In EDH, it’s quite common for players to build decks that heavily revolve around their Commanders. Given that Commanders are designed to be readily and consistently available every game, it isn’t too surprising that players would want to maximize their generals. Unfortunately, though, this plan can backfire if your Commander gets killed over and over.
For this reason, if you’re crafting a deck that relies on sticking its Commander every game, incorporating ways to keep your powerful legend safe is essential. One particular protection effect that has flown under the radar is now starting to get more love. Its price tag has risen significantly as a result, and that trend may not be slowing down any time soon.
MTG Vexilus Praetor
Printed back in MTG Warhammer 40,000 as the only Custodes creature in the game, Vexilus Praetor does an excellent job keeping your Commander safe. While in play, traditional removal spells won’t meaningfully interact with your Commander at all. Thanks to Vexilus Praetor’s Flash ability, you even have the luxury of casting this creature in response to a removal spell and fizzling it.
Things get even more interesting, however, in Commander shells focused on attacking and dealing combat damage. Unlike other popular alternatives like Mithril Coat and Bastion Protector, Vexilus Praetor also makes your Commander unblockable. This makes the card a game wrecker in Voltron decks like those centered around Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice.
Despite this wide range of utility, however, Vexilus Praetor’s play numbers pale in comparison to those of Bastion Protector and Mithril Coat. According to EDHREC, Vexilus Praetor only appears in 33,500 Commander decks, which is a huge dropoff compared Bastion Protector’s 124,000 decks and Mithril Coat’s 354,000 decks.
Given that Vexilus Praetor is exclusive to MTG Warhammer, it’s understandable that some players would be unfamiliar with the card. Now, though, it appears that more players are starting to rediscover the potent threat, and its demand has seen a pretty big boost.
The Spike
Over the last three months, Vexilus Praetor has not fallen below $10. This is primarily due to the card’s scarcity, appearing only in the Forces of the Imperium Commander Precon. Over the past few weeks, though, the card’s price tag has risen dramatically following increased demand.
Notably, while this card’s average market value rests at $19.91, this doesn’t quite tell the full story. At the time of writing, there are only 22 near mint non-foil listings available, with the lowest sitting at $29.33. This range is consistent with recent sales, as the latest purchase went for $29.69.
While there are some slight savings to be had, they might not be worthwhile. Light and Moderately played copies of Vexilus Praetor are available for $25, but finding near mint copies for a discount isn’t possible at the time of writing.
Other variants of Vexilus Praetor don’t help things, either. After all, the Surge Foil version that appeared in the Collector’s Edition Force of the Imperium Commander Precon has ballooned in price even higher. With only six near mint listings to speak of, starting at $42.22 including shipping, finding a good deal on foils is even harder.
The Future
Even though Commander-based spikes often fall over time, that may not be the case for Vexilus Praetor. While the driving force behind many price spikes are new cards, Vexilus Praetor is just a generically good card.
On top of that, given this creature’s direct ties to a specific Universes Beyond product, this card might prove difficult to reprint. Even if an appearance in a future bonus sheet is possible, the odds that this unique Custodes will fit thematically is pretty low. Of course, in the event a reprint is on the horizon, Vexilus Praetor could definitely see its value decrease.
At the end of the day, it’s still impossible to predict MTG price spikes with any degree of certainty, but things look bright for this card. Nonetheless, we’ll just have to wait and see how things unfold.
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