1, Feb, 25

Synergistic MTG Dog Legend Triples in Price

Over the past couple months, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd has become a dominant force in Constructed. As cute as this dog is, it also packs a punch and can take over games if left unchecked. There are a number of strong synergies that make the creature even better than it looks.

Following a highly successful performance at last weekend’s Regional Championship in Canada, Phelia has experienced a significant price spike. This price increase isn’t too surprising, as Phelia’s important role in Orzhov Midrange decks in Modern cannot be overstated. If you were fortunate enough to pick up copies on the cheap, you’re in good shape now.

Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd

Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd

Phelia has been a multi-format staple for a while now, and it provides quite the versatile effect. As a flash threat, you’re often able to get at least one attack in with the dog before your opponent can remove it. From there, as long as you have something in play with a strong enters-the-battlefield effect, you can blink it with Phelia and generate a decent chunk of value.

Blinking Seasoned Pyromancer or Ajani, Nacatl Pariah out of Modern Boros Energy is great, as is exiling Recruiter of the Guard in Death and Taxes shells in Modern and Legacy. One of the best interactions Phelia provides, though, is its ability to blink Overlord of the Balemurk.

Thanks to its Impending cost, you can play Overlord for only two mana and then exile it with Phelia. At the beginning of your end step, Overlord of the Balemurk will reenter the battlefield, except this time it will be a creature you can attack and block with.

This combination helped Orzhov midrange skyrocket in popularity in Modern and contributed to Overlord’s price spike almost two weeks ago. Soon after the deck made it to the finals of the Regional Championship in Canada last weekend, Recruiter of the Guard ballooned in price, too. Now, it looks like it’s Phelia’s turn to get in on the action.

The Spike

Phelia first started showing real signs of spiking between January 21 and January 24. During that few day stretch, the card rose to over $6, according to TCGplayer market price history. Up until that point, non-foil traditional versions of the card hovered around $3 for the most part. Phelia’s lowest point of the month came on January 11, with a price of $2.59.

After reaching the $6 threshold, Phelia began to drop a bit in price over the next couple days. However, this didn’t last long, as another surge took place after the Regional Championship. Phelia reached its peak yesterday, with a market price of $8.36. This means that over the last three weeks, Phelia has spiked 223%.

Interestingly, the borderless variant of Phelia spiked even more significantly during this period. Non-foil borderless copies also saw their lowest point on January 11, with a market price of $2.86, and their highest point yesterday, with a market price of $8.70.

This alone is a 204% price spike, but it doesn’t quite tell the full story. As of the time of writing this article, the lowest sales listing for borderless Phelia on TCGplayer is $11.99.

This card is clearly in high demand, and the borderless version of Phelia is particularly adorable. Phelia continues to run rampant on the Modern format and beyond, showing that even the most lovable pets can harness unfathomable power.

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