This week we see the first effects of the Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate set that is currently being spoiled. We see a nice mix of commander and competitive play in spikes. I expect next week to see more stuff happening because of Baldur's Gate.
Like every week, just in time for FNM, I'll now tell you about the cards that will be the talk of the town tonight!
Come discuss this week's price movements with us on Reddit.
A few weeks ago we talked about Boldwyr Heavyweights, being a rare from Morningtide. We briefly discussed that Morningtide came out in February 2008 when the world was in the early stages of "the great recession". This recession also affected Magic, meaning fewer packs were opened than the sets before, and even the sets after leading to relatively little cards in circulation from this set. This leads to rares that are popular tend to be more volatile in value. We can say the same thing about Ashling, the Extinguisher from Eventide which came out in the same era and also suffers from the low circulation. When cards like these, that have not been reprinted yet, get in the public eye the prices tend to spike rather quickly.
The card has been getting more attention because it is a good upgrade to the Obscura Operation commander deck. But it also is included in new decks built around Kamiz, Obscura Oculus, the commander from the Obscura Operation deck. A card being a good upgrade to a precon deck usually is not sufficient reason for a card to go up by 165%, unless that card was also mentioned on The Command Zone "Obscura Operation" Budget Upgrade Guide.
This vehicle from Streets Of New Capenna is going up and definitely seems like it was an underestimated card when this set was spoiled. Around release you could pick it up for around a $1, but is now moving past the $4. The card has found its way into both mainboards and sideboards in multiple 60-card formats. In Pioneer we find it in Grixis Vampires and Jund Midrange decks. In Modern in Izzet Murktide and Mono stoneblade. In Legacy it shows up in Goblins. And even Vintage plays it in Shops decks.
The card has become popular for a few reasons. First it gives you the ability to interact with your opponent's graveyard and keep it in check! Make sure no stuff come back from there. But it also immediately provides you with a board presence that could become substantial. If you are able to clear your opponent's graveyard every turn cycle your Unlicensed Hearse could easily become a 6/6 or greater and all you'd need is a creature with power 2 or greater to crew it.
I was not aware this Mythic from Journey into Nyx existed, but mind slave effects will probably always be popular amongst a certain crowd. The thing is that for 8 mana, I don't think this card is good enough if you only get to control one turn from one of your opponents. And that is where a new commander from Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate comes in! Zevlor, Elturel Exile was spoiled and these kind of effects all of the sudden become more popular.
2T: When you next cast an instant or sorcery spell that targets only a single opponent or a single permanent an opponent controls this turn, for each other opponent, choose that player or a permanent they control, copy that spell, and the copy targets the chosen player or permanent.
Zevlor lets you copy an instant or sorcery spell that targets a single opponent or single permanent an opponent controls for each opponent. This means that when you cast Worst Fears and activate Zevlor's ability you get to control each opponent's turn for the next turn cycle. Now 8 mana seems a lot better if you can wreak everyone else and let everyone wreak each other.
Please note: for our 'record low' we consider the price of the card over the past 7 years. Many cards have been even cheaper (a) decade(s) ago. Also note: some cards are still going down, and might be even cheaper pickups next week.
Arjen has been playing Magic since the Ice Age set released. He primarily plays Legacy format and founded MTGStocks over a decade ago when he and his friends wanted to track card prices to purchase singles at optimal times.
