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Browse > Home / Strategy / Articles / Weekly Update (Apr 19): Top 10 Ikoria Cards

Weekly Update (Apr 19): Top 10 Ikoria Cards



Budget Magic: $35 Infect (Modern)


How cheep can a deck being Modern while still being competitive? Let's try a $35 build of Infect and find out!Read more


Finance Update w/ Saffron Olive


Fiend Artisan Hunting Grounds Cephalid Constable

The biggest finance news of the week is Ikoria. While the set is out in digital, it will be about a month until it releases in paper, which is an incredibly long presales period compared to most sets. In general, cards are inflated during their presales period. If you look back at Theros: Beyond Death and Throne of Eldraine, the total value of these sets was between $400 and $450 during presales, which is exactly where Ikoria is today. However, after the release of the sets prices quickly dropped by nearly half, with a complete set of Theros: Beyond Death worth $240 today and Throne of Eldraine down to $210. As such, be wary of buying too many cards at presales prices. In a huge%age of cases, you'll be paying much more than if you wait just a week or two until after the set officially releases. 

Outside of Ikoria itself, most of the price movement this week is tied to new cards from Commander 2020 or Ikoria. One of the biggest winners is Hunting Grounds. The one-printing Judgment rare shot up from around $7 to almost $30 in the past few days. While the reason for the spike isn't super clear, my best guess is people plan on using it in Kathril, Aspect Warper commander decks, since Kathril both wants you to fill  your graveyard (which turns on threshold) and tends to have big, expensive keyword creatures like Zetalpa, Primal Dawn to stick into play. The lack of supply will likely keep Hunting Grounds from going back down to $7, but it should drop from its currently inflated, buyout-based price. So if you want a copy, you're beset off waiting a few weeks. 

Meanwhile, Cephalid Constable jumped from $2 to close to $10 after showing up as a Command Zone upgrade for the mutate-based Enhanced Evolution Commander 2020 deck. If you can mutate Otrimi, the Ever-Playful on Cephalid Constable, you end up with a 6/6 trample that bounces up to six of your opponent's permanents when it deals combat damage, which can basically take a player out of the game on turn three or four by forcing them to pick up all of their lands. While Otrimi, the Ever-Playful is one of the least popular Commander 2020 legends, Cephalid Constable is one of the best creatures to mutate onto in the format. Even with two printings, it shouldn't be a surprise to see it stick at over $5. Along the same lines, keep an eye on other "when X deals combat damage, do that many of Y" cards like Needle Specter, especially if they cost three mana or less. It's possible that Cephalid Constable is just the first mutate-driven buyout, with more to come as people get their hands on Commander 2020 and Ikoria and figure out how to build around the mechanic in Commander.


Top 10 Ikoria Cards for Standard


Seth and Crim count down their top 10 Ikoria cards for Standard!Read more

Much Abrew: Pioneer 8 Rack

Ranking the Companions from Ikoria

Can the discard-themed 8 Rack make the jump from Modern to Pioneer even though The Rack itself isn't legal in the format? Let's find out! Read more

Magic: the Gathering's newest set Ikoria is bringing the super-unique and potentially powerful companion mechanic, but which companion is best? Read more


Top 10 Ikoria Cards for Pioneer


Seth and Crim count down their top 10 Ikoria cards for the Pioneer format!Read more

Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths Instant-Speed Tricks

This Week in Legacy: Here There Be Monsters, Part 2

A reference table of all the instant-speed tricks in Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths. Read more

Joe Dyer dives into the rest of Ikoria and how it relates to Legacy! Read more

Historic 101: Historical Dragons

Commander Review: Commander 2020 | Part 2 | Red, Green, Multicolor, Colorless, Lands

Lets take to the skies with dragons in Historic! Read more

We finish our Commander 2020 review with Part 2: Red, Green, Multicolor, Colorless, and Lands! Read more


Standard Theorycrafting with Ikoria


Looking for some starting points and fun decklists for Ikoria? TheAsianAvenger drops a few lists for pre-existing decks and even some new ones.Read more

Against the Odds: Infinite Illusions (Modern)

Vintage 101: To Make a Monster

What are the odds of winning in Modern with Chronozoa (or rather, an infinite number of Chronozoas)? Let's find out! Read more

Joe Dyer reviews Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths for Vintage! Read more


Commander Clash LIVE! | Crim Week | Alela vs. Nicol Bolas vs. Mirko Vosk vs. Sol'kanar


Did you miss our bonus episode live on Twitch? Well fret not, because we recorded the game and have it here for you!Read more

The Fish Tank: Ikoria Edition (April 12-18, 2020)

Podcast 272: Full Ikoria Preview

What cool Ikoria-based decks did viewers submit this week? Let's find out! Read more

The crew talk about a ton of new Ikoria cards and answers a bit of #MTGFishmail. Read more


Fish Five-0: Is It Even Grixis?


Gyruda, Doom of Depths really enforces the "Don't get mad, get even" saying. Read more


Instant Deck Techs


Each day we'll be posting a short, three minute deck tech featuring some of the coolest decks that come across the site. The most popular deck will be made into videos the following week based on your views, likes and comments in the videos. Here's this week's Instant Deck Techs:



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