Recently, Modern Horizons 3 has almost been putting Masters sets to shame. Throughout spoiler season, MTG players have marveled at the litany of incredibly exciting new-to-Modern reprints. With cards like Sylvan Safekeeper being reprinted alongside Fetch Lands, MH3 really has it all.
As if all that wasn’t enough already, Modern Horizons 3 even has Commander decks loaded with reprints. While these aren’t officially being revealed until later in May, these decks have, unsurprisingly, been extensively leaked. These leaks haven’t even stopped now spoiler season is officially underway, making it even busier than usual!
Despite the problems with MTG’s endless spoiler season, we can’t help but be excited about the earlier-than-expected reveals. This is especially true for some of the recent reprints that have supposedly surfaced online. If these are legit, two of the most expensive energy cards in MTG should be getting reprinted soon!
Aetherworks Marvel Gets Reprinted?!
Judging by a recent leak, posted to the mtgfinance subreddit, Aetherworks Marvel is getting reprinted in Modern Horizons 3. Specifically, this MTG card can be found in the Creative Energy Commander deck. Given the themes of the deck, we’d be absolutely baffled if this card wasn’t reprinted in all honesty.
Now we’ve seen this leak, the reprint of Aetherworks Marvel is pretty much confirmed. There is the chance, of course, that this is just a cleverly concocted fake, but that seems unlikely. Given the sheer volume of Modern Horizons 3 leaks we’ve seen, almost all of the newly leaked cards can be presumed genuine.
As for the card itself, Aetherworks Marvel is obviously a great reprint, however, it’s not as good as you might think. In theory, this card being the second most expensive Energy card sounds like a fantastic bit of value. In reality, however, this card is only worth around $8.50. If this was the maximum price for every archetype’s best card, Magic would be a much cheaper game.
Once it’s been reprinted, there’s technically no telling how expensive Aetherworks Marvel will be. That being said, this $8 price point is actually a recent outlier, all things considered. Following the announcement of Creative Energy and Fallout’s Science! deck, this MTG card’s price shot up.
Previously, Aetherworks Marvel was only worth around $2.50 back in February. While we can’t predict the future, there’s a non-zero chance this reprint will return Aetherworks Marvel to these pre-hype levels. Whether or not this will happen, however, remains to be seen, so we’ll have to wait to see what happens.
Gonti Gets Reprinted Too?
Just before the reveal of the Aetherworks Marvel reprint, u/FlyinNinjaSqurl revealed another potential Modern Horizons 3 reprint. If this leak is to be believed, Gonti’s Aether Heart is finally getting its long-overdue reprint! As the most expensive Energy card, this reprint would certainly be a welcome treat, just like Aetherworks Marvel.
Unfortunately, unlike the reprint to Artherworks Marvel, one all-important detail is missing from this leak. Thanks to an unfortunately, or cleverly, placed camera flash, we can’t see this card’s set symbol. Sadly, this means it’s entirely possible this leak is a fake, designed to cause chaos and move the MTG markets.
Given the sheer volume of leaks we’ve seen, admittedly this possibility does seem somewhat unlikely. That being said, however, if this was a fake, this wouldn’t be the first one that we’ve seen from Modern Horizons 3. Long ago, before any leaks were confirmed to be real, one leak revealed that Brainstorm was in MH3.
Thankfully, after confirming many other leaks were indeed real, Wizards explicitly stated this one was a fake. Sadly, the chances of this happening again are rather rare, however, it won’t be long before the Creative Energy deck is officially revealed.
Should Gonti’s Aether Heart actually get reprinted, it would be a welcome delight for Energy-loving MTG players. Currently, Gonti’s Aether Heart costs around $11.50, making it the most expensive Energy card around. Just like Aetherworks Marvel, this price has been inflated recently following increased interest in this mechanic.
Six months ago, Gonti’s Aether Heart was selling for around $4.50 on TCGplayer. Once this reprint is released, if it’s real, we may see its price fall to this level again. Whether or not that will happen, however, remains to be seen.
Disappointing Energy Reprints
While the potential reprints of Artherworks Marvel and Gonti’s Aether Heart are welcome, Energy cards aren’t that expensive. Currently, every single Energy card is under $2, outside of the exceptions mentioned today. This makes the entire archetype incredibly playable and affordable, especially in Commander.
Despite these already low prices making Energy decks a budget delight, their prices could always be lower. Sure, Lightning Runner may only cost $1.80 right now, but it being cheaper would be no bad thing. The same is true of Demon of Dark Schemes, which only sells for around $1.30.
Looking at current prices, it seems that the Creative Energy deck may have surprisingly little reprint value. Even if it includes all the best Energy cards, there’s simply not a lot to write home about. Hopefully, any new Energy cards will provide a welcome hit of value, but that’s no guarantee at this point.
Given the prices of the best staple Energy MTG cards, it may just be that this entire mechanic is rather unpopular. According to EDHREC, this is very much the case, as Aetherworks Marvel only sees play in around 10,000 decks. This may seem like a lot, but it’s far less than even niche archetypes like Rat-Typal.
Ultimately, despite a potential lack of reprint value, there should be a lot to love about the Creative Energy deck. With exciting new Commanders and plenty of new support too, this precon could be what Energy needs to revitalize its appeal. Whether or not this will happen, however, remains to be seen for now.
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