $180 to about $240 over the past year, but that’s still a far cry from the $400-$500 this card was at back in 2021.
Other Reserved List cards on my shortlist include Aluren, Humility, Earthcraft, Survival of the Fittest, Intuition, Wheel of Fortune, Copy Artifact, Yawgmoth’s Will, Transmute Artifact, and of course the top mana rocks and lands like Gaea’s Cradle and Grim Monolith.
Market Price: $38.52
Market Price: $427.51
Market Price: $149.07
If you compare this Aluren chart to the Gilded Drake chart above, you can see that there does appear to be at least a small Reserved List rebound that has occurred over the past few months. I’m not sure if that will last, but if you’re in the market and don’t want to experience the fear of missing out the next time the Reserved List explodes in price, now’s a decent time to snag a card or two off your bucket list.
Cards From the Last Few Masters Sets
Market Price: $87.77
Market Price: $36.54
Market Price: $52.09
While some cards from Double Masters 2022 and Commander Masters have rebounded already, many have not and are still nice and cheap. I’ll always take a card that has been there before and proven itself as a financial winner over one that hasn’t, and snagging some of these cards while they’re still relatively cheap is a great way to backstop some of the risks from your less certain specs.
Market Price: $30.68
Market Price: $28.69
Market Price: $28.41
Sensei’s Divining Top was printed in Double Masters 2022, and it bottomed out just under $19 a few months after that set hit shelves. It’s up to $24 now but could be on the move due to a card from Modern Horizons 3. If this combo becomes a cEDH staple, as it very well might, Sensei’s Divining Top could make a run back up toward $50.
It’s definitely too late to buy low on Sword of the Animist, which was under $5 when Commander Masters hit shelves and is now back to about $10. Even still, this card is incredibly resilient and has been as high as $15 before. It will likely surpass those marks next year if it isn’t reprinted again, so it’s worth at least snagging a personal copy now if you need one for a deck or two.
Penny Stocks
Penny stocks — bulk Rares or very cheap Commons and Uncommons — are super fun to buy. You can get several hundred of them for next to nothing, and if they ever hit, you get to feel like a genius. Sales like this are a fantastic time to snag these cards, too, because prices never really get cheaper than “bulk.”
While not every card I’m about to bring up sells for $0.15-$0.20, here’s a stack of cards printed within the past year selling for $2 or less that I have my eye on:
- Afterlife Insurance
- Apothecary White
- Atomize
- Aurelia, the Law Above
- Cactus Preserve
- Collector’s Vault
- Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius
- Drannith Ruins
- Filter Out
- Gold-Forged Thopteryx
- Hell to Pay
- Insidious Roots
- Lich-Knights’ Conquest
- Lock and Load
- Magda, the Hoardmaster
- Mirkwood Bats
- Orochi Soul-Reaver
- Plargg and Nassari
- Reckless Handling
- Rising of the Day
- Senator Peacock
- Sonic Screwdriver
- Struggle for Project Purity
- Sunfrill Imitator
- Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor
- The Fallout Filter Lands
- The Key to the Vault
- Trenzalore Clocktower
Why these cards? Because they’ve all proven popular in Commander and they’re all still cheap. Sometimes that’s all you really need. There likely aren’t any massive sleeper hits in here, and I’m not breaking new ground with this analysis, but I’d wager if you priced these cards out in 2-3 years, more than half of them will have gained a significant amount of value.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, the best way to use this sale is to buy cards that you were already planning to snag this year. If you love buying penny stocks as long-term specs, now’s the time to paw through that list and see which ones look close enough to a good price to warrant pulling the trigger. If you’re an avid competitive player, figure out which staples you’re likely to need this summer and add them to your cart. If you have a Commander addiction, now’s the time to look for cards that are either cheaper than average or have been at the top of your list for a while. Remember: buying cards that you don’t really need or even want “because there’s a sale” is a great way to lose money in the long run. Be smart, focus on what you know, don’t worry too much about the fear of missing out, and act decisively to snag the cards you want most. If you do that, you can’t lose.