Hello and welcome to WhatTheTrend, the column where we'll examine current trends on Cardmarket, check out why certain cards are popular, and speculate on future price developments. This week, you already know what we're talking about, and if you don't, you should read this.
A Little Less Focus on Graveyards
During the past year, Modern was almost exclusively about the graveyard. First, Guilds of Ravnica's put Dredge over the top and now, [Hogaak] has dominated for the past two months.
So Wizards decided: no more! As of now, and are banned in Modern and is legal once again. That means the biggest graveyard payoff and the strongest graveyard enabler are gone and instead we have the Legacy equipment-tutoring staple legal in Modern alongside .
The Obvious
What does this mean for the market? Well yes, as of writing this, both Stoneforge Mystic and Batterskull have become insanely expensive – who would have guessed?
The cheapest Stoneforge Mystic right now is available for 38€ while Batterskull hovers around 22€, both due to a lot of hype. We don't know yet how good the one-two punch of a turn three Batterskull is in Modern so unless you're extremely convinced of this combo, I'd recommend not buying them yet.
So, what's so hype about Stoneforge Mystic in Modern? Well, first off, it's always exciting when cards come off the banlist. There had to be a reason it was banned, right? Sometimes it ends up being broken ([Golgari-Grave Troll]), sometimes it works just fine (, , and [Jace the Mind Sculptor]), and sometimes it does almost nothing ( and ). But players want to find out which category Stoneforge Mystic belongs in.
The first place that the mind goes is the W/U Legacy Stoneblade deck. With Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Stoneforge Mystic and , I might almost feel like I'm playing Legacy. Another great place for Stoneforge is the deck. A turn three Batterskull is probably powerful enough to win some matchups and another tutor for is probably also welcome.
The (maybe) Not So Obvious
The list of equipment in Modern is long and the format has changed in recent years. Besides Batterskull and Sowrd of the Meek, there are also and its ilk, , and maybe even [Elbrus, the Binding Blade]?
While Elbrus will probably not see the light of Modern anytime soon, there are 236 Equipment cards legal in Modern, some of which might just answer problems that are worth answering right now.
Other cards that are not equipment related that might be worth picking up now are , , [Jace the Mind Sculptor] and some Jund or Tron cards. Urza had one of the highest win rates among non-Hogaak decks and now that Hogaak is gone, it might be the newest broken deck (though artifacts seem much easier to interact with, especially when you don't die on turn four). As for Jund, it might be madness to speculate on but if Jund keeps performing well, it might just go even higher in price. Most of the Tron cards are already quite expensive and I wouldn't expect Tron to generate such an insane amount of new demand for cards.
Modern Horizons
Nobody can perfectly predict Modern's future but we can draw conclusions from previous events and those point towards a world where beating and Wrenn and Six is something you have to do in Modern if you want a shot at winning. With the format slowing down, other Modern Horizons cards might also have a chance to show off their power. Maybe a Goblin deck can perform well? + , anyone? value? 8-ball with and ?
For now, I can only tell you to keep brewing while not forgetting the decks that are already powerful in this format.
