We’re coming into the home stretch of Reality Fracture preview season now, and what a ride it’s been. This set looks absolutely stacked, with a ton of powerful new rares, and a bunch of combo enablers in the uncommon slot to boot. While there’s still more to come, the set is already having an impact on the secondary market. This week, for example, Ganax, Astral Hunter has seen a serious price spike thanks to a new combo-licious MTG Dragon.
Ganax, Astral Hunter MTG
Originally released in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate, Ganax, Astral Hunter is a stellar support card for Dragon Typal in Commander. The card sees play in the 99 of over 96,400 decks according to EDHREC data, the majority of which are Dragon lists like
Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm
Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm
Flying, ward {2}
Whenever another nontoken Dragon you control enters, create a token that's a copy of it, except the token isn't legendary.
and
The Ur-Dragon
The Ur-Dragon
Eminence — As long as The Ur-Dragon is in the command zone or on the battlefield, other Dragon spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
Flying
Whenever one or more Dragons you control attack, draw that many cards, then you may put a permanent card from your hand onto the battlefield.
. It also has a solid sideline in Treasure decks, with Commanders like
Magda, Brazen Outlaw
Magda, Brazen Outlaw
Other Dwarves you control get +1/+0.
Whenever a Dwarf you control becomes tapped, create a Treasure token.
Sacrifice five Treasures: Search your library for an artifact or Dragon card, put that card onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
and
Smaug, Wicked Worm
Smaug, Wicked Worm
Flying
When Smaug enters, create X tapped Treasure tokens, where X is the number of artifacts your opponents control.
Whenever you cast a spell, if mana from a Treasure was spent to cast it, you draw a card and lose 1 life.
running it regularly as well.
While less prevalent, Ganax also sees some play as a Commander in its own right. Thanks to Choose a Background, it can be run as a fairly reasonable Gruul Dragons deck alongside
Acolyte of Bahamut
Acolyte of Bahamut
Commander creatures you own have "The first Dragon spell you cast each turn costs {2} less to cast."
. It also enables a funky Izzet Dragon Aggro playstyle with
Feywild Visitor
Feywild Visitor
Commander creatures you own have "Whenever one or more nontoken creatures you control deal combat damage to a player, you create a 1/1 blue Faerie Dragon creature token with flying."
for those after something a little different.
Though Ganax was always a solid role-player, it really got players talking this week after the reveal of Draconic Visitor from Reality Fracture. This newcomer turns any artifact tokens you create into 5/5 Dragons, which enables an easy infinite with Ganax. Simply drop Visitor with Ganax out, and you’ll make a Treasure. The Treasure enters as a Dragon, and Ganax makes another Treasure to keep the loop going.
By itself, this combo results in a draw, since Ganax’s Treasure generation ability isn’t optional. With a sacrifice outlet like
Goblin Bombardment
Goblin Bombardment
Sacrifice a creature: This enchantment deals 1 damage to any target.
, however, you can break the loop at any time by sacrificing one of the pieces, or simply ping the table to death with all your Dragons. Cards like
Impact Tremors
Impact Tremors
Whenever a creature you control enters, this enchantment deals 1 damage to each opponent.
and
Altar of the Brood
Altar of the Brood
Whenever another permanent you control enters, each opponent mills a card.
will work here too.
The Spike
Prior to this week, you could easily pick up copies of Ganax, Astral Hunter for around $1. While the card was definitely playable in Commander, its uncommon rarity helped keep prices in check, as plenty of supply was available. After the reveal of Draconic Visitor, however, sales surged and took a massive chunk out of that supply, with 277 copies selling in a single day on September 14th.
This pressure hasn’t let up since, with 107 copies selling yesterday, the 15th, as well. As you’d expect, Ganax’s price has increased sharply, with near-mint copies now costing $3.99 on the low end. These prices seem solid despite TCGplayer having 109 copies of the card in stock, which indicates strong demand for Ganax and the new combo.
Fortunately for those concerned about being late to the party on this spike, the Showcase Rulebook version of Ganax is still very affordable. Near-mint copies of this printing are currently around $0.50 to $1, which is a considerable discount if you don’t mind the artwork. It’s worth noting that this opportunity may not last very long, mind you, as this printing has seen a similar supply hit to the regular one over the past couple of days, leaving just 27 copies on TCGplayer.
Showcase printing aside, Ganax is going up across the board right now. The Foil Etched variant has spiked from around $3.40 to around $11, making it the most premium version of the card available. While you can get base copies in poorer condition at a discount, with lightly-played copies going for around $1.60, for example, things are definitely trending up, and quickly.
The Future
Going forward, it’s hard to predict where the price of Ganax, Astral Hunter will end up. On one hand, the new combo looks legitimately powerful and easy to pull off in most Dragon Commander decks. With Ganax already having plenty of appeal for those decks, this could solidify the card’s status as a staple for a long time. This new combo also makes Ganax much more attractive in the command zone, so it could see an uptick in play there, too.
On the other hand, this new combo looks like one for lower-bracket tables. Dropping two five-mana creatures back to back isn’t easy, and even then you need additional pieces to actually win with it. While
Magda, Brazen Outlaw
Magda, Brazen Outlaw
Other Dwarves you control get +1/+0.
Whenever a Dwarf you control becomes tapped, create a Treasure token.
Sacrifice five Treasures: Search your library for an artifact or Dragon card, put that card onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
can tutor up both pieces and a payoff like
Terror of the Peaks
Terror of the Peaks
Flying
Spells your opponents cast that target this creature cost an additional 3 life to cast.
Whenever another creature you control enters, this creature deals damage equal to that creature's power to any target.
by itself in cEDH, this is likely less effective than the combo lines the deck runs now, as Draconic Visitor actively harms the deck outside of the combo.
Ultimately, only time will tell whether the price spike on Ganax, Astral Hunter is the real deal or a flash in the pan. As an uncommon, it’s in a very vulnerable position should the tide of interest shift, and players start looking at other Commander strategies. That said, it is an established card with plenty of use outside the new combo, so it could hold firm even as most players move on.
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