Top Trades: October 28 - November 4

Psychic Frog | Illustrated by Pete Venters

Howdy, folks, and welcome to this week's Top Trades, the series where we check in with some of the most popular cards here at Cardsphere. So, what's on the list this time? Let's take a look!

Honorable Mention - Snap

Number of Trades: 5 --- Number of Cards Traded: 19

Continuing its run from last week is Snap, a bounce spell that can also be a ritual, or, at the very least, a way to filter your mana.

For , Snap is an instant that returns target creature to its owner's hand. Then, you can untap up to two lands. Two simple effects, that's for sure, but incredibly potent when stuck together.

At a mana-value two, Snap is among the more expensive bounce spells out there, especially considering it only hits creatures. That said, only requiring a single colored mana makes it a pretty flexible cast, and the ability to bounce your own creatures - at instant speed, nonetheless - makes it all the more flexible. However, as was mentioned before, any concerns about cost quickly fall by the wayside when you remember that Snap pays for itself, if not more.

Most lands add one mana, so Snap is usually only a free spell. Sure, "just" and "free" sure sound crazy together, but that's the truth of the matter: there's only more upside from here. Gaea's Cradle, Ancient Tomb, City of Traitors... plenty of Magic's most broken lands add more than one mana, and Snap lets you use them an extra time.

#5 - Dockside Extortionist

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

Speaking of creatures worth bouncing, it's time to move on to the first card from our main list of the week, an incredibly broken, speculative creature. Let's talk about Dockside Extortionist.

First, quick context for anyone who hasn't been around Commander for the past year or so. For , Dockside Extortionist is a 1/2 Goblin Pirate that, upon entering, creates a number of Treasure tokens equal to the total number of artifacts and enchantments your opponents control. In Commander (where this card used to be played), it was often an "I win" button in red, as it generated so much mana for such little investment that the game became a 3-v-1 when it resolved. Last year, it was banned, and now Dockside Extortionist doesn't really see play anywhere. So, why is it being traded? Speculation.

Among the Avatar: The Last Airbender previews was a bonus-sheet printing of Dockside Extortionist. While Wizards' last statement on the card was that Dockside Extortionist wouldn't be unbanned any time soon, this reprint has some people hoping, and, as such, trading while the card's cheap.

#4 - Psychic Frog

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

On to the next broken two-drop creature on our list, Psychic Frog!

For , Psychic Frog is a 1/2 Frog creature with three compact, synergistic, and potent abilities. First, whenever it deals combat damage to a player or planeswalker, draw a card. Second, you can discard a card to put a +1/+1 counter on Psychic Frog. Third, you can exile three cards from your graveyard to give Psychic Frog flying until end of turn.

Psychic Frog is an evasive card advantage engine that grows as the game goes on that also smooths out the reanimator gameplan by serving a discard outlet for key threats, so much so that it has been banned in Legacy. Drawing cards, eroding life totals, and enabling broken strategies; what else could you ask for from a (non-Dockside) two-drop?

#3 - The One Ring

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

At twice the mana value of our previous pick, we move on to our next card advantage engine: The One Ring.

For , The One Ring is a legendary artifact with indestructible that, if you cast it, grants you protection from everything until your next turn when it enters. As for card advantage, The One Ring has ": Put a burden counter on The One Ring, then draw a card for each burden counter on The One Ring." Those burden counters hurt, though; The One Ring also has "At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life for each burden counter on The One Ring."

Another banned card, The One Ring got the axe in Modern, where it dominated the format by granting players absurd amounts of card advantage turn after turn while simultaneously serving as a pseudo extra turn spell, thanks to that enters trigger. Plus, it being a legendary card actually worked to its advantage. If there were too many burden counters on The One Ring, simply cast another to sacrifice the original.

#2 - Sakura-Tribe Elder

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

Alrighty, back to some fair Magic with these next two cards.

Sakura-Tribe Elder is a hallmark of low-bracket Commander. For , this 1/1 Snake Shaman comes with just one ability, "Sacrifice this creature: Search your library for a basic land card, put that card onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle."

When it comes to land-based ramp, two mana is the gold standard (in green, at least). Sakura-Tribe Elder clears that hurdle while also bringing with it two creature types that slot into plenty of Magic's popular kindred strategies. It may not be broken, but Sakura-Tribe Elder's enduring popularity goes to show that not every card needs to be.

#1 - Shattered Landscape

Number of Trades: 5 --- Number of Cards Traded: 9

Last but not least, a card that's earned a slot both in casual Commander and in the competitive arena, thanks to Pauper. Here's our most traded card of the week, Shattered Landscape.

Shattered Landscape is a land that can enters untapped and has ": Add ," thus already clearing the fundamental hurdle of being able to add mana the turn you play it. Past that, it also has cycling as well as the activated ability ", Sacrifice this land: Search your library for a basic land Mountain, Plains, or Swamp card and put that card into play tapped, then shuffle."

Time and time again, I cannot overstate how important it is for lands to be able to add some sort of mana the turn they enter. Colorless may not be great, but it is something, meaning that you can play Shattered Landscape and use it to pay a cost in the same turn; that matters regardless of what format you play. Similarly, the triple-mana cost for Shattered Landscape's cycling ability is certainly high, but it provides additional flexibility that allows for Shattered Landscape to be a viable draw regardless of whether you want a land or another shot at anything else. Last but not least, fetching for a colored-mana producing land on a turn when you don't need the mana (since that land enters tapped) is a decent trade-off, considering that Shattered Landscape provides access to three different basic land types.

Wrap Up

This week was a roster of some of Magic's more broken cards, plus an enduring standout of Commander's history and a relative newcomer in the common fetch land space (shared by the likes of Evolving Wilds). Come back next week for another Top Trades, and thanks for reading!