Top Trades: September 9 - September 16

Six | Illustrated by Andrew Mar

Howdy, folks, and happy Thursday. The week has just about rolled on by, and that means it's time for Top Trades, the weekly series where we check in with the most popular cards here at Cardsphere. So, what has been moving this week? Let's find out.

Honorable Mention - Hare Apparent

Number of Trades: 6 --- Number of Cards Traded: 12

Last week, our list saw the return of two of Magic's "any number" cards, cards which break the four-of rule for deck construction and allow you to run any number in your deck (even in Commander). This week, the surge in popularity of cards like that continue, this time with Hare Apparent.

For , Hare Apparent is a 2/2 Rabbit Noble that, in addition to having the hallmark text allowing it to be run in any quantity, also creates a number of 1/1 white Rabbit creature tokens when it enters equal to the number of other creatures you control named Hare Apparent.

At first, a 2/2 for isn't exactly anything special. That's the territory of Grizzly Bears, a notorious common but not exactly a good one by contemporary standards. However, the second you start casting your multiple copies, this little Rabbit is hopping off to the races.

#5 - Six

Number of Trades: 4 --- Number of Cards Traded: 4

Here at number five is none other than Six, and no, that doesn't mean we're looking at an extra card this week.

For , Six is a legendary 2/4 Treefolk creature with reach that grants nonland permanent cards in your graveyard retrace as long as it's your turn (a card with retrace can be cast from a graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying its other costs). Additionally, whenever Six attacks, mill three cards and you may put a land card from among those cards into your hand.

Taken all together, Six is a wild source of card advantage for green. Sure, providing consistent access to land drops turn after turn thanks to the attack trigger is great and all, but what this really serves to do is stock your graveyard full of cards to cast with retrace while simultaneously giving you back the land you need in order to pay those retrace costs. Turning lands into spells is a lucrative deal, especially for green of all colors, and Six does exactly that.

#4 - Zero Point Ballad

Number of Trades: 4 --- Number of Cards Traded: 5

Next up is a much more recent addition to the Magic catalogue, a flexible board wipe from Edge of Eternities: Zero Point Ballad.

For , this sorcery destroys all creatures with toughness X or less, causes you to lose X life, and, if X is 6 or greater, allows you to return a creature card put into a graveyard this way (that's right, any graveyard) to the battlefield under your control.

Zero Point Ballad is a super cool card, but every time I look at it I just remember that Toxic Deluge exists and go back to browsing other board wipes. The flexibility on this card is great, don't get me wrong, but it is definitely among the second-in-class board wipes that black has access to.

Now, the reanimation effect is where things get particularly interesting with Zero Point Ballad. Being able to come up from behind and go from having no creatures to controlling the only creature is a certainly an appealing proposition, just one that might not come up as often as some players would otherwise think (seven mana at a minimum is certainly a lot to invest in a non-Cyclonic Rift board wipe).

#3 - Dragon Sniper

Number of Trades: 4 --- Number of Cards Traded: 7

Here at the halfway point on today's list is a simple, stellar uncommon brought to us courtesy of Tarkir: Dragonstorm. Let's see what's up with Dragon Sniper.

For , Dragon Sniper is a 1/1 Human Archer with vigilance, reach, and deathtouch. No crazy abilities or paragraphs of text, just a solid uncommon that is guaranteed to shoot down pretty much anything that comes your way. So, why the popularity? Standard.

Although it might not be dominating the format to the same degree as Vivi Ornitier, Golgari Midrange (sometimes Golgari Aggro or Golgari Roots) is putting up a pretty good fight, positioning itself as among the many resilient second-tier decks beneath the red onslaught. In those lists, Dragon Sniper is a frequent early-turn round out for the deck's curve, serving to position it to survive any threatening late-game board states.

#2 - Mossborn Hydra

Number of Trades: 5 --- Number of Cards Traded: 5

Speaking of spooky green threats, here comes another small creature that rapidly becomes much scarier as the game goes on. All that it asks is for you to keep playing lands.

Mossborn Hydra is a 0/0 Elemental Hydra creature for with trample that enters with a +1/+1 counter on it. Additionally, whenever a land under your control enters, double the number of +1/+1 counters on it.

If you know anything about green, it's that the color really doesn't have much of a difficulty getting more lands than it otherwise should (just ask Six). Burgeoning, Exploration, even Alpha's Fastbond, green is the color for breaking anything that cares about lands. Toss Mossborn Hydra in the mix and it's not hard to imagine doubling the counters on this thing once, twice, or more in a turn. Now that's a lot of damage.

#1 - Three Steps Ahead

Number of Trades: 6 --- Number of Cards Traded: 9

Last but not least, we've made it to our most traded card of the week, a new take on modal spells debuting in Outlaws of Thunder Junction; let's dive in to Three Steps Ahead.

Three Steps Ahead is an instant with a base mana cost of and the spree mechanic, which means that at least one additional cost from among those offered in the card's text box must be paid (up to all additional costs may be paid and each cost may only be paid once). So, unlike traditional modal spells which have one mana cost and a pre-set number of options to choose (two on Cryptic Command, for example), spree spells require additional input in exchange for maximally flexible output.

So, what are the additional costs and effects here? For an additional , Three Steps Ahead can counter target spell. For an additional , it can create a token copy of target artifact or creature you control, and for you can draw two cards and then discard a card. So, at max, you can pay to do all three, and at a minimum you can pay to just have the card draw effect.

Flexibility is always at a premium in Magic, especially when the range of effects cover all sorts of different scenarios and the card type they are stapled to can be cast at just about any point on either player's turn. All in all, from counterspells to card draw, this makes Three Steps Ahead - like Cryptic Command before it - a very castable, very blue spell.

Wrap Up

This week's list was a buffet of cards from across sets and formats. From casual to high power, Standard to Commander, a little bit of all sorts of stuff popped up this time. Check back in next week for another Top Trades, and thanks for reading!