One of the coolest aspects of MTG that separates it from other TCGs is the presence of Planeswalkers. Planeswalkers are often incredibly iconic characters, both in lore and in playstyle. While they can have their issues, including being overly dominant in some Limited environments, they certainly help draw people to the game.
Recently, one Planeswalker in particular saw a large and somewhat unexpected price spike. Chandra, Awakened Inferno may not be the Constructed powerhouse that some others are, but thanks to its synergy with a popular new Duskmourn Commander, the card is now worth a lot more than it was a couple of weeks ago.
A Big Spike for Chandra
- Mana Value: 4RR
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 6 Loyalty
- MTG Sets: Core Set 2020, Commander Masters
- Card Text: This spell can’t be countered.
+2: Each opponent gets an emblem with “At the beginning of your upkeep, this emblem deals 1 damage to you.”
-3: Chandra, Awakened Inferno deals 3 damage to each non-Elemental creature.
-X: Chandra, Awakened Inferno deals X damage to target creature or planeswalker. If a permanent dealt damage this way would die this turn, exile it instead.
Starting a little over a week ago, Chandra, Awakened Inferno began significantly climbing in price, and it really hasn’t slowed down much since. Both the Core Set 2020 and Commander Masters versions are up a lot. According to TCGPlayer market price history, non-foil Core Set 2020 copies of Chandra sat around $1.68 from the beginning of September to September 15th. There was a small increase in price from September 15th to September 20th, with the card holding a price tag of $2.39 at that point.
Since then, the card ballooned to $8.35, where it now sits. This means that Core Set 2020 copies of the card have gone up by 397% in less than two weeks, which is a huge shift. Commander Masters variants didn’t quite spike that hard, but a similar trend occurred. Up until September 15th, Commander Masters Chandras plateaued around $1.56. By September 20th, that number increased to $4.98. Fast forward to September 27th, and the card held a price tag of $6.31.
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Potential Explanations
- Mana Value: 2BR
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 4/4
- MTG Sets: Duskmourn Commander
- Card Text: Flying. Ward- Pay 2 life. Whenever an opponent loses life for the first time during each of their turns, put a +1/+1 counter on Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls and draw a card.
While it isn’t entirely clear what caused the spike to Chandra, the release of the Endless Punishment Duskmourn Commander Precon likely played a factor. This deck is all about forcing each of your opponents to lose life during their turns for your benefit (as the face Commander above, Valgavoth, suggests).
Yesterday, we discussed a price spike to Zo-Zu the Punisher, which happens to pair perfectly with Valgavoth. Well, Chandra, Awakened Inferno is also an elite addition to a Valgavoth Commander deck. All you have to do is use Chandra’s +2 ability a single time, and each of your opponents is guaranteed to take damage during their upkeep. Even if Chandra gets removed, the Emblems will keep chipping away, much to Valgavoth’s pleasure.
The only other thing worth mentioning regarding Chandra’s spike is that the card is seeing a bit more Constructed play than it has in the past. In Pioneer, Boros High Noon strategies have started to become more popular. It’s quite common for these decks to play a couple of copies of Chandra in the sideboard. Chandra helps shore up the control matchup, once again thanks to its nasty emblem-making ability.
With a higher level of demand in Commander and Pioneer to a lesser extent, it makes sense why Chandra has gone up in price. What was once a very cheap mythic rare now commands a hefty price tag. So, make sure to check your collection to see if you have any surprise Chandras lying around.
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