Now that the spoiler season for Tarkir: Dragonstorm is all done and dusted, all eyes are now looking toward upcoming bans. Next Monday, on March 31st, Wizards of the Coast will release the latest banned and restricted announcement for MTG. While nothing is outright confirmed just yet, it’s expected that we’re in for a massive meta-warping ban list update.
Right now, there’s no denying that bans are very much needed for multiple MTG formats. For better or worse, this has meant that unbans have been a scarcely talked-about topic. MTG players may not have been filling social media with speculation, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been happening. As the ban announcement draws near, we’re now seeing a sizable unban released price spike.
Deathrite Shaman
In the right format, Deathrite Shaman is an absolute monster of a card. Banned in Modern and Legacy, this card is clearly powerful, however, it’s not always a meta dominating force. Currently, Deathrite Shaman is legal in Pioneer, yet it barely gets played in that format at all. This is largely due to the lack of free spells and Fetch Lands.
In Modern and Legacy, where both of these are plentiful, Deathrite Shaman can put in serious work. Enabling early game ramp, damage, and healing, this card provides compelling value no matter what you’re after. There’s a good reason Deathrite Shaman was banned back in 2014, and honestly, even more reason to keep it banned nowadays.
Between Psychic Frog and Ketramose, the New Dawn, the graveyard is more dangerous than ever before. Pairing either one or both of these cards with Deathrite Shaman would offer a brutal amount of value. Even without these cards, Deathrite is so good that it’d more than hold its own even without any extra synergy.
The Spike
Right now, there’s no telling whether or not Deathrite Shaman will end up getting unbanned once Monday rolls around. Many MTG players expect this card is way too strong for Modern, so unbanning it seems unlikely. That said, few players expected Mox Opal to be unbanned back in December, so nothing is guaranteed.
Regardless of what happens, investors and players alike aren’t taking the chance of waiting around and finding out. Recently, copies of Deathrite Shaman have been bought up en masse, draining supply across the secondary market. Right now, near-mint copies of this card are incredibly few and far between, with only 61 copies left available.
Considering that Deathrite Shaman has seen six different printings, it’s safe to say that the card is pretty scarce right now. As usual, this lack of supply has caused a pretty hefty price spike as sellers capitalize on the demand. While each printing of Deathrite is trending up, the biggest reliable spike can currently be found on the Retro Frame variant from Ravnica Remastered.
At the end of February, this variant was selling for around $4 on average, however, that price has been steadily climbing. A decent volume of sales each day crept up the price, before a recent sales surge and price explosion. Now, a near-mint copy of this Deathrite Shaman will set you back $20.
Since there are so many printings of Deathrite Shaman available, here’s a little rundown of all their individual price spikes.
| Printing | Staring Price | Current Price | Percentage Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return To Ravnica | $4.43 | $13.18 | 197% |
| Guilds of Ravnica: Guild Kits | $3.21 | $32.23 | 904% |
| Ravnica Remastered | $4.46 | $18.12 | 306% |
| Eternal Masters | $3.18 | $14.98 | 371% |
| Mystery Booster 2 | $1.80 | $19 | 955% |
| Secret Lair | $9.92 | $24.99 | 151% |
The Future
As mentioned, it seems incredibly unlikely that this unban is going to happen anytime soon. Deathrite Shaman is a monster of an MTG card, and it’s only gotten stronger with recent additions. Putting this card back into Modern would massively shake up the metagame, potentially for the worse.
Personally, if the unbanning of Mox Opal hadn’t caused so many problems, I’d say there’d be a better chance of this happening. Since this recent unban has almost ruined the Modern format in a lot of players’ eyes, however, Wizards is likely going to be careful. On Monday, I’d expect Underworld Breach to be banned in Modern, but nothing else will be touched in that format.
Ultimately, that’s just my safe prediction, so there’s a non-zero chance that Wizards could push even more spicy unbans. Whether or not that will happen, however, remains to be seen. For now, we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens on Monday, March 31st.
If Deathrite Shaman doesn’t get unbanned, as we predict, its price is undoubtedly going to crash rather quickly. As much as Deathrite is popular in Commander, the volume of reprints has kept the price down around the $4 mark. Once all is said and done, the average price will eventually end up settling around there once again.
Of course, if Deathrite does actually end up getting unbanned, then its price is going to go wild. While many players expect that sellers are sitting on supply in preparation, the rush of demand would be absolutely obscene. As mentioned, however, it does seem incredibly unlikely that this hypothetical unban will end up happening.
