Goblins are back and better than ever! One of the most beloved typal decks in the MTG community got massive support from MTG Foundations, but Aetherdrift seems to have finally allowed the archetype to be competitively viable again. Howlsquad Heavy was the final push that Goblins needed to make a Standard appearance, but it’s not the only card that’s responsible for giving Goblins a second wind. That honor, instead, goes to Dropkick Bomber.
This MTG Foundations Goblin lord is a rather unusual one, but a typal lord is still a typal lord. The card is picking up in play and is now seeing a price spike as a result. Dropkick Bomber even managed to day 2 the MTG Aetherdrift Pro Tour… but there’s more to the story than what’s on the surface.
Dropkick Bomber
While Dropkick Bomber is now seeing some fringe Standard play in the Goblins archetype, that’s not the only place where this Goblin is getting attention. Dropkick Bomber also routinely appears in Duel Commander and pops up in Legacy Goblins. Of the three formats, Dropkick Bomber seems to appear the most in Duel Commander.
Muxis, Goblin Grandee is a common competitor in Duel Commander and is the main reason why Dropkick Bomber sees play. There are undeniably better Goblins to use in Duel Commander, but due to it being a singleton format, any competent Goblins will make an appearance in the deck. Dropkick Bomber does, undeniably, make any army produced by Muxus’s entry ability more deadly. Dropkick Bomber also appears in Krenko, Mob Boss and Grenzo, Dungeon Warden Duel Commander decks.
Legacy Goblins used to be a really popular archetype, but it basically disappeared from the format as a result of a ban that wasn’t targeted towards it. Name Sticker Goblin got the boot for Stickers’ sins, but Goblins faded as an archetype as a side effect. That said, some people still play Goblins, and Dropkick Bomber appears in those lists.
The biggest reason why Dropkick Bomber seems to be getting a ton of immediate attention, however, is one copy of the strategy did manage to day 2 Pro Tour Aetherdrift this weekend. While that may be the case, the overall constructed result for that deck was 4-5-1, which is not the most impressive. Because Limited has a major impact on the results of Pro Tour players, constructed results can be less impressive, like this one.
The Spike
Dropkick Bomber has seen a sudden increase in price. The card’s nadir was at around $2.80 at the end of last month, only increasing to about $2.90 until a few days ago. In that few-day time span, Dropkick Bomber has dropped to a market average of $5. This is a bit deceiving, however, because Dropkick Bomber is actually worth about double this according to current sales and market prices.
The supply for Dropkick Bomber on TCGplayer is currently incredibly limited. Only 19 listings for the card between two printings exist, and only three of those listings come in below $10. Even those listings have an asking price of $7, $8.50, and $9.50, accordingly.
As a result, valuing Dropkick Bomber for a secondary market value of $8.50, at minimum, is probably more accurate. Multiple near mint copies of Dropkick Bomber in both its Foundations and Foundations Jumpstart printings have sold for this value. Outliers have sold for as high as $16. Those are a result of TCGplayer Direct premiums.
What About The Future?
Dropkick Bomber has low supply and high demand, which suggests that the Bomber could continue to spike in the short term. What surprises me, however, is that none of the reasons listed above seem to be reasons for the card to see such high demand. Goblins don’t seem too powerful in Standard or Legacy, and Duel Commander usually isn’t a massive secondary market driver.
As a result, Dropkick Bomber’s price could fall once demand for the card has been sated, as the card doesn’t seem to have a majorly positive performance in formats that shake the secondary market. That would be my personal prediction, but it’s difficult to gauge what exactly will happen on the MTG secondary market.