After first introducing the Planeswalker card type to the world and ruling Magic’s competitive formats for years,
Tarmogoyf
Tarmogoyf
Tarmogoyf's power is equal to the number of card types among cards in all graveyards and its toughness is equal to that number plus 1.
is undeniably one of the most iconic cards in all of MTG. The fact that, once upon a time, an overstatted vanilla creature was the best thing to do in MTG is wild, since it seems totally unrealistic now.
Of course, nowadays, Tarmogoyf no longer has what it takes to compete in MTG Modern, but Reality Fracture’s recent reprint might bring the card to new formats. Now that the card is Standard-legal, Tarmogoyf’s oldest variant appears to be spiking in price.
MTG Tarmogoyf
Originally printed in Future Sight 21 years ago, it took players some time to figure out just how broken Tarmogoyf really was. Unfortunately, despite the card’s reputation preceding it this time, Tarmogoyf really does not appear to be seeing much play.
So far, the card is appearing in a few Standard aggressive or midrangey Standard brews that care about the graveyard. Delirium builds, despite being unpopular, are the perfect home for this creature since its stats grow as you get more card types in the graveyard. Pair a massive 4-5 power body with a
Violent Urge
Violent Urge
Target creature gets +1/+0 and gains first strike until end of turn.
Delirium — If there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, that creature gains double strike until end of turn.
, and you can close games out of nowhere.
Tarmogoyf has otherwise appeared in an aggressive Golgari list that aims to fuel the graveyard as quickly as possible. Cards like
Dark Matter Manipulator
Dark Matter Manipulator
When this creature enters, mill three cards.
This creature gets +2/+0 for every seven cards in your graveyard.
and
Rubblebelt Maverick
Rubblebelt Maverick
When this creature enters, surveil 2. (Look at the top two cards of your library, then put any number of them into your graveyard and the rest on top of your library in any order.)
{G}, Exile this card from your graveyard: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. Activate only as a sorcery.
dump plenty of cards into the bin, reducing the costs of cards like
Diamond Weapon
Diamond Weapon
This spell costs {1} less to cast for each permanent card in your graveyard.
Reach
Immune — Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to Diamond Weapon.
and
Huskburster Swarm
Huskburster Swarm
This spell costs {1} less to cast for each creature card you own in exile and in your graveyard.
Menace, deathtouch
. All the while,
Tarmogoyf
Tarmogoyf
Tarmogoyf's power is equal to the number of card types among cards in all graveyards and its toughness is equal to that number plus 1.
and
Souls of the Lost
Souls of the Lost
As an additional cost to cast this spell, discard a card or sacrifice a permanent.
Fathomless descent — Souls of the Lost's power is equal to the number of permanent cards in your graveyard and its toughness is equal to that number plus 1.
see their stats grow, offering gigantic two-mana bodies.
Sadly, outside of these two niche homes, Tarmogoyf’s reprinting hasn’t really brought the creature to new formats. It continues to see most of its play in Duel Commander, routinely appearing in green-colored midrange decks across the format. While this means that Tarmogoyf isn’t experiencing much demand as a whole, its original Future Sight variant has almost been bought out.
The Spike
If you want to grab a copy of Tarmogoyf on a budget, doing so is extremely easy. Reality Fracture copies of this card, for example, are only $2 at the time of writing, making Tarmogoyf one of the worst Mythics to open in the set. That said, because Future Sight copies of this card are extremely scarce, just a small demand spike was enough to clear supply out.
This is exactly what happened when Tarmogoyf was spoiled on September 11th, causing over 60 copies of the card to sell overnight. This sudden demand increase cleared near mint supply from TCGplayer, with only three copies of the card remaining. The cheapest of these is available for $49.97, more than double the $20 price tag from just a month ago.
While finding budget copies of Tarmogoyf is hardly an issue thanks to its Reality Fracture reprint, you can even grab a Future Sight copy for cheap if condition is not a concern. Heavily Played copies of Tarmogoyf’s Future Sight printing now start at $22, but even this is a significant spike from $9 at the beginning of the month. Foil copies of this card, meanwhile, start at a ridiculous $155 in heavily played, climbing all the way to $410!
A Flash in the Pan?
Of all the price spikes we’ve covered recently, this Tarmogoyf one is among the most unusual. It appears that players bought up Tarmogoyf’s Future Sight variant expecting the card to see play in Standard or Pioneer, but that hasn’t really transpired. While Reality Fracture Standard is still extremely fresh, giving plenty of opportunity for things to change, it certainly looks like we won’t be seeing a shift soon.
Because of this, the Future Sight Tarmogoyf is basically a collectible, affected heavily by its current supply. If the rise in price causes more copies of this card to hit the marketplace and no one buys them, this price spike could be short lived. Alternatively, should supply remain dire, prices could keep increasing.
We always say that MTGRocks cannot predict the future, especially in the world of MTG, but this particular spike is even more unpredictable than usual. It’s difficult to know just how valuable the Future Sight variant of Tarmogoyf is for players, after all, when there’s little reason other than nostalgia to buy it.
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