Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen a number of Zombie EDH staples spike significantly in price following the release of the MTG Aetherdrift Precons. Temmet, Naktamun’s Will emerged as an elite Zombie Commander, so it’s no wonder cards like Graveborn Muse were in high demand.
Interestingly, though, we’re also starting to see other Aetherdrift legends have an impact on card prices. We just recently covered Aether Refinery’s massive spike as an upgrade to the Living Energy Aetherdrift Precon. Now, it looks like a potent Warhammer 40,000 Commander card is following suit. There’s a lot to like about this versatile vehicle, so seeing it balloon in price isn’t too surprising.
Reaver Titan
Reaver Titan is an interesting card that has Commander written all over it. As a seven mana vehicle, Reaver Titan is definitely on the clunkier side. That being said, it hits hard, so if you’re able to keep attacking, your opponents are in trouble.
The Void Shields ability makes it tough for your opponents to chump block the enormous 10/10 body. Meanwhile, the Gatling Blaster ability damages all opponents at once, which is convenient in a multiplayer format.
Reaver Titan tends to fit best into decks that either have vehicle synergies or copy effects that can make it easy to build up damage. Aetherdrift’s release provided legends that apply to both categories.
For vehicle synergies, Reaver Titan is an excellent inclusion in Kolodin, Triumph Caster decks. Once you jam Reaver Titan with Kolodin in play, you get to attack right away without even having to worry about crewing the burly vehicle.
As for copy effects, Saheeli, Radiant Creator from the Living Energy Precon lets you use your excess energy to make token copies of Reaver Titan. These tokens are 5/5s with haste, so once again, you don’t need to crew them. Your opponents will take five damage every turn cycle unless they can get the original Reaver Titan of the table.
Outside of Aetherdrift, there are plenty of other legends that pair nicely with Reaver Titan. Greasefang, Okiba Boss and Mishra, Eminent One fit the bill quite nicely. Nonetheless, it’s clear the arrival of Aetherdrift played a major role in Reaver Titan’s increased demand.
Reaver Titan Spike
Reaver Titan started experiencing its initial price surge back in mid-January during Aetherdrift spoiler season. While non-foil copies of the card had routinely hovered between $6 and $9 for months beforehand according to TCGplayer market price, Reaver Titan managed to climb to over $20 between January 22 and February 10. Given the hype surrounding Aetherdrift as a vehicle-driven set, this first wave isn’t too unexpected.
However, this wouldn’t be the end of things. Despite dipping down to roughly $18 over the next week, Reaver Titan then started to creep back up. It surpassed $23 by February 24 and has been climbing for the most part ever since.
Reaver Titan’s market value currently sits at $28.52. By itself, this may not seem too bad, considering the card was $20 about a month ago. However, TCGplayer sales history reveals an even bigger gap.
Between February 24 and March 1, 25 separate sales are listed, with the highest of the bunch at about $27. From March 2 to today, there have been well over 100 sales, showcasing a massive jump in demand. On top of that, the most recent sale at the time of writing was for $38. Reaver Titan continues to trend upwards in price, and there isn’t a sign that things will stop anytime soon.
Notably, surge foils have spiked ever harder than traditional copies. One month ago, surge foils were worth roughly $15. That number has steadily increased every week to where it sits now at just over $40. Supply is very scarce for surge foils, as there are only seven sales listings as we speak. The lowest of these listings is valued at $43.99.
A Lack of Reprints
At the end of the day, Reaver Titan’s limited printings play as much of a factor as the card’s demand. Reaver Titan has only ever appeared in Warhammer 40,000 Commander. As a Universes Beyond set, it’s unclear when we will get any kind of functional reprint.
Reaver Titan isn’t the only pricy rare in the set as a result. Other popular Commander cards, like Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph, hold somewhat hefty price tags themselves.
Still, Reaver Titan is now the most expensive non-foil card in the whole set. Players have clearly been eager to add Reaver Titan to their decks, and the design of Aetherdrift and the Aetherdrift Commander Precons played a big part.
