Since the release of MTG Avatar: The Last Airbender, the secondary market has come alive. Magic’s latest Universes Beyond set is a major hit, causing all kinds of cards to spike thanks to new fan favorite Commanders. If that weren’t enough, the rise of Premodern on MTGO gave the format a second life, causing an uptick in demand for forgotten staples.
All of that, older MTG cards appear to have a lasting influence on the secondary market. At least, that’s what The Sound of Drums, a unique red Commander card, suggests.
The Sound of Drums MTG
For three mana, The Sound of Drums both Goads a creature and turns it into a massive damage dealer. This allows the card to essentially do double duty, both turning a massive threat away from you and amplifying the danger for your opponents. Once your opponents finally manage to fell the beast, The Sound of Drums can return to your hand, enabling the pattern all over again.
For this reason, The Sound of Drums works best in red-aligned Goad-style decks. Commanders that spend time on each player’s battlefield, like Alexios, Deimos of Cosmos, Xancha, Sleeper Agent and Slicer, Hired Muscle can deal massive amounts of damage with The Sound of Drums. A similar Commander appears to be the cause of this card’s spike.
In addition to appearing in some less popular MTG Avatar Commanders, like Avatar Roku, Firebender, The Sound of Drums seems to be seeing a big demand spike thanks to synergies with Kratos, God of War. In addition to Goading opponent’s creatures, The Sound of Drums can target Kratos himself, causing the Commander to swing in for eight damage at a time. This can threaten Commander Damage knockouts quickly, especially when partnered with other damage-amplifying effects. When your opponents start to hold creatures back to block Kratos, they’ll get punished by his triggered ability.
Otherwise, The Sound of Drums also makes for a meaningful addition to the new Final Fantasy Holiday Commander Edea, Possessed Sorceress, which appears to have had a smaller influence on the card’s price. Edea can essentially squeeze this enchantment for double its value, forcing the Goaded creature to attack on its owner’s turn, as well as on yours when you take control of it. The card also synergizes well with the new Final Fantasy Commander Amarant Coral thanks to the card spreading its damage to all opponents.
Outside of Kratos, The Sound of Drums’s later demand spike also coincides with the reveal of the Monster Hunter Secret Lair reprints. This enchantment notably synergized with some of the Commanders that would have seen reprints, like Drakuseth, Maw of Flames. That said, the Secret Lair has since been scrapped and redone due to bad reviews, and the card has continued to spike regardless. This suggests that the Monster Hunter Secret Lair might not have had a real impact on The Sound of Drums’s price spike, but the possibility stands.
The Spike
The Sound of Drums has seen a few different spikes in demand over the last few months. The first one, which appears around October 7th-9th, occurs shortly during the spoiler period for the MTG Final Fantasy Holiday Bundles. During this time, a majority of the cards spiking in price were otherwise influenced by the MTG PlayStation Commanders. The later price spikes between November 18th and November 26th seem to be largely inspired by players building Kratos, God of War.
Because the demand spikes for The Sound of Drums were so far apart, it experienced a temporary price drop in between the two periods. This is where the card’s true price spike starts, setting the card at just 83 cents. Currently, $3.09 is the cheapest that near mint The Sound of Drums are available for, excluding shipping, which represents a 278% price spike.
Because this card was printed in MTG Doctor Who, there are several variants available for interested parties. Sadly, because each Collector Booster variant is rarer than the next, there aren’t any deals to be found. In terms of supply, the regular variant is by far the most common.
Strangely Trending
Considering that the price spike caused by The Sound of Drums is a bit older than expected, it’s surprising to see that this spike looks alive and well. Because this card is already showing signs of being an irregularity, it makes predicting what might happen even harder than usual.
That said, Lorwyn Eclipsed appears to have a very strong Commander lineup, including two new Precons who may have had their Commanders leaked. For that reason, once Lorwyn Eclipsed comes out, I would expect players to move on from The Sound of Drums, which could cause the card to find its new pricepoint. That said, The Sound of Drums is a decent inclusion in many color-restricted Red Commander decks, so it could easily have a new Commander that causes demand.
All of these possibilities are just another reminder that the future is impossible to predict, as anything can truly happen. The Sound of Drums’s price spike going strong for this long, in my opinion, is already unusual, so who knows when it will stop?