Sphere of Influence: September 6, 2024

Welcome to Sphere of Influence, a pre-FNM look at some potential movers and shakers that are worth picking up before their prices increase.

Some solid role-playing cards are quite cheap at the moment, so shake off those post-Labor Day blues and start shelling out some green. Your decks, leveled up, will thank you.

Sylvan Safekeeper

Supply of this land-matters Commander staple was scarce for quite some time because the card appeared in Odyssey, Commander 2014, then nothing else. Prices were well into the double digits even though the card’s use was pretty niche. Modern Horizons 3 changed all of that with a reprint as well as the introduction of Nadu, Winged Wisdom and its associated deck. Now, given you successfully navigated the stack, Sylvan Safekeeper could draw you plenty of cards in a turn when a Shuko wasn’t available.

The MH3 version of the card is sitting at $2—a steal considering the Odyssey edition, sporting the derpiest of art, is somehow at $13. Nadu is no longer in Modern, and shroud has largely fallen out of favor for hexproof and indestructible, but Sylvan Safekeeper continues to pull weight in Commander and is well worth a pickup while the price is right.

Jegantha, the Wellspring

Companions were a big, fat mistake and should be promptly deleted from the game. But, failing that, Jegantha, the Wellspring, has proven itself to be pretty versatile given how straightforward it looked when first printed. Turns out, a free card in your hand, even if it’s a vanilla 5/5 for five mana and limited additional capabilities, is still a free card in your hand. The deck-building restriction associated with Jegantha isn’t too difficult to attain, either. For $1, you can’t do much better.

Pearl Medallion, Sapphire Medallion, Jet Medallion, Ruby Medallion, and Emerald Medallion

Any mono-colored Commander deck will benefit from running an associated Medallion, even green ones with a bounty of other, more reliable ramp options. The series of five is just too good: for only two mana, once players start double-spelling and triple-spelling, the mana savings increases and sets them far ahead of opponents. These five cards were, understandably, quite expensive for some time, topping off at nearly $70 at one point for Sapphire Medallion.

Modern Horizons 3 gave us a much-needed series reprint, including alternate art versions, to keep those prices low. The most expensive one now sees Modern play, Ruby Medallion, but tops out at only around $5. Frankly, it’s worth picking up a playset of all five, then sitting back as the mono-colored Commander ideas start flowing and your financial gains start increasing.

Medallions of Honor

Do you think one of the other Medallions will start to see Modern play? Will Wizards ever power creep these strong cards out of the meta? Let us know!