At this point, the new precons from Edge of Eternities have been out for almost two weeks. Since then, we’ve seen new Spider-Man cards and even an Avatar: The Last Airbender promo. To top it all off, Standard rotation has caused some significant movements in the market, too, as players invest in new decks.
Despite all these goings on, the Edge of Eternities precons are back once again. In particular, the Counter Intelligence deck seems to be continuing to impress as it’s now causing fresh price spikes. In particular, Energy Chamber, a 21-year-old card from Fifth Dawn, has shot up in price recently.
Energy Chamber
Looking at Energy Chamber, it’s easy to see why this card is a shoo-in for the Counter Intelligence precon. This low-cost artifact can steadily generate everything that this Edge of Eternities precon could want. For starters, it can easily dish out +1/+1 counters, which is the main theme of the deck.
Admittedly, there is a catch to the +1/+1 counter generation, as it only works on artifact creatures. Thankfully, this is a problem the deck has already solved, as 20 of the deck’s 25 creatures are artifacts. Beyond just being artifact creatures, many of these cards, like Crystalline Crawler, Hangarback Walker, and Threefold Thunderhulk, specifically synergize with counters.
On top of all this, the deck is also loaded with Proliferate effects, so Energy Chamber’s counter distribution is invaluable. As if all that wasn’t good enough already, the deck also has plenty of artifacts that use Charge Counters. Some of these are new cards, such as Insight Engine and Long-Range Sensor, while others are classics like Everflowing Chalice.
With how well Energy Chamber works within the Counter Intelligence precon, it’s honestly a wonder it wasn’t reprinted in the deck. It even technically synergizes with the new Spaceship cards and Planet lands for added value. That said, using creatures to Station is far faster, as one Charge Counter per turn doesn’t amount to much.
Despite this slight bit of lackluster synergy, Energy Chamber is still an incredible upgrade. With this in mind, it’s no wonder that sales have been fairly consistent since the Counter Intelligence precon was first revealed. While it has taken some time, this has led to a rather impressive price spike.
The Spike
Even before the Counter Intelligence precon was revealed, Energy Chamber had already started to sell. Once the spoiler season for Edge of Eternities kicked off, it was clear that Charge Counters would play a big role. While there was a risk this card could be reprinted, the potential upside was obviously exciting. For better or worse, that potential is now finally being realized.
At first, a rush of sales around the precon’s reveal didn’t move the price of Energy Chamber all too much. It did jump a little, from $0.54 to around $0.65, but that’s far from the biggest price spike in MTG. As you can see above, however, sales would steadily continue as prereleases, and then the set’s full release occurred.
With a spike in sales happening around each of these milestones, the supply of Energy Chamber would eventually be drained. Right now, there are only 13 listings for near-mint copies on TCGplayer. That said, some of these do have many copies available, so the supply isn’t completely barren just yet.
Even though there is some supply left, sellers are now capitalizing on the lower-than-usual stock. Over the past week, prices have been shooting up, and recent sales have been for as much as $5.99. Thankfully, most sales and new listings are closer to the $4.81 mark, but Energy Chamber has nonetheless spiked significantly.
Thankfully, if you’re in the market for a copy of Energy Chamber but looking to save some money, there is another option. This card has been reprinted once as part of the Elspeth vs. Tezzeret Duel Decks. Currently, near-mint copies of this variant are selling for $4.30, including shipping, which is a slight discount at least. Thankfully, there are also worse condition copies that are selling for less.
The Future
Looking ahead, the future for Energy Chamber’s price seems rather suspect. In theory, supply will always be lower, as MTG players don’t always deconstruct and resell their decks immediately. Even with that in mind, it’s unlikely there will be a huge amount of demand for this card going forward.
At the end of the day, Energy Chamber has never been particularly popular in Commander. Even now, this card only sees play in around 7,000 decks, according to EDHREC, so it’s hardly a staple. While it’s too early to say anything for certain, this makes it seem like the current demand isn’t sustainable.
Should we get another artifact-themed set in the future, this all might change, mind you. In that scenario, however, there’d be a chance that Energy Chamber could be reprinted. As such, banking on this card now doesn’t seem particularly viable. Even if prices continue to climb in August, we’ve got new sets coming out soon.
Typically, new sets and precons being released are usually enough to make past spikes fall out of favor. Even though the Spider-Man MTG set doesn’t have precons, this set should have a similar impact. Failing that, the Avatar: The Last Airbender set is already proving seriously exciting, and could easily move the markets.
Ultimately, as always, we’ll just have to see what happens, as we can’t predict the future. That said, looking at past trends, it definitely seems like the writing is on the wall for Energy Chamber.
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