Yo! MTG Taps! – Officially relaunched as of 2019! Lots of updates SOON!

Alright chumps, listen up. (Sorry I just feel like I need to call you all “chumps” while I’m typing with that freaking awesome avatar representing me. Thanks, Paul!)

[Note: This evaluation is, for the most part, from a Standard perspective.]

So I am going to go over the prices for Rise of the Eldrazi, current as of 12:32AM, April 16th, 2010. These prices are pulled from Starcitygames.com and are meant as a guideline to trading. You probably shouldn’t use these prices if you value your own cards off of anything other than SCG.com because if you do, you are probably on a different scale than this list. Knowing your trading scales is important. If one person in a trade is pricing off of Ebay and the other is pricing off of Starcity, you are not in the same ballpark. I use SCG for pricing guidelines in the store I work at, so those are the prices in my head. This is as much an exercise for me to get my Prereleases prices right in my own head as it is a service to you, the listeners/readers/pals.

So anyway, I am doing this without Joey’s input initially, although he will most likely add his own opinions to these comments after I post this. I hope he does, because I am sure to say a few things here that NONE of you will agree with. I am going to first post a simple list of prices, including a Google Doc for you to print out and take with you over the weekend, followed by my own opinions on the values of these cards. Remember that the BEST places to find good financial information on Magic are mtgmetagame.com, quietspeculation.com, and Gwafa’s Bazaar. This is just my opinion that I feel like blogging about because I’m so damn pumped for this set. Also, I haven’t read any of their set evals so that I can see after typing this how close/apart we are. I am really excited to read them after this!

Finally, I am pretty much listing only things that are more than $1. If it’s less than $1 it’s not worth mentioning here. Also, just because it’s listed here doesn’t mean I think it’s good. It’s just more than $1. I’m only going to talk in detail about the cards that I think are interestingly priced.

So, without any further introduction…

THE LIST

All is Dust $15
Angelheart vial $1.25
Awakening Zone $5
Bear Umbra $2
Cast Through Time $2
Consume the Meek $6
Coralhelm Commander $1.25
Deathless Angel $3
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief $2
Eldrazi Conscription $2.50
Eldrazi Temple $8
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn $15
Gideon Jura $40
Guul Draz Assassin $2.50
Hellcarver Demon $6
It That Betrays $4
Kargan Dragonlord $13
Keening Stone $1.25
Khalni Hydra $5
Kor Spiritdancer $1.50
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth $30
Lighthouse Chronologist $6
Lightmine Field $2
Linvala, Keeper of Silence $10
Momentous Fall $7
Mul Daya Channelers $7
Nirkana Revenant $8
Realms Uncharted $7
Sarkhan the Mad $20
Spawnsire of Ulamog $2
Student of Warfare $8
Tajuru Preserver $2
Thought Gorger $1.25
Training Grounds $4
Transcendent Master $7
Tuktuk the Explorer $2
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre $10
Vengevine $30
Wall of Omens $2

And in a Google Doc: The List

About these…

All is Dust – I think it’s really good. Umm… get them! $15 seems right, might even go higher since it’s Mythic, and any deck can run it. Kills: Planeswalkers. Doesn’t kill: Equipment.

Awakening Zone – I think Dave from 02drop.com was overheard saying it’s Bitterblossom in Green. Sounds good. Worth taking a gamble on at $5.

Consume the Meek – I think you should get these while you can. Maybe I’m wrong, but $6 for an instant speed board sweep in Black, or any instant speed board sweep for that matter, seems too low. If wall.dec becomes a problem, this is the solution.

Coralhelm Commander – I don’t think this card is great, or even good, but the $1.25 price tag surprised me. No risk in taking a chance on these.

Deathless Angel – Trade these at $3 to the guy who collects Angel cards for something playable. Ok?

All of the Vampire cards – Maybe I’m overlooking something, but I’m not impressed with the Vampires in this set at all. Oddly enough, though, I think this set made Vampires really good. Trade the crappy Vamps in this set for better stuff before anyone else realizes that the Instants and Sorceries in RoE made the deck better, not the cards with “Vampire” on them.

Eldrazi Conscription – Officially my “pet card” in this set. Love it. I’m going to play it with Uril. Telegraphed. And you’re not going to take it seriously enough until I kill you. $2.50 is a fine price for this, but I don’t recommend them for anything close to Tier One. More like Tier Fun, where I’m going to play the shit out of it.

Eldrazi Temple – The more I think about this card, the more I think the window is closing to get these at any sort of reasonable price. Get them NOW. HEAR ME? N-O-W! $8 is as low as they go, mark my words. Just not in permanent ink in case I’m wrong…

Emrakul – I almost typed “Emrakill” which sounds like “overkill,” and that just might just be what this card is. I’m going to cheat like Tiger to get it into play until I learn my lesson, and then I’ll probably try it 1000 more times until my DCI rating tells me it can’t take the pain anymore. I love it, and $15 is appropriate. This price isn’t going up EVER though, so get them at your leisure unless you’re like me and are counting the days until you can drop one of these in Standard. In that case get 4 this weekend.

Gideon Jura – I know Joey said in Episode 18 to wait on these, but I disagree, simply because I want them to play ASAP. $40 is the price now. Does it drop? Maybe. Do I care? No. I want them, and if they DON’T drop (see Vengevine) then I am losing even more. This is my #1 priority this weekend besides a few Eldrazi and stuff. If you can trade up into them for the love of god do it.

Hellcarver Demon – I’m pretty sad this dropped to $6 because I wanted to trade them at $15 all weekend.

It That Betrays – $4???!??!?!!!?!?!?!?!??!!??!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!???? Sorry, I think this card is going to be more. Get them now. $4 is chump change. Just get them. Who cares?

Kargan Dragonlord – $13. SELL. NOW.

Khalni Hydra – Do I think it wrecks in competitive T2? No. do I want them at $5? Absolutely. you’re talking to the guy with over 40 Bestial Menaces here. I can’t help myself. The Timmy in me loves this card, and if it ever catches on in any deck it doubles in price. Since it is such a casual bomb it will never drop below this price, can sometimes be free, and is almost never 8 mana in the deck this belongs in. Give in!

Kor Spiritdancer – I want these for my Uril deck. They’re not worth anything, and probably never will be. Looks fun. Remember it’s “Auras” and not “Enchantments.” O-Ring and Journey to Nowhere do not trigger off of this.

Kozilek – $30? 😦 Hopefully I can trade a Vengevine for one. I don’t think either will hold at this price. But I do really want these. Tough call. Go with your gut, and your deck ideas for post-RoE Standard. See what Medina thinks, frankly.

(Holy shit “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio just came up on my iTunes lol…)

Lightmine Field – $2 is a steal for these. (Think Gideon)

Linvala, Keeper of Silence – Shuts down Noble Hierarch’s mana acceleration, but not his exalted triggers. Doesn’t shut down triggers at all, actually. Remember that.

(Rico Suave is playing now… what decade is my iTunes living in?)

Momentous Fall – Great card, I think $7 is just right. Get them if you need them, or don’t. I think it stays where it is, or drops.

Mul Daya Channelers – $7 for this one too! Needs to be built around, and I’m not sure I care enough to.

Realms Uncharted – $7 is great. If you plan on using Knight of the Reliquary, get 4. I will be.

Sarkhan the Mad – $20 seems right, but if you don’t need them, try to trade them up into Gideon. Otherwise, put one or 2 in Jund so you can keep playing Jund and I can beat you with Emrakul.

Student of Warfare – Remember this is the foil in one of the intro decks. So, with that said, don’t just get these, get 4 foils of these! Why the hell not? Go trade with the people doing open dueling to get them, or do open dueling yourself! You’ll get another Emrakul too! DO IT!

Tajuru Preserver – I hope no one catches on that most of the decks trying to cheat out Eldrazi aren’t going to have many ways to deal with these. $2 seems just fine, maybe even a steal.

Thought Gorger – Man, I don’t know what I think abut this card. They’re not going for anything, so just get them as you go as throw-ins and see what happens.

Training Grounds – YOU tell ME why this is $4… yomtgtaps@gmail.com

Transcendent Master – $7 is a fine price for this card, but I’m not impressed at all. Trade them at $7 for better stuff.

Tuktuk the Explorer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! – HAHAHA, so cool! But USELESS!

Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre – $10 is great for this one. It’s the worst of the big 3, but the cheapest to acquire, and therefore the lowest risk acquisition. Get them if anyone will let go of them.

Vengevine – $30! HA! SELL! If I can trade one of these for a Gideon by the Prerelease I will be so damn happy! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Abyssal Persecutor of the set!

Oh, and get foil Wall of Omens. And Goryo’s Vengeance. And Through the Breach. And Summoning Trap. And Polymorph. And Djinn of Wishes.

Why?

DON’T ASK QUESTIONS! JUST DO IT!

As far as the other cards in the set go, I’m not going to speculate on EV or anything like that. Just pick up the cards that you think look fun or look like you could maybe build something good with them. Your guess is as good as mine. Just don’t trade more than $1 each for them, for the love of christ.

Enjoy your weekend!
Bigheadjoe