Ever since the five Secret of Strixhaven Commander precon decklists were revealed in early April, the secondary market has experienced a ton of major shifts. The Silverquill Influence deck in particular seemed to resonate with Commander players, as a variety of auras and thematic payoffs have risen significantly in price. Most recently, Daxos the Returned saw its price skyrocket due to increased demand.
MTG Daxos the Returned
In order to maximize Daxos, you need to cast a bunch of enchantments to rack up experience counters. This will scale the Spirits this card creates in power, threatening to close out the game. Considering that the Silverquill Influence precon is all about casting cheap enchantments, it makes sense that this Zombie legend has more appeal.
While Daxos pales compared to Killian, Decisive Mentor and Eriette of the Charmed Apple as an aura-themed Commander, he still has some value in the 99. After all, he provides a steady stream of blockers that help keep you alive while Killian’s or Eriette’s triggered abilities pull you ahead. Thanks to this, according to EDHREC, Daxos has been added to 347 Killian decks, and those numbers continue to rise.
Interestingly, Daxos does still have some appeal outside of dedicated enchantment shells, too. In particular, his synergy with experience counters makes him a strong fit in Kelsian, the Plague and Azlask, the Swelling Surge decks. Nonetheless, it’s clear that Daxos’ demand saw a big increase following the reveal of the Silverquill Influence precon decklist.
The Spike
Even before the arrival of Secrets of Strixhaven, Daxos wasn’t exactlya cheap card. This comes in large part because the only printings for the legend come from Commander 2015 and The List. Three months ago, near mint Commander 2015 copies held a market value of $7.43, while The List copies sat at $9.35.
That said, once Daxos appeared to be absent in the Silverquill Influence precon at the beginning of April, players quickly started grabbing him. Currently, there’s only one near mint Commander 2015 listing all the way at $29.99. While The List does feature some cheaper options, there are still only six listings to speak of, starting at $24.
For Commander players who aren’t concerned with condition, there are cheaper alternatives. Heavily played Commander 2015 copies are selling for as little as $11.51, including shipping. That said, these cheaper listings are few and far between, so there’s no guarantee that they will last much longer.
Potential Downturn
While predicting the future of MTG spikes is nearly impossible, there is reason to hold out hope that Daxos’ value will decline over the long term. After all, a lot of this creature’s demand is tied to Orzhov aura hype, which is bound to decrease once new decks come out. Outside of its use as an Aura support card, Daxos’s other Commander uses are basically nonexistent. It’s also not out of the question that Daxos could earn a reprint in the future, thus drastically improving the supply situation.
Still, with Secrets of Strixhaven hype as high as it is and no official reprint to look forward to, it may take some time before Daxos’ value decreases. As per usual, though, only time will tell where Daxos’s final price point ends up.
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