As of today, "Stormbreath Dragon" is the hottest card in Wizards of the Coast's Magic: The Gathering--Theros set, as measured by total dollar amount sold through the TCGplayer.com website.  Theros marks the point at which the Standard format rotation occurs, meaning players attending events like the TCGplayer Fall State Championships are trying to quickly figure out the set's impact.
 
During the preorder season for Theros (September 7th - 20th) a number of cards stood out as chase cards for the set.
 

Top 10 'Theros' Cards by Dollar Volume (9/7 - 9/20)
$ Vol. Rank	Card Name	Average Price
1	Thoughtseize	$22.25
2	Elspeth, Suns Champion	$21.34
3	Purphoros, God of the Forge	$21.62
4	Stormbreath Dragon	$18.24
5	Xenagos, the Reveler	$25.54
6	Fleecemane Lion	$6.84
7	Thassa, God of the Sea	$16.42
8	Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver	$16.71
9	Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx	$7.06
10	Temple of Triumph	$4.86

 
Thoughtseize in first place is no surprise as the card has very strong applications in formats other than Standard, including Legacy and Modern.  The remaining cards on the list, such as Elspeth, Sun's Champion and Xenagos, the Reveler, are cards that were anticipated as having an impact on the Standard format.
 
A number of cards began to grow more popular once players had a chance to play with them at Preleases and see the kinds of decks that were being developed.
 

Top 10 'Theros' Cards by Dollar Volume (9/23 - 9/30)
$ Vol. Rank	Card Name	Average Price
1	Stormbreath Dragon	$25.23
2	Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver	$19.41
3	Thoughtseize	$21.21
4	Elspeth, Suns Champion	$29.71
5	Fleecemane Lion	$7.99
6	Purphoros, God of the Forge	$20.09
7	Anger of the Gods	$4.82
8	Xenagos, the Reveler	$20.60
9	Thassa, God of the Sea	$15.23
10	Heros Downfall	$4.58

 The biggest change on the list is that Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver jumped from eighth to second in sales rank.  Another great indication of the set’s impact is that preorder prices for many cards have not dropped off, with some cards such as Fleecemane Lion experiencing a significant increase, showing that players continue to have a strong interest in the top cards.
 
These frontrunners give us an idea of what cards players are considering for upcoming events.
 
Frank Lepore is the editor of Magic.TCGPlayer.com.  TCGPlayer.com is the largest collectible card marketplace on the web, with hundreds of brick and mortar sellers listed. 
 
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.