It’s no secret at this point that MTG players are pretty excited for the upcoming Final Fantasy set. New spoilers have been wowing players non-stop, and we’ve seen a fair few price spikes because of them. While Final Fantasy is on track to be the best-selling MTG set ever, it’s not the only thing happening right now.
In the shadow of all the Final Fantasy reveals, a new deck is shaking things up in Modern. After a long time away, Neoform is back, and it’s been doing rather well. Utilizing the titular spell, this deck aims to cheat out massive iconic threats like Griselbrand and Atraxa, Grand Unifier. Should everything go to plan, this can happen by turn two, which effectively guarantees you the win.
While there’s no denying that Neoform is a potent combo, there’s one last piece of the puzzle. This card, which was first printed 19 years ago, is now spiking rather heavily in price as players rush to pick up copies.
Allosaurus Rider
Looking at recent tournament results, it’s clear that there’s no one best Neoform deck right now. The majority of decks have a slightly different selection of top-end threats and support cards surrounding those picks. That said, the vast majority of Neoform decks will all have a few things in common.
Neoform, obviously, is a four-of include, as is Eldritch Evolution, which provides a similar effect for slightly more mana. While these two cards are key to making the combo happen, they both rely upon Allosaurus Rider.
Essentially, Allosaurus Rider is a seven mana spell that you can cast for free. All you need to do is exile two green cards from your hand, which Neoform decks have an abundance of. Once on the board, Allosaurus Rider won’t be very strong, since you’ll only have one or two lands at most. This, however, isn’t a problem, as it’s just sacrifice fodder.
The only point of Allosaurus Rider in Neoform decks is to be high mana-value fuel for Neoform and Eldritch Evolution. When sacrificed by either of these cards, Rider lets you cheat out the deck’s best threats. Depending on your hand, you could grab Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant to flood the board, or Griselbrand to fill it up.
Regardless of which direction you go in, your opponent is going to have a hard time keeping up. With this in mind, it’s no wonder that Neoform decks have been doing rather well recently in Modern. So far, this deck has been tearing up recent leagues, although it’s not won many major tournaments.
The Spike
Currently, it’s unclear which way the return of Neoform will go. This deck can have absolutely massive turns, but Modern is hardly the most combo-friendly format. Thanks to zero mana spells and interaction, actually getting off this combo can be easier said than done. Despite this weakness, many MTG players have been very interested in Neoform’s return.
Thanks to this newfound attention, there’s been a rush of demand to pick up copies of the deck’s core cards. While this isn’t a problem for Neoform, which was printed in War of the Spark at uncommon, Allosaurus Rider is a different story.
First printed 19 years ago in Coldsnap, Allosaurus Rider is not exactly a common MTG card. While it has had a few reprints, via The List and Duel Decks, these haven’t provided tons of supply. Thanks to this, the price of Rider is rather volatile, as the market can be drained of copies in an instant.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, this is exactly what has happened recently. Good condition copies of Allosaurus Rider have all but disappeared from the market, which has caused a significant price spike. This can most clearly be seen in the printing from Duel Decks: Elves vs. Goblins. This time last month, near-mint copies could be picked up for $0.92, but now the cheapest listing is for $3.81.
While this is already a 314% price spike, the Coldsnap variant’s spike is even more impressive. From a starting price of $1.34, these copies are now listed for $9. While this looks like a 571% spike, very few sales have actually happened at, or near, this price point. Right now, it seems the Duel Decks: Anthology printing is the only one that’s selling consistently, for around $4.56 a pop.
The Future
Unlike many of the Commander-based price spikes that we’ve seen recently, Allosaurus Rider could have long-lasting legs. Should Neoform continue to perform well in Modern, the demand for this card may be sustained for a while. While this may sound rather lucrative, as mentioned, Neoform is hardly a sure thing in Modern.
Should Neoform be pushed out of the Modern meta one again, demand for Allosaurus Rider will drop back to basically nothing. If this happens, the current price spike will fall away too, but it remains to be seen if that’ll happen. For now, it’s just nice to see that a deck like Neoform is able to compete in Modern with so much aggro running around.
If you’re interested in trying out Neoform for yourself, it may be worth paying attention to worse condition copies, if you’re not fussed about that. Copies of Allosaurus Rider can easily be picked up for under a dollar, not including shipping, so long as you don’t mind a few scuff marks. While this isn’t ideal for tournament play, it’s always nice to get a good deal.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage!
