Despite players having a rather middling reaction to the set, The Hobbit does have some great cards. Not only are there a few gems for competitive players, but there are tons of fantastic new Commanders. As usual, the best of these have already caused a range of price spikes, with older upgrades being especially susceptible.
With this in mind, it’s little wonder that Knucklebone Witch has been climbing in price in the past few weeks. Not only is this card a rare from Lorwyn that hasn’t been reprinted in 19 years, but it barely sees any play. This is all changing, however, thanks to a new Commander from The Hobbit that has pushed demand up dramatically.
MTG Knucklebone Witch
Despite looking like a pretty powerful Goblin on the surface, Knucklebone Witch is only played in around 3,200 decks. This doesn’t really have anything to do with the card’s power, but instead its color identity. With Krenko, Mob Boss being the go-to Goblin Typal Commander, there’s very little demand for non-red Goblins.
Thankfully, the newly released The Great Goblin is working to change that, as it cares about Goblins, Orcs, and Armies. While this legend being Rakdos is already reason enough to play Knucklebone Witch, it has some stellar synergy, too. Since The Great Goblin cares about Goblins getting counters and dying, Knucklebone Witch does everything this deck wants.
At the very least, every time a Goblin dies with Knucklebone Witch in play, The Great Goblin gets to Shock an opponent. While this ability will naturally pop off with tokens, The Great Goblin does surprisingly limit itself. By steadily exiling your deck, going deep or infinite with this Commander can spell your undoing.
Even with this limitation, however, Knucklebone Witch is still a fantastic inclusion in The Great Goblin’s 99. Thanks to this, the card is already appearing in 56% of Great Goblin lists, accounting for 720 new decks running the card. This, in turn, has caused a significant demand spike, resulting in a dramatic price increase throughout August.
A Strong Spike
Thanks to seeing so little play in Commander for so long, Knucklebone Witch used to be a very affordable MTG card. Selling for as little as $1.60 this time last month, this card’s value was only really propped up by its scarcity. This factor, however, has only gotten worse, as after 47 near-mint sales in the past month, there are just five listings left on TCGplayer.
Now, if you want to pick up a near-mint copy of Knucklebone Witch, you’ll have to pay $10.99, including shipping. Notably, the peak sale price has only hit $9.95 so far, but that’s still a 521% price spike in just one month. Considering how quickly the price of near-mint listings ramps up, this percentage could easily soar higher if sales continue.
Unfortunately, even if you don’t care about card condition, the price of Knucklebone Witch is up across the board. At its very cheapest, you’ll now have to pay $6.39 for a heavily played example. As if this wasn’t bad enough, there’s no telling when Knucklebone Witch might get cheaper.
A Specific Staple
After being without a home for so long in Commander, it appears that Knucklebone Witch has finally found its footing. In theory, this could cause demand to last long-term, as MTG players gravitate toward The Great Goblin. While it’s entirely possible this could happen, this card sadly isn’t in the same league as Krenko.
Due to this, the demand for The Great Goblin and Knucklebone Witch may be more short-lived than usual. If this is the case, then prices will likely stall, especially as it becomes a more expensive upgrade. Even if prices do increase in the short term to capitalize on remaining demand, any future reprint would decimate this card’s price point.
Since Knucklebone Witch is a 19-year-old rare, near-mint condition copies are definitely in short supply right now. If it ever reappears in a precon or bonus sheet, the massive influx of supply will easily sate lingering demand. Whether or not this reprint will happen, however, ultimately remains to be seen, as nothing is guaranteed.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew, and our brand new MTG Rocks Podcast!