Cards to Watch: Dark Matter Manipulator Rises 54% on MTGO

Paper prices slipped 0.2% this week and MTGO prices lost 0.9%, continuing their ordinary decline, with losses over 30 days of 2.8% and 3.9%, respectively. Dark Matter Manipulator moved the other way online, climbing from 7.51 tix on November 1 to 11.60 tix on November 8, a 54% gain.

The Week’s Biggest Moves

• Up, from November 1 to November 8:
• Urza’s Saga rose from 12.45 to 18.30 tix on MTGO, above its preceding-month high of 16.12 tix. Already covered on November 8, it appeared in 244 published decks against 231 the previous week.
• Dark Matter Manipulator climbed from 7.51 to 11.60 tix on MTGO, clearing its preceding-month high of 8.12 tix. It featured in winning Modern and Legacy lists this week.
• Black Lotus rose from 62.66 to 83.38 tix on MTGO, above its preceding-month high of 69.58 tix; published decks increased from 93 to 109.
• Goblin Welder climbed from 8.97 to 12.52 tix on MTGO, above its preceding-month high of 10.17 tix, as its published Legacy decks increased from 3 to 10.

• Down, from November 1 to November 8:
• Shizo, Death’s Storehouse fell from $32.74 to $9.02 on TCGplayer, below its preceding-month range of $32.74 to $35.76. Its volatile week included a $0.23 reading on November 5.
• Emrakul, the Promised End fell from 9.21 to 6.13 tix on MTGO, below its preceding-month low of 9.68 tix; published decks slipped from 82 to 77.
• Quantum Riddler fell from 21.48 to 17.23 tix on MTGO, below its preceding-month low of 20.08 tix; published decks declined from 113 to 91.
• Darklight Phoenix dropped from 10.76 to 7.72 tix on MTGO, below its preceding-month low of 11.19 tix, alongside a decline from 9 published decks to 4.
• Hydroblast fell from 14.75 to 11.84 tix on MTGO, below its preceding-month low of 14.75 tix, despite appearing in 126 published decks against 103 the previous week.

Prismatic Vista

Flagged here on November 8, Prismatic Vista appeared in 31 published decks against 10 in the November 2 to November 9 count. Legacy appearances rose from 7 of 155 lists to 22 of 217, including Death & Taxes and Jeskai Midrange; Modern appearances increased from 3 of 436 to 10 of 443, mostly in Black Eldrazi.

Prices moved down: $28.51 on TCGplayer and 1.99 tix on MTGO on November 8, against $29.15 and 2.16 tix on November 1. On October 10, they were $28.10 and 2.00 tix. The play increase still amounts to only 10 Modern lists.

Chandra, Chill of Compliance

New in Reality Fracture, released October 2, Chandra, Chill of Compliance is a three-mana planeswalker that selects cards and helps cast noncreature spells. It appeared in 13 published decks against 10 in the week ending November 9, with copies increasing from 6 to 27 across Legacy, Modern and Standard.

On November 8, it cost $6.47 on TCGplayer and 5.99 tix on MTGO, against $7.04 and 4.94 tix on November 1. The October 10 prices were $7.38 and 3.04 tix. Standard use weakened from 9 of 254 lists to 7 of 284, despite the digital gain.

Goblin Welder

uburdub won the November 8 Legacy Challenge 32 8-1 with four Goblin Welder, according to MTGO’s published list. The Painter deck paired it with Goblin Engineer and artifact targets including Chaos Defiler. Across the week ending November 9, Goblin Welder appeared in 10 of 217 Legacy lists, against 3 of 155.

Its 12.52 tix price on November 8 compares with 8.97 tix on November 1 and 5.69 tix on October 10. Paper barely followed: $21.62 on TCGplayer on November 8, against $22.33 on November 1 and $21.86 on October 10. The adoption increase rests on a small, 10-list sample.

Show and Tell

Show and Tell appeared in 49 published decks against 20 in the week ending November 9, chiefly in Legacy and Vintage. The_shallow_grave’s winning Sultai Reanimator list at the November 8 Legacy RC Super Qualifier carried four in the sideboard.

On November 8, it reached $3.13 on TCGplayer and 8.16 tix on MTGO, against $3.04 and 7.05 tix on November 1. Its October 10 prices were $3.31 and 7.72 tix: paper remains below that level despite the additional play.

Dark Matter Manipulator

New in Reality Fracture, released October 2, Dark Matter Manipulator costs , mills three cards when it enters and gains power as your graveyard fills. Since our November 8 report described a 37% weekly MTGO gain, that move has widened to 54%, with 91 published decks in the week ending November 9 against 75 previously.

Capitano_CL won the November 6 Modern Challenge 32 6-1 with four copies, alongside Stitcher’s Supplier and Nethergoyf, in MTGO’s published results. The_shallow_grave also played four in an 11-1 Legacy RC Super Qualifier win on November 8. An October 31 Reddit post and video credited the card with reviving Hogaak in eternal formats, including Vintage.

Its $3.98 TCGplayer price on November 8 was down from $4.33 on November 1, while MTGO rose from 7.51 to 11.60 tix. On October 10, it was $0.84 and 2.87 tix.

Modern adoption is already moving against the price: 55 of 443 published lists in the week of November 2, down from 60 of 436 the previous week.