Polymorph is one of the most classic ways to cheat in a powerful creature in Magic: The Gathering. Build your deck with just one creature, create a bunch of creature tokens, and use a Polymorph effect to turn your measly token into a massive threat like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
Classic effects like this commonly see new takes with twists and turns. Think of how many Dark Confidant-esque cards exist in Magic: The Gathering. Even Standard has access to an effect like this via Darkstar Augur from Bloomburrow.
Polymorph sees a similar pattern. Transmogrify is just another Polymorph with some slight changes. Indomitable Creativity is similar, but is even a little better than the original effect. That card has made a nostalgic return in the Modern format after a massive wave of bans and unbans.
Indomitable Creativity
Indomitable Creativity was a leading force in the Modern format for quite some time. Using the sorcery to replace tiny tokens with massive haymakers is a quick and efficient way to end a game. Thanks to Dwarven Mine, a fetchable Mountain, being able to create a Dwarf on entry, Indomitable Creativity is ready to Polymorph into a haymaker at any time.
In terms of haymakers, the weapon of choice for this archetype is Archon of Cruelty. Because the card is not legendary, you can use Indomitable Creativity to land multiple copies at once. While this combination rarely ends games on the spot, it creates such a massive gap in resources that, unless the opponent has lined up a combo kill for the next turn, it’s almost impossible to reverse the tide.
Why is Indomitable Creativity suddenly making a return? There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, The One Ring is gone. While this may not seem to impact Indomitable Creativity’s viability directly, it does have a somewhat unexpected effect. Indomitable Creativity cannot use The One Ring because it is an artifact. If you run this card in your deck, you may Creativity into The One Ring by mistake. Because you didn’t cast it, The One Ring won’t even give you protection. Because Archon of Cruelty targets opponents, The One Ring is also an effective way to buy a turn against the deck’s end boss.
This deck also benefits from the unbanning of Faithless Looting. This allows Creativity decks to arm themselves with an additional combo using the Modern Horizons 2 card Persist. You can dump an Archon of Cruelty into your grave and resurrect it with Persist. Even if your opponent comes prepared for Indomitable Creativity, a turn two Archon of Cruelty can be difficult to overcome if not answered immediately.
If Archon of Cruelty matches up poorly against the opposition, new versions of Modern Indomitable Creativity utilize Terastodon out of the sideboard. This can create a massive army or take out all of your opponent’s problematic resources.
The Spike
Thanks to its reemergence in the Modern format, Indomitable Creativity has increased in price. The card’s market average for Aether Revolt Near Mint copies has risen to $4.22 from under a dollar in just a few weeks. Near-mint condition, however, is an important point. This card is old enough that there is a series of cards that are played and damaged on the market. These can be acquired for quite a discount.
Prices on Near Mint Indomitable Creativity range heavily, but $5 seems to be about what the average sold card is going for. If you aren’t attached to the original artwork of Indomitable Creativity, the card was recently reprinted. You can find the card as a Mythic Rare on the Breaking News bonus sheet from Outlaws of Thunder Junction. These are much cheaper than Aether Revolt copies, but they still saw a massive price spike. Breaking News Indomitable Creativity jumped from 50 cents to $2.50.
On the pricy end of the spectrum, textured copies of Indomitable Creativity from Outlaws of Thunder Junction demand a premium. These are available for about $14 each and are much rarer than the other variants. That said, foiling can cause problems in competitive MTG thanks to curling, so if you’re planning on playing a 60-card format with these cards, the cheaper options may serve you better.
New Format Viability?
Almost all of the recent price changes on the MTG secondary market are due to the massive shift in the Modern ban list. While a surge of demand after a ban list change is typical, it’s tough to know which new strategies are the real deal and what are just a flash in the pan.
While Indomitable Creativity does seem to have some strong initial results, it’s not one of the more popular decks right out of the gate. Due to the holiday season, big tournaments won’t occur until the new year. It will be tough to tell what’s viable until we see some Modern Regional Championship results. If Indomitable Creativity isn’t a return visitor, the card could drop in price as demand ceases.
