How many 2/1's for one White mana is too many? Trick question. You can never have too many 2/1's in Standard!Read more

The last two weeks in December are typically among the slowest on the MTG finance calendar as people are preoccupied with the holidays. This year is no different; take a look at the movers and shakers, there just isn't much going on. For this week's Finance Update we are going to do something a little different. Instead of looking at individual cards, we are going to briefly examine Magic's three major formats (Standard, Modern, and Legacy) and see how they have done as a whole over the past year.

The first half of 2015 was a relatively normal year for Standard prices, with the biggest news being the fact that Dragons of Tarkir was massively underrated and under priced during its presale period. During the later part of the year, the "most expensive Standard since Caw Blade" was the major topic of conversation. Thankfully, this narrative is on the decline. The total price of the 325 rares and mythics in Standard peaked on October 19 at $1002, and has since declined to $768, nearly a 25 percent drop over the past two months.

Modern had a record breaking year despite the fact that Modern Masters 2015 — a set specifically designed to increase the supply of important Modern cards — was printed in the spring. From January to April, the price of format staples increased significantly. Then, for a brief moment (about a month) surrounding the release of Modern Masters 2015, prices crashed all the way back to 2014 levels. This relief was short lived. By July, the total price of the 211 Modern staples broke the $3,000 mark for the first time, and today they sit at $3,143. Considering there are no major reprints on the horizon, a Modern Pro Tour in February, and that the time frame between January and April is typically where Modern makes its biggest gains, I wouldn't be surprised if we passed the $3,500 mark over the next handful of months.

All in all, 2015 has been a year of stability in the world of Legacy. In January, the 193 cards that make up the staples list had a total cost of $6,445. Today, these cards have a total value of $6,420. This is notable, however, because it marks the first year since 2012 that Legacy didn't show significant price growth. In 2013, Legacy staples increased 24 percent, in 2014 the gain was 22 percent, while in 2015 they show a loss of 0.4 percent. While it may be too early to make any definite statements, it's starting to seem likely that June 2014 was the peak of Legacy, at least according to the price charts.

The five most viewed cards on MTGGoldfish this past week were:

1. Oblivion Sower (Battle for Zendikar)
2. Stoneforge Mystic (Worldwake)
3. Jace, Vryn's Prodigy (Magic Origins)
4. Squandered Resources (Visions)
5. Painful Truths (Battle for Zendikar)