Financial Quick Picks - MTG Hit List [Edward Eng]

Rotation is coming up and that means big changes as usual. Normally, I don't like to speculate a ton on cards pre-rotation because it's tough to know what's really going to happen. However, some people like to go against the grain anyways.

Funny thing is, this time there are quite a few cards I'm targeting going in to rotation. For the most part, I noticed that these cards have some similarities.

1. They're all cards that have a single color in their casting cost except for one card.

2. The 'outsider' in this week's MTG Hit List is colorless, which makes it even more splashable than a card with just one color in its casting cost.

Let's get to the cards.

Evolutionary Leap

We've seen Brian Kibler jam this is his GW Aggro sideboard to give him some power against decks where mana dorks are bad late-game draws. I also heard from some pros that this was the tech for GR Devotion going into Pro Tour Magic Origins.

And now that we have Hangarback Walker as part of our arsenal, Evolutionary Leap gains value from all the thopters flying around.

Plus, we have Battle for Zendikar and all its big dudes joining the party soon.

I could see this card slowly creep up to the $5 range. It's cheap enough now to pick up a few playsets and sit on them.

Rattleclaw Mystic

Sylvan Caryatid is leaving us. And yeah, we don't know what new 1 or 2cc mana dorks we'll see in Battle for Zendikar if any. But even if we do get some new mana dorks, shame on you if you've forgotten that Rattleclaw Mystic is also a morph creature with upside. And don't forget, you can bash for 2 with this. You really can't lose much on this card. I think the correct play is to pick up the Buy-a-Box promos.

Warden of the First Tree

I can't tell you how many games and matches I've won with this card. It has a lot of text on it; hence, it does a lot of things. It's a powerful creature early in the game. And it's a creature you can sink a ton of mana into if you draw in the later turns.

More importantly, you can play Warden in Mono Green that splashes white or black. You can obviously play it in GW or BG. Or hey, how about Abzan? Sandsteppe Citadel is sticking around. So are Llanowar Wastes, Jungle Hollow, Caves of Koilos, Windswept Heath, Abzan Charm, Dromoka's Command, Siege Rhino, Rakshasa Deathdealer, and Anafenza, the Foremost as well as Sorin, Solemn Visitor.

Seems like a pretty versatile card to me. Pick 'em up now while they're cheap. And they're um...mythic?

Shaman of the Great Hunt

Here we have another mythic with a bunch of text and effects on it. Also...if you take a look at history, hasty creatures tend to do pretty well fresh out of the rotation gates.

I can also tell you from experience, that Shaman is quite a powerful card. If you haven't casted it, I suggest you do so before pushing it to the sidelines.

It's also important to note that this card gives red and green decks a way to draw cards, which is typically harder to find in those colors.

Don't get caught up against the wall when this card spikes.

Lastly, we have a card that's already seen an uptick owing to UR Thopters powerful showing at Pro Tour Magic Origins.

Ghostfire Blade