While Reality Fracture’s full release is still one day away, the set has already started to cause ripples on the secondary market. Between spicy new combos and fun typal synergies, there’s plenty of motion right now. Planeswalker synergy pieces, in particular, are on the rise, with MTG Oath of Teferi being the latest card in that area to see a significant price spike.
Oath of Teferi MTG
First printed in 2018’s Dominaria as an Azorius addition to the ongoing ‘Oath of’ cycle, Oath of Teferi immediately stood out as one of the best of the bunch. Five mana for a delayed blink effect that can hit any permanent is decent, if clunky, but it’s the double loyalty ability feature here that really makes the card. This radically changes how many planeswalkers work, letting you rapidly generate extra turns with
Teferi, Master of Time
Teferi, Master of Time
You may activate loyalty abilities of Teferi on any player's turn any time you could cast an instant.
+1: Draw a card, then discard a card.
−3: Target creature you don't control phases out. (Treat it and anything attached to it as though they don't exist until its controller's next turn.)
−10: Take two extra turns after this one.
, or equip and draw in the same turn with
The Aetherspark
The Aetherspark
As long as The Aetherspark is attached to a creature, The Aetherspark can't be attacked and has "Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage during your turn, put that many loyalty counters on The Aetherspark."
+1: Attach The Aetherspark to up to one target creature you control. Put a +1/+1 counter on that creature.
−5: Draw two cards.
−10: Add ten mana of any one color.
.
While it’s always been a bit too slow for constructed play, Oath of Teferi sees a very healthy amount of play in Commander. According to EDHREC data, in fact, around 56,800 decks run the card, which isn’t bad at all for such a specific support piece. Naturally, most of these are Superfriends lists, such as
Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice
Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice
Flying, vigilance, deathtouch, lifelink
At the beginning of your end step, proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.)
and
Commodore Guff
Commodore Guff
At the beginning of your end step, put a loyalty counter on another target planeswalker you control.
+1: Create a 1/1 red Wizard creature token with "{T}: Add {R}. Spend this mana only to cast a planeswalker spell."
−3: You draw X cards and Commodore Guff deals X damage to each opponent, where X is the number of planeswalkers you control.
Commodore Guff can be your commander.
. It has a few sidelines, however, showing up as a blink piece in decks like
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.
as well.
Oath of Teferi is also notable for its combo potential, which is surprisingly broad when you really dig into it. Paired with
Ichormoon Gauntlet
Ichormoon Gauntlet
Planeswalkers you control have "[0]: Proliferate" and "[−12]: Take an extra turn after this one."
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, choose a counter on target permanent. Put an additional counter of that kind on that permanent.
,
Teferi, Master of Time
Teferi, Master of Time
You may activate loyalty abilities of Teferi on any player's turn any time you could cast an instant.
+1: Draw a card, then discard a card.
−3: Target creature you don't control phases out. (Treat it and anything attached to it as though they don't exist until its controller's next turn.)
−10: Take two extra turns after this one.
, and two other planeswalkers, for example, it can let you take infinite turns. It also allows for infinite copies of
Jace, Cunning Castaway
Jace, Cunning Castaway
+1: Whenever one or more creatures you control deal combat damage to a player this turn, draw a card, then discard a card.
−2: Create a 2/2 blue Illusion creature token with "When this token becomes the target of a spell, sacrifice it."
−5: Create two tokens that are copies of Jace, except they're not legendary.
, and infinite creature tokens from its -2 ability, with
Lae’zel, Vlaakith’s Champion
Lae’zel, Vlaakith’s Champion
If you would put one or more counters on a creature or planeswalker you control or on yourself, put that many plus one of each of those kinds of counters on that permanent or player instead.
Choose a Background (You can have a Background as a second commander.)
in the mix.
These combos have even landed Oath of Teferi a spot in some cEDH lists, specifically
Sisay, Weatherlight Captain
Sisay, Weatherlight Captain
Sisay gets +1/+1 for each color among other legendary permanents you control.
{W}{U}{B}{R}{G}: Search your library for a legendary permanent card with mana value less than Sisay's power, put that card onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
. Here, Oath facilitates combo lines with
Aminatou, the Fateshifter
Aminatou, the Fateshifter
+1: Draw a card, then put a card from your hand on top of your library.
−1: Exile another target permanent you own, then return it to the battlefield under your control.
−6: Choose left or right. Each player gains control of all nonland permanents other than Aminatou controlled by the next player in the chosen direction.
Aminatou, the Fateshifter can be your commander.
, and also allows other ‘walkers like
Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler
Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler
You may activate abilities of creatures you control as though those creatures had haste.
+1: Untap up to one target creature.
−2: Mill three cards, then you may return a creature card with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
to push for wins in certain scenarios. While it’s hardly a major player in the format, the fact that a five-mana enchantment is seeing cEDH play at all is honestly kind of wild.
While its play rate was impressive before, Reality Fracture has given Oath of Teferi a serious shot in the arm. The card is already seeing plenty of play with some of the new Commanders from the set, showing up in around 2,500
Tam, the Possibility
Tam, the Possibility
Planeswalker spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
{W}{U}{B}{R}{G}, {T}: Proliferate X times, where X is the number of planeswalker types among planeswalkers you control. (To proliferate, choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.)
Superfriends decks. It’s also been added to around 2,180
Jace, Multiverse Architect
Jace, Multiverse Architect
At the beginning of combat on each opponent's turn, they may pay {2}. If they don't, creatures they control can't attack Jaces you control this turn.
+1: Draw two cards, then put a card from your hand on the bottom of your library.
−3: Exile another target planeswalker or creature you control. Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a creature or planeswalker card. Put that card onto the battlefield and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Jace, Multiverse Architect can be your commander.
lists, as a potent support piece for the new planeswalker Commander.
The Spike
Earlier this month, near-mint copies of Oath of Teferi could be had for around $0.80 apiece, owing to the card’s abundant supply. The card saw a surge in sales on September 26th, however, which rose to a peak on September 28th, when 87 copies of the card were sold on TCGplayer.
While sales have died down since their peak, Oath of Teferi has still been selling well over the past few days, which has majorly eaten into its supply. Now, there are just 61 near-mint copies available on TCGplayer, starting at $3.16 a pop. This represents a 295% price spike over the course of September, which is massive for a card like this.
Unfortunately, given its lack of reprints, there’s no real cheaper alternative for Oath of Teferi at the moment. The more recent Commander Masters printing is actually more expensive right now, sitting at $3.23 on the low end for a near-mint copy, with only 18 copies in stock. Though you can nab cheaper copies of either version by dipping into lightly played and below, those will likely be snapped up soon.
The Future
Going forward, it’s hard to say whether this newly inflated price on Oath of Teferi will stick around or not. On one hand, it’s a powerful and unique effect for Superfriends decks, which are already getting a lot more popular even pre Reality Fracture’s release. Not only will Empower Jace push them up, but new support options like
Way of the Pyromancer
Way of the Pyromancer
When Way of the Pyromancer enters, empower Jace 2. (Put two loyalty counters on a Jace token you control. If you don't control one, first create a blue Jace planeswalker token with "[−1]: Surveil 1" and "[−3]: Draw a card.")
Planeswalkers you control have "[+1]: Add {R}."
should help out a ton as well.
On top of this, Oath of Teferi isn’t the easiest card to reprint, being so specific that we’re unlikely to see it in a Standard set any time soon. Unless we get a planeswalker-focused precon in Azorius colors, the two current printings are probably all we’re getting for the foreseeable. This, paired with the card’s existing demand in Commander and cEDH, means the supply will likely continue to decline, and impact the price as it does so.
On the other hand, we’ve seen plenty of archetype-specific Commander price spikes like this in the past, and most have fizzled out in a month or so. Players, and the market, tend to move swiftly on to the hot new thing, which in this case will be Star Trek in about a month and a half. If people stop building planeswalker decks after that point, then demand for Oath of Teferi will fall, and the price will likely drop in turn.
Overall, as is always the case in the world of MTG finance, it’s impossible to say for sure where Oath of Teferi will end up, price-wise, in the future. Given that the card remains relatively reasonably priced at just over $3 right now, however, it’s not a terrible time to buy one if you’re planning to include it in a deck.
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