It’s no secret that Tarkir: Dragonstorm has had a rather impressive impact on Magic’s competitive scene. Multiple formats have been given new decks and toys thanks to this powerful set. Standard, in particular, has been given a new lease of life, with Izzet Prowess running amok thanks to Cori-Steel Cutter.
Thankfully, while aggro is definitely strong in Standard right now, this isn’t the only viable strategy in the format. Tarkir: Dragonstorm also gave control decks a major boost thanks to new cards like Roiling Dragonstorm and Marang River Regent. While the former of these cards is a $0.10 uncommon, the latter is impressively continually climbing in price.
Marang River Regent
While few cards can match the success of Cori-Steel Cutter, Marang River Regent has been performing strongly since its release. As we’ll get to later, River Regent isn’t in the same price bracket as Cori-Steel, but that may change soon. Control might not be the most popular archetype in MTG, but it’s definitely been putting up compelling results.
As mentioned, Marang River Regent is one of the core cards within control decks in Standard right about now. Appearing in Jeskai Control and Azorius Omniscience lists, this card is definitely making a name for itself. For now, however, that’s where this card’s appeal ends, as it doesn’t see much play outside of Standard and Commander.
Even if it’s not a multi-format all-star, Marang River Regent is still a very powerful MTG card. It might be expensive, for both its Omen and regular cost, but its abilities more than justify this cost. In slower matchups, the card draw can come in clutch before dropping the Dragon itself as a board-flipping threat.
While the cost of River Regent confines it to slower decks, this isn’t a problem at all in Commander. Again, this card doesn’t really set the world on fire, but it’s definitely a powerful force to be reckoned with in Dragon-typal decks. After all, thanks to the Omen ability, you’re basically getting two spells in one, at the very least.
The Spike
As we alluded to earlier, Marang River Regent isn’t exactly the most expensive MTG card in Standard right now. In fact, at the time of writing, this card hasn’t even breached the $5 mark, so it’s still decidedly affordable. That being said, its price has nevertheless been on the rise since Tarkir: Dragonstorm launched back in early April.
Upon release, it seemed MTG players really didn’t think much of Marang River Regent, as it was selling for $0.34 on average. As you can see on the graph above, prices did increase briefly post-launch, but that spike was just a brief blip. Since then, however, River Regent has been on the up and up, steadily increasing in price week after week.
Currently, the TCGplayer Market Price for Marang River Regent sits at $3.51 at the moment. While this isn’t the most impressive price spike in history, the percentage is obviously rather impressive. This percentage, however, appears to be propped up by TCGplayer Direct sales. Thanks to this convenient oriented based service, recent sales have topped out as high as $6.99.
Thankfully, listings for Marang River Regent haven’t soared to this price point just yet, as cheaper options begin around $3. Should you want to spend more, however, then that’s also possible thanks to the card’s Borderless variant. Thanks to this variant’s increased rarity and desirability, the near-mint market average currently sits at $5.05.
Since it’s a bit of a competitive staple, in Standard at least, foil pricing for River Regent is a little unusual. Normal variant foils have typically been selling for around $2-$3. The Borderless foils, meanwhile, typically sell for $8+, so it seems this is the variant Commander players are after.
The Future
Looking ahead, Marang River Regent could easily end up becoming even more expensive. Should Control decks get even more popular in Commander, River Regent could end up becoming a true staple. On top of this, its Commander appeal should only grow in time, since Dragons are such a popular archetype.
That being said, there’s always a chance that River Regent could be pushed out of Standard by a new blue threat. If we end up getting something with an even splashier enters effect, then River Regent wouldn’t be the go-to threat anymore. Potentially, such a card could arrive in any set, however, Edge of Eternities just has that kind of vibe. Maybe it’s the space whale…
In any case, should Marang River Regent remain as the go-to option, then its future could be bright. Whether or not this will happen, however, depends on the state of the format going into Edge of Eternities.
Ultimately, as always, this means we’re just going to have to wait and see what the future holds. At the very least, the demand from Commander should prop up this card’s price somewhat. At the very least, a price of a couple of dollars seems likely, but the sky is the limit depending on competitive demand.