It feels like we haven’t had Commander-based finance in quite some time. Now that we finally have some exciting Commander cards from MTG Aetherdrift, players are scrambling to find upgrades for the preconstructed decks. In particular, the Zombie-focused discard-based strategy of the Eternal Might looks like the most exciting precon to build around.
Unsurprisingly, this interest has already caused a lot of relevant synergistic cards to spike in price over the past few days. Another relevant card that players have been eyeing is Tortured Existence. This enchantment can create absurd amounts of value with the secondary Commander from Eternal Might. It can even create infinite combos with some setup.
Tortured Existence
Tortured Existence usually isn’t a very exciting card. If you’re playing a mill-focused deck, or need to keep a creature around, it can see play in good in Commander. When played alongside the new Commander Hashaton, Scarab’s Fist, however, Tortured Existence takes on an entirely different meaning.
Tortured Existence now becomes a combo machine. Thanks to Hashaton’s triggered ability to create copies of creatures you discard, you can now pay three mana to create a 4/4 copy of any creature discarded by Tortured Existence. You can even bring that card back to your hand with Tortured Existence, to create more copies of it in the future.
This reanimation loop can be used to create an infinite combo with Peregrin Drake. To start, discard the Drake and copy it, paying a total of four mana in the process. Peregrin Drake will then untap five lands on entry. Tortured Existence can then pick up the same copy of Peregrin Drake you discarded, which you can then discard once more. This creates an infinite loop that creates one mana and a 4/4 Drake every time. From here, winning the game should be trivial.
EDIT: The Oracle Text for Tortured Existence states that you cannot return the same card that you discarded to your hand. This can still be infinite, but you’ll need to be generating more than just one mana with each of your lands. The other creature in the cycle could potentially help.
Even if you aren’t going infinite, repetitively creating copies of valuable creatures with Hashaton is an easy way to pull ahead in Commander. As a result, anyone thinking of playing with Hashaton will want Tortured Existence.
The Spike
Not only is Tortured Existence seeing a massive increase in demand, but the card also doesn’t have very many printings. To date, the card has only appeared in Stronghold and on The List. Both copies of the card have spiked from a little under $2 to about $10 over the last week.
Curiously, between the two versions of Tortured Existence, The List variant is currently selling for more. This largely appears to be due to TCGplayer Direct sales rather than any actual differences in quality or art. Even when only looking at near-mint examples, Stronghold is currently selling for $12, while The List versions are $29.
Given that Stronghold was released in 1998, you might expect these prices to be the other way around. After all, older sets typically had a shorter print run, and older cards weren’t cared for as well for the longest time. Despite this, the Stronghold copies of Tortured Existence are routinely cheaper, not just the near-mint examples.
Interestingly, there are no foil copies of Tortured Existence in Magic: The Gathering. Stronghold did not have foil cards, and cards don’t get foil printings via The List, either.
Tortured Existence’s Future
Given it’s hardly the most accessible MTG card, Tortured Existence is ripe for another reprint. That said, the card is also unlikely to hold its secondary market value. It’s not uncommon to see spikes like this attached to new Commander releases, but the demand for these cards is generally temporary. Once everyone who wants to build Hashaton has their copies of Tortured Existence, demand for the card will disappear. This will also happen when more Commander decks are revealed as players’ attention will shift, and Hashaton won’t be in the limelight anymore.
As a result, if you want to build Hashaton on a budget, it might be best to wait. Perhaps consider building a Commander from the last Standard set now since prices for chase cards have likely dropped. Once Tarkir: Dragonstorm becomes the center of attention, it’ll be worth looking back on Hashaton and seeing how things are doing.
