As players have been adjusting to post-ban Modern, the secondary market has been in turmoil. The upcoming Regional Championship circuit demands players to sleeve up their Modern decks. As a result, the secondary market is constantly trying to catch up to a massive shift in demand. Take a look at our finance archives, and you’ll see multiple examples of cards that have increased in price thanks to newfound Modern demand.
Today, we’re talking about another card in that category, but its appearance in the Modern format is a little unexpected. Not only are Energy strategies alive and well post-ban, something Wizards of the Coast specifically targeted, but Seasoned Pyromancer has joined the deck’s ranks.
Seasoned Pyromancer
Seasoned Pyromancer saw tons of Modern play in the recent past, but was eventually power crept out of the format. Once the Evoke Elementals began to take over Modern, Seasoned Pyromancer made a classy exit. Now that the ban list has caught up to the state of Modern, Seasoned Pyromancer has returned.
As mentioned earlier, this card is specifically seeing play in Boros and Mardu Energy decks (but mostly the former). The biggest change that allowed Seasoned Pyromancer to return to Modern may not be one that you expect. It was the banning of Jegantha, the Wellspring.
Jegantha, the Wellspring was banned because the Companion cost for it is minimal. Quoting Wizards of the Coast, “by making a couple swaps in deck building, you can get access to a mostly free 5/5.” Unfortunately, one of the few swaps that players had to make to include Jegantha was Seasoned Pyromancer. As strong as the Pyromancer is, having access to an extra 5/5 from outside the game is better. Now that Jegantha is gone, there’s no reason not to try cards with multiple mana symbols of the same color.
Amped Raptor‘s unwilling departure from Modern also helped Seasoned Pyromancer. This opened up more slots in the Energy shell for cards to fill. Seasoned Pyromancer ended up being one of those cards.
While the Guide of Souls and Ocelot Pride shell is still very strong, Boros Energy has been forced to become more of a midrange deck nowadays. The unbanning of Mox Opal and Faithless Looting has given rise to a lot of unfair strategies that a traditional aggressive deck has no chance against. Now, Boros Energy wants to board into a controlling strategy that hinges more on Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury against these strategies. When you want a threat that can refill your hand, Seasoned Pyromancer comes in clutch.
Regardless of whether you have cards in hand or not, Seasoned Pyromancer is going to draw two cards. This can allow you to consistently commit to the board while refilling your hand. The token generation also synergizes well with a lot of Energy classics. Ocelot Pride can create copies of the tokens if you’ve gained life, and the tokens trigger Guide of Souls. It also scales Ajani, Nacatl Avenger’s zero ability to deal damage, and turns it on since Seasoned Pyromancer and its tokens are red permanents. Finally, Goblin Bombardment can chuck the bodies created at unsuspecting opponents.
The Spike
Seasoned Pyromancer has only began to spike in price. Right now, the promo from the recent Regional Championship circuit is the card that is spiking the most. Like all spikes in their early stages, the market average of the card is not an accurate representation of the card’s value.
Nonfoil copies of this particular promo are worth about $20 at the moment. The card had a market average of about $9.50 a few weeks ago. Notably, the cheapest copy of this card currently available on TCGplayer is going for $42, and the last sale for the card is also its most expensive ($26). This suggests that this promo Seasoned Pyromancer could continue to spike.
Foils for this card are incredibly expensive. That’s because the supply for the variant is very low. Only top finishers at Regional Championship events were awarded a foil Seasoned Pyromancer. The last sale for this card was around $250, but prices will range heavily.
The cheapest variant of Seasoned Pyromancer is selling for a variety of different prices. The current market average for the Double Masters 2022 reprint is $4, but the card is selling for between $2 and $6 at the moment. Recent sales are trending upwards, most around the $5-$6 range, and supply suggests that nonfoil copies of this card are getting difficult to find. As a reminder, nonfoil cards are preferred in tournament Magic.
While the Double Masters 2022 copy of Seasoned Pyromancer’s price is unclear, the Modern Horizons copy of the card has seen a very distinctive price increase. Only worth about $2.80 a couple weeks ago, the card is beginning to sell for as high as $10. While there are a few sales around this price, most copies of the Modern Horizons Seasoned Pyromancer are selling for around $4-5.
A Powerful Flex Card
For now, Seasoned Pyromancer seems like a consistent addition to the Energy archetype, but it is ultimately a flex slot. If Energy decks move away from the Pyromancer for something else, the card will likely decrease in price as demand ceases. Outside of Commander, Seasoned Pyromancer sees little to no play elsewhere.
