It has now been almost two weeks since the most recent ban announcement, and we’ve seen some major shakeups in Constructed. No format has seen bigger metagame shifts than Modern, thanks mostly to the unbanning of four elite cards.
As you might expect, this has also caused a number of price spikes. Many cards that synergize well with the unbanned powerhouses have risen in value considerably as demand continues to grow.
With this in mind, today, we’re going to focus on one specific haymaker that has been rejuvenated since the announcement. With an incredible enters-the-battlefield and attack trigger, your opponent is in a world of trouble if this card hits the board. We are, of course, talking about Archon of Cruelty.
Archon of Cruelty
Archon of Cruelty undoubtedly can have a brutal effect on any game of MTG as long as you have a way to cheat it into play. Even if the opponent can answer it with Solitude or another form of removal, it still generates a bunch of value when it enters the battlefield.
That being said, prior to the recent unbans, Archon of Cruelty wasn’t making much noise in Constructed. In Modern, Esper Goryo’s Vengeance shells were the most popular Reanimator-style decks in the format, abusing the power of Psychic Frog and Atraxa, Grand Unifier. The Ephemerate package worked so well with Atraxa in the mix, and there was little reason to build around Archon instead.
With Faithless Looting unbanned, however, one particular archetype that abuses Archon perfectly has become a force to be reckoned with: Jund Creativity. Archon is a natural fit for Indomitable Creativity decks in Modern for a couple reasons.
First and foremost, Archon isn’t legendary. This means that if you can cast Indomitable Creativity for X=2 or greater, your opponent will have to contend with multiple monsters at the same time. This also makes Persist a great support card, since it only targets non-legendary creatures. Forcing the opponent to discard multiple cards and sacrifice their board presence makes it difficult for them to fight back, too.
Indomitable Creativity decks have always been strong in grindy games. Fable of the Mirror-Breaker and Wrenn and Six are built to win you attrition battles. What Faithless Looting brought to the table is the potential for “nut draws.”
Discarding Archon on turn one and casting Persist turn two is a devastating line of play that many decks won’t beat. As such, Indomitable Creativity decks have been seeing significantly more play in Modern, which has contributed to Archon’s massive price spike.
The Spike
Earlier in the week, we reported on a price spike to Indomitable Creativity itself. Given that Archon is the most popular bomb to pair with it in Modern, it only makes sense that it would climb in price, too.
Interestingly, Archon spiked at a very similar rate as Indomitable Creativity. Archon’s lowest price point in the last month came in late November, where Modern Horizons 2 near mint copies sat at $2.87 in non-foil according to TCGPlayer market price. That number rose slightly over the next couple weeks, but didn’t see a massive jump until after December 16. Conveniently, that’s when the ban announcement occurred.
Since then, non-foil copies of Archon have been spiking across the board. Modern Horizons 2 traditional versions are up to $12.82, which translates to a 347% price spike. Modern Horizons 2 copies with the showcase frame are currently selling for a little cheaper (closer to $10), for anyone looking to pick up some Archons. Meanwhile, Modern Horizons 3 Commander variants also sit between $12 and $13.
Interestingly, Modern Horizons 2 traditional foils have not increased much in price at all over the last month. Near mint foils have been consistently selling for between $10 and $20 for months, and that has not changed even with Archon seeing more Modern play.
So, if you’re interested in adding some flare to your decks, you may still be able to pick up some foil Archons for a very reasonable price.
