Lorwyn Eclipsed has officially released, and it’s safe to say that players are hyped. After all, the set’s intriguing themes and nostalgic feel make it a fantastic revisit to a classic plane. Commander players, in particular, are feasting following the arrival of two unique and strong precons. Interestingly, while the new precon Commanders are popular, they aren’t the only legends impacting the financial space.
MTG Blightwing Bandit
Released as part of the Wilds of Eldraine Commander decks, Blightwing Bandit can make an impact in any deck with a Flash theme. So long as you have enough cheap spells to play on your opponents’ turns, you’ll have no problem generating lots of value over the course of a game. Notably, even if Blightwing Bandit dies, you’ll have free rein to cast the exiled cards on future turns, which is a rare boon.
Currently, Blightwing Bandit predominantly sees play in Alela, Cunning Conqueror decks. This isn’t too surprising, since Alela was also printed in the Wilds of Eldraine Commander decks. Now, however, Blightwing Bandit has seen a steep uptick in play thanks to Maralen, Fae Ascendant.
Beyond just being a Faerie, enabling Maralen’s first ability, Blightwing Bandit also sets up even more card-stealing antics. As if this synergy wasn’t enough, Maralen lets you cast stolen spells on your opponents, leading to even more card stealing. Unsurprisingly, this cohesive synergy has led to Blightwing Bandit seeing play in over 1,500 new Maralen decks.
The Spike
For most of Blightwing Bandit’s existence, the card has been pretty cheap,typically selling for around $2. While this isn’t a lot, general hype for Lorwyn Eclipsed has already pushed the price up from $1 a couple of months ago. Now, both of these price points feel like distant memories, thanks to the steep spike in demand.
While there have only been 253 traditional near-mint copies of Blightwing Bandit sold in the last month, this has still affected supply in a big way. Currently, there are only 13 near-mint listings on TCGplayer for this Faerie. The lowest current listing comes in at $11.29, including shipping, which represents a 411% price spike since the card’s monthly low point of $2.21.
The explosive nature of this price spike is down to Blightwing Bandit’s origin as a Commander precon card. With fairly low supply restricting things, it didn’t take much for the price to balloon dramatically. Unsurprisingly, this sudden increase is also visible on the Extended Art variant. With just 10 near-mint listings for this variant left on TCGplayer, prices now start at $20.
The Future
Despite Blightwing Bandit’s low supply and high demand at the moment, there’s reason to believe that the card’s price tag will drop over time. This is thanks to the card’s price being heavily tied to Lorwyn Eclipsed hype. While Blightwing Bandit can technically go in decks that don’t incorporate a Faerie theme, it often doesn’t make the cut elsewhere.
As players start to turn their attention away from Lorwyn Eclipsed and towards new sets, there’s a reasonable chance demand plummets. TMNT MTG’s official release is less than two months away; however, hype for this set is somewhat suspect. Due to this, Lorwyn Eclipsed may remain popular for longer than usual, but that remains to be seen.
Unfortunately, as always, we can’t predict the future. So, we’ll just have to wait and see whether Blightwing Bandit becomes more affordable in the coming weeks.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew!