Secondary market spikes in the world of Magic generally have a few common sources. Maybe a big tournament passed and new strategies were unveiled that players want to try. Maybe a new Commander was spoiled, and players want to start building that deck.
This week, price spikes are coming from every corner of Magic. The Pro Tour for Outlaws of Thunder Junction just ended, and some new Standard darlings are starting to see some upticks in price.
The bigger price spikes this week, however, actually have to do with some completely different things. One spike is occurring because of a slew of Modern Horizons 3 leaks. The other is occurring because of a crazy new strategy that can cheat in the likes of Emrakul, the Aeons Torn for just three mana!
Kappa Cannoneer
The Legacy 8-cast payoff is seeing a price spike this week. This may seem strange, especially considering that Simulacrum Synthesizer has been the talk of the town for that format recently. The cause of Cannoneer’s spike this week has actually been due to a leak.
According to recent Modern Horizons 3 leaks, it appears that Kappa Cannoneer is going to be coming to Modern. Kappa Cannoneer is an incredibly scary payoff for Affinity decks that Modern doesn’t currently have available. Considering how efficient Simulacrum Synthesizer is, Affinity decks have already seen a resurgence in the Modern format alongside Satoru, the Infiltrator to profit on free draws.
While the card is not currently confirmed to appear in the Modern format, the leak concerning it certainly looks genuine. Cannoneer has seen a massive spike as a result, jumping from about 70 cents to $5 in just a week!
Collector’s Cage
Collector’s Cage has given birth to a variety of new strategies that transcend formats. The Fight Rigging-esque opportunity to Hideaway into a powerful card for just two mana provides terrifying potential. In Modern, Collector’s Cage is being used in Mono White Humans strategies trying to cheat out Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Casting this card commonly ends the game on the spot.
In Pioneer and Standard, players are trying this card in Convoke shells with the intended target being Moonshaker Calvary. If you’re swinging in with a moderately large board, Moonshaker Calvary can either commonly end the game on the spot, or can get your opponent into a position that is near impossible to recover from.
Thanks to all the hype being caused by Collector’s Cage, the card has seen a massive price spike over the past week. Only worth $1.86 a week ago, Collector’s Cage is now selling for $13 semi-consistently. Cards like this that can end the game with little effort have always been attractive options for new brews.
Bloodletter of Aclazotz
Despite not a single copy of this card appearing in the top eight of the tournament, Bloodletter of Aclazotz is a Standard-legal card seeing a strong price spike this week. This card also sees a healthy amount of Commander play thanks to its static ability. Doubling life loss has always been a popular ability in the format, and Archfiend of Despair’s price history proves it.
Notably, Bloodletter of Aclazotz is also part of a two-card death combo in Standard. Combine this with the life loss effect of Rush of Dread. The mana value needed to do this is immense, but it does create a four-drop, five-drop curve that just kills a player.
Bloodletter of Aclazotz has been spiking rather consistently over the last three-month period but saw a larger spike at the beginning of April that has continued to this day. Worth just $10 back in February, Bloodletter of Aclazotz slowly climbed its way up to a $30 price tag. Copies of the card commonly sell for a little under $30.
Read More: New Card-Stealing Commander Creates 700% Price Spike!
Three Steps Ahead
Spree cards are a lot stronger than a lot of players are giving them credit for. Three Steps Ahead is perhaps one of the strongest Spree cards in Standard. All three of these modes can be incredibly powerful in the right circumstances.
While a Cancel is nothing to get excited about, the versatility that Three Steps Ahead provides makes that Cancel option a lot stronger. If you don’t need to counter opposing spells, you can choose to use this card to loot instead. You can even do both if you have enough mana, which does turn this card into raw card advantage.
The token copy mode seems to come up the least but is still relevant in the current Standard format. This can notably copy Simulacrum Synthesizer, which has since created a powerful controlling strategy in the Standard format. That did not perform too well at this past Pro Tour but could rise in popularity thanks to various metagame changes.
Three Steps Ahead performed well in Azorius Control at the Pro Tour. World Champion Yuta Takahashi piloted the archetype to a second-place finish using four copies of the card in his main deck.
This is likely only the start of a larger price spike due to recent results, but Three Steps Ahead has already spiked from a little under $2 in mid-April to about $4. The card still has a wider range of sales prices but is going for $5 semi-consistently as a high point. Considering how integral this is likely to become for the Standard format, however, I would not be surprised if this card spiked further.
Monstrous Rage
This terrifying Wilds of Eldraine uncommon has always been a nasty force to be reckoned with in decks that utilize it. Granting a creature, essentially, +3/+1 and Trample for just one mana is an absolutely incredible combat trick. Since some of these stats appear via a Monster Role, Monstrous Rage even provides permanent buffs.
Mono-Red Aggro and other aggressive archetypes have been seeing heavy upticks across formats, and it’s all thanks to Slickshot Show-Off. This incredible Kiln Fiend variant is absurdly adaptable, offering Haste, evasion, and the ability to Plot itself for future turns. This card is easily capable of presenting early turn three or four kills, and paring it with Monstrous Rage not only gives the Show-off Trample, but it essentially represents five power!
Similar to other big spikes week over week, Monstrous Rage jumped from just under a dollar to about $3 and is being bought up in massive quantities. Sure, it’s not as big of a price spike as other things on this list, but considering that this is a Standard-legal Uncommon, it’s still pretty impressive.
Read More: Key Big Score Card Price Spikes Over 1000%!
