Since the moment it was first revealed, MTG players have been concerned about the aesthetics of Aetherdrift. Unsurprisingly, not every MTG player was too pleased about the card games on motorcycles-ification of Magic. Despite these concerns, there’s no denying that Aetherdrift is packed with powerful and exciting new cards.
While Aetherdrift has fuelled no end of competitive innovation, the set’s Commanders have undoubtedly been more influential. Throughout recent weeks we’ve seen no end of price spikes as players rush to upgrade their new precons. The Eternal Might deck, in particular, has caused no end of price spikes.
Putrid Imp
You may have expected the Eternal Might-based price spikes to be over and done with by now. This preconstructed Commander deck was first announced on January 25th and has even been fully released for ten days now. You may think that is more than enough time for players to pick up relevant upgrade pieces. Clearly, that’s not the case.
Since the Eternal Might deck was revealed, MTG players have been buying up Putrid Imp and it’s easy to see why. Alongside Hashaton, Scarab’s Fist this Imp is an incredibly low-cost discard engine that can be used endlessly. This allows you to easily use Hashaton’s ability to copy whatever you need for just three mana.
Despite not looking like much, this effect really isn’t to be scoffed at. A one-mana discard engine allows you to get Hashaton online from turn two easily with minimal fast mana. Technically, Putrid Imp even synergizes with Temmet, Naktamun’s Will, albeit slightly less excitingly.
Thanks to being a Zombie, Putrid Imp can be buffed by Temmet thanks to its card-draw-based ability. Admittedly, even with fast mana, this won’t be active for a few turns at least, making the Imp’s low cost less impactful. You’ll also be encouraged to discard cards to give Putrid Imp Flying, which Temmet doesn’t innately synergize with.
Ultimately, Putrid Imp is yet another discard-focused MTG card that works wonders with Hashaton and not much else. Outside of Commander, the only home this card has is within Premodern Reanimator decks. Here, the card offers an incredibly easy way to get cards in the bin, just like in Commander.
The Spike
As mentioned, since the Eternal Might Commander deck was first unveiled, there has been an uptick in sales of Putrid Imp. Considering what this cheap discard engine can do, it’s no wonder players have been paying attention to it. If anything, it’s just a surprise that this card hasn’t spiked in price sooner.
To put it lightly, Putrid Imp is a rather rare MTG card. Yes, it’s technically a common, but it’s definitely not easy to get ahold of. To date, this Imp has only seen two printings in Torment, and the Premium Deck Series: Graveborn. While Torment was a major MTG set, it was from 23 years ago, when print numbers were far lower.
Thanks to this rarity, near-mint copies of Putrid Imp are in fairly short supply, and the price is subsequently volatile. Back in late January, following Eternal Might’s reveal, copies of this card would set you back just $0.43. Now, prices start at $5.99, with many recent sales having been made at this price point.
While the TCGplayer Market Price hasn’t caught up yet, it’s bound to officially increase too. The same discrepancy can be seen in the Premium Deck Series: Graveborn variant, which is notably foil only. Currently, prices for near-mint copies of this card start at $19.90, which is a 3058% increase from the $0.63 starting price.
To put it lightly, no matter what variant you’re looking at, Putrid Imp is no longer a cheap MTG card. The only slight saving grace is that a fair few worse-condition copies exist, thanks to the card’s age. While this may help you snag a bargain if you just want to use this card, it obviously might not look as nice.
The Future
Looking ahead, as usual, it seems unlikely that the price of Putrid Imp will stay as high as this peak. While the card is undoubtedly strong in any discard-focused deck, there’s a lot more interest in it than usual currently. As players rush to upgrade their precons, supply has been quickly drained resulting in this immense spike we’re seeing.
Over time, as new precons are revealed and released, the flavor of the month will change away from discard decks. When this happens, the price of Putrid Imp is bound to fall, however, it may not crash out entirely. As mentioned, the card does see some play in Premodern, which should keep things interesting.
That being said, Premodern is hardly the most popular MTG format. Unless there’s a major event going on, it may not be enough to prop up this card’s value. Ultimately, while it seems the price of Putrid Imp will fall before too long, nothing is guaranteed. We’re just going to have to watch this Imp’s price closely to see where it ends up settling.