This only happens once a year, but when it does, the finance world is forced to pay attention. I am talking about the rotation of sets, one block and base set leaving to introduce more magical goodness into our world. Today, we are going to talk about how set rotations affect the price of cards, how you can prepare your collection for it, and how to profit after the rotation happens.

First, let’s take a look at what we know about M12. We know that this is a base set, so it will inevitably hold some number of reprints. This affects players and traders differently. To illustrate this example, I am going to use Inferno Titan, which has been confirmed by MTGSalvation.com

A player who is made aware of this upcoming reprint may want to hold on to his Inferno Titans knowing that they will be legal for another year.

As traders, we should not allow ourselves to fall into this trap. When a card like Inferno Titan is confirmed as a reprint, we know that this will cause a price fallout. What is happening is that the supply of Inferno Titans will be doubling over the next year, and for the price to stay constant, the demand for those Inferno Titans would also have to double along with the supply. And unless Big Red becomes the next new thing in Standard, I cannot see Inferno Titan’s demand increasing by that large of a margin. This is largely due to the loss of Lotus Cobra, which will make it more difficult for any deck, other than a dedicated control deck, to run the Titans. For reference, look at what happened with Baneslayer Angel, even before it was mostly invalidated by the Titans.

So, in summary, when we are faced with a situation that is going to create a large number of reprints, such as a base set, we need to try and move those cards before the value that we have stored in them is not completely destroyed.

The next type of scenario I would like to cover is the yearly set rotation that occurs every September. For those of you who may not know, this is when we lose the older block in Standard and last year’s base set, in this case Zendikar block and M11. As traders, we need to prepare our collections for this transition before the players begin to do the same. To do this, we must start to transition all of our Zendikar block and M11 cards into Scars block cards and Legacy staples. The latest you want to start this transition is roughly three months away from the rotation.

If you don’t feel that you have enough time to trade away your collection, you can always turn your cards into cash. I always try to turn part of my collection into cash in preparation for a new set’s release, as this allows me to buy sealed product on the release date of the set. Having all the new toys in your binder for the players who need them immediately gives you nearly unlimited leverage at the trade table.

Earlier, I mentioned trading your Zendikar block cards for Scars block cards, so let’s delve into which cards we should be focusing on. To do this, we need to decipher what the metagame will potentially look like after the rotation, and in this instance, we have a large pool of information to draw from, which is the Block constructed Pro Tour that just occurred.

After scouring the Top 8, we have the following list of mythics and the number of times they appeared:

• Consecrated Sphinx (3)
• Sword of War and Peace (8)
• Mox Opal (6)
• Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas (4)
• Thrun, the Last Troll (2)
• Hero of Oxid Ridge (4)
• Koth of the Hammer (8)
• Indomitable Archangel (2)
• Elspeth Tirel (2)

Also some notable rares:

• Inkmoth Nexus (28!)
• Puresteel Paladin (8)
• Tempered Steel (8)

The biggest thing we notice from this list is that there are twenty-eight Inkmoth Nexuses, and only one of these decks had a focused poison theme. Control decks that lack instant-speed removal will have a hard time killing Nexus after they lose Tectonic Edge post-rotation, and with that information, we can safely say that Inkmoth Nexus will be a safe bet to hold its value.

The mythics that we want to focus on hoarding for the rotation would be cards that have intrinsic power rather than power that is drawn from cards that are rotating. Cards that I am immediately drawn to in this category are Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas, Mox Opal, Koth of the Hammer, Consecrated Sphinx, and, to a lesser extent, Sword of War and Peace.

When Jace, the Mind Sculptor finally leaves Standard, it will allow the other 4-mana planeswalkers to have their time to shine, inevitably causing an increase in price. I believe that the roof on both planeswalkers lies in the $40 to $50 range, which means Koth will have more room to grow. That is not to say you should not have Tezzerets available in your trade stock at rotation, but Koth is already trending up, and the rotation is just going to add more fuel to that increase.

Of the other mythics to focus on, Consecrated Sphinx has the smallest price tag at the moment, and therefore has the most room to grow. Consecrated Sphinx has been growing steadily over the past few weeks, increasing from $2 to $3 to up to $8 at some of the larger retailers. Knowing that, Sphinx still has some room to grow, especially post-rotation when the format is less oppressive to new strategies.

The other two mythics we are focusing on, Mox Opal and Sword of War and Peace, may not have much more room to grow; however, Mox Opal will remain strong throughout its lifespan due to its appearance in older formats. Something interesting to note on all of the Swords: They may see Titan-like price fluctuations depending on how the metagame looks from month to month.

In closing, here are a few more cards to keep your eye on in the coming weeks:

Ancestral Vision – This seems to be popping up in more and more decks as a replacement to Standstill. I am not convinced that this will completely invalidate Standstill, but it is definitely finding its home in the format.

Misdirection – This card saw some play as a two-of in the second-place deck at GP: Providence, and if the format begins to be as focused around Ancestral Vision, as it seems to be shaping up, expect this card to take a bump in price.

FOIL Dismember – This card may go down as one of the best Blue Green Black removal spells ever printed due to its ability to be played in any deck. This card will see play for years.

Dark Confidant – I know he was here last week, but he has already made the jump to $30. Get these while they are still cheap!

Happy grinding!

JR Wade

@THEJRRR on Twitter

JRRRMTG at gmail dot com