One cheap card went up six times
Astral Heron is not a Signature. It is not an Alt Art. It is the plain Epic. On August 1 it was $8.84. The last sale I saw was $56.35.
Here is how it happened. Akali won the Singapore Regional Qualifier on September 5. The Thursday before, Astral Heron was $32. That weekend it hit $44. Ten days later it was $56.
It keeps happening
Ornn won Barcelona on August 23. Seal of Focus went from $12.79 to $24.96 in one weekend. 319 copies sold in three days. The three days before, only 49 sold.
Ornn, Blacksmith did the same thing. It went from 76 cents to $2.07. All of these were cheap before the event.
My rule: buy Epics under $5
I do this every set. If an Epic is under $5, I buy it.
There are 143 Epics across Origins, Spiritforged, Unleashed and Vendetta. 102 of them are under $5. 74 are under $2. 41 are under $1. You could buy one of each of the 102 for about $164.
Yesterday I went through TCGplayer. I bought 22 different Epics, 35 copies in all. It cost $65 with shipping and tax. The cards alone were about $49. Three of them have already doubled in the last 30 days. They are still under $5.
Most people wait for a deck to win first. By then, the $1 card costs $56.
Cards I am watching
Mirror Image shows why this works. On August 19 it was about $4.72. Now the lowest listing is $18. The last sale was $22.99. I think the new bans help LeBlanc decks, and they need three Mirror Images.
In Vendetta, Ocean Drake is about $1. It is a sneaky card for purple and red decks. Corrupted Dragon was 64 cents. More dragon cards keep coming out, so I like it. Acceleration Gate is also under $1.
Lightning Rush is still over $5. The Stacked Deck ban hurts the Kennen deck. If people stop playing it, the price may drop under $5. That could be a good time to buy.
The cheapest Epic I bought was 42 cents. I bought two.
One exception to my rule: Signature spells. I only buy those if I play that champion's colors.
Save money on shipping
On TCGplayer, add all your cards to your cart. Then click Optimize Cart. Keep the same condition and rarity. It groups your cards into fewer packages.
In my example, the cart was $18.88 with six packages. After I optimized it, it was $15.60 with four packages. Each card cost a little more, but shipping cost a lot less.
Why now
Ekko, Recurrent and Stacked Deck were banned on September 18. Radiance previews start September 25. That is the same weekend as the LA Regional Qualifier. The set comes out October 23.
If a card shows up in a preview or a Top 8, its price can jump in one weekend. For 50 cents, I will buy an Epic every day.