MTG Throwback Thursday - Magic 2014 Core Set Retrospective

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Two years ago, the Magic 2014 Core Set was the hot new set. Archangel of Thune was the big card along with Kalonian Hydra. Mutavault and Scavenging Ooze were major reprints. The Ooze was brought into modern with this printing after being a commander product exclusive that proved very good in legacy. Mutavault being reprinted brought down the secondary market price of the former Morningtide chase rare by over half. Slivers received an incredible amount of support including the very underrated Galerider Sliver. At the time I believed this could be one of the most valuable core sets of all time. Indeed it is a good one.

Archangel of Thune ended up being a pretty good card and while the Hydra didn't quite live up to its hype, it was a solid card during its time in standard. Slivers never really got anywhere competitively but the most touted in Galerider, Syphon Sliver, Manaweft Sliver and Bonescythe Sliver all proved to be the casual all stars we expected them to be.

The major hit in the set was actually an uncommon called Young Pyromancer. While certainly good in standard, it has become a mainstay in legacy and quite popular in modern. Foil Young Pyromancer rivals foil Archangel of Thune as the most desirable foil in the set. I don't think Wizards realized just how good it was - not broken as Delver of Secrets, but an amazing value engine spitting out tokens is something that can see consistent play forever.

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For planeswalkers, Liliana of the Dark Realms, Ajani, Caller of the Pride and Jace, Memory Adept were reprints from Magic 2013. Memory Adept was also in Magic 2012. The Liliana continues to be a casual favorite for mono black mages. Ajani was decent in standard once again. Memory Adept wasn't quite as good in his second go around in standard out classed by a new incarnation in Return to Ravnica, Architect of Thought.

Chandra, Pyromaster had some sweet times in standard and would again with her 2015 reprint. Being a modem playable, she probably won't stay 5 bucks forever. But the real winner of the planeswalkers was Garruk, Caller of Beasts. He takes quite the mana investment, but he proved to be worth it. It's highly unlikely this version of Garruk will be seen again, so he's probably not going to be 5 bucks forever. He's too good in Commander for that.

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There are some decent long term investments in this set including Rise of the Dark Realms, Scourge of Valkas, Primeval Bounty and Shadowborn Demon. All are great casual favorites that probably won't see reprints soon. Meanwhile, Tidebinder Mage quietly has become an integral part of Merfolk decks in Modern and Legacy.

Cards that haven't aged well include Lifebane Zombie and Xathrid Necromancer. Lifebane was a staple in the sideboard when he was in standard and the Necromancer was the primary engine of some very competitive human decks. The Zombie is under a dollar now and the necromancer is now pretty much bulk.

Another hyped card of the time were Savage Summoning, an instant which had a cool effect but was eventually relegated to the sideboard against control matchups. Imposing Sovereign looked to be a great tempo creature but proved too fragile to live up to how good it looked on paper.

Magic 2014 was deservedly a hit, full of cards that will continue to see competitive play in eternal formats. It also has plenty of casual hits that will keep the overall set value increasing in years to come.