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by David S. Wilson Stretching Dominia Dollars, Part V Before I start a much needed newbie article on which of the "GOLD" cards are the best investments, I must take a few minutes and give my 2 cents on the new 5th Edition of M:tg. I agree with most of what I have read by other players, and plan to limit my purchases of 5th Edition to minimum purchases. But the new set is not as bad as some people imply it is. In fact my nephew Dan, his wife Daniell and his brother Todd, have only played M:tg for about 6 months and they think 5th Edition is great. They still need many of the common cards and love some of the new artwork. So, it looks like Wizards did a better job than some of us experienced players are saying. Before I talked with my nephews, I planned on ripping that edition apart. I think I was under estimating the power of the new art. I was going to advise newbies to buy the Booster sets which are still available instead of the 5th Edition. But what my newbie friends want is 5th Edition and they like many of the cards they are getting. Soooo.. in the end my advice is ... forget the grumbling and mumbling of us "experienced" players and buy what YOU like -- don't let us persuade you against it. Now on to Gold cards. I've read many articles on why and how to play various colors. But for some reason Gold has never been covered as a single color. Maybe that's because it requires a combination of the primary Magic colors to cast a Gold card. What this means is there is a large set of cards which have been ignored. Let me be the first to at least list the top 12 best buys and hope I inspire some more articles on how to best play these very cards. This time I'm going to be bolder than in the past and put them in the specific order I feel they earned. Just remember this is a best buys list, not a top 12 list. I don't list $16 cards like Gwendlyn Di Corci because of the price. If a card costs more then $5, buy it only because you decided to buy it. Notice all of the cards in this list come from Booster sets. If the booster set is still available in your area I honestly recommend you be patient and buy the booster packs. These cards will come to you. But if you're trading with a friend here's the cards to go after or if you can't wait here's the gold budget priced cards to purchase and approximately what to expect to pay. 1)        Lim-Dul's Vault Lim-Dul's Vault : an uncommon instant from Alliances which can still be purchased for the low cost of 2 or 3 dollars. Lets you shuffle through your cards like never before.   2)        Savage Twister Savage Twister : an uncommon sorcery from Mirage for 2 or 3 dollars. Add the power of x direct damage to that already deadly Red/Green deck.   3)        Gabriel Angelfire Gabriel Angelfire : a rare summons Legend reprinted in Chronicles that can still be found for as low as $4. Add a lure and destroy his/her forces by picking Rampage 3 as your power of choice.   4)        Monsoon Monsoon : a rare enchantment from Ice Age selling for 3 or 4 dollars. A color hose that stops those blue decks in their tracks.   5)        Pygmy Hippo Pygmy Hippo : a rare summons from Visions that can be found for around 4 dollars. I love to use your mana to bring out my big guns knowing you have no mana left to stop me.   6)        Dark Heart of the Woods Dark Heart of the Woods : a common enchantment from The Dark for the low low cost of 1 dollar or less! One of the most under rated cards. I'm often willing to sacrifice a forest to gain 3 lives. A Gold Zuran Orb.   7)        Army Ants Army Ants : an uncommon summons from Visions selling for around 2 dollars. The new age Strip Mine that's reusable.   8)        Delirium Delirium : an uncommon instant Mirage card forcing an opponents creature to to attack him/her instead of you. I've seen them for a low as 1 dollar.   9)        Sealed Fate Sealed Fate : an uncommon sorcery spell from Mirage costing just 3 dollars it allows you to eliminate one of your opponents cards before they draw it and decide what order they will draw the next x number of cards.   10)        Tempest Drake Tempest Drake : an uncommon summons from Visions gets you a 2/2 flyer that doesn't tap from attacking. A little Serra Angel for as low as a buck.   11)        Radiant Essence Radiant Essence : an uncommon Mirage summons priced around 1 whole dollar you gain a 2/3 creature who is a 3/5 if your opponent controls any black permanents.   12)        Scalebane's Elite Scalebane's Elite : an uncommon visions summons for about a buck. You get a 4/4 Soldier with protection from black for your green/white deck. Well that's it for this list ...except for Best Art in a gold card...it's been Nichol Bolas for a long time ... but not anymore, I now grant that honor to Cadaverous Bloom. Spooky. Too bad it's already selling for 6 or 7 dollars. But if you do have the bucks...Yes I give it high recommendations for playability as well as artwork. See ya next month with a look at all those lands the Wizards have published.       Thank you - Dave [ Back to May 1997 Table of Contents ] [ Back to Beyond Dominia ] Magic: the Gathering is a Registered Trademark of Wizards of the Coast