Weekly Update (Jan 19): Modern Bannings

This week's finance news is dominated by two things: the major Modern bannings from earlier on the week and the start of Theros: Beyond Death Standard (at least digitally). On Monday Mox Opal, Mycosynth Lattice, and Oko, Thief of Crowns were all banned in Modern. Unlike some of our recent Standard bannings which didn't have a huge impact on card prices, being banned in Modern (and either banned or illegal in Pioneer) is a huge deal for these cards. While each has some demand from Legacy, Vintage, and Commander, Modern was the format primarily supporting the high prices of Opal, Lattice, and Oko. Mox Opal is already down near $80 from a high of almost $120 a few months ago, and its $41 buylist price suggests that it will continue to fall into the $65 range. Oko, Thief of Crowns has experienced perhaps the fastest rise and fall of any card in Magic's history, peaking at over $60 soon after it released, it's now down to $23 with buylists at $11.50. Finally, Mycosynth Lattice had been stable near $60 but has fallen below $50 and likely to trend towards $35 based on its $21 buylist price. 

On the other hand, there have been a few cards to benefit from the Modern bannings. Yawgmoth, Thran Physician was already on the rise thanks to its performance during last week's SCG Tour event and doubled in price over the past week to near $20 based on speculation that the undying combo deck it fuels could be even better in a post-ban meta. Along the same lines, the always underappreciated Mox Amber, a potential Mox Opal replacement for Urza, Lord High Artificer decks and some artifact-based Grinding Station combo builds, increased 29% to just under $23 based on the idea it will see an increasing amount of play with Mox Opal no longer an option in the Modern format. 

Finally, in Standard, the biggest winners among non-Theros: Beyond Death cards were Lazav, the Multifarious (up 63% to $6.25), which does some cool tricks with the new Elder Titans Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger and Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath by copying them from the graveyard to get around the "sacrifice unless you escaped" trigger, and Niv-Mizzet Reborn (doubling in price to $7). While Niv does see some Standard play, the real reason for its rise in price it is has suddenly become the centerpiece of the hottest deck in Pioneer: a Five-Color Niv Goodstuff build. Moving forward, expect more Standard price movement, especially from Theros: Beyond Death cards, as players figure out which ones play better than they look on paper. Thassa, Deep-Dwelling is an early example, with the God doubling in price to $18 based on the early success of various Blue Devotion and Elemental strategies that take advantage of the God.

Commander Review: Theros Beyond Death | Part 1 | White, Blue	Commander Review: Theros Beyond Death | Part 2 | Black, Red
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First Impressions of Theros: Beyond Death Standard	Vintage 101: The Gods Have Spoken
Need a place to start for some #MTGTHB decklists? Check these lists out! Read more	Joe dives into the world of Theros: Beyond Death and also covers the Vintage Format Championship event! Read more

The Fish Tank: Theros: Beyond Death Edition (Jan. 13-20, 2020)	Podcast 259: Major Modern Bannings and Full Theros: Beyond Death Preview
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