As usual for a modern Magic: The Gathering set, Reality Fracture has no shortage of stellar Commanders. The suite of six Sphinxes, in particular, has been causing quite a buzz, as has the new Superfriends support. As if this wasn’t already enough, Reality Fracture has some strong Artifact-focused Commanders to build around.
Thanks to these new Commanders driving demand, we’re now seeing new price spikes take root. Uthros Research Craft, for instance, has just doubled in price, and it might not stop there. With a Spacecraft-filled set on the near horizon, there’s a real chance this is just the start of something bigger.
MTG Uthros Research Craft
Released as part of the Edge of Eternities precon, Counter Intelligence, Uthros Research Craft almost instantly became a Commander staple. In Artifact-focused decks, this Spacecraft can provide insane value thanks to its first ability. You do have to Station three power into it first, but after that, every artifact instantly replaces itself.
Beyond giving artifact-focused decks infinite gas, hitting this ability lets Uthros finish Stationing itself. So long as you can play nine artifacts while it’s alive, you’ll get a huge beater for no extra effort. Considering how efficient artifact-focused decks tend to be, this is remarkably easy to do and makes Uthros pack a real punch.
With this utility and power in mind, it’s little wonder that Uthros Research Craft is being included in
Vraska, Soul of Stone
Vraska, Soul of Stone
Artifact creatures you control have vigilance.
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, create a 1/1 colorless Sculpture Treasure artifact creature token with "{T}, Sacrifice this token: Add one mana of any color."
decks. Not only does this new Reality Fracture Commander reward you for casting artifacts, but it makes treasures, too. This can help you cast even more artifacts for more value, and it’ll amp up Uthros’ power, too.
On top of this already impressive synergy, Uthros Research Craft is also being included in
Karn, Gilded Guardian
Karn, Gilded Guardian
Vigilance, trample
When Karn enters, draw a card for each color among other artifacts you control.
decks. Admittedly, the synergy isn’t quite as strong here, but with Karn also providing card draw, you can lean further into that. Alternatively,
Saheeli, Jewel of Avishkar
Saheeli, Jewel of Avishkar
Thopters you control have haste.
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, create a 1/1 colorless Thopter artifact creature token with flying.
is another strong Commander with Uthros, as, like Vraska, she can churn out artifacts very easily.
Together, these Commanders have driven a significant uptick in Uthros Research Craft. With Vraska responsible for 1,450 new decks, Karn for another 500, and Saheeli for 220, there’s definitely been a notable bump. That said, according to EDHREC, Uthros is now in over 97,000 decks, so it’s long been popular before Reality Fracture came along.
Doubling Up
Despite Uthros Research Craft being a known quantity in Commander, the default frame variant has still been climbing in price. Previously, you could pick up a near-mint non-foil copy of Uthros for around $1.26 on TCGplayer. Now, however, near-mint listings start at $3, and only a few copies are available at this price point.
Notably, while prices don’t take long to jump to $3.50 and beyond, there’s still plenty of supply. On TCGplayer, 57 near-mint listings still offer over 550 copies combined. As if that wasn’t enough, the extended art variant of Uthros has even more supply available, with 175 near-mint listings.
Despite having more supply, this extended art variant is also selling for around $3 right now. Curiously, this has been the going rate for an extended-art copy for quite some time, but that could change soon. Considering what’s coming up on the horizon, it might not be long until prices increase further.
Stellar Spacecraft Coming Soon?
While Uthros Research Craft is already a good card in Commander, it’s highly likely we’re getting more support soon. Given MTG Star Trek is bound to be jam-packed with Spacecraft, there’ll soon be more powerful artifacts flying about. At the very least, these could offer new Spacecraft support, pushing Uthros even further, even if they’re not specifically artifact-focused.
Even if MTG Star Trek doesn’t deliver, Uthros Research Craft’s long-term potential looks very strong. Since this card is a staple in artifact-focused decks, any new Commander for this archetype can drive demand. With supply already starting to get low, it might only take one or two more Commanders for prices to pop off.
Given that artifact-focused cards are fairly common in MTG, too, it’s hard to see how Uthros doesn’t grow in price. That being said, having Uthros be reprinted, either in a bonus sheet or Commander precon, could keep the price down. While it’s hard to say if or when this might happen, MTG Star Trek is definitely a set to watch.
With this in mind, it’ll be worth paying attention to the MTG Star Trek spoiler season that starts next week. In particular, the precons, which are revealed from the 26th to the 29th, could have a huge impact. If this card doesn’t end up reprinted and it gets new support, it might just hit the moon.
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