While Wizards has been experimenting a lot recently, foil cards are still the jewel of many MTG players’ collections. As the rarer and shinier versions of most Magic cards in existence, there’s an understandable demand for foil MTG cards. After all, what better way to show off at FNM than with an entirely foiled-out deck? While consistently more expensive than their non-foil counterparts, the price of foils can often be in a state of flux. Alongside the market’s usual ebb and flow, increasing demand for classic cards or unexpected rarity being discovered can cause foils to spike unexpectedly. This can dramatically increase the prices of once unassuming foil MTG cards by several hundred percent, for a short while at least. Corner the market right, and you might even be able to increase the price of a card by 74,000%!
Desert of the Indomitable
Boasting one of the biggest price rises we can ever recall,
Desert of the Indomitable
Desert of the Indomitable
This land enters tapped.
{T}: Add {G}.
Cycling {1}{G} ({1}{G}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)
is supposedly up 74,000% today. This unfathomable increase has supposedly transformed this common card from a $1.30 foil into a $985 investment. As you might expect, this unbelievably rapid increase in price is exactly that, unbelievable. So much so, that it set off alarm bells MTGStocks, who’re warning players to “be weary of this price point.”
While the current overly inflated foil price may be utterly outlandish, it’s not an unreasonable price point in theory. Should
Desert of the Indomitable
Desert of the Indomitable
This land enters tapped.
{T}: Add {G}.
Cycling {1}{G} ({1}{G}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)
be surprisingly rare enough, it’s entirely possible for those who’ve cornered the market to determine the card’s value. While it didn’t increase prices anywhere near this much, we’ve seen this happen recently with
Tamiyo’s Safekeeping
Tamiyo’s Safekeeping
Target permanent you control gains hexproof and indestructible until end of turn. You gain 2 life. (A permanent with hexproof and indestructible can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control. Damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy it.)
. Due to lower-than-expected availability, foil prices for this $1 MTG common skyrocketed in price to $10 each last week. Since then, prices have fallen somewhat, with lightly played foils now available for the much more sensible price of $3.
While
Desert of the Indomitable
Desert of the Indomitable
This land enters tapped.
{T}: Add {G}.
Cycling {1}{G} ({1}{G}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)
’s meteoric price rise isn’t unheard of, I’d hold off on feverishly digging through your land pile just yet. While it is notable, the rest of the market doesn’t seem to agree with TCGplayer’s pricing assessment. Card Kingdom and Magic Madhouse may be sold out. However, the European marketplace Cardmarket still has numerous foil copies for 7 cents apiece. Subsequently, it’s possible that some enterprising seller is merely trying to capitalize on TCGplayer’s lack of stock, inadvertently showcasing that dubious deal via TCGplayer Direct.
Holistic Wisdom
Similarly to
Desert of the Indomitable
Desert of the Indomitable
This land enters tapped.
{T}: Add {G}.
Cycling {1}{G} ({1}{G}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)
, the price of
Holistic Wisdom
Holistic Wisdom
{2}, Exile a card from your hand: Return target card from your graveyard to your hand if it shares a card type with the card exiled this way. (Artifact, battle, creature, enchantment, kindred, instant, land, planeswalker, and sorcery are card types.)
has recently seen an incomprehensibly huge price climb recently. Previously selling for around $50, the foil price of Holistic Wisdom has supposedly spiked to over $11,000 this week! That’s a %23,000 increase in the card’s price! Unfortunately, however, while foil copies of Holistic Wisdom are hard to come by, in the US, at least, this price ultimately isn’t representative of the card’s value. Instead, the listing at this immense price was likely in error, as it has since been removed from TCGplayer. According to MTGStocks, the price of Holistic Wisdom foils has gradually increased, with steady price increases each day. This, however, appears to be hopeful market manipulation at best. There are still numerous foil copies available at more reasonable prices on other websites, after all.
Real Market Value
While many foil price spikes may be insincere attempts to capitalize on limited supply, there have recently been some significant jumps in MTG foil prices. For instance, several 8th and 9th Edition cards have seen significant bumps in price. Near Mint copies of
Marble Titan
Marble Titan
Creatures with power 3 or greater don't untap during their controllers' untap steps.
have almost quadrupled in price from $16 to $78, and
Blinding Angel
Blinding Angel
Flying (This creature can't be blocked except by creatures with flying or reach.)
Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, that player skips their next combat phase.
has also soared in value from $12 to $43. Near Mint copies for Shadowmoor’s
Faerie Swarm
Faerie Swarm
Flying
Faerie Swarm's power and toughness are each equal to the number of blue permanents you control.
are also in demand, with prices jumping 900% up to $20!
Currently, for better or worse, it’s unclear how long these inflated MTG foil prices will last. Evidently, however, there is clearly a demand for Near Mint copies for niche foils. This likely comes from baller Commander players looking to bling out their decks. Keep in mind, however, that while Near Mint copies are proving expensive, Lightly Played or Excellent condition cards are significantly more affordable.
Read More: MTG Player Discovers Expensive Hidden Dominaria United Rarity?