How to employ a frugal strategy for the 2023 DraftKings Reignmaker

Welcome to my inaugural market watch for Reignmakers on DraftKings. Last season I came to enjoy playing RM, but I got into the game around mid-season. I’m looking forward to a full year of making it reign as the cool kids don’t say.

I am not a high-roller by any means. This column will be, as the name portends, about playing low stakes and slowly accumulating funds throughout the season. This is not the only way to play Reignmakers though. For a rundown of the basics, you can check out this detailed explainer. But, in short, RM is a DFS game, much like your regular DFS on DraftKings, but instead of picking players based on the salary cap, you purchase NFTs of players and use those to fill out your lineups. There are different levels of rarity and price, but we will stick to the base or “core” rarity for this endeavor.

You are able to win cards and cash in Reignmaker DFS games, but you also can sell your NFTs, giving you two ways to profit throughout the season. The market for RM cards ebbs and flows with how a player is playing on the field, but there are other ways in which cards see movement. One of the most useful to keep tabs on are games that have Showdowns. Those are usually Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football.

Showdown strategy

Sell, sell, sell!! If you are into Reignmakers to play DFS and don’t care too much about working the market to your advantage, then this strategy isn’t going to help. But, if you are looking to keep your gains higher than your losses without a lot of risk, then selling your cards with players from Showdown games makes a lot of sense.

With just two teams to choose your lineup from for Showdowns, those cards become harder to find. In turn, that means you should be able to sell them at their peak price for that week.

Of course, now that we are in season two of RM, there is a much smaller edge to selling Showdown cards, but the funnel action remains real. Just check out the prices of Chiefs and Lions players who are going in the season opener.

The Josh Dobbs effect

If you are looking for a true edge, you need to follow Twitter trade and injury news closely. A recent example of this is QB Josh Dobbs, who was traded to the Cardinals, while the team released Colt McCoy. Dobbs quickly went from a backup in Cleveland to a possible starter in Arizona. That move shot the price of his card up quickly. It helped that he didn’t have a huge supply of cards out there at the time, but if you had been ready, you could have snapped up some cheap Dobbs and flipped them for a decent profit.

You can also speculate on the news. With Jonathan Taylor possibly being traded to the Dolphins, we’ve seen Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. cards fall in price. But, what if one of those backs is traded to the Colts and becomes their starter? Or, what if Taylor stays in Indianapolis or ends up going to another team? With Mostert and Wilson’s cards both under $2.00 right now, they are possibly cheap ways to get a starting running back. And if a trade really buries both players, you didn’t lose a lot in speculation. And, you have a couple players who could still end up spiking in price if there is an injury.

Quarterbacks

Quarterbacks are on average the most expensive cards, as there are only 32 starters (and fewer during bye weeks). A starter, no matter his ability, is worth something in this game. Right now, the cheapest starting core QB is Mac Jones with a low ask of $6.70, while the highest low ask is Patrick Mahomes at $28.99 as he gets ready for his Thursday night start.

The higher and more volatile pricing of QBs makes for some useful speculation as to who will be starting as the season moves forward. Injuries and demotions to quarterbacks lead to quick gains for their backups’ cards, as you saw with Dobbs. The question is, who might be in line for a demotion?

We know the top quarterbacks aren’t going anywhere unless they’re injured, so it comes down to those last few on the starting QB ladder. Malik Willis, Will Levis, Kyle Trask, Taylor Heinicke, Gardner Minshew, Brian Hoyer, Aidan O’Connell, Sam Darnold, and Jacoby Brissett are all possibilities to see some time this season as the starter. If they end up making that move, their RM cards will move up as well.

Sleepers

In fantasy football we try to find players later in drafts who we believe will breakout. You can look at Reignmakers the same way. Do you think Rashaad Penny leads the way in a crowded backfield in Philadelphia? Well, now is the time to buy his cards, as his core cards are around $1.20. Do you believe Javonte Williams came back too fast from his knee injury and will have a setback that allows Samaje Perine to get the lead back work? Now is the time to grab him!

You get the point. Take a stand on a player and hope you’re right!

Who I am targeting

I am open to a lot of players if the price of their cards is low enough. But, I am actively looking into purchasing Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., Khalil Herbert, Eli Mitchell, Malik Willis, Tank Bigsby, Samaje Perine, Rashaad Penny, Calvin Austin, and Kyle Trask when the price is right.