Top Trades: September 15 - September 22

Ganax, Astral Hunter | Illustrated by Aaron Miller

Howdy, folks! Welcome to Top Trades, the weekly series where we check in with Cardsphere's most popular picks. With Reality Fracture on the horizon, plenty of previously quiet cards are on the move, so let's take a look!

Honorable Mention - Giant's Boulder

Number of Trades: 8 --- Number of Cards Traded: 19

Oh, Giant's Boulder, what would Top Trades be without you?

Seriously, for the past few weeks, Giant's Boulder has been the most traded card here at Cardsphere by a long shot, and for good reason. For , you get an artifact that scries 2 when it enters, can filter mana, and can be sacrificed in the late game to destroy any permanent. In a game defined by marginal utility and flexibility, it's easy to imagine how a cheap card that does a little bit of everything can be wanted by everyone.

#5 - Three Visits

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

Speaking of cards that are wanted by everyone (well, everyone that can play them), our first main-list pick for the week is Commander classic Three Visits.

For , Three Visits is a sorcery that has you search your library for a Forest, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle. Importantly, Three Visits neither puts that card into play tapped nor does it limit itself to basic Forests, meaning that Three Visits can grab anything from a Hedge Maze to an untapped Taiga. At two mana, that's the pretty standard rate for a single land's worth of ramp, but it's the flexibility of Three Visits (in terms of what it can grab) that really puts it over the top.

#4 - The Wondrous Wasp

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

Next up is The Wondrous Wasp, an efficient creature for blue decks of all sorts.

For , The Wondrous Wasp is a 2/1 legendary Human Hero creature with flash, flying, and "When The Wondrous Wasp enters, tap up to one target creature. It loses all abilities for as long as The Wondrous Wasp remains on the battlefield."

While The Wondrous Wasp can't exactly deal with the biggest creatures on the board, this card does do an excellent job of dealing with tricky value pieces. Whether that's shutting of Faerie Mastermind triggers or clearing the text on a Winota, Joiner of Forces, The Wondrous Wasp can be a key answer just as much as it can be an evasive threat.

#3 - Ganax, Astral Hunter

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

Here on the list at third place is a card with an interesting combo thanks to the forthcoming Reality Fracture, and that's Ganax, Astral Hunter.

For , Ganax is a 3/4 legendary Dragon creature with flying, the triggered ability "Whenever Ganax, Astral Hunter or another Dragon you control enters the battlefield under your control, create a Treasure token." Additionally, Ganax has the "Choose a Background" ability, which means you may have two commanders if the second commander is a Background.

So, let's get to the interesting part: Ganax's triggered ability. In Reality Fracture, the card Draconic Visitor brings with it the replacement effect "If one or more artifact tokens would be created under your control, that many 5/5 red Dragon creature tokens with flying are created instead." Put the two effects together, and you get the following sequence: Ganax enters and creates a Treasure, that Treasure gets replaced by a Dragon token, that Dragon enters, which triggers Ganax, which creates a Treasure that is replaced by a Dragon token, and so on.

Now, this loop has no "may" anywhere in it, so resolving both Ganax and Draconic Visitor will end the game in a draw if no one can break the loop. However, if you control an effect that deals damage when a creature enters or the like, that can easily close out the game.

#2 - Sphinx of the Chimes

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

Moving on to our penultimate pick for the week we have a card that's actually tied with Ganax in terms of trading volume, and that card is Sphinx of the Chimes.

For , Sphinx of the Chimes is a 5/6 Sphinx creature with flying and "Discard two nonland cards with the same name: Draw four cards." So, why all the attention on a previously untouched nearly fifteen-year-old card? Another Reality Fracture card: Sphinx's Approach

For , Sphinx's Approach is an instant which allows you to run any number of it in your deck. It has "Draw two cards. Then you may exile this spell and four cards named Sphinx's Approach from your graveyard. If you do, search your library for a Sphinx creature card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle." Pair this with Sphinx of the Chimes and you have a deck that builds itself: cast enough copies of Sphinx's Approach to find Sphinx of the Chimes, then use Sphinx of the Chimes to churn through your deck by discarding your uncast copies of Sphinx's Approach to draw, well, more copies.

#1 - Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign

Number of Trades: 9 --- Number of Cards Traded: 10

Last but not least, our most traded card of the week, the legendary creature that will most definitely be helming all the newly built Sphinx's Approach decks out there: Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign.

For , Unesh is a legendary 4/4 Sphinx creature with flying that reduces the cost you pay for the rest of your Sphinxes by . Additionally, Unesh has the monstrous triggered ability "Whenever Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign or another Sphinx enters the battlefield under your control, reveal the top four cards of your library. An opponent separates them into two piles. Put one pile into your hand and the other into your graveyard."

Fact or Fiction has historically been a pretty strong card, to say the least, and  Unesh staples essentially that - plus a cost reduction - to all your Sphinxes, which is an insanely powerful effect for the command zone. Bolster that by the newly printed Sphinx's Approach, and you've got a deck. Might I recommend running Sphinx of the Chimes?

Wrap Up

Well, folks, this week essentially boiled down to the market effects of Reality Fracture; be it Commander combos or new decks, Standard's newest set is already making waves. Check back in next week for more Top Trades, and thanks for reading!