Tarkir: Dragonstorm is a fantastic set for Commander players. Tons of people love playing with huge Dragons with game-breaking abilities, and both the main set and Commander Precons of Tarkir: Dragonstorm are jam-packed with all sorts of goodies.
As we get closer to the set’s release and hype continues to grow, it’s unsurprising that a handful of synergistic cards from Magic’s past would rise in price. After all, there are a number of new legends that pair perfectly with old designs, causing an uptick in their demand.
Today, we’re going to talk about a nearly 24-year-old Centaur Druid whose price has recently ballooned. Despite having a limited impact in Commander for the most part, this card has found a new home with one of the most popular Dragon legends from the Tarkir: Dragonstorm Precons. Let’s take a closer look.
Seton, Krosan Protector
The Centaur Druid in question is none other than Seton, Krosan Protector. Seton is a rather simple card that isn’t the easiest for most decks to utilize. In order to maximize Seton, you need to be playing with a high density of Druids in your deck.
Seton most commonly sees play as a Commander build-around but rarely sees play in decks outside of the Command Zone. This is because outside of Seton, there aren’t any great legends that reward you for playing a Druid typal shell.
Furthermore, Seton has a difficult time competing with the wide variety of Elf typal Commanders out there. Not only are there way more powerful Elves to play with in MTG, but it’s hard to match the level of mana production that Elf decks provide.
However, this is about to change with the release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm. Teval, the Balanced Scale has a lot of EDH players excited, and one of the unique things about Teval is that it’s capable of flooding the board with Zombie Druids.
Making cards leave your graveyard is exceptionally easy. Add in support elements like Welcome the Dead and Teval’s Judgment, and you’ll have plenty of Druids in play in no time.
What’s particularly amazing about Seton is that even your Summoning Sick Druids are able to tap for mana right away. Chances are, you can use this mana to develop your board further, perhaps making even more Druids in the process.
We’ve already seen Gilt-Leaf Archdruid skyrocket in price due to its synergy with Teval. Now it appears Seton is next in line.
Seton’s Price Spike
Seton began climbing in price in the middle of March. Prior to that, Seton consistently hovered around 90 cents in non-foil form, according to TCGplayer market price.
Between March 22 and March 30, Seton’s market price rose from $1.90 all the way to $6.30. This alone represents a 600% price spike.
However, current sales listings suggest that Seton is going for even more. The lowest price listing on TCGplayer at the time of writing this article sits at $9.10 for a moderately played copy of Seton. Meanwhile, the most recent sale of a lightly played variant went for $10.50, which equates to a 1,067% price spike.
This suggests that demand for Seton has increased dramatically, and recent sales data confirms this to be true. Over the last week alone, over 75 separate TCGplayer sales of non-foil copies of Seton have gone through. By contrast, only 15 different sales of non-foil copies of Seton were made during the first week of March.
Lack of Reprints
Another factor that likely contributes to Seton’s price increase is the card’s lack of reprints. Seton debuted all the way back in Odyssey in 2001. Yet, the card has never seen a reprint in any form over all these years.
As you might expect, this does mean that near mint copies of Seton aren’t the easiest to come by and are worth more for the most part. On top of that, foil copies of Seton hold a very hefty price tag.
Just like their non-foil counterparts, foil versions of Seton saw a big jump in price over the last month. Most sales in February and at the beginning of March were between $20 and $30. The last four sales that went through on March 28 and March 29 sat between $50 and $70.
Once again, even demand for foils has increased, which explains this price leap. Only eight sales for foil copies of Seton were made in January and February combined, while March featured roughly 25 foil sales.
Current sales listings for foils also vary heavily based on condition. In fact, the lowest listing for a near mint, foil copy of Seton is $99.99.
If Seton gets reprinted in the near future, it’s very possible the card’s price will fall significantly, especially with regards to foils. For now, though, Seton continues to trend upward as players look forward to the release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm.
