At long last, it seems that Final Fantasy fever is dying down now that a new set is on the horizon. Edge of Eternities spoilers officially begin tomorrow; however, the set has already been extensively leaked. This has given us plenty to get excited about already, although the bonus sheet reprints we’ve seen aren’t too impressive.
Despite all the hype surrounding Edge of Eternities, it hasn’t caused many impressive price spikes just yet. Perhaps this is because we’ve only seen leaks so far, which aren’t real enough for players to invest in. Alternatively, MTG players may simply be unimpressed by the lackluster new five-color Commander card that we’re getting.
Whatever the reason, we’re currently seeing a different set causing the biggest waves in the MTG finance market. It may be months away from release, but currently, the Avatar: The Last Airbender MTG set is the hottest commodity. We may have only seen one card from this set so far, but it has some insane potential that players are now investing in.
Searing Touch
First released 27 years ago, in Tempest, Searing Touch is not a very popular MTG card. For one mana, you get to deal one damage to a creature or player, which is very meh. Alternatively, you could pay five mana for the same effect, while also returning Searing Touch to your hand. Technically, this does allow you to play the card infinitely; however, it’s not exactly cheap.
Despite this major drawback, Searing Touch does see some play in Magic: The Gathering. Not only is it in some Commander decks, but it’s genuinely cEDH playable too. Commanders like Rowan, Scion of War can potentially reduce the cost of Touch to nothing if you lose enough life. Doing this allows you to play Searing Touch infinitely, winning the game outright.
If you play your cards right, Avatar Aang can let you do exactly the same thing. Specifically, you’ll need Aang’s back face, Aang, Master of Elements, for the five-color cost reduction ability. Unlike cards like Morophon, the Boundless, this cost reduction works on non-colored mana, essentially making Searing Touch free.
While this infinite combo with Aang is very exciting, we don’t know how easy it’ll be. Currently, the water, earth, fire, and air bending mechanics are all still under wraps. Because of this, there’s no telling how easy or hard it’ll be to flip Aang into his Master of Elements side.
Even if it is easy to flip Aang, it’ll be hard to ignore their casting cost. Needing four different colors of mana may keep them out of competitive contention. That said, competitiveness isn’t everything in MTG, and Aang is bound to be a popular Commander nonetheless. If you’re building around him and have room in the 99, it just makes sense to throw Searing Touch into the 99.
The Spike
For better or worse, Searing Touch hasn’t been reprinted since Tempest. This means the card is naturally pretty rare, since print runs were lower back in the day. This implicit rarity has only increased over the years, since good quality copies of unloved cards rarely survive over two decades.
Sadly for anyone looking to pick up copies of Searing Touch on the cheap, this meant it was a prime candidate for a buyout. Once MTG players figured out the infinite combo, there was a massive surge in sales. Last week, over 150 near-mint copies of Searing Touch were sold, leaving incredibly few on the market.
As usual, this incredibly quick buyout has caused the prices of Searing Touch to skyrocket. Before last week, you could easily pick up a copy for just $0.34. As you can see above, there was no competition if you wanted to do this, as sales were exceptionally slow. Now, however, you’ll have to spend at least $5.38.
To date, a few MTG players have spent upwards of $6 on a single copy of Searing Touch. This high price point is just the peak sales price; however, sales around the $5 mark have been more common. That said, it seems most MTG players are hesitant to pay this much for copies, as sales have once again slowed.
Unfortunately, even worse condition copies of Searing Touch aren’t significantly cheaper at the moment. New listings for heavily and moderately played copies now start at $3. In total, there are now just 36 different listings for copies of Searing Touch on TCGplayer across all conditions. While some of these listings are for a few copies, it certainly seems like the supply is stretched thin.
The Future
Most of the time, we’re pretty dismissive of Commander-based price spikes. While they can explode onto the scene, they rarely stick around for too long. New sets are Commander decks being released typically change players’ tastes, making prices fall before too long. That said, a scarce wincon for a new Commander does tick a lot of the right finance boxes.
Considering the Avatar: The Last Airbender MTG set is still months away from release, demand may still increase with time. If this happens, the price of Searing Touch may increase even more. Typically, there will be a point where prices plateau as players simply don’t want to pay too much for a card. As mentioned, however, Searing Touch is a wincon.
Due to this, we can look back at Quicksilver Elemental, which created an infinite combo with Vivi Ornitier. Thanks to this combo, the price of Quicksilver Elemental spiked incredibly quickly. When we wrote about it, Quicksilver was selling for upwards of $14, but now that price has only increased. Currently, a near-mint copy of Quicksilver Elemental will set you back $41.
In theory, Searing Touch could follow the same price trajectory. That said, while there is potential, it’ll depend on how easy Aang is to flip and activate. Even then, Aang’s competitiveness will likely be kept in check by their mana cost, which will limit overall demand.
All that said, Searing Touch could easily get more expensive in the next few weeks and months. Once we know more about the mechanics in the Avatar: The Last Airbender set, the potential of this combo should become clear. Until that happens, investing in Searing Touch is far from a sure thing.
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