Edge of Eternities brought a multitude of cool designs to the game, including new card types and subtypes like Spacecraft and Planet. The Station mechanic associated with these cards promotes a ton of neat synergies. Some players, for instance, are having success using Station cards as a way to reliably tap Kona, Rescue Beastie and cheat huge haymakers into play in Standard.
Now, a neat legend printed all the way back in 2004 has spiked in price due in part to how well it pairs with these new cards. If you’re looking to build around Spacecraft in Commander, this old creature makes for a strong addition to your deck.
Masako, the Humorless
Masako, the Humorless is an interesting card from Champions of Kamigawa. As a 2/1 with no enters-the-battlefield effect, this legend has a minimal effect on the game by itself; however, if you’ve built out a big board, there are a lot of tricks the card enables.
At minimum, you’re able to attack with your creatures at will without fear of getting smacked on the crackback. Because Masako has Flash, you may even be able to set up a situation where you cast this card after your opponents attack, setting up a surprise ambush.
Where things get really intriguing, though, is when you have other ways to get value out of tapping your creatures. Spacecraft fall directly into this category, as does Adagia, Windswept Bastion, and the other Planet lands. You’re free to charge your Station cards all the way up and still block opposing creatures accordingly.
Masako has gotten more popular both as a Commander and as a piece of filler thanks to the printing of these Spacecraft. As a Commander, fun support elements like Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought and The Seriema make it trivial to tap your army. From there, Throne of the God-Pharoah and Dragonscale General can take over the game. Otherwise, Masako makes for a solid inclusion in The Wandering Rescuer shells, where Spacecraft also shine.
The Spike
Unsurprisingly, demand for Masako, the Humorless increased just before the official release of Edge of Eternities. Players were likely looking to get a jump on building and improving their new Commander decks. Following an important rules change, players were now able to utilize legendary Spacecraft and Vehicles as their Commanders, which only elevated Masako’s stock.
Since then, Masako’s price tag has risen steadily for the most part. As things currently stand, the market price has risen from $5.28 to $13.81 in the last month. For near mint copies, the lowest price listing is currently $18.41, not including shipping fees. Multiple copies were sold in separate transactions at $19.95 in the last few days, representing a 278% price spike.
The Future
Despite the fact that Masako has continued to balloon in value, there is reason to believe that this trend won’t last long-term. Prior to the introduction of Spacecraft to Commander, Masako was far from a Commander staple. Even now, according to EDHREC, Masako helms around 250 decks, and is in the 99 of just over 5,000. Considering the excitement around Edge of Eternities is fading, now that Spider-Man is on the horizon, things aren’t looking good.
At the end of the day, however, it is difficult to predict exactly how things will go. With no reprints for Masako in sight, it may take time for supply to resettle. Still, demand looks to be on the way down, with only five non-foil copies of the legend selling in any condition in the last two days. As fun as Masako is, it really only sees play in Commander and just doesn’t fit into that many strategies. So, don’t be shocked if its price falls in the coming months.
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