If you’re playing Standard, there’s very little chance you haven’t run into the fairly new Esper Pixie deck. Popping up at the tail end of last year, this newfangled archetype is all the rage right now. Based on playing, bouncing, and recasting cheap enchantments, this deck is surprisingly deadly, often putting up impressive results.
Over the past month, Esper Pixie is firmly the third most popular deck in all of Standard right now. With this in mind, it’s little wonder that opponents are having to figure out ways around it. Thanks to its prevalence, even Esper Pixie is having to contend with Esper Pixie.
Somewhat comically, this deck is actually the best equipped in all of Standard to deal with itself. This is all thanks to one mythic board wipe which has seen a fairly substantial price increase over the past month.
Pest Control
Esper Pixie might not be a meta-dominating pest, but it’s still absolutely crushed by Pest Control. This card works so well against this archetype, in fact, that it seems Wizards had it planned all along. Maybe Pixies really are the pests of the vast Magic: The Gathering multiverse.
When it comes to tackling Esper Pixie, Pest Control gets rid of pretty much everything that’s relevant. The titular Nurturing Pixie, for instance, is a one-mana card, as is the deck’s main damage source, Optimistic Scavenger. The only creature that Pest Control can’t actively deal with is Fear of Isolation which can easily be removed via other means.
On top of killing off almost all the deck’s creatures, Pest Control also tackles a fair few of the enchantments. Stormchaser’s Talent and Hopeless Nightmare are the biggest bounce targets, and Pest Control removes them outright. In a pinch, this board wipe can even get rid of Defiled Crypt/Cadaver Lab, provided that only the lab has been unlocked.
Given Pest Control is capable of dealing with six out of the eight creatures and enchantments in Esper Pixie, it’s safe to say this card is strong. Outside of Esper Pixie, it can even clear up a board full of tokens. This is especially relevant considering that Temur Otters and Mono White Tokens both go wide in order to win.
Despite all this strength, Pest Control sees remarkably little play. According to MTGDecks, the card only really appears within Esper Pixie itself. This makes this otherwise invaluable board wipe surprisingly risky, as if you can’t bounce enough you risk blowing yourself up. Thankfully, if there’s one thing that Esper Pixie specializes in, it’s bouncing cards back to your hand.
The Spike
Since appearing in December, Esper Pixie has been responsible for some absolutely insane price spikes. The price of This Town Ain’t Big Enough, for example, has spiked by almost 1000% over the past month. In comparison, the spike that Pest Control has seen looks incredibly quaint.
Toward the start of December, Pest Control was selling for a low of just $1.67. This price wasn’t all too surprising given that the card didn’t have much of a home outside of Commander. Even there, Pest control is a very niche card, since it only deals with the weakest and cheapest of permanents.
Once Esper Pixie hit the scene, and this card gained a new home, it has unsurprisingly become more expensive. Right now, near-mint copies of Pest Control start at $4.42, with a lot of listings closer to the $5 mark. If we’re generous and use the latter price, that means Pest Control has only seen a 200% price spike.
Unlike This Town Ain’t Big Enough, it’s worth noting that Pest Control has a pair of alternative variants. Unsurprisingly, each of these variants has also seen a moderate price spike, although not quite to the same extent. Currently, the Extended Art variant has gone up by around 23% and is now selling for $6.30.
Meanwhile, the card’s prized Showcase variant has seen the smallest price spike but is nonetheless the most expensive currently. Only climbing 10% when looking at the past month, it seems players aren’t ravenous for any and every version of Pest Control. Currently, the Showcase variant is selling for a market price average of $6.99.
A Sleeper Hit?
Comparing Pest Control to This Town Ain’t Big Enough, once again, there’s a major difference between the two cards; rarity. Pest Control was released as part of The Big Score, which was crammed into Outlaws of Thunder Junction. While there are three variants of this card available, making it more accessible in Collector Boosters, it’s still ultimately a mythic.
This Town Ain’t Big Enough, meanwhile, is an uncommon from the main Outlaws of Thunder Junction set. As a result, there’s bound to be a whole lot more supply of This Town out there compared to Pest Control. It’s curious, in that case, why this card isn’t more expensive right now.
Despite both cards being played in the same deck, it’s obvious that Pest Control is still a rather niche option. Right now it’s only found in the sideboard of Esper Pixie, available for mirror matches should they turn up. In comparison, This Town is a four-of staple within the main board that the deck practically requires to function.
While this gives This Town Ain’t Big Enough the lead, for now, the tide could easily change in the future. Currently, Standard doesn’t have a great many Orzhov decks that could play Pest Control, but if that changes, it’ll be a great sideboard option. It’ll be worth paying attention to Aetherdrift spoilers with this in mind, as a powerful Orzhov card or two could move the meta.
For now, Pest Control remains a powerful card but with limited use cases. If token decks continue to be all the rage in Standard, it could well become a sideboard staple. At the moment, however, it’s just a flavorful niche tool for a deck to fight itself with.