When
Scourge of the Skyclaves
Scourge of the Skyclaves
Kicker {4}{B}
When you cast this spell, if it was kicked, each player loses half their life, rounded up.
Scourge of the Skyclaves's power and toughness are each equal to 20 minus the highest life total among players.
was first released in Zendikar Rising, many players thought it would make a natural fit for Modern
Death’s Shadow
Death’s Shadow
This creature gets -X/-X, where X is your life total.
decks. You could easily OHKO opponents with
Temur Battle Rage
Temur Battle Rage
Target creature gains double strike until end of turn.
Ferocious — That creature also gains trample until end of turn if you control a creature with power 4 or greater.
in combination with the extra beefy stats of Shadow and Scourge. Because of this, Scourge was pretty pricy when it first came out.
Death’s Shadow was and continues to be one of the best decks in MTG’s Modern format. But Scourge of the Skyclaves has taken a massive hit as far as its financial value goes. I’d go as far as to say that it is a budget mythic these days.
Scourge of the Skyclaves
Wizards of the Coast
Scourge has dropped from $12.00 to just $2.00-$3.00 at the time of writing. This price drop has taken place over the course of many months. But overall, it is a drastic price reduction.
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Why Did Scourge Drop in Price?
Modern Death’s Shadow decks continue to perform well in the metagame, but they are doing so without Scourge of the Skyclaves. The deck is instead opting for a more diverse package of threats.
Modern Horizons 2 introduced a smattering of efficient and meta-breaking cards like
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
Whenever Ragavan deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token and exile the top card of that player's library. Until end of turn, you may cast that card.
Dash {1}{R} (You may cast this spell for its dash cost. If you do, it gains haste, and it's returned from the battlefield to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.)
, and
Dragon’s Rage Channeler
Dragon’s Rage Channeler
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, surveil 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card into your graveyard.)
Delirium — As long as there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, this creature gets +2/+2, has flying, and attacks each combat if able.
that pushed Scourge out of the deck.
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Should you Buy Scourge of the Skyclaves Now?
If you wanted to test out Scourge of the Skyclaves before, but refrained due to the card’s price, I’d say the card is cheap enough now that you can get a playset and have fun tricking people with
Temur Battle Rage
Temur Battle Rage
Target creature gains double strike until end of turn.
Ferocious — That creature also gains trample until end of turn if you control a creature with power 4 or greater.
.
And even though Scourge has been pushed out of Death’s Shadow decks, the card does see some other Modern play. It makes a great inclusion for Domain Zoo style decks alongside other robust two-drop creatures like
Tarmogoyf
Tarmogoyf
Tarmogoyf's power is equal to the number of card types among cards in all graveyards and its toughness is equal to that number plus 1.
and
Territorial Kavu
Territorial Kavu
Domain — Territorial Kavu's power and toughness are each equal to the number of basic land types among lands you control.
Whenever this creature attacks, choose one —
• Discard a card. If you do, draw a card.
• Exile up to one target card from a graveyard.
.
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