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Browse > Home / Strategy / Articles / Weekly Update (Apr 18): Top 10 Strixhaven Cards

Weekly Update (Apr 18): Top 10 Strixhaven Cards



Strixhaven: Thirty Casual Standard Decks under $20 for Magic: the Gathering


Looking for some super-cheap, super-fun Magic: the Gathering decks to play in Strixhaven Standard? We've got you covered with 30 decks for under $20!Read more


Budget Magic: Mono-Red Storm (Historic)


Thanks to Mystical Archives we can now Storm off in Historic. Can the archetype work on a budget? Let's find out!Read more


Finance Update w/ Saffron Olive


Demonic Tutor Knollspine Dragon Smothering Tithe

This biggest finance news this week is something I've been wanting for a long time: an expected value calculation that automatically updates as prices change on the site! Even more exciting, for Strixhaven we have not only Draft Boosters but also Set and Collector Boosters. Right now only Strixhaven is live (you can find it on the Standard price page in the sealed product section), but the numbers are pretty insane thanks to Mystical Archives. For a Collector Booster Box the expected value is $653 while a booster box only costs around $225. Just opening one rare or mythic Mystical Archive per pack adds nearly $18 to the value of a Collector Booster pack, and when you include the uncommon etched foil Mystical Archive adding another $6, just the etched foils in the pack will, on average, pay for the booster pack. Even normal draft boosters have a super high expected value at $177 a box thanks to the "one Mystical Archive in every pack" gimmick adding $1.78 to the expected value of each pack. While these numbers are based on retail prices, so you likely won't get this much selling the cards you open, they do exclude any card worth less than $1. Of course, these numbers will almost certainly drop as the set is opened, but now we'll be able to see just how much and how quickly thanks to the new EV page!

As far as actual price changes this week, Knollspine Dragon was the biggest winner shooting up 267% to $20. This seems to be based on Dragon's Approach (which is currently a $2.50 common, which is pretty insane for a currently in-print set). While there is little chance a Dragon's Approach deck will be top-tier competitive deck, people love building around "you may play any number of these" cards, and Dragon's Approach is one of the more unique offerings we've seen. Knollspine Dragon is one of the better Dragons to tutor up with Dragon's Approach since you can potentially Windfall away your hand to get more copies of Dragon's Approach in the graveyard and immediately cast another Dragon's Approach to tutor up another Dragon. This said, I'm not sure there will be enough people building Dragon's Approach for Knollspine Dragon to stick near $20, especially considering the cost of Dragon's Approach itself. If you wanted to build around it in Commander, getting something like 40 copies of Dragon's Approach would set you back $100, which is a lot for a card that isn't playable outside of one specific meme deck. My guess is the Knollspine Dragon spike is partly hype and partly a finance play based on the hype. It will likely start trending back down towards $10 soon.

Finally, in this week's reminder of the power of Commander over card prices, Smothering Tithe is currently up to $45 even though it was printed at rare just two years ago and was also in a high supply Throne of Eldraine Brawl precon deck. If you look at the price chart, it doesn't have the sharp spikes consistent with a buyout. Instead it's slow and steady increases which suggests that Smothering Tithe is expensive mostly because of organic demand from Commander players, where Smothering Tithe is arguably the best white card in the format. I expect that the enchantment is high on Wizards list of potential reprints, but as we've seen in the past, true Commander staples tend to quickly regain their value even after they are reprinted. If you need a copy of Smothering Tithe considering picking up the Faerie Schemes Brawl Precon, which is currently selling on Ebay for around $50. You'll not only get a Smothering Tithe, but a $13 Watery Grave and a few $2 cards like Arcane Signet, Alela, Artful Provocateur (brawl deck), and Shimmer Dragon (brawl deck)

Strixhaven: Top 10 Standard Card

Strixhaven: Top 10 Historic Cards

Seth and Crim count down their top ten Strixhaven cards for Standard! Read more

Seth and Crim count down their top ten Strixhaven cards for Historic! Read more

Strixhaven: Top 10 Pioneer Cards

Strixhaven: Top 10 Modern Cards

Seth and Crim count down their top ten Strixhaven cards for Pioneer! Read more

Seth and Crim count down their top ten Modern cards from Strixhaven! Read more

Strixhaven: School of Mages Instant-Speed Tricks

This Week in Legacy: Collegiate Commander

A reference table of all the instant-speed tricks in Strixhaven: School of Mages. Read more

Joe Dyer reviews Commander 2021 for Legacy! Read more

Modern Mayhem: Lorehold Land Destruction

Prismari Performance $50 Precon Upgrade | Spellslinger | Veyran

What do we want? Land destruction! When do we want it? Now! Read more

Doot doot! It's upgrade time! Read more

Against the Odds: Warped Aurora (Modern)

Vintage 101: Eventapalooza

We've got an Against the Odds two-for-one this week! What are the odds of winning with a deck built around both The Great Aurora and Warp World in Modern? Let's see! Read more

Joe Dyer covers a plethora of Vintage events , as well as C21 for Vintage! Read more


Commander Clash: CEDH | S10 E11


The crew busts out some high-power CEDH decks! Can we punt our way to victory?Read more

Much Abrew: Moritte Saga Infinite Mill (Historic)

The Fish Tank: Strixhaven Edition (April 11-18, 2021)

Can Harald Unites the Elves be an infinite combo piece rather than an Elf-tribal payoff? Let's see if we can pull off an infinite mill combo with Moritte and the saga and find out! Read more

What sweet decks did viewers submit this week? Let's find out! Read more

Podcast 324: Secret Lair Subscription Service?

Commander Clash Podcast 005: The Commander Ban List Debate!

The crew discusses the state of the MPL, Rivals and organized play, the possibility of a Secret Lair subscription service and Commander 2... Read more

The crew gives their takes on the official Commander ban list, including the RC's reasonings behind them. Read more



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