Much to the delight and dismay of many MTG players, there’s an awful lot going on at the moment. Between the Doctor Who Commander decks, the Fallout First Look, and soon The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, it’s nonstop! For better or worse, this has made it rather hard to keep up with all the latest goings on.
As if there wasn’t already too much to keep on top of, each MTG card isn’t just gorgeous art and nice mechanics to admire. Instead, each one is part of a massive interconnected web of powerful combos, and Commander support. Thanks to this, simple MTG spoilers and details can have far-reaching implications, often best seen in the monumental price spikes they cause!
Energy Is Getting Expensive
As anyone who’s been paying bills for the past few years will know, energy prices are annoyingly high right now. Unfortunately, the same trend is now becoming true in MTG, although it’s not due to the dreaded cozzie livs. Instead, MTG’s next Universes Beyond crossover, Fallout, is to blame for causing all this ruckus.
Revealed recently during the surprise First Look livestream, one of the four preconstructed Fallout decks harnesses Energy. First released in Aether Revolt, this somewhat divisive mechanic has gone without support for six long years. Now this is finally changing, we’ve seen a massive surge in interest in past Energy staples.
Out of all of Aether Revolt’s Energy cards,
Gonti’s Aether Heart
Gonti’s Aether Heart
Whenever Gonti's Aether Heart or another artifact you control enters, you get {E}{E} (two energy counters).
Pay eight {E}, Exile Gonti's Aether Heart: Take an extra turn after this one.
is arguably the best of the bunch. Able to give you an extra turn for surprisingly little effort, this card is practically an auto-include within every Energy deck. Given this strength, unsurprisingly, many players have been keen to preemptively pick up a copy.
Originally priced at around $1.50, Gonti’s Aether Heart has over doubled in price already. Now selling for around $3.22, it seems this card’s price is only going to go up and up. While this price increase is already rather impressive, however, it’s nothing compared to
Aetherworks Marvel
Aetherworks Marvel
Whenever a permanent you control is put into a graveyard, you get {E} (an energy counter).
{T}, Pay six {E}: Look at the top six cards of your library. You may cast a spell from among them without paying its mana cost. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
.
Able to cheat out spells time and time again, Aetherworks Marvel puts your Energy Counters to very good use. Just like Gonti’s Aether Heart this makes it an auto-include within any Energy deck, perhaps even more so. Thanks to this, the price has similarly shot up, albeit much more dramatically. Once priced at just $1, Aetherworks Marvel is now worth around $5.07!
The Beanstalk Goes Up
While it wasn’t hyped much prior to release,
Up the Beanstalk
Up the Beanstalk
When this enchantment enters and whenever you cast a spell with mana value 5 or greater, draw a card.
has quickly established itself as an incredible card. Easily one of, if not the, best card in the entire set, the humble uncommon is making all manner of waves. Played within Standard, Modern, Pioneer, and Commander, this draw engine is absolutely everywhere.
As if to be expected in MTG, due to this card being a multiformat staple, its price has been climbing hard since released. Once an unassuming $0.50 uncommon, this card is now worth almost $5! While this is certainly a dramatic turnaround, for better or worse, it may not last forever.
Since Up the Beanstalk is an uncommon, there’s no doubt more and more copies will be opened in the future. Unless players really can’t get enough of this card, this should satiate the current demand on the market, causing prices to fall. Looking at the TCGplayer pricing graph, we’re already seeing this somewhat as its price fell $0.06 in the last week.
While Up the Beanstalk may have had its time in the sun, it has caused some other notable spikes thanks to its usage in Modern. Here, Up the Beanstalk absolutely loves the Evoke Elementals, however, they’re not the only expensive cards you can cheat out. Technically costing seven mana
Commandeer
Commandeer
You may exile two blue cards from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Gain control of target noncreature spell. You may choose new targets for it. (If that spell is an artifact, enchantment, or planeswalker, the permanent enters under your control.)
has seen a resurgence in Modern recently thanks to Up the Beanstalk.
Following its recent reprint within Commander Masters, Commandeer has been as cheap as $4-5 recently. While this was great news for fans of this MTG card, unfortunately, its time being cheap is over, as it’s skyrocketed back up in price. Now selling for around $22 on TCGplayer, it’s like the reprint of this card never even happened!
Time Isn’t Cheap
While the newly teased Fallout Commander decks may be causing the most recent price spikes, they’re hardly the only Universes Beyond products making waves. Now that they’ve been properly released, the Doctor Who Commander decks are also causing plenty of market movements. This is especially true for Suspend cards, which have similarly been lacking support for quite some time.
Due to the new Time Travel mechanic in the Timey-Wimey deck, Suspend can be a lot faster than usual. Unsurprisingly, this has caused quite a spike in popularity. After all, not only do players want to build around Suspend cards, but they’re also great upgrades to the Timey-Wimey deck.
For better or worse, not every suspend card has been spiking in price as hard as the Energy staples. That being said, cards like
Rousing Refrain
Rousing Refrain
Add {R} for each card in target opponent's hand. Until end of turn, you don't lose this mana as steps and phases end. Exile Rousing Refrain with three time counters on it.
Suspend 3—{1}{R} (Rather than cast this card from your hand, you may pay {1}{R} and exile it with three time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, you may cast it without paying its mana cost.)
have still seen one hell of a rise! Previously selling for around $1.40, this card is now an incredible $8.30! That’s almost a 600% price increase over just a few days!
To justify this demand, Rousing Refrain offers an incredible amount of ramp in red, so long as it’s played right. Used early game, you could easily net yourself over fifteen mana, however, getting the timing right is the trouble. Since Time Travel helps mitigate this problem, Rousing Refrain has become a Suspend staple, and auto-include within the new deck.
Alongside Rousing Refrain, several other MTG cards with Suspend, like
Chronomantic Escape
Chronomantic Escape
Until your next turn, creatures can't attack you. Exile Chronomantic Escape with three time counters on it.
Suspend 3—{2}{W} (Rather than cast this card from your hand, you may pay {2}{W} and exile it with three time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, you may cast it without paying its mana cost.)
, have also seen price spikes. Jumping from $.50 to now $4.42, this card’s protective effects are now in a league of their own. Potentially offering protection each turn, Chronomantic Escape works wonders in a deck with
Everybody Lives!
Everybody Lives!
All creatures gain hexproof and indestructible until end of turn. Players gain hexproof until end of turn. Players can't lose life this turn and players can't lose the game or win the game this turn.
.
More Movements Momentarily
While we’ve already seen a number of recent market movements, this is only the beginning. This week, the spoiler season for The Lost Caverns of Ixalan will officially begin. Expected to be loaded with typal support and interesting cards aplenty, this MTG set will surely cause a price spike or two. For that to happen, however, we’re just going to have to wait and see.
Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long, at least, as The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Debut Stream is on the 24th of October. Following this, the set’s spoiler season will last until the 2nd of November. During this time, we’ll be covering all the new and interesting cards that catch our eye, so make sure to watch this space!