It’s not often that one type of staple sees an MTG price spike across the board. While this trend has been going on in the background for a few weeks, it is beginning to reach a boiling point. Mana rocks are some of the most potent effects in Commander, and high-end mana rocks like Jeweled Lotus and Mana Crypt can be a natural barrier to entry between different power levels present in the format. Decks that don’t run these artifacts have a tough time against decks that do traditionally. These pillars have constantly been going up this week, but one jump stands out among the rest.
Jeweled Lotus Breaks $100
This may not seem like news at first, but consider that Jeweled Lotus’s most affordable variant has not exceeded $100 in the past year. This is the first time real signs dictate that this threshold will be broken. Prices still vary significantly on this card, but NM and LP versions sell for between $90 and $110, with most cards selling for the lower end of that spectrum. Most market watches are reporting this price spike at about $10 for the past week, but this is enough to suggest Jeweled Lotus is finally surpassing its tipping point.
This price movement alone doesn’t say much. This price spike could just be attributed to a community celebrity discussing the card or a new spoiler in Dominaria United playing well with it. Still, there are a lot of other movements happening alongside this one.
Mana Crypt’s Slow but Steady Rise to Infamy
Considering Mana Crypt’s sky-high price, the weekly gains made by this card are not very impressive. That being said, Mana Crypt has been making consistent gains for the past year. Take Mana Crypt from the Mystery Booster packs as an example. A year ago, Mana Crypt went for about $135. While its average market price on TCGplayer is about $175, near-mint, the card sells for anywhere between $185 to $190. While the increase has been slow, it has been consistent. Lately, Mana Crypt increases have been a bit more severe, with various market watches reporting a $1-$3 increase every week for the past month.
Dockside Extortionist Bounces Back
We recently talked about some community outrage surrounding Dockside Extortionist’s quick rise in price after its reprint. Some MTG players were upset that, even with a reprint, Dockside Extortionist likely will never be under $50 ever again. Well, price trends may be proving those players are correct. The last time we checked in, Dockside Extortionist was nearing $60. Now it is slowly approaching in sales to the $70 range. The range in sales is vast, with near-mint copies going for anywhere between $53 and $70, but prices are steadily increasing regardless.
Fierce Guardianship Starts to Settle
After a recent insane spike for Fierce Guardianship, it looks like the card is starting to find its stabilization point. Fierce Guardianship is no longer selling for $100, but it is still selling for $10-20 higher than its pre-spike price. It looks like the market price for Fierce Guardianship will settle somewhere around $70, as most copies of this card are currently selling for between $60 and $80, with most Fierce Guardianships nearing the $80 mark.
Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient Continues to Storm Upwards
This MTG card is not a Commander staple, but it has consistently seen insane MTG price spikes over the past week. In July, before these spikes started, Klauth was only worth about $6. Now, copies of Klauth are selling for $20 on average, with the most recent copy of the card selling for $100??? This was an MP version, suggesting that a personality may have signed the card. Regardless, this current listing is already throwing the market average out of whack for Klauth, so be careful when purchasing these cards if it continues to see a spike!
Survival of the Fittest
Survival of the Fittest is another card that has steadily increased over the past few months. This card’s situation is slightly different since it only has a few scarce printings. As a result, the price for this card is sky-high, but the MTG price spike is still there. Market averages for Survival of the Fittest were around $255 in mid-June. Fast forward to today, and Survival of the Fittest has a market average of $265, but near-mint copies are now selling for $300. Various Market watches report a much higher market average for Survival of the Fittest at around $280. Still, many near-mint copies are appearing on the market now, which may affect these averages with a negative bias.
Is MTG Getting More Expensive?
Well, the answer to this question is undeniably yes. The recent price boost introduced to sealed products ensures that. What we are now seeing, however, may be what is the start of the market’s repercussions of this change. Dominaria United sealed products recently faced a crisis due to these price increases, and skyrocketing prices have become the solution to this problem. There are still some sites selling products for outdated prices, like The Brothers War preorders, but this likely will not last for long. Should this trend stand, price spikes like these will become standard in our card market.
