There is a lot casual appeal - he is in pretty much every Cube and blue EDH deck out there replacing Phyrexian Metamorph in most cases. Metamorph is worth more and was printed as a promo and in a big set.
So comparing it to Avacyn is fair. While I cannot imagine it being that expensive ever, I do think that once the set leaves print, stops getting drafted, and the influx of new copies stops, in a year this is a $12-$15 card. Outside sanctioned formats this and Utter End are the two cards that people seem to universally want to play and that's worth something.
Actually Metamorph was printed in a small set, and being "colorless" provides a versatility that Impersonator does not, so I don't think it is always seen as a direct replacement. Your point is valid though, and I think demand for both will be strong in casual/cube circles.
Of course Impersonator won't reach the casual appeal of Avacyn due to the Angel factor, and one thing I am always wary of these days is due to the generic name and ability, I wouldn't be surprised if Impersonator gets reprinted in a future commander product.
For cards that are more obscure like this without solid market value, you'll likely have to set the price yourself. If you feel you'll have regrets letting it go without looking for concrete proof of what it sells for, price it for the highest selling price or higher, then lower as needed if demand isn't there. If you just want to get rid of it and get something for it, sell it for somewhere in between the prices you've seen.
Yeah it was at around $8 for a while, then it was printed in a duel deck and its price dropped. It's getting scarce again so price is climbing back up.
Power level concerns aside, Emmara's art does not depict a 5/7 creature. I know this happens sometimes with monsters, but does this elf shaman even look like a 5/7, and should an elf shaman be 5/7? I thought elves are small and fragile. I don't follow the storyline, but does she have some inner power that makes her that strong and tough?
Rotation has almost no bearing on Gisela's price because she is not played in competitive standard decks anyway. Her price now is held up strictly based on appeal to collectors, casual, and EDH. Rotation will not devalue her; in fact it will be the opposite. She will be even more sought after once copies start to dry up.
What a terrible photoshop. It might be harder to tell if you're viewing on your phone but if you're at home with a hi-res monitor, you can clearly tell that whoever did this took a picture of a card, airbrushed out all the text, and added the text themselves which then look significantly crisper in color and resolution than the rest of the card. The expansion symbol, artist type line, P/T, and rules text are much sharper. Also, the the reminder and flavor texts are not proper font and are amateurly distorted to try to match the angle of the card pic. This is in addition to the first strike capitalization that everyone else already pointed out.
I have a bunch cards from back then like that. The inking from cards printed back then were not always consistent. All the way up to Urza's Saga you would find cards with ink that have a slightly to much different tone than others from box to box. Some were lighter hue, some seem much darker and richer in color.
No, some weren't included. Karakas, for example, was recently printed as a judge promo.
The reserved list was built based on rares that the people working at Wizards at the time thought were good or interesting cards. Not every rare made it.
I would play Chromatic Lantern in the 4 or 5 color control deck that inevitably comes out in RTR standard. It'll definitely/obviously be a EDH staple, but the right deck will want Mana fixing. Especially with so much color need someone will find a home for it.
It's not that Chromatic Lantern functions like Caged Sun, but the card price's tragectory should be similar. They are both cards that will see little bit of play (if any at all) in standard, but will be a sought after card in EDH forever.
Those three cards are not bad investments; however, it also depends on how much you paid for them. You can buy niche cards for cheap and it would be a good investment, or you can buy staple cards for more than you should have and they would be bad investments.
Of course Impersonator won't reach the casual appeal of Avacyn due to the Angel factor, and one thing I am always wary of these days is due to the generic name and ability, I wouldn't be surprised if Impersonator gets reprinted in a future commander product.
The FTV Jace probably had a lot to do with prices simmering down. It should slowly go up once the FTV copies start to dry up after a couple of years.
Discussed in Modern price thread. Not a price memory – the card has seen some recent play in competitive modern.
Nothing really of note here.
Karakas wasn't a rare, by the way.