Last updated on May 5, 2025

Shiko, Paragon of the Way (Tarkir- Dragonstorm) - art by Victor Adame Minguez

Shiko, Paragon of the Way โ€“ illus. Victor Adame Menguez

It ain't easy being green, they say. And that seems to be the case in Magic's Standard format right now, where not a single Forest made it to the Top 8 of the latest RC, SCG CON Minneapolis.

Swamps had an equally hard time, while Blue seems to be the color of Magic right now, mixed with either Red, White, or all three rolled into Jeskai.

SCG CON Minneapolis Top 8

Source: Star City Games on X

SCG CON also cemented Izzet Prowess' title of โ€œStandard's Deck To Beatโ€. Although its presence at the top looks fairly modest, it was more than 30% of the field on both Day 1 and Day 2, and it arrived with a target on its back after taking down RC Bologna last week in a mirror final.

The MTG market has taken due notice, many of Jeskai's best cards for Standard are going up in price today.

Stock Up

Price chart for Stock Up

Source: MTGStocks

It took some time for MTG players to warm up to Aetherdriftโ€˜s Stock Up โ€“ the blue sorcery was worth less than 50 cents for more than a week after DFT launched.

But then it jumped a crazy 1000% in late February, to four bucks, grew steadily from there to around $6 by the time Tarkir: Dragonstorm launched, and has doubled in price again since then to around $12, which is borderline crazy for an uncommon from a very recent set.

The reason is simple: Stock Up is good everywhere. For starters, with the exception of Jeskai Oculus, every Blue deck in Standard packs 4 copies: Jeskai Control, Izzet Prowess, and Standard's dark horse Azorius Omniscience have Stock Up as a centerpiece.

But โ€œeverywhereโ€ is much bigger than Standard: Stock Up makes the cut in several Legacy decks like Show and Tell or Esper Control, and it doesn't stop there. The blue sorcery even featured in the top spot at a top-tier Vintage tournament, where Tsumori Youhei ended #1 with Paradoxical Outcome in the 27th God of Vintage Tournament in Tokyo, Japan.

There are only three cards that Tsumori Youhei considered strong enough to be a four-of in their main deck: the deck's namesake Paradoxical Outcome, Force of Willโ€ฆ and Stock Up.

With such competitive pedigree, don't expect to buy this uncommon for cheap any time soon!

Slickshot Show-Off

Price chart for Slickshot Show-Off

Source: MTGStocks

Cori-Steel Cutter is of course the main protagonist of Izzet Prowess, but Slickshot Show-Off is not far behind, allowing the deck to attack on a very different axis: While the artifact is about resilience and going wide, the bird wizard is about evasion and going scarily tall.

Slickshot Show-Off was a bright star a year ago, back when Outlaws of Thunder Junction was released. But then Bloomburrow brought a horde of mice that stole the bird's show as a centerpiece of aggressive red decks. Its price went from a $20 peak during OTJ, to about $3 right before TDM arrived.

Now Slickshot Show-Off is stealing the show again: It climbed around 500% in the last few weeks, and it's close to $15.

Shiko, Paragon of the Way

Price chart for Shiko, Paragon of the Way

Source: MTGStocks

During TDM presales, folks were paying through the nose (as much as $30-$50) for Shiko, Paragon of the Way, yet by TDM's launch the hype had died down and you could grab copies for less than $3.

That didn't last long, though. Shiko, Paragon of the Way has become one of the pillars of Jeskai Control, has climbed to $6-$7 nowadays, and it's recent #1 spot in Minneapolis suggests it will keep going up.

Marang River Regent

Price chart for Marang River Regent

Source: MTGStocks

Marang River Regent is another card that flew under most players' radar, costing less than a buck by TDM's post-launch. Fast-forward a few weeks, and Marang River Regent earned itself a spot in Jeskai Control (usually two copies), but above all became crucial in Azorius Omniscience.

The fact that it's a great reactive card for control decks (you can keep your mana up during your opponent's turn, threatening counterspells), or a big, bad, bouncy dragon depending what you need, has pushed the price up by 400%.

Into the Flood Maw

Price chart for Into the Flood Maw

Source: MTGStocks

Like Slickshot Show-Off, Into the Flood Maw is a card with a lot of ups and downs. It was mostly a dud during Bloomburrow, later to become a powerhouse with Duskmourn and the rise of the Pixie Bounce archetype.

This blue instant is again all the rage now in Standard, gaining about 40% in the last week. It has also made inroads outside of Standard, above all in Arclight Phoenix decks in Pioneer.

Other Standard Winners 

Izzet Lands

You can't play the cards if you don't have the mana! With Jeskai in general and Izzet lands in particular being in such high demand, Aetherdriftโ€˜s Riverpyre Verge and Murders at Karlov Manorโ€˜s Thundering Falls have seen their price increase by 20%-30% last week, now costing about $12-$15. 

Proft's Eidetic Memory

Jeskai Oculus plays a bit of a different game than the other blue Standard decks (it's one very notable exception to the โ€œStock Up Everywhere!โ€ craze, for example), and makes great use of Proft's Eidetic Memory. The legendary enchantment is also a weapon of choice for Phoenix decks in Pioneer, pushing the price to almost $5.

High Noon

Price chart for High Noon

Source: MTGStocks

As a very efficient way to keep Prowess decks in check, High Noonโ€˜s price tripled from about $0.50 last week to around $1.50 now. The top decks at Minneapolis didn't pack a copy of this white enchantment, though, so the price increase may also be due to interest from cEDH players.

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