Top Trades: September 23 - September 30

Carnage, Crimson Chaos | Illustrated by Lordigan

Howdy, folks, and welcome to October! I hope everyone had a good September.

The week's just about wrapped up, and we're here to welcome a new month, so how better to do that then to check in with the final Top Trades of September? Let's see what cards are moving around this week.

Honorable Mention - Ephemerate

Number of Trades: 5 --- Number of Cards Traded: 6

Kicking things off this week is - spoiler alert - the only card from a set other than Marvel's Spider-Man, and that's Ephemerate.

For just , Ephemerate is an instant with rebound that exiles a creature you control only to return it to the battlefield under its owner's control immediately thereafter.

So, why all the excitement? It's no surprise that Magic is full of powerful enters- and leaves-the-battlefield triggers, exactly the kinds of one-off effects that players love to double dip on whenever they can, but more particularly Ephemerate is a standout in the world of blink effects because of its interplay with the evoke Elementals from Modern Horizons 2.

Each of these creatures - Fury, Grief, etc. - can be cast for free using their evoke cost, meaning that they'll enter the battlefield only for a sacrifice trigger to be put on the stack immediately thereafter. By using Ephemerate, you can fizzle the exile trigger by exiling the Elemental before the sacrifice trigger resolves, only for that creature to come back as a different game object - without the sacrifice trigger - shortly thereafter.

#5 - Carnage, Crimson Chaos

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

Alrighty, on with Spider-Man.

Starting off our adventures with Marvel is Carnage, Crimson Chaos, a legendary 4/3 Symbiote Villain creature for . Carnage has trample, a mayhem cost of (more on that in a moment), and the enters trigger of "...return target creature card with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains 'This creature attacks each combat if able' and 'When this creature deals combat damage to a player, sacrifice it.'"

Going back briefly to mayhem, this is a new alternate cost for spells which has debuted in Spider-Man that blurs the lines between flashback and madness, allowing you to cast spells with mayhem from your graveyard for their mayhem cost provided that those cards have been discarded this turn. Now, back to Carnage.

At four mana, Carnage is already a pretty potent threat, especially if you can recur anything with a decent enters- or leaves-the-battlefield trigger. Meanwhile, at two mana, this card is a far more interesting pick: a 4/3 with trample is already above rate, let alone the temporary reanimation stapled to it.

#4 - Villainous Wrath

Number of Trades: 5 --- Number of Cards Traded: 6

Next up on our list is a pretty solid board wipe that, while not the cheapest, mana-wise, puts that extra mana to solid use.

For , Villainous Wrath is sorcery that causes target opponent to lose life equal to the number of creatures they control. Then, destroy all creatures.

It's not too often that black gets an unconditional board wipe that doesn't cost a ton of mana. Toxic Deluge is certainly the gold standard, but that still technically has the downside of causing you to (potentially) lose a ton of life. Meanwhile, one more mana bumps things up to the unconditional, downside-less level of Damnation. Comparing against that, all you need to ask yourself is, would you pay an extra to also deal some damage?

#3 - The Soul Stone

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

Here comes arguably the most exciting card in Spider-Man: The Soul Stone.

For , The Soul Stone is a legendary Infinity Stone artifact with indestructible and ": Add ." Additionally, by paying , tapping the Soul Stone, and exiling a creature you control, you can harness The Soul Stone. (To be harnessed is a modifier like being monstrous; it has no effect other than what is stipulated on the card). Once harnessed, The Soul Stone's infinity ability unlocks, which will cause you to return target creature card from your graveyard to battlefield at the beginning of each of your upkeeps.

Ultimately, The Soul Stone boils down to being a two-drop mana rock with nothing but upside, exactly the kind of Commander staple that is going to be ubiquitous across black decks going forward. With the exception of colorless mana, Magic has been shying away from two-drop mana rocks in general recently, which only adds to the surprise of how strong this card is.

#2 - Aunt May

Number of Trades: 7 --- Number of Cards Traded: 8

Here comes Aunt May, and she's a soul sister!

That's right, for Aunt May is a 0/2 legendary Human Citizen creature that gains you a life whenever another creature you control enters. Additionally, if that creature's a Spider, put a +1/+1 counter on it.

Outside of some burgeoning Spider-themed Commander decks that will be running around in the near future, the second clause on Aunt May really doesn't matter a ton. Instead, compare Aunt May to cards like Soul's Attendant or Soul Warden: powerful creatures across anything that even remotely cares about life gain.

#1 - Spectacular Spider-Man

Number of Trades: 8 --- Number of Cards Traded: 10

Finally, here we are, who else could it be but Spectacular Spider-Man.

For , Spectacular Spider-Man is a 3/2 legendary Spider Human Hero creature with flash. Additionally, you can pay to give him flying until end of turn, or pay and sacrifice him to give creatures you control hexproof and indestructible until end of turn.

Spectacular Spider-Man is a creature defined by the flash mechanic. Sure, he pulls decent weight as an evasive 3/2 for , but don't forget that there's no tap requirement anywhere on this guy. Plenty of boards are going to be saved by casting and then immediately sacrificing Spectacular Spider-Man.

Wrap Up

Marvel's Spider-Man has hit release and, while it may not be the soaring success that Final Fantasy was, it has still come out with plenty of highlights. Check back in next week for another Top Trades, and thanks for reading!