Ever since they were revealed in early January, the Lorwyn Eclipsed precons have been massively moving the MTG markets. Thanks to new synergies and missed reprints, we’ve seen some immense price spikes recently. While these two decks are definitely driving demand, they’re not the only Lorwyn Eclipsed cards causing a stir.
As usual, following the set’s release, many MTG players have been building around some of the best Lorwyn Eclipsed Commanders. Alongside these powerful legends, Maralen, Fae Ascendant has also been proving popular thanks to supporting a forgotten archetype. Lorwyn Eclipsed might not have had many Faeries, but that hasn’t stopped players from building around Maralen.
MTG Alela, Cunning Conqueror
First released as part of the Wilds of Eldraine Commander decks, Alela, Cunning Conqueror is a powerhouse in Faerie Typal decks. In fact, Alela is the most popular Commander for this archetype, according to EDHREC. Considering the strength of her token creation ability, it’s no wonder that she carries in this role.
Thanks to new Faeries like Bitterbloom Bearer and Voracious Tome-Skimmer, it seems Lorwyn Eclipsed has already increased demand for Alela. Beyond this, Alela, Cunning Conqueror is seeing a lot of play within Maralen, Fae Ascendant decks. While Elf Typal does appear to be the go-to strategy for Maralen, the Faerie synergies definitely aren’t to be scoffed at.
In particular, Alela makes activating Maralen’s one-per-turn spell-stealing ability a breeze. Since Alela creates a Faerie token whenever you cast a spell during your opponent’s turn, you’ve just got to keep casting spells. This opens up a more control-based game plan for Maralen, keeping your opponents in check while stealing their threats.
Even if you’re not going all in on Faerie Typal and control with Maralen, Alela, Cunning Conqueror is still a powerful inclusion. Thanks to this, according to EDHREC, Alela, Cunning Conqueror appears in around 64% of Maralen, Fae Ascendant decks right now.
The Spike
As the go-to Faerie Typal Commander for most MTG players, Alela, Cunning Conqueror has always been fairly expensive. Back toward the start of January this year, copies of Alela could have been picked up for $8.08 on average. Following the reveal of Maralen, however, sales quickly began to surge.
While there have only been 199 near-mint non-foil sales of Alela in the past month, this has still dramatically affected supply. Despite being available within the Fae Dominion precon, non-foil copies of Alela are surprisingly scarce. This variant could only be found within Set Boosters, making it unusually hard to find.
Thanks to this rarity, it didn’t take long for Alela, Cunning Conqueror to spike dramatically in price. Jumping from $8.08 to now $35, this card has seen a 333% price spike in just a few weeks.
Unfortunately, this price spike isn’t contained to just this variant, so there aren’t any more sneaky deals to be had. Foil default frame copies of Alela, Cunning Conqueror have also spiked up to $35. Meanwhile, the Extended Art variants, similarly, have also spiked, with non-foil copies selling for $35, and foils going for $40.
Far Too Expensive
Realistically, while Alela, Cunning Conqueror is a powerful card, especially within Faerie Typal, $35 is far too expensive for her. While Alela does have rarity on her side somewhat, $35 is more expensive than most of Magic’s best precon Commanders. Arahbo, Roar of the World, for instance, is only $27 in comparison.
Considering Cat Typal is a good deal more popular than Faerie Typal, Alela certainly seems overpriced at the moment. In reality, the current price tag is surely down to short-term demand, as excited players rush to pick up copies. As we often see, this leads to sellers capitalizing on the demand, pumping prices up dramatically.
The good news, at least for anyone yet to pick up copies of Alela, is that this current price should be unsustainable. Unfortunately, while we do expect prices to fall, there’s no telling when this will happen. Since the TMNT leaks aren’t blowing away MTG players, the Lorwyn Eclipsed precons may remain popular for longer than usual.
Ultimately, as always, we sadly can’t predict the future of MTG. Due to this, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens and hope Alela gets more affordable in the near future.
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