While it’s already been playable for almost an entire week, technically, the TMNT MTG set launches tomorrow. With plenty of competitive new cards and Commander gems too, there’s plenty to be excited about with this set. Saying that, it seems that, from a finance perspective, MTG players couldn’t care less about this upcoming set.
Outside of a couple of Mutants spiking in price, it seems the reaction to this set has been rather tepid. Things are so bad, in fact, that Lorwyn Eclipsed appears to be having a bigger impact on the markets right now. Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile, for instance, has only spiked recently, despite the TMNT MTG set being literally a day away.
MTG Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile
First released in the original Lorwyn set, 19 years ago, Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile is… just okay, really. Typically, this card is best used to make attacking more difficult, since she can easily kill any low-toughness attacker. While this is useful in Commander, thanks to the high density of tokens and utility creatures, Brigid doesn’t do much else.
Thankfully, while Brigid is pretty mediocre on their own, it does get a lot better with support. When equipped with something like Basilisk Collar, for instance, Brigid threatens to kill any attacking or blocking creature. On top of this, there are also cards like Ohabi Caleria, that Brigid works wonders with.
Thanks to turning Brigid’s damage dealing into card draw, for a cost, this pair can work wonders together. Outside of that, it’s hard to say that Brigid has much of a proper home, only occasionally appearing in generic Selesnya lists.
That said, things have changed slightly following the release of Lorwyn Eclipsed. Thanks to her Kithkin-generating ability, Brigid, Clachan’s Heart has become the new go-to Commander for the typal archetype. This, in turn, has led to a strong uptick in play for Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile, since it is a Kithkin, if nothing else.
While this may make the playability of Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile seem rather bleak, Kithkin are a beloved archetype in MTG. Despite only appearing a few times throughout Magic’s long history, it’s even got a fair few lords, too. Thanks to this, Kithkin Typal is actually a pretty compelling archetype, which could give this price spike some legs.
The Spike
Previously, and somewhat unsurprisingly given its power, Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile was a fairly inexpensive MTG card. Before Lorwyn Eclipsed spoiler season started, near-mint non-foil copies could easily be picked up for $1.35. That said, even at the time, good condition copies of Brigid weren’t all too plentiful.
Over the past three months, only 56 near-mint copies of Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile have been sold on TCGplayer. While more lightly played copies have been sold, around 169, supply is clearly an issue here. This stems from Brigid only having one printing, with no reprints or alternative variants to boost supply.
As usual, this has left Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile very vulnerable to increases in demand. Even though this card only appears in fewer than 900 Brigid, Clachan’s Heart decks, prices have still shot up. Currently, the market price for Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile sits at $5.37, but new near-mint listings begin at $5.95.
While this is already a fairly impressive 340% price spike, factoring in shipping prices pushes Brigid up to $6.94. Thankfully, even though prices have been climbing across all conditions, some cheaper copies are still available. Heavily played examples, for instance, are just a touch under $5 right now, while lightly played ones are just under $6.
If you do fancy spending a whole bunch of money, Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile also has you covered there. With lightly played foil copies starting at $20.99, there’s certainly room to show off. Notably, foil copies have only spiked by around $5, as they’ve always been expensive thanks to their age and natural rarity.
Looking Ahead
As always, predicting the future of this MTG price spike is rather difficult, as it could really go either way. From a gameplay perspective, Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile isn’t really good enough to be valuable, so its price could crash. Even though Kithkin Typal is somewhat beloved, the lack of new support could easily keep prices in check.
That being said, Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile is a surprisingly rare card, and there’s no guarantee it’ll be reprinted. Without Masters sets or The List, the places this card could appear are rather limited. In theory, it could pop up in a future bonus sheet, but even those don’t have the best odds nowadays.
With this scarcity in mind, Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile could easily retain its current price point, if not continue to climb. This is what we’ve seen happen to Kinsbaile Borderguard, which has steadily been ticking up following its recent price spike. Ultimately, as always, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the coming weeks and months.
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