Welcome to the second addition of pre-rotation stock picks. A few of you may know I did one of these for ravnica block but I plan to do things a bit different this time. This article will feature a grading scale from 1-4 (displayed as quantity) for each card the scale is read like this.
1- 1 to five dollars consider to be a powerful uncommon or a decent commander rare
2- under ten dollars cards in this category are considered to be specific modern Rares or good commander Rares pertaining to single decks.
3- ten to twenty five dollar cards that will be consider staple in modern and legacy or high dollar commander rares.
4- twenty-five dollars plus;cards in this bracket are consider to be game busters or common place cards for multiple archetypes across modern and legacy as well as top dollar commander cards. (Examples Liliana of the Veil, Snapcaster Mage, or Karn Liberated)
All grading is done on a two to three year projection and based on analysis of the current meta game and in few cases forward thinking.
It should be noted now that all scry lands and pain lands have been given a grading of 1 with the exeption of Temple of Mystery and
Temple of Malady
which have been given a possible two due to their color and some random sightings in modern from the former.
All god enchantment creatures not listed have been given a rating of 1.
Also note I will not explain every card on this list certain cards should be obvious like Drown in Sorrow why is that on here what would that do in modern? Same thing it does in standards mini sweaper effects for decks that can't effectively utilize mutilate or that don't want to tear their own board state down too much.
With that said let's start with my first pick.
Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver- Why is this a 4 most of you might ask; is this gender less apparition really that busted? The answer to that question is both yes and no, a Schrodinger's planes walker if you will. Ashiok has a lot going for it in modern and is considerable in legacy. Firstly he fits the conformity for a modern planes walker in that he can be played on turn 3 consistently and that it has a +2 ability that goes to 5 immediately, or in other words it's not going to die to bolt and it has a chance to survive a turn 3 Tarmogoyf attack. In addition Ashiok is in good colors for control and would be a feature card in a creature heavy meta in a world where there are no good answers to planes walkers like there are in standard. Finally Ashiok ultimate is the icing on the cake for this walker in legacy formats or in control match ups in modern ashiok's ultimate is a game winning power that would leave a control match up easily decided. This is why I'm giving Ashiok the number 1 slot in Theros block sleeper picks.
Athreos, God of Passage scores a 2 and an honerable mention in this list. His ability and CMC (converted mana cost) gives him a chance to live in certain modern decks like pod ( again chance not saying it's a good idea at the time) at the very least he is a good commander rare that will hold an easy 7 dollar value in the future.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos- brimaz scores a healthy 3 on this list. The 3 drop 3/4 token machine has a great list of qualities and abilities that when put together appernently equal jack-$h!t. This card has seen harday any modern or legacy play since his advent and I'm not seeing that improve. In the modern format as it stands now brimaz will not stand up to cards like goyf, voice of resurgance, or even
Mirran Crusader
(which sees more play than he does) and dies to most common removal spells without having done anything. My hope that brimaz will stick the 20 dollar landing comes from legacy jitte decks that he could win favor in. Even with harsh words to king I still see him as a good keep from theros block and potentially a high dollar card in the future but as for now he's not really got a home so I'm going to keep him at 3 for now.
Courser of Kruphix- another strangely placed card rolls into the 3 slot. Why does courser rank at 3? The card beats down ago very well and acts as card advantage simultaneously. Courser can stand up to early game goyf, rabble master, swiftspear, voice, and scavenging ooze in the early game. It's has also to date made apperances in moder and legacy June and modern abzan. Courses power and shown play leave me to belive it has more than earned a number 3 rank in my list with my projected value being 11- to 17 dollars.
Dictate of Erebos- This card scores a 3 because it is a better Grave Pact in many ways; it has flash and its only double black as opposed to grave pacts triple black. its only down side is that its a 5 drop as opposed to a 4 but this difference is negligible in commander; i rate dictate of erebos to be a better grave pact with a projected value of 10 to 16 dollars.
Eidolon of the Great Revel this card is insane I wouldn't hesitate to use a force of will on this card if I saw it played against me in legacy. This card is a death sentence in legacy if it's not dealt with and with the new jeskia cards coming in fate reforged I see this card hitting new high in legacy. Probjected value 15- 20.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion most walkers score a 2 after rotation I see this elspeth being an 11 to 15 dollar card for commander ( this one may be on the high end).
Erebos, God of the Dead- Erebos makes an honorable mention in this list due to his commander popularity as a mono black control style deck. People seem to like an indestructible enchantment with recurring card advantage commander. Erebos score between 2 and 3 for me with a value between 9 and 17 dollars.
Goblin Rabblemaster -rabblemaster has been a game breaker in the standard format due to the fact he does something the turn he's played and the fact that left unchecked he can win the game by himself. He hasn't seen a lot of competitive modern play but has seen some legacy play in goblin tribal decks ( when they pop up). The fact that he is a goblin gives him extra points as he is a must in krenko commander. My projected value for rabble mast is between 15 and 20.
Keranos, God of Storms- is another strange pick for me as he is an already proven legacy card but my concern for his price lie in weather or not he will fall out of favor in the coming years. Keranos get an uncertain rating of 3 with a price between 10 and 30 dollars.
Mana Confluence- this one easy seven dollar rare slightly more valuable than city of brass due to this being it's first printing. priced between 7-10
Satyr Firedancer another modern burn sleeper pick. I still think this card is amazing in burn decks as it provides a way to clear the board with out wasting your gas. Projected 7- 10.
Sliver Hivelord
- again with these weird picks why? Just why is this your game buster pick from this block? Well five color slivers sell really well, Sliver Legion 40 dollars, Sliver Overlord 20, Sliver Queen 45 from arsenal 20 from commander. They sell there expensive and I see this one being a 30 dollar sliver because it's good it's searchable with sliver overlord and it's a mythic that no one will hold on to. Estimated price 25- 37 dollars.
Soul of New Phyrexia- this card has been hailed as almost modern playable and it will certainly be interesting to see how it does over the next few years but as for now it's a poor man's Wurmcoil Engine. Projected 6-10.
Thassa, God of the Sea-Thassa has potential in modern merfolk I believe but as for right now she just a great commander card. Projected 9-12.
Thoughtseize- this is the card of the set the big major reprint that every on was waiting for why is it a 3? We already know this card is good it doesn't get better because of a reprint in fact I rated it a 3 because it will probably top out around 22 to 24 dollars where as the original lorwyn topped out around 40 to 50 but stayed stable around 30. Projected 22- 35
Waste Not- a card made by the players and they certainly made a broken one. This card could inspire it's own archetype in the near future as its already making some splashes in storm Reforge the Soul decks. The card is a perfect archetype staple as it is a two mana b(1) enchantment that's easily played with Dark Ritual and some form of hand disruption or even a wheel effect on turn 1. As of now the card has very little play but it could reach prices similar to Pyromancer Ascension. Projected 7-15.
To those of you who made it to the end of the list I thank you for reading if you think I left something out leave a comment and I'll see if it's worth adding to the list. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment or shoot me a message I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
