At this point, it’s no surprise that assertive red decks have grown in popularity since the release of MTG Foundations. With elite upgrades like Burst Lightning and Boltwave making their way to Standard and Pioneer, it felt inevitable that red decks would be on the rise.
Not only has this caused a shakeup in the Standard and Pioneer metagames, but we’re also seeing some major price spikes to elite red threats. Just recently, we covered a massive leap in the price of Hired Claw.
Today, we’re going to talk about another top-tier red creature that is beginning to break the bank. This card has been steadily climbing for weeks and has now surpassed the $25 mark. The card in question is none other than Screaming Nemesis.
Screaming Nemesis is a Force to Be Reckoned With
- Mana Value: 2R
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 3/3
- Card Type: Creature – Spirit
- Card Text: Haste
Whenever Screaming Nemesis is dealt damage, it deals that much damage to any other target. If a player is dealt damage this way, they can’t gain life for the rest of the game.
Screaming Nemesis has quickly become the go-to three-drop for red decks in both Standard and Pioneer. As a 3/3 with Haste, the floor on this card is incredibly high. You can often connect for three damage before the opponent can kill it.
Of course, in the mono-red mirror match or against Izzet Phoenix, Screaming Nemesis is nearly impossible to answer cleanly because almost all red removal is damage-based. So, if the opponent kills your Screaming Nemesis, chances are you get to dome them for a bunch of damage or kill one of their creatures.
With red decks becoming more prevalent, Screaming Nemesis only becomes more appealing. Sometimes the card will even appear in sideboards of non-aggro decks like Temur Floodcaller in Standard as a tool to fight red aggro shells.
This doesn’t even factor in the ability to prevent your opponent from ever gaining life again. All you have to do is set up a window where you can shock your own Screaming Nemesis and you no longer have to worry about cards like Beza, the Bounding Spring taking over the game.
The Spike
All of these uses add up and make Screaming Nemesis an incredible creature that’s very in demand. As time has gone on it has only gotten more popular, so it’s no wonder that Screaming Nemesis has spiked so hard.
Back on October 25th, traditional, non-foil copies of Screaming Nemesis sat at $7.80 according to TCGPlayer market price. By November 11th, that number was up to $15.73.
On November 16th, that number jumped higher to $19.94. Today, it sits at $27.03. This means that since October 25th, Screaming Nemesis has risen by almost $20 and has spiked by over 245%.
While this continual price increase may taper off a bit, Screaming Nemesis sees so much play that it’s unlikely the price will see a significant drop anytime soon. If you were fortunate enough to pick up your copies early, you’re in great shape moving forward.
