In case you’ve been hiding from the constant deluge of MTG spoilers and news, Dragons are soon to be the flavor of the month. The release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm is just one month, ish, away, and the spoiler season begins in a few weeks. Story chapters for the set have already begun rolling out, so the hype train as well and truly left the station.
With this in mind, it’s little wonder that some of the best Dragon cards in MTG are getting extra attention right now. This appears to be exactly what’s happening to Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm, which has seen a decent price spike recently. While it’s by no means the most impressive spike considering what we’ve seen recently, this may be a growing trend.
Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm
Currently, according to EDHREC, Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm is the second most popular Dragon Typal Commander in MTG. The Ur-Dragon may be leading by a few thousand decklists, but Miirym is certainly no slouch. Seeing play in over 21,000 decks, this card is the tenth most popular Commander of all time at the moment.
Despite this immense popularity, Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm isn’t exactly an expensive MTG card. Hailing from Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate, this card routinely sold for just $1 most of the time. Now, that price has increased a fair whack, as hype for Tarkir: Dragonstorm builds.
Considering Temur is one of the clans on Tarkir, it’s little wonder why players are interested in Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm. At the very least, Miirym will be an easy upgrade to the Temur Roar Commander deck, provided it’s not reprinted there. While its mana cost is expensive, the Dragon doubling that Miirym provides is just far too good to ignore.
Even if they’re not your Commander, Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm is an auto-include for any Dragon-focused deck in color. Regardless of whether you’re running The Ur-Dragon, Tiamat, or Scion of the Ur-Dragon, Miirym always works wonders. They’re even fairly beefy as threats go, thanks to their Ward 2, which sweetens the deal.
Currently, while they are one of the best Commanders in MTG, hands down, they’re a competitive dud. Miirym sees no competitive play at all, which isn’t surprising given their mana cost. No matter how potent Dragon doubling is, modern MTG revolves around instant impact and value, which this card lacks.
The Spike
Since Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm is a competitive dud, we can solely set our sights on Commander for this price spike. Notably, however, there haven’t been any relevant Dragons released recently which could have caused this movement. MTG Foundations did contain a few dragons like Twinflame Tyrant and Niv-Mizzet, Visionary, but these are months old now.
Unsurprisingly, instead of looking back, MTG players are looking ahead to Tarkir: Dragonstorm and what it might bring. We already know that Temur is going to be well-supported, and Dragons are a given in the set. With this in mind, it’s no wonder that many MTG players will want to build Dragon-Typal decks once the set is released.
Currently, we’re still over a month away from the release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm. Given this, it seems likely that this spike is driven by investors more than players. Considering, the expected demand closer to release, it’ll certainly pay to be prepared. However, that doesn’t appear to be the whole story.
Somewhat bizarrely, this month-early price spike appears to largely be driven by TCGplayer Direct. We usually see this when a new competitive deck pops up and players rush to buy cards with convenience in mind. Having this happen to a card so far from its release is unusual, to say the least, but it seems players want to be prepared.
In terms of the actual numbers, a few weeks ago, Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm was selling for around $1.13. Fast forward to now, the TCGplayer Market Price has been driven up to $3.14. Notably, however, there are still plenty of copies available for around the $2 mark, which indicates TCGplayer Direct’s influence. So far, players have paid upwards of $5.69 for a single copy of Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm.
The Future
Most of the time, price spikes associated with TCGplayer Direct tend to be short flashes in the pan. High-priced sales through this program can quickly affect market averages, however, things even out over time. There’s a good chance that the same will happen here since there’s still quite a while until Tarkir: Dragonstorm’s release.
That being said, the future for Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm does look brighter than a lot of spikes. As Tarkir: Dragonstorm approaches, Dragons are bound to only get more and more popular. When this happens, interest in Miirym is bound to increase, driving demand and pushing prices up.
So far, Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm has only seen one printing in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate, so it’s not hugely accessible. It may be available in normal, Foil Etched, and Showcase variants, but even then, it’s just one printing. In theory, while the card is already rather popular, this could leave it susceptible to a major price spike in the near future.
For better or worse, there is one wrinkle in this cunning plan, as Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm could be reprinted. Since they fit Temur colors, there’s a non-zero chance they could appear in the main set, Commander decks, or as a Special Guest. That being said, since Miirym is a Dungeons & Dragons character, this seems somewhat unlikely.
Ultimately, as always, we’re just going to have to wait and see what the future holds. Tarkir: Dragonstorm is still a ways away, but it’s only a few weeks until spoilers start. Once we get a better sense of what the set has to offer, we’ll properly know if Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm is a sensible pickup.
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