Final Fantasy X’s Counter Blitz precon seems to be the hot topic in the world of MTG Finance. A bunch of mechanically unique cards, including Sphere Grid, Summon: Yojimbo, and Summon: Ixion, are all increasing in price rapidly.
Lulu, Stern Guardian isn’t the most powerful Final Fantasy card out there, but it does seem to be rather sought after. Add on that her niche is actually supported for the next two MTG releases, and we may have a surprisingly popular card on our hands.
Lulu, Stern Guardian
Lulu, Stern Guardian doesn’t look too impressive, but it actually has a rather powerful effect on a game of casual Commander. Granting a creature a stun counter isn’t the strongest deterrent, but when players have other decisions for attack targets, this small but relevant downside comes up a lot, especially in early turns.
Not only does Lulu discourage early attacks, but she can also scale boards in the late game. Four mana to Proliferate is a fair cost, making Lulu double as a decent mana sink to accelerate counter-based boards over the top. This, however, makes her Stun Counter downside a lot more intimidating.
For three mana, this is a deceptively good deal. Heavily discouraging opponents from attacking you, but not in a way that’s so obviously threatening that it demands removal, is powerful. With all the attention Lulu, Stern Guardian is currently getting, however, Lulu’s applications may become well-known enough for players to remove them more promptly.
Lulu is a great addition to any EDH decks that care about counters, but Stun Counters, in particular, may be in demand soon. Sensational Spider-Man cares about Stun Counters specifically, which could cause a surge in demand for Stun Counter-based cards shortly. It’s tough to know if that has any bearing on Lulu’s current spike, but it is a decent reason to pick her up, especially if you’re already planning on building this deck.
Additionally, Lulu looks decent with Kilo, Apogee Mind, another Commander releasing alongside Edge of Eternities. Since it also cares about Proliferating, Lulu’s Stun Counters can go a long way. Considering that this card may stay relevant for the next two MTG sets, this spike makes a lot more sense.
The Spike
After a massive prerelease high cooled off, Lulu, Stern Guardian is beginning to spike. Dropping to just $0.89 at her lowest, Lulu has quickly gained traction, climbing to about $6.39 on average. This is the cheapest current copy of her available in her traditional nonfoil variant, but recent sales for Lulu are a bit less predictable, selling for anywhere from $5 to $9.
Like many Final Fantasy singles, Lulu saw a massive increase in demand once prices calmed and supply hit the marketplace, but it was a smaller spike in demand near the end of June that sent Lulu on a price spike. A sudden spike in demand to 129 copies just a few days ago seems to be the main culprit. Looking at sales history, there were a few orders for a dozen and a half copies of Lulu, but a majority of the demand seems legitimate.
This sudden spike in demand can also be seen for Lulu, Stern Guardian’s other variants. The extended art variant saw its market average double after experiencing a similar surge in demand. Still, current prices exceed that, with non-foil copies going for around $10 and foil ones for about $20.
Finally, Surge Foil variants have not seen a demand increase, and are actually dropping in price as of the writing of this article. These currently retail for about $11.
The Future
A lot of cards from Counter Blitz are all increasing in price, as some are stronger in universal application than others. Many of those cards, after seeing sudden spikes, are now declining back, trying to find a new price point. We suspect Lulu, Stern Guardian will behave the same, but as we already mentioned, there might be another surge for Lulu in the near future, depending on how important Stun Counters are for the Spider-Man set.
Sure, Lulu offers a Propaganda-esque effect that discourages opponents from attacking you, but the rest of her value can really only be used in counter-focused decks. Commander cards like this that have specific synergistic value usually go through waves of demand when new archetypes appear that synergize with them.
So, once counters matters decks aren’t as relevant, Lulu should drop in price. That said, it does appear that counters matters, particularly in Blue, will be an ongoing theme for the next two sets. Lulu may actually end up retaining a decent price tag for some time as a result.
So, if you’re interested in building Kilo, Apogee Mind, Sensational Spider-Man, or something out of Final Fantasy, Lulu, Stern Guardian could be a decent inclusion in that. There’s still a chance that Lulu cools down before Edge of Eternities, however, so a patient player may be able to get her for a bit cheap. We’re not entirely sure if Lulu will go back to her sub-dollar price anytime soon, however.
All of that said, it really is impossible to predict the future at the end of the day. Lulu, Stern Guardian seems to have a decent future ahead of her, but if players decide that she isn’t worth her price tag, demand could cease entirely.