Top Trades: April 21 - April 28

Mind into Matter | Illustrated by Joe Slucher

Howdy, folks, and welcome back to Top Trades, the weekly series where we check in with the most popular cards here at Cardsphere. So, what have folks been picking up this week? Let's take a look!

Honorable Mention - Flow State

Number of Trades: 12 --- Number of Cards Traded: 14

Kicking things off as our honorable mention is Flow State, an Impulse-style cantrip for that quickly jumps up to Stock Up levels of power if conditions are right. Normally, this sorcery lets you look at the top three cards, pick one to keep, then you'll put the other two on the bottom of your library. However, if you have both a sorcery and an instant in your graveyard when Flow State resolves, you instead get to keep two of those cards.

Two mana for two cards - especially two mana for two cards selected from among a wider pool - is the type of card advantage that normally gets banned, a la Expressive Iteration. Flow State tries to keep things balanced by adding that check for instants and sorceries, but even at base rate it's still offering an impressive amount of value.

#5 - Stormcarved Coast

Number of Trades: 11 --- Number of Cards Traded: 11

Moving on to our main list for the week, our first pick is Stormcarved Coast, a nonbasic land with ": Add or " that enters tapped unless you control two or more lands.

Dual lands are always pretty popular pick ups, and Stormcarved Coast is no different. Entering tapped in the early turns hurts, that's for sure, but in slower formats, such as Standard or low-power Commander, that's hardly a hindrance most of the time.

#4 - Mind into Matter

Number of Trades: 11 --- Number of Cards Traded: 12

Next up on the list is a pretty busted redo of Braingeyser that's been tailored to all the Simic decks out there.

For , Mind into Matter is a sorcery that draws you X cards, then lets you put a permanent card with mana value X or less from your hand onto the battlefield tapped. That's right, the good-ol'-fashioned to draw X has just been outclassed, and all it took was swapping one to a .

#3 - Resonating Lute

Number of Trades: 13 --- Number of Cards Traded: 13

Continuing the list of exciting dual-color cards, our third pick for the week is Resonating Lute, the first mana-doubler in Izzet that I think I've ever seen.

For , Resonating Lute is an artifact that grants lands you control the ability ": Add two mana of any one color. Spend this mana only to cast instant or sorcery spells." Additionally, it has : Draw a card. Activate this ability only if you have exactly seven cards in hand."

Izzet normally gets burst rituals, plus a smattering of Treasure-creating effects, so prolonged mana advantage like this is pretty alien to the color pair. Add on that card draw as the finishing touch, and you have all the ingredients of a Commander staple for years to come.

#2 - Stock Up

Number of Trades: 15 --- Number of Cards Traded: 20

Our penultimate pick, Stock Up, is pretty much the three-mana version of Flow State.

For , this sorcery lets you look at the top five cards, pick two to keep, then you'll put the rest back on the bottom. That's a solid amount of card advantage and an insane amount of card selection that, when combined together, grant Stock Up just enough power to make it the kind of blue value play that's not just run across some of Magic's most powerful formats, including Vintage. If Flow State hasn't already blow you away, then try Stock Up; this card has proven itself time and time again.

#1 - Flashback

Number of Trades: 16 --- Number of Cards Traded: 17

Last but not least, the most traded card for the week, it's Flashback.

For , this instant does exactly its namesake, granting target instant or sorcery card in your graveyard flashback until end of turn. Back-to-back tutors? Go for it. Reuse a wheel? Why not? Build-your-own Chain Lightning out of Lightning Bolts? The sky's the limit! Flashback is the kind of ubiquitous utility spell that is going to demand attention across formats, just like Snapcaster Mage did for years prior.

Wrap Up

This week, more than anything, was dedicated to the utility instants and sorceries that make competitive Magic hum. Flow State, Stock Up, Flashback, all these cards work together to maximize value and guarantee consistency.

Check back in next week for another Top Trades, and thanks for reading!