Overall, as the year progressed, Magic’s secondary market has been becoming a lot calmer. It may not seem like it, but swings were far more volatile in the past. That hasn’t stopped some cards from seeing a change in price when a new interaction is discovered. The recent spike of Wanderwine Prophets is a good example of this – turning into a two-card infinite combo when played alongside Deeproot Pilgrimage.
Otherwise, a ton of relevant cards saw reprints, making a lot of Magic cards cheaper this year. While the boost in accessibility is a boon for almost everyone, this also means that the cards that missed a reprint just got that much more desirable. Edgar Markov fell victim to this, doubling in price over the past three months, which is a lot considering the card is now worth over $150 regardless of the reprint.
To round off 2023, here’s the last few cards that are seeing some interesting price spikes coming into the new year.
MTG Bloodthirsty Adversary
The Standard Regional Championship Qualifier season is right around the corner! This may suggest that some Standard cards could rise in price on the secondary market but, unless everyone and their dog is planning on sleeving up Mono Red Aggro, this is not the cause for Bloodthirsty Adversary’s price jump.
It is true that the deck has been overperforming lately, but Mono Red Aggro is hardly considered a leading archetype traditionally. Otherwise, Bloodthirsty Adversary only seems to see occasional play in Dual Commander as far as competitive Magic goes.
Bloodthirsty Adversary also happens to be a Vampire, and as we stated when covering Edgar Markov’s big spike, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan brought with it some powerful Vampire Typal support, increasing interest all-around in the archetype. That said, most of the spikes related to this happened back in November, and Bloodthirsty Adversary cannot be used as an upgrade to the Blood Rites Commander deck, so some question marks are definitely left in the air.
Either way, Bloodthirsty Adversary has seen some surprising increases in price. Starting at around $8.60 in December, the Adversary’s market price on TCGplayer has increased to just under $18. Cards are selling for even more than this, with recent sales surpassing $19. Recent foils have sold for over $20.
Unlike most price spikes nowadays, Bloodthirsty’s Adversary’s price spike seems to have hit every variant of the card, suggesting that this spike is the real deal.
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MTG Urabrask’s Forge
In a similar vein, Urabrask’s Forge is seeing a price increase. This also sees play in Standard Mono Red Aggro, but is a lot less popular in the archetype than Bloodthirsty Adversary. Urabrask’s Forge is not a great tool for pushing heavy amounts of damage quickly. This card is better suited at closing out the long game, offering a scaling source of damage that threatens to take over the game if left alone for too long.
Urabrask’s Forge has increased in price over the past three months, and may be seeing another price spike soon. The card is up to between $2-3 from less than a dollar.
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MTG Edgar, Charmed Groom
Don’t mistake Edgar, Charmed Groom for Edgar Markov! Both of these cards are seeing price spikes, and may be the same characters lore-wise, but their prices are drastically different.
Edgar, Charmed Groom’s price spike makes sense. It’s a Vampire that creates tokens and wants to go wide, so it’s a great upgrade to the Blood Rites Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander deck. On top of all that, Edgar is a lord, which seems to be a prevailing theme amongst spiking cards as of late.
If Edgar Markov’s increase in price is making it a more popular Commander, that could also be a source of interest for Edgar, Charmed Groom’s price increase, as it synergizes fantastically with Edgar Markov’s Eminence ability.
Edgar, Charmed Groom’s price spikes did begin around November, so Vampire Typal does appear to be part of the reason this card is spiking. That said, the card spiked again recently. Overall, Edgar Markov was worth about 60 cents at the beginning of November, and now has a market value of $3.78. That said, recent sales suggest that this card may be coming back down in price.
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MTG Tranquil Frillback
Tranquil Frillback is a great MTG card. Sure, it’s from perhaps the worst set in Magic’s 30-year history, but this hate piece is incredibly volatile, with modes that make it playable in both constructed and Commander. Able to destroy an artifact or enchantment, and exile a graveyard, this card is fantastic in Commander. Gaining life also makes it a rather volatile option for constructed.
Over the past three months, Tranquil Frillback’s secondary market average has increased from less than a dollar to $5 for its normal variant. Other variants have been seeing similar spikes.
That’s it for This Year!
Hopefully, these price spikes are an indicator that Standard will make a roaring return in the new year, but honestly, that seems rather doubtful. Standard remains the most popular format on MTG Arena, but it continues to struggle in paper. The Regional Championship Qualifier season should bring some much deserved interest to the format, but it will be interesting to see how far that interest goes in terms of ringing up business for local game stores everywhere.
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