Journey with the Rares

Note to self...

• Foil planeswalkers are overpriced for collections when they are in Standard meta unless they see huge play in modern/legacy formats. Buy them post rotation..
• If the foil planeswalkers are really seeing huge play in other formats outside standard, pick them up immediately within the month of release. 
• Shocklands are picking up in a rise. But exam week... Wait for it.... I'll probably pick them up just before modern season (June) and probably around September, just before or during post-rotation. It's only a short window and it's quite unlikely I may not be able to get at a good price. Most likely I'll have to get them before the price spike. 
• No boosters! If I want to ever earn money, I have to stop the leaks.

Now, I'll discuss about my review on the set's Rares

Aegis of the Gods

It's a reasonable hate card but it's no Leyline of Sanctity. It's still by general consensus that enchantments are more difficult to remove than creatures. Also, with a 2/1 stats, it's quite easy to get rid of him if needed. It maybe a new toy for modern white decks with Aether Vial builds.
($3.00)

Battlefield Thaumaturge

($1.00)

Bearer of the Heavens

Draft bomb. Unless u can cheat it into play and sac him, he's not viable for growth. 

(bulk to $1)

Deicide

Solid removal as a SB or MB option against gods. I'm pretty sure the meta will shift towards abusing gods' abilities and having this removal may wreck certain decks. Nonetheless, it's still an instant enchantment removal.

($1-$3)

Dictate of Erebos

($1.00)

Dictate of Heliod

($1.00)

Dictate of Karametra

($1.50)

Dictate of Kruphix

Who doesn't love to draw card? matches howling mine, but with a tighter restriction cost. But hey! Flash!

($2.00)

Eidolon of Blossoms

Sweet card with a sweet ability. It can be a backbone of a deck with heavy enchantments.
($2.00)

Eidolon of Great Revels

Sadly this card may not make the cut in modern. In constructed RDW may rejoice with the burn and fast creatures available, but that's pretty much the decks that will pick up as a SB card in standard, maybe... just maybe.. a card that can be used in modern R/x decks. Don't get me wrong. This card have potential, but just wait to see it picks up.

($2-$4)

Hall of Triumph

$1.00 card.. It's good for decks running heavy single colour other than white, but other than that, Honor of the Pure takes the cake.

Mana Confluence

Has City of Brass ever hit that high?! Pre-orders are gong at $20! I'll bet it'll be $5-8 once price has settled.

Master of Feast

Beast. Black is getting a boost in this set. Cards like Nighthowler and Herald of Torment are seeing a rise in play with the return of mono-black decks. This guy will fit the bill nicely into the deck. Limited bomb and a beast in constructed, I'd say that he'll be a force to be reckoned with.

($6-8 if meta wraps around him; bulk if he does not break into meta)

Setessan Tactics

Strong synergy with heroic decks. Limited bomb and possible finisher. In constructed, it won't be a meta-warping card but will be usable in certain decks.

($1.00)

Temple of Epiphany 

Temple of Malady

$4.00 upon release, ~$6 to $8 post RTR rotation. Shocklands are still around. So don't expect them to rise anything more than the price of a shockland too soon until post-rotation. (Temple of enlightenment is an outlier though..)

Bulk Rares

• Daring Thief
• Dawnbringer Charioteers
• Dictate of Twin Gods
• Doomwake Giant: -1/-1 won't hurt much... It'll rid of mana dorks, but other than that...
• Extinguish All Hope: Boardwipe & shenanigans but at 6 mana... seriously?! But, hey, mono black anyone? Only issue is that it's only viable in standard and limited.
• Harness by Force: Really? A slightly better Act of Treason... but no... not this.
• Heroes’ Bane: Cute card. Limited Bomb. If left untouched, it can grow pretty quickly and turn into a potential threat. R/G monsters! Are you picking them up? (Bulk to $1)
• Hydra Broodmaster: Interesting choice to play. He won't go beyond $1 as of now, but if R/G monsters deck or mono-green picks up, expect him to go as high as $5. With the amount of mana docks and mana fixers around, I'm sure he's not really a 6mana 7/7 but possibly a monster appearing on t5.
• Hypnotic Siren: How much was mind control and Volition Reins-like cards played? On the other side of things, she's a 1 mana 1/1 flyer.. Yay! (Bulk to $1)
• King Macar, the Gold Cursed: EDH gold! (pun intended; Bulk to $1)
• Launch the Fleet: Urgh... bulk...
• Pheres-Band Warchief:  I'm not too sure if there are much centaur creatures to form tribal. Itself would be viable in limited, but...
• Polymorphous Rush
• Revel of the Fallen God
• Scourge of Fleets: Yes.. because control decks don't troll enough.. Limited bomb
• Silence the Believers: Decent removal but... at 4cmc is a little too high to see much play outside limited
• Skybind: Casual Fun, but bulk...
• Spawn of Thraxes:  Draft bomb if you run heavy red. It's quite close to a Bogardan Hellkite. But, outside limited, bust.
• Twinflame

Summary: 

I won't pick up any cards in the pre-order at the moment. At pre-release to release week, the cards are not stable in their prices; the prices will go likely to dip before anything rises in the next PTQ event. However, I do want to keep a look out of the following cards;

• Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
• Athreos, God of Passage 
• Iroas, God of Victory 
• Keranos, God of Storms 
• Kruphix, God of Horizons
• Pharika, God of Affliction
• Godsend
• Deicide
• Eidolon of Blossoms
• Temple of Epiphany
• Temple of Malady

Priority buy first hand would be the Temples. I'm not a Standard player, but definitive profit here in the coming season would be the temples. Keranos and Iroas would be second in line for a top pick for standard, Athreos will be a close third.'ll probably pick up Ajani foil for my collection as priority if it hits under $30. For the rest, I'd just want to see how the market demand will affect the prices for their appeal.

Commons/Uncommons to look out (27th April Edit)

• Magma Spray
• Banishing Light
• Eidolon of Rhetoric
• Hubris
• Nyx Weaver