Ever since the release of Lorwyn Eclipsed, demand for Elf Typal cards has been on the up and up. With not just one but three new Elf Typal legends in the set, fans of this archetype have been spoilt for choice. Thanks to this dual demand, these cards have caused multiple Elf Typal staples to spike in price.
Impressively, over three weeks on from this set’s official release dates, these Commanders haven’t exited the spotlight. Even now, Elf Typal cards continue to be on the up, with Tyvar the Bellicose being the latest to spike in price. Jumping over 430% in just one month, this powerful Elf is now surprisingly expensive.
MTG Tyvar the Bellicose
Released as part of the much-maligned March of the Machine: The Aftermath set, Tyvar the Bellicose is surprisingly easy to utilize. For starters, his Deathtouch granting ability naturally makes blocking any of your Elves, even the tokens, a lot more difficult. Typically, Elf Typal decks have to go wide or rely on Craterhoof Behemoth to solve this problem, so Tyvar is a welcome alternative.
While enabling easier attacking is already a huge upside, Tyvar the Bellicose is best alongside an army of mana dorks. With Tyvar on the field, each of these usually piddly dorks will steadily get bigger, dramatically so in some cases. Mana dorks like Elvish Archdruid, Priest of Titania, and Marwyn, the Nurturer can all turn into colossal threats alongside a well-timed Tyvar.
Thankfully, Elf Typal decks have no shortage of mana dorks, allowing Tyvar the Bellicose to provide tons of value. If you ever need more, however, Tyvar Kell can turn all of your Elves into mana dorks. As if two Tyvars weren’t enough, Tyvar the Bellicose also works great alongside Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler and Tyvar, the Pummeler.
Admittedly, while Tyvar the Bellicose does have a lot of potential, Elf Typal decks already have solutions to the problems he solves. Going wide with an army of tokens solves the blocking problem, and an abundance of anthem effects makes mana dorks scary. Despite this, Tyvar the Bellicose is still a great addition to many Elf Typal decks thanks to the redundancy he provides.
Due to this, it’s no wonder that Tyvar the Bellicose is a fairly popular inclusion alongside the new Elf Typal Commanders. According to EDHREC, the new Lorwyn Eclipsed Commanders are responsible for Tyvar being used in over 3,000 new decks. Out of these, High Perfect Morcant is easily the most popular home, making up 2,647 of these lists.
The Spike
With Tyvar the Bellicose now seeing play within 15,495 total Commander decks, the new demand from Lorwyn Eclipsed is quite a jump. As usual, this sudden spike in demand has pushed the price of this card up dramatically. That being said, thanks to their origins, Tyvar the Bellicose wasn’t the cheapest MTG card to begin with.
This time last month, a near-mint non-foil copy of Tyvar the Bellicose would have set you back $3.27. Considering he was only being played in around 12,500 decks at the time, this price point was clearly driven by scarcity. Not only is this Tyvar a mythic, but March of the Machine: The Aftermath wasn’t the most successful or widely-opened set.
Due to this, many MTG cards from the set are rarer than you might expect, and more susceptible to price spikes. This is exactly what has happened to Tyvar the Bellicose, as his price has shot up in the past month. Now, a near-mint non-foil copy of this card will set you back $17.39 on average.
Thankfully, new listings for near-mint non-foil copies are slightly cheaper, but only just as they’re still going for $17. Unfortunately, the extended art and showcase versions of Tyvar the Bellicose don’t offer much in the way of saving either. With lightly played copies of both variants now starting at $23, it’s safe to say that prices are up across the board.
Unfortunately, for anyone still after a copy of Tyvar the Bellicose, there aren’t any significantly cheaper copies on the market. All of the worse-condition examples have already been bought out, so $17 is the cheapest you’ll find right now. That said, Tyvar might not stay this expensive forever.
Reasonable Redundancy
Realistically, while Tyvar the Bellicose is powerful, he’s not the most flashy Elf in MTG. He does solve a couple of the archetype’s key problems, but other cards are either more efficient or more exciting. Notably, this Tyvar is also pretty slow and obvious, making him a prime target for removal.
Thanks to this, it’s hard to call Tyvar the Bellicose a super staple within the Elf Typal archetype. Even then, however, there is evidently clear demand for this card thanks to the utility and redundancy it provides. If anything, the real question is how much MTG players are willing to pay for this redundancy on a long-term basis.
Unfortunately, predicting the future of MTG price spikes is basically impossible, so there’s no telling where Tyvar the Bellicose will end up. Since demand has been slow and steady, rather than one massive spike, copies may be slow to return to the market. If this happens, then prices are likely to stay higher for longer, since supply will remain low.
Alternatively, Tyvar the Bellicose could follow the usual ups and downs that we expect from Commander-based price spikes. While there’s a fair bit of demand right now, this tends to die out quickly once new Commanders come along. Considering we’re getting ten precons within the next four months, this could easily happen sooner rather than later.
Ultimately, as always, predicting the future remains more art than science. As such, we’ll just have to wait and see what the future brings. Considering some Mutant-focused cards are already on the up and up, Tyvar might not have long in the spotlight.
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