For better or worse, the Multiverse Reforged precon from Reality Fracture was one of the weirder ones we’ve seen recently. While Polymorph decks are a known quantity in Commander, the new cards in this precon didn’t all support that strategy. Instead, many of the most interesting cards are better being cut from the deck and built around in isolation.
In doing this, we’ve seen a wide range of price spikes, especially as players build around cards like The Ur-Sphinx. On top of this, we’ve also seen the deck’s face Commander pivot into a wild new Jace Typal deck. As if that wasn’t enough, now Dack Fayden is getting in on the price-spike-causing action thanks to his gift-giving shenanigans.
MTG Preston, the Vanisher
As soon as Preston, the Vanisher was revealed as part of Jumpstart 2022, MTG players knew this Rabbit had potential. Within Flicker-focused decks, in particular, Preston could churn out value by copying whatever you flicker. As if that wasn’t enough, you can even use Preston as a source of removal, though I admit the cost is steep.
While copying anything you flicker is already a massively high ceiling, Preston, the Vanisher can even create infinite combos. Alongside a creature that flickers, like
Felidar Guardian
Felidar Guardian
When this creature enters, you may exile another target permanent you control, then return that card to the battlefield under its owner's control.
, and a flicker spell, like
Ephemerate
Ephemerate
Exile target creature you control, then return it to the battlefield under its owner's control.
Rebound (If you cast this spell from your hand, exile it as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast this card from exile without paying its mana cost.)
, you make infinite creature tokens. By flickering Felidar, you get two copies back, one of which you can use to flicker the original, creating two more tokens in an infinite loop.
Thanks to this party trick, Preston, the Vanisher has been an auto-include in any Flicker-focused Commander deck since release. This has led to a respectable play rate in
Brago, King Eternal
Brago, King Eternal
Flying
Whenever Brago deals combat damage to a player, exile any number of target nonland permanents you control, then return those cards to the battlefield under their owner's control.
decks, as well as
Aang, at the Crossroads
Aang, at the Crossroads
Flying
When Aang enters, look at the top five cards of your library. You may put a creature card with mana value 4 or less from among them onto the battlefield. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
When another creature you control leaves the battlefield, transform Aang at the beginning of the next upkeep.
lists. More recently, however, Preston is being played in the 99 of
Dack Fayden, Helping Hand
Dack Fayden, Helping Hand
When Dack Fayden enters, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal X creature cards, where X is the number of opponents you have. Put those creature cards onto the battlefield, then shuffle. They're goaded for the rest of the game. For each of those permanents, choose a different opponent. Each opponent gains control of the permanent for which they were chosen.
decks.
While Dack Fayden does give your creatures away, since you still get any enters abilities, it’s very easy to abuse it. Flicker effects, in particular, let you repeatedly blink Dack for even more triggers. In theory, this can result in you dumping and goading your entire deck to cause havoc on the board.
To make this game plan more consistent, having Preston, the Vanisher out can give you tons more copies of Dack. Hell, it’s very easy to end up going infinite with Preston in play, and the only real risk is potentially giving Preston away. Thankfully, so long as you can stack triggers effectively, even this potential problem can be avoided.
A Shockingly Expensive Rabbit
With this synergy in mind, it’s little wonder that Preston has already been included in over 1,700 new Dack Fayden decks. This, in turn, has had a serious effect on the MTG markets, since Preston, the Vanisher has always been a rather rare card. Not only has Preston never been reprinted, but as a Jumpstart 2022 mythic, it was only found in two of the 46 theme boosters.
Due to this natural rarity, it hasn’t taken a tremendous amount of sales to push Preston’s price up. In the past month, in fact, there have only been around 145 near-mint sales, but these have still pushed prices up by almost $20. Previously, Preston used to be a $35 MTG card, but now a near-mint copy will run you over $53 on TCGplayer.
Sadly, even if you don’t care about card condition, $53 is the cheapest you’ll find a copy of Preston, the Vanisher right now. While this is bad news for anyone looking to build a Dack Fayden deck on a budget, this price isn’t necessarily permanent. Looking back at the card’s price history, however, it doesn’t appear that it’ll become a budget bomb anytime soon.
The Reprint Roulette
Looking ahead, the short-term future for Preston, the Vanisher does seem rather strong. Even though Flicker-focused decks aren’t the most popular archetype in Commander, Preston is just obscenely rare. Due to this, even when attention shifts away from Dack Fayden when Star Trek and Nauctis get released, it’ll likely stay expensive.
Admittedly, as always, we can expect prices to dip slightly when attention shifts, but that’ll only help so much. In reality, what Preston really needs is a repent, and there’s no guarantee if, or when that will happen. If it does, then Preston could follow in
Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm
Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm
Whenever Ashcoat attacks or blocks, other Rats you control get +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of Rats you control.
At the beginning of your end step, you may mill four cards. If you do, return up to two Rat creature cards from your graveyard to your hand. (To mill a card, put the top card of your library into your graveyard.)
’s footsteps and tank in value from $85 to just $3.
Sadly, while it’s obvious that a reprint is needed for Preston, the Vanisher, Wizards has no set reprint policy. As such, we can only really look forward to each new bonus sheet and Commander precon, hoping that Preston is inside. Given that this card is fairly focused on flicker shenanigans, however, we could easily be waiting a long while.
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