Archangel Elspeth is becoming more common in the Standard format. The Planeswalker has some incredible synergy with Caretaker’s Talent, which has completely transformed its role. The card has already begun spiking, selling for as much as $19.98 this week. At the beginning of August, Elspeth was just $4.
Archangel Elspeth
- Mana Value: 2WW
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Card Type: Legendary Planeswalker – Elspeth
- MTG Sets: March of the Machine
- Card Text: (+1): Create a 1/1 white soldier creature token with lifelink.
(-2): Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature. It becomes an Angel in addition to its other types and gains flying.
(-6): Return all nonland permanent cards with mana value three or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Archangel Elspeth went from seeing little Standard play to popping up all over the place. The card mostly appears alongside Builder’s Talent and Caretaker’s Talent in midrange shells, but you can also find Elspeth in creature-based midrange decks, primarily Orzhov ones. Creating tokens and making a threat out of anything allows Archangel Elspeth to answer opposing Planeswalkers while growing your board presence. Because Standard is so attrition-based at the moment, being able to outscale your opponent is incredibly valuable.
Standard saw a ton of paper play this week thanks to the Store Championships. Textless Urza’s Sagas were up for grabs, which are fetching a pretty penny on the secondary market. Foils commonly sell for about $320, so they’re definitely quite a good prize. Nonfoil textless Urza’s Saga are much rarer than their foil counterparts, only offered stamped at WPN premium stores. These cards can go for thousands of dollars but are much more difficult to win.
We saw a ton of different Standard spikes as a result of this. Cut Down, Deep-Cavern Bat, and Laughing Jasper Flint are a few examples of this.
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Cooling Period?
Because we saw a surge of Standard play this week, there was definitely increased demand for common roleplayers in the format. Now that the rush for Standard cards is ending, will the spikes we’re seeing caused by the format revert?
The answer is probably ‘somewhat.’ There is a real chance that this Store Championship series kindles some weekly paper Standard play amongst players who genuinely enjoyed the format. Even if it does, Standard play will not be as popular as it was for the Store Championship events. Standard spikes are likely to lose some value in the coming weeks, but will likely settle in a place that was higher than the original price.
Standard is in a great place right now, so it makes sense that players are enjoying the format. Hopefully, this round of Store Championship events breathes some life into paper Standard for the months to come.
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