One of the more popular archetype styles that many players enjoy building in Commander is typal. From Elves to Merfolk, there are a ton of different creature types for players to focus on. For some, crafting decks around more mediocre creature types, like Snakes, can serve as an exciting challenge.
Speaking of Snakes, it appears that the price of one particular Snake Commander card is on the rise. This card synergizes with a handful of extremely powerful legends, including a relatively new one that is well-suited to lead a Snake army.
Persistent Constrictor
The powerful Snake we’re talking about is none other than Persistent Constrictor. Persistent Constrictor was printed in the Endless Punishment precon from Duskmourn: House of Horror and is especially strong in that deck.
Alongside Valgavoth, Harvester of Souls, Persistent Constrictor ensures that each opponent will lose one life during their upkeep, growing Valgavoth in the process. In a multiplayer setting, you’ll also quickly generate a boatload of card advantage.
While Persistent Constrictor was clearly designed for its role in helping Valgavoth in Endless Punishment, the fact that it’s a resilient Snake makes it a great inclusion in an Aphelia, Viper Whisperer EDH deck. Snakes are not the most abundant creature type out there, making Persistent Constrictor all the more appealing.
Not to mention, Persistent Constrictor does a good job eliminating opposing chump blockers. This makes it that much more likely you can connect in combat with your Snakes and use Aphelia’s final ability to your advantage. After all, your opponents won’t want to trade their bigger, more impactful creatures for your minuscule Deathtouch Snakes if they can avoid it.
The Spike
Persistent Constrictor started its upward trend soon after the release of MTG Foundations and Foundations Jumpstart (the set Aphelia is in). According to TCGplayer market price history, Persistent Constrictor was valued at 90 cents back in early November. It didn’t cross the $1 mark until late November after Foundations Jumpstart was released.
Since then, the card has been increasing in price pretty consistently. Traditional, near-mint copies currently hold a price tag of roughly $5.19. This is a 477% price spike in the last two months and a 302% price spike since December 1st.
It should be noted that the Extended art version of Persistent Constrictor hasn’t followed the same price increase. In fact, players can still purchase near-mint extended art copies for under $2 with ease. This is a similar pattern to what we saw with Jacked Rabbit’s spike earlier in the week.
As such, it’s worth monitoring what happens to the price of both variants of Persistent Constrictor in the near future. Persistent Constrictor is a neat Commander card with a variety of applications, so its rise in price isn’t too shocking.
