After a very busy past few weeks, the MTG financial markets have mellowed out recently. Commander unban speculation is still causing some weirdness here and there, but for the most part, there’s nothing going on. Duskmourn: House of Horror was released almost three weeks ago at this point, and we’ve barely heard a peep about Foundations.
Despite October having been a usually quiet time for MTG, there has still been some steady movement. Thanks to a new archetype delivering strong competitive results, staples new and old have steadily been climbing in price. While it may not be the most meteoric rise, Bloodletter of Aclazotz is now over $30, and may not stop there.
Bloodletter of Aclazotz
- Mana Value: 1BBB
- Rarity: Mythic
- Card Type: Creature – Vampire Demon
- Stats: 2/4
- Card Text: Flying
If an opponent would lose life during your turn, they lose twice that much life instead. (Damage causes loss of lie.)
Since its release in 2023’s The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, Bloodletter of Aclazotz has always been a fairly popular card. Literally doubling the life lost by your opponent while in play, Bloodletter of Aclazotz speeds up already oppressive mono-black strategies. Unsurprisingly, this card was especially popular in Commander, even more so in group-slug-focused decks.
On top of being a Commander gem, Bloodletter of Aclazotz also quickly began to see Standard play. Supporting Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and Caustic Bronco Bloodletter made an already punishing deck that much worse to play against. That being said, Bloodletter was never the most popular Standard card, since Mono-Black Midrange was so refined at the time.
Following the rotation of Standard, Bloodletter of Aclazotz fell even more out of favor as new strategies gained ground. Following the release of Duskmourn, however, this deck got some serious upgrades. Thanks to Unstoppable Slasher’s ability to cut an opponent’s life in half, an instant kill combo was on the table.
While the combo between Unstoppable Slasher and Bloodletter of Aclazotz is Standard legal, it’s primarily taken off in Pioneer. Found in the Mono-Black Demons deck, this archetype has proven to be incredibly powerful and popular in recent weeks. A recent Regional Championship in Japan was dominated by this deck, with the final coming down to a mirror match.
Looking ahead, Mono Black Demons appears to be one of, if not the, best deck in Pioneer right now. Unsurprisingly, this has inspired many Standard players to cook up their own variants, albeit without all the best Pioneer tech. For better or worse, this has kept Mono-Black Demons lists for dominating Standard, for now.
The Spike
Unsurprisingly, now that Bloodletter of Aclazotz is a major player in Pioneer, its price has been steadily climbing. At the start of October, the cheapest variant of this card would set you back about $23, which still isn’t cheap. Now, however, prices have jumped by around $10, as recent sales have hit the $33 mark.
While this is hardly the most meteoric price spike that we’ve covered, $33 for a barely one-year-old MTG card is nonetheless impressive. Usually, price tags like that are reserved for Commander staples like Roaming Throne, which is only $28. Clearly, the competitive angle is giving Bloodletter of Aclazotz the edge right now to make it even more expensive.
As much as the Pioneer scene is driving the latest spike, Bloodletter of Aclazotz is still a great Commander card. Thanks to this, foil and alternative art variants of Bloodletter are also proving expensive. The Borderless variant, for example, is also going for around $33, with some sales pushing a few dollars higher.
Foil prices, meanwhile, have absolutely soared in the past few weeks. At the start of October, Borderless foils were only $16, but now they’re selling for $52! Considering a spike of this size hasn’t been seen in the other variants, it’s likely down to the scarcity of this variant.
Will This Hold?
As with all price spikes, it remains to be seen whether or not this latest increase will hold or drop back down. Currently, Bloodletter of Aclazotz is the new hotness, but it does appear genuinely competitively viable. With this in mind, there’s a non-zero chance that $33 is the new baseline price which could climb higher.
Sadly, there is one barrier standing in the way of Bloodletter of Aclazotz’s price hitting the stratosphere. In 2025, there are going to be no Regional Championship Qualifiers in the Pioneer format. Due to this, there’s a very real chance that interest in the format will wane and prices subsequently fall.
Right now, there’s no guarantee this dip will happen, but it certainly seems likely. Since Modern and Standard are getting most of the big tournaments, there will be little reason to play Pioneer. That doesn’t mean it’s the end for Bloodletter of Aclazotz, however, as it is potentially viable in Standard.
Should enterprising players crack the code and make Mono Black Demons Standard viable, then its price may climb again. Given there are two series of Regional Championship Qualifiers using the Standard format, its current price could even soar. For that to happen, however, it’ll have to break the metagame.
Right now, the Standard metagame is rather unpredictable. Innovations from Duskmourn may mostly be dying down, but Foundations is on the horizon. Depending on this set’s power level, it could completely invert the metagame for years to come. Ultimately, we’re just going to have to wait and see what the future brings.
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