For better or worse, the majority of MTG precons are fairly tame. While some are definitely more popular than others, we rarely get a deck that’s downright unbalanced or unfun to play against. Back in Bloomburrow, however, we got the Peace Offering precon, which strayed very close to that dangerous line.
A big part of the problem with the peace offering deck was its Group Hug game plan. On the surface, this seems all cuddly and friendly; however, they can quickly turn vicious. Whether they’re burying everyone else in card advantage or sneaking out an unstoppable combo win, this deck is rightfully notorious.
At the helm of the Peace Offering precon is the humble Ms. Bumbleflower. Perfectly embodying the archetype, Ms. Bumbleflower looks adorable, but she can be a real menace, especially when upgraded. Curiously, this infamous MTG card has dramatically spiked in price recently for seemingly no rhyme or reason.
MTG Ms. Bumbleflower
Even before a Group Hug deck enacts its master plan, Ms. Bumbleflower is a remarkably compelling Commander on her own. Sure, you do have to give an opponent a card when casting a spell, but you get decent returns too. So long as you’re casting two spells, you’re replacing those cards while also dishing out counters.
Even Ms. Bumbleflower’s downside isn’t that terrible, as giving out cards means your opponents won’t want to get rid of her. If you spread the love, they’ll not want to shut down a source of card draw, allowing her to spiral out of control. Speaking of, you can even tap into infinite combos using Ms. Bumbleflower to end games instantly.
With Ms. Bumbleflower and Smothering Tithe in play, landing Shrieking Drake can end the game. So long as an opponent can’t pay the two for Tithe, you can use the Treasure to replay Shrieking Drake after bouncing itself. Since you can do this infinitely, you can force each opponent to draw their entire deck, while buffing your board, too.
Thanks to this powerful potential and innate protection, it’s no wonder that Ms. Bumbleflower is a popular Commander. According to EDHREC, this card is, in fact, the eighth most popular Commander in the entire format. She might not see much play in the 99 of other decks, but there’s no denying that Ms. Bumbleflower is a staple.
On top of all this, thanks to being printed in a recent precon, the supply for Ms. Bumbleflower is plentiful. Well… it used to be, at least, as the card has seen a massive buyout on TCGplayer recently. With demand spiking out of nowhere, supply has been driven to an all-time low, and prices to an all-time high.
The Spike
In the past month, over 3,300 near-mint foil copies of Ms. Bumbleflower have been sold on TCGplayer. Notably, this is the variant found in the precon itself and is, or rather was, by far the more accessible printing. Previously, there were tons of supplies for this variant, which had it selling for just $0.70 a few months ago.
Now, however, there are just 44 foil listings left on TCGplayer, with prices starting at $8.99. To date, this marks a 1184% price spike; however, those prices could easily continue to climb. After all, as one of Magic’s most popular Commanders, it’s incredibly unlikely that any demand will die out overnight.
Notably, while the foil variant of Ms. Bumbleflower is already expensive, non-foil copies are even more pricey. With only 17 listings left on TCGplayer, you’ll have to pay at least $9.99 for a near-mint non-foil example right now. This, however, is practically nothing compared to the raised foil showcase variant, which is priced at $1,279.
A Baffling Buyout
With no new synergistic cards or Commander driving up demand for Ms. Bumbleflower, this price spike is clearly a result of a buyout. This makes the future of this spike somewhat suspect, as the demand is essentially artificial right now. That being said, there are a few things going in this spike’s favor, which could make it last.
For starters, paying around $10 for one of the game’s most popular Commanders doesn’t feel that outrageous. With this in mind, there’s a non-zero chance that MTG players will keep buying and playing Ms. Bumbleflower. Even outside of this, however, reprinting this card is somewhat difficult, thanks to its color identity.
While Ms. Bumbleflower might not appear in a new precon anytime soon, it could theoretically be a bonus sheet reprint. If this happens, new supply hitting the market should bring the price down, but that might happen anyway. Even if it doesn’t happen overnight, the 3,300 copies recently purchased will likely be returned to the market to generate profit.
Sadly, since investors are seemingly holding the lion’s share of supply, don’t expect an immediate market flood anytime soon. That said, as always, since we can’t predict the future, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens with this spike.
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