Despite technically only being officially released last Friday, Secrets of Strixhaven has been playable for over a week. In that time, we’ve seen a number of MTG cards climbing in price thanks to new legends and archetype support. Considering there are five precons to pick between this time around, it’s hardly surprising that this set is getting a lot of love.
That being said, one MTG precon is far and away getting the most attention. Offering a somewhat unique theme built around enchanting your opponent’s creatures, the Silverquill Influence precon has caused multiple price spikes already. As if this deck hasn’t caused enough commotion already, now it has caused Ondu Spiritdancer to spike too.
MTG Ondu Spiritdancer
Originally released not too long ago in Commander Masters, Ondu Spiritdancer is a ridiculously powerful MTG card. Even with its once-per-turn clause holding it back, this card can generate an obscene amount of value throughout a game. Sure, it might cost five mana, but it’ll easily pay for itself after doubling just a couple of enchantments.
Since the new Silverquill Influence precon revolves around playing enchantments, it’s no wonder this deck wants Ondu Spiritdancer. While most of the cards that let you enchant your opponent’s creatures are on the cheaper end, spreading the love, or rather hate, is still valuable. At the very least, you’ll get twice the triggers off of Killian, Decisive Mentor, resulting in even more card draw.
Thanks to this synergy, Ondu Spiritdancer has already found itself into 47% of Killian decks on EDHREC. While this has boosted the card’s play rate by almost 1,700 decks, it was already incredibly popular. Spiritdancer is similarly a staple within Eriette of the Charmed Apple decks, for instance, which has a near-identical game plan.
Outside of specifically enchanting your opponent’s creatures, any enchantment-focused deck can utilize this card. Whether you’re using Aminatou, Anikthea, or even Tom Bombadil, Ondu Spiritdancer always works wonders. Hell, you can even run this card just to double up on bombs like Extravagant Replication or Doubling Season if you like.
As if all that somehow wasn’t enough, Ondu Spiritdancer even has serious combo potential in MTG Commander. Enabling two card infinites with Secret Arcade // Dusty Parlor or Enchanted Evening, this card really isn’t to be scoffed at.
The Spike
At the end of March, before the Silverquill Influence precon was revealed, Ondu Spiritdancer was surprisingly cheap, all things considered. While the original Commander Masters printing was selling for around $4.75, the Duskmourn Commander variant was significantly cheaper. Thanks to being more recent, copies from the Miracle Worker precon were selling for just $2.24 on average.
Sadly, while this printing used to be a good bit cheaper, it didn’t take long for prices to equalize. After this, Ondu Spiritdancer has only continued to get more and more expensive. Now, a near-mint non-foil Duskmourn copy of Ondu Spiritdancer will set you back $12.39. This marks a 453% price spike in just one month, which isn’t bad at all.
Curiously, despite previously being the more expensive variant, the Commander Masters printing is actually cheaper right now. Near-mint copies of the default frame printing are selling for $9.95, while extended art copies start at $11.54. Unfortunately, outside of these slightly cheaper printings, there aren’t any fantastic discount deals right now.
Thanks to over 900 near-mint copies being sold across the three variants in the past month, supply is incredibly low. At best, the default frame Commander Masters variant has 25 near-mint listings left. With 16 listings for Duskmourn and 11 for the extended art variant, it’s no surprise that all the worse condition copies have been bought out already.
Due to this, if you’re still in the market for a copy of Ondu Spiritdancer, $10 is the least you can expect to pay. While this is a decent jump from past lows, this could easily just be the start of what’s to come.
A Super Staple?
While Ondu Spiritdancer wasn’t automatically expensive, the release of Wilds of Eldraine and Eriette changed that very quickly. In just a few months, this card went from selling for $5 to $25, although it didn’t last there for long. Prices steadily declined to around $6 even before the Duskmourn reprint happened in 2024.
Thanks to this past precedent, you could easily assume that Ondu Spiritdancer will end up falling back to $6. While this is definitely possible, it’s unlikely that every recently purchased copy will return to the market in time, so it could easily settle higher. On top of this, from a power level perspective, it’s hard to argue that Ondu Spiritdancer shouldn’t be worth around $10 or $12 at least.
Not only does this card have huge value and combo potential, but enchantment-focused decks get support fairly frequently. Whether it’s a powerful new enchantment being printed or a fantastic new Commander, demand for Ondu Spiritdancer could easily surge again. While it might not be the best investment right now, this is definitely an MTG card worth keeping an eye on.
All that said, since it has been reprinted before, Ondu Spiritdancer could easily pop up in a precon again. If this happens, its price is bound to crash somewhat, since it’s currently the low supply that’s propping it up. Whether this will actually happen, however, remains to be seen.
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, and our brand new MTG Rocks Podcast!