Despite Reality Fracture looking like an incredibly stacked set, the MTG market has been rather slow to react. It wasn’t until the set’s precon, Multiverse Reforged, was unveiled that things really kicked off. Now, multiple synergistic support pieces have shot up in price, though not everything is going in the precon itself.
MTG Sphinx Ambassador
Originally released in Magic 2010, Sphinx Ambassador is potentially a hugely powerful MTG card. So long as you can sneak in for combat damage often and choose the right card, you can theoretically steal threat after threat. Admittedly, even with that ceiling, Sphinx Ambassador isn’t cheap to play, but realistically, finding targets shouldn’t be too difficult.
Thanks to Commander’s deck size and singleton construction, you always have tons of options when searching an opponent’s library. Even a well-tuned deck will have a couple of top-end threats or generic utility pieces to steal. As such, even an opponent who knows their deck inside and out can’t know what you’ll pick with 100% accuracy.
As much as this makes Sphinx Ambassador technically viable in Commander, it’s not very popular. According to EDHREC, only around 10,000 decks run this card, and that’s including the new play bump. This bump is driven by The Ur-Sphinx, which basically wants to play all the best Sphinxes in MTG.
Beyond being a Sphinx, Sphinx Ambassador’s cost reduction and The Ur-Sphinx’s overlap put it in the same card-stealing play space. This makes the card a perfect inclusion within the 99, leading to a sudden surge in demand. While this is a common cause of MTG price spikes, it’s rare to see prices going this crazy all of a sudden.
A $50 Bomb?
Curiously, despite not seeing tons of play in MTG Commander, Sphinx Ambassador has long been rather expensive. Just before this spike started, for instance, a near-mint non-foil copy ran just under $15. This price point is largely thanks to the card’s rarity, as it’s only ever been printed as a mythic in the Magic 2010 core set.
Because it’s already scarce, the sudden demand has instantly drained the market of supply. It didn’t take much, either, as there have been only around 32 sales since The Ur-Sphinx was revealed. Despite this low number, prices have still shot up to the moon, as a near-mint non-foil copy will now run you $49.99.
Mercifully, if you’re not too fussy about card quality, a lightly played example will only cost $40 at the moment. Sadly, while this sounds like a nice budget alternative, it’s only a single cheap copy before near-mint is all that’s left. Unhelpfully, there aren’t any other printings of Sphinx Ambassador, either for extra supply or discount deals.
A Concerning Trend
While we can’t predict the future here at MTG Rocks, Sphinx Ambassador being a $50 card feels absolutely nuts. This card isn’t all bad, but right now, it’s clear scarcity is the only thing really driving it up. If Sphinx Ambassador ever gets reprinted, this high price point would be decimated.
Even if a reprint doesn’t happen, there are already concerns that Sphinx Typal and The Ur-Sphinx are overhyped. As much as they’re the fun new thing, and the “Ur” title has a lot of weight, this is no
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.
. Realistically, Sphinxes are nowhere near as popular or as well supported as Dragons, making their future viability suspect.
With this in mind, it feels like there’s a real chance prices will fall sooner rather than later as interest wanes. In fact, this appears to be happening already, as sales hit around $55 before dropping back down. Notably, the same is also happening to Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign, as near-mint copies are back down to $15 after spiking to $20.
Should this trend continue, investing in Sphinx Ambassador, or any currently spiking Sphinx card, could be a major mistake. If you’ve got some of these classic cards in your collection, however, now could be the time to sell. Even with all of that said, this spike isn’t over yet, so we can only wait and see what happens.
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