Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm has always been among the best Rat Typal cards in the Commander format. Able to buff your Rats and provide card advantage, this card doubles as both a win condition and an engine for Rat Typal strategies.
Demand for this card has risen significantly thanks to Bloomburrow. A ton of different obscure animals got a ton of typal support. Rats are among the least obscure of these types, but they got a ton of Dimir-colored support regardless. Because of this, Ashcoat is beginning to push towards $90, up from a price of $48 at the beginning of the month.
Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm
So, Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm is seeing a huge price increase thanks to Rat Typal support from Bloomburrow, but where exactly is this card seeing play? Ashcoat’s popularity is entirely based in Commander. Because this card is in an Eternal legal set, it’s only playable in Commander, Legacy, and Vintage. The card is far too weak for the ladder two formats.
As good of a Commander as Ashcoat is, the card is currently primarily seeing play in the 99s of many new Bloomburrow Commanders. The card is primarily showing up in Vren, the Relentless and Wick, Whorled Mind decks. Of course, other Rat cards released in Bloomburrow will also now show up in 99s of Ashcoat Commander decks, which may have inspired some players to build it.
Why is Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm So Expensive?
The reason for Ashcoat’s extreme price is a mix of supply and demand. While the supply for Ashcoat may be less than its price suggests, this card is seriously tough to find. Ashcoat has only been printed in one set as a Mythic Rare. You can only find this card in Jumpstart 2022.
This means that the supply of Ashcoat is incredibly low. Jumpstart 2022 does not have a ton of supply in the first place, and Ashcoat only being available as a Mythic Rare makes this card incredibly difficult to open. To make matters worse, there are no foil copies of this card available, further constricting the already low supply.
If you’re thinking of building a Rat Typal deck, Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm is one of the best cards you can add to your deck. Sadly, it’s tough to say whether or not the card is worth your money at its current price point.
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