Tarkir: Dragonstorm has been the MTG set that players have been waiting for. Not only did this set provide a return to a classic plane while feeling distinctly Magic, it’s also had an impressive competitive impact. Admittedly, much of this impact has stemmed from Cori-Steel Cutter, however, that’s not been the only card making waves.
Since release, Tersa Lightshatter, Marang River Regent, and Voice of Victory have all been proving themselves across multiple formats. Recently, however, these aren’t the only cards from Tarkir that have been making major competitive waves. Fittingly, Khans of Tarkir’s Jeskai Ascendancy is back in fashion thanks to a new combo deck
Jeskai Ascendancy
Since the release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm, a new Jeskai Ascendancy combo deck has been making waves in Modern. This deck plays somewhat similarly to the Underworld Breach combos of not-so-distant past, but with Jeskai Ascendancy as the main engine. Thanks to Modern’s litany of cheap and zero-cost artifacts, this card can be a surprisingly potent untap engine.
For this combo, you only need three cards in play, which is theoretically doable from turn two. All you need is Mishra’s Bauble, Emry, Lurker of the Loch, and Jeskai Ascendancy in play, and you’re set. So long as Emry is untapped, so you can use her ability, you’ve got an infinite combo that creates an infinitely large Emry.
As we explained in our recent article all about this combo, the loop is fairly simple. You just have to sacrifice the Bauble, bring it back with Emry, then play it again to trigger Jeskai Ascendancy. From here, you’re back to step one, but your Emry will have been given a +1/+1 buff. Since you can use this loop infinitely, winning the game should be a piece of cake.
Technically, this combo has been possible for a long while in Modern, since none of the combo’s cards are actually new. That said, this deck has been empowered by the addition of Cori-Steel Cutter, since it provides Haste and Trample. Technically, Shadowspear has been able to do the same thing for a while, but Cori-Steel is just on a different level.
Right now, while the Jeskai Ascendancy combo deck is doing decently in Modern, it’s definitely no meta-breaking force. While this deck is capable of winning Modern Leagues, it’s not consistently winning major tournaments. Thanks to this, the price spike that we’re currently seeing is rather moderate, however, it could well be worth watching.
The Spike
Unlike many of the recent spikes that we’ve covered, Jeskai Ascendancy’s rise is rather tame. In the past month, the price of this card has only doubled, and it’s by no means super expensive. That said, it’ll still be worth watching this card’s price and its competitive performance going forward.
Winding the clocks back to early April, Jeskai Ascendancy used to sell for around $1. This low cost was unsurprising given that this card has been a competitive staple for a long while. It has seen some Pioneer success in the past, but it hasn’t been a real meta-defining contender in years.
Even in Commander, Jeskai Ascendancy is hardly the most popular Jeskai card in existence. Alongside this low demand, there’s also a fairly robust supply, thanks to a reprint in Double Masters 2022. This is all to say that the $1 price point of Jeskai Ascendancy isn’t surprising, nor is its slow climb in value.
At the moment, there are around 130 near-mint copies of Jeskai Ascendancy available for purchase on TCGplayer. Listings for these start at around $2; however, many listings are closer to the $2.17 average. As you can see above, this slow climb isn’t prone to fluctuation, although the Double Masters 2022 price graph is more consistently trending up.
Curiously, the Etched Foil variant of Jeskai Ascendancy has also seen a slight price increase in the past month. Climbing from $5.32 to $6.39, this definitely isn’t the most impressive spike, but it nonetheless shows continued interest. Notably, this interest likely stems from Commander, rather than the competitive scene, due to issues with foil cards in tournament play.
The Future
Ultimately, the future of Jeskai Ascendancy and its price could go either way at this point. While the new combo deck isn’t putting up the most impressive results right now, it’s still relatively fresh-faced. New cards and further innovations could easily make this deck more consistent and powerful within the Modern metagame.
If this happens, the price of Jeskai Ascendancy may well continue to spike, potentially to a new all-time high. At the moment, this record sits at $7.99 following a peak in October of 2014. While this could make Jeskai Ascendancy a rather good investment, even right now, there’s no guarantee it’ll hit this price point.
Right now, the Jeskai Ascendancy combo deck is hardly tier one in Modern, so banking on its future success seems dubious at best. That said, we can’t predict the future, and anything might happen. Ultimately, as always, we’re just going to have to wait and see what the future holds for both this card and this price spike.