It’s a turbulent time in the world of MTG finance. The ripples from the release of Outlaws of Thunder Junction are still being felt, and certain Big Score cards are experiencing price spikes as a result. Beyond this, existing archetypes have picked up new cards from the set. Leading, naturally, to increased prices as players buy-in and speculators buy out.
As if Thunder Junction wasn’t enough, we’ve also been seeing a surprising amount of Modern Horizons 3 leaks lately. While unconfirmed, these leaks are still influencing prices, albeit in subtle ways so far. It’s a lot to take in, whether you’re a player or an investor.
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Collector’s Cage
The first, and most significant, of the Big Score price spikes comes courtesy of Collector’s Cage. Ironically enough, given the card’s name, this has been a bit of a breakout hit this week. At first glance it doesn’t look like much, appearing like a slower, artifact version of Luminarch Aspirant from Zendikar Rising. When you factor in the Hideaway ability, though, it becomes another Cage of fish entirely.
Players have been testing the card in Humans shells in both Modern and Pioneer, which can easily meet the ‘three creatures with different powers’ condition here. Once this is done, the deck can cheat out a Moonshaker Cavalry for a swift win as early as turn three. Humans is a solid deck in Modern and Pioneer as-is, so a big new addition like this is, naturally, quite exciting.
This has been reflected in the card’s price, which has jumped from around $1.50 to around $15 over the last week. This represents a rough increase of around 1000%: an eye-watering figure. Showcase and Extended Art versions of the card have been affected too, jumping from $10 to $15 and $5 to $7, respectively. And these are just the sale prices: listings are as high as $70 for the card on TCG Player. This is probably an anomaly, but the hype around the card is real, and it could continue to climb as players test it more in Humans, and maybe even give it a go in Standard.
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Pest Control
Collector’s Cage isn’t the only Big Score card getting some love this week. The cards in this sub-set are, by design, rarer than regular Mythics, which means greater price mobility for those that do well. Pest Control is one of the most hotly-anticipated cards from The Big Score, for Standard and beyond. For two mana, of Orzhov colors, it wipes the board of all nonland permanents that cost two or less. You can also cycle it for two.
In Standard, this is a superb answer to Boros Convoke decks. Wiping away all of their tokens, and many of their creatures, for two mana is a huge blowout. Can’t Convoke your Knight-Errant of Eos without any creatures, after all. The Cycling also ensures that it’s not dead against other decks, which may mean it appears in main decks as well as sideboards. With how well Esper Midrange is doing, and how easily this card slots in there, it’s not surprising players are excited. The card also has potential in eternal formats, where low curves mean there are plenty of Pests to Control in a given game.
That said, Pest Control isn’t spiking quite as hard as Collector’s Cage. The regular version is trending gently upwards, climbing from around $6 to around $7 this week. Interestingly, the Showcase version of the card is going harder, jumping from $12 up to around $20. There are also sales as high as $46 on TCG Player, hinting at a high demand for this particular edition. It’s not clear at present why that is, but in any case, this is one to watch going forward.
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Waste Not
Moving away from the Big Score price spikes for a moment, we have another interesting mover this week in Waste Not. This is a classic discard support card from M15, which provides either tokens, cards, or mana depending on what you force your opponent to part with. Interestingly, this card was part of the ‘Guest Designers’ series in M15, and is credited to ‘The Magic Community.’
The card has been the centerpiece of a popular Pioneer deck for a while now. Mono-Black Discard, also called Waste Not sometimes, due to its reliance on the card, is a powerful deck built around robbing your opponent of resources. Outlaws of Thunder Junction added a couple of new toys for the deck in Tinybones, the Pickpocket and Kaervek, the Punisher, which has renewed interest in the strategy. Kaervek in particular has proven powerful in some recent Pioneer challenge lists.
As a result, Waste Not is trending upwards. The card has gone from around $2 at the start of the month to around $4 now: a 100% jump. There are recent TCG Player sales in the $5-9 range as well. This hints at further growth for the card in the future. The card’s price is really tied to the performance of its namesake Pioneer deck, so keep an eye on that if you want to know where Waste Not is heading.
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