The 2026 MTG release calendar might be absolutely stacked, but there’s no beating Lorwyn Eclipsed. Since 2023, a return to Lorwyn has been in insanely high demand, and at long last, it’s finally happening in January. Rather fittingly, one of the iconic legends from the original Lorwyn block has actually been spiking in price recently. While it’s not related to Lorwyn Eclipsed, Ashling the Extinguisher pairs quite well with some other new Commander releases.
Ashling, the Extinguisher
First released 17 years ago in Eventide, Ashling, the Extinguisher is a classic card from Eventide. Well, Ashling is, at least, as she appeared in Lorwyn as Ashling the Pilgrim and later Ashling, Flame Dancer in Modern Horizons 3. On top of that, Ashling has already been spoiled for Lorwyn Eclipsed as she’s returning as Ashling, Rekindled.
Despite Ashling’s long history in MTG, Ashling, the Extinguisher is the least exciting of her cards. She might be a 4/4 for four, but she has to connect to really do anything. Even when she does, you only get to force a creature to be sacrificed. While this might not sound like much, this ability is actually surprisingly effective.
Since you choose a creature, rather than target it, Ashling, the Extinguisher can get around Hexproof and Shroud. As if that wasn’t good enough, since the chosen creature is sacrificed, it gets around Indestructible, too. Essentially, this means that any creature on the table is fair game for Ashling’s ability, making her a surprisingly effective removal engine, especially in a format full of Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves.
The major catch to using Ashling, the Extinguisher effectively is that she needs to be unblockable. While there are plenty of cards that do this, building around a non-combo card in the 99 is rarely ideal. Thankfully, a brand new Commander offers a potent unblockable ability that ensures this removal happens.
Released as part of the PlayStation Superdrop, Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima is the perfect new Commander for Ashling. Much like Fallen Shinobi, which also recently spiked, Jin Sakai is perfect if the board is full, as he can make Ashling effectively unblockable. Notably, Jin Sakai’s Double Strike is effectively useless against an empty board, but still, the synergy that is possible is rather powerful.
The Spike
Following his reveal back in late September, Ashling, the Extinguisher has become a fairly popular inclusion in Jin Sakai decks. According to EDHREC, a little over 1,000 Jin Sakai lists are using the card to great effect. This has significantly increased Ashling’s popularity in Commander, as previously she was only played in around 2,800 decks.
While demand for her as a Commander added another 2,500 lists, Ashling was hardly the most popular MTG card. On top of this, since she’s only been printed once, back in 2008, there aren’t a lot of copies available. This left Ashling, the Extinguisher in a prime position for a price spike, but it has been surprisingly slow.
Looking at the lightly played price chart for Ashling, there was, unsurprisingly, a strong surge in interest shortly after Jin Sakai’s reveal. 22 copies were sold in one day, and over 40 additional copies have been sold since then. This has almost completely drained the market of supply, while pushing prices from $4.42 to $13.99.
While the TCGplayer market price statistic is a long way off this top-end price tag, recent sales have ramped up significantly. New lightly played listings all start at $13.99, and a handful of copies have already sold at this price. To date, this marks a 229% price spike, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Thanks to Ashling’s rarity, the few available near-mint copies sold out incredibly quickly, even as prices increased. From a starting price of $4.45, it didn’t take long for prices to hit $22 before everything was sold out. While this was a 394% price spike, sadly, near-mint copies are no longer available on TCGplayer.
The Future
As always, it’s impossible to tell which way the future of this price spike will go. This is largely thanks to the threat of a reprint in the upcoming Lorwyn Eclipsed. While Ashling, the Extinguisher is unlikely to be reprinted in the main set, there are Commander decks and Special Guests.
In theory, Ashling, the Extinguisher could be reprinted in the Blight Curse precon, but that’s very much a guess. The deck’s -1/-1 and creature combo focus are barely related to Ashling, so it hardly feels like a sure thing. On top of this, while Ashling is one of the set’s most memorable legends, he’s not exactly Special Guests material.
Unfortunately, while we don’t think a reprint is likely, the potential is definitely still there. Even before this happens, however, there’s a good chance that interest will be drawn elsewhere. As popular as PlayStation is, Avatar: The Last Airbender has no end of fantastic legends worth building around.
Subsequently, I wouldn’t be surprised if the price of Ashling, the Extinguisher dips before Lorwyn Eclipsed is spoiled. It might not fall by much, but there’s a good chance some supply will re-enter the market to capitalize on this price point. Whether or not this happens, however, remains to be seen for now, so we’ll have to wait and see.
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