The MTG financial markets are in a weird spot at the moment. While Duskmourn: House of Horror continues to make some waves, it’s not the driving force in the market right now. Instead, that honor goes to the Commander format, specifically the fact Wizards is in control of it.
Following this major change, many MTG players are expecting a serious shake-up in the coming weeks. While there’s no telling what, or when, anything will happen, many are holding out hope for bans, or rather unbans. Should these wishful dreams be fulfilled, Commander players may get new, technically old, exciting toys to play with.
While this prospect is rather exciting, many players aren’t just waiting around to see what happens. Instead, it seems many players are trying to predict upcoming unbans and get ahead of the curve. If these players are right, they could make some serious money. With this in mind, it’s no wonder we’re seeing some truly wild spikes at the moment.
Tolarian Academy
First printed all the way back in 1998 for Urza’s Saga Tolarian Academy is an exceptionally powerful MTG card. In an artifact-themed deck, this legendary land can produce an obscene amount of mana every turn. Should you pair this card with untap effects, then you’ll end up being nigh unstoppable.
With this in mind, it’s no wonder that Tolarian Academy is a popular card in the one format it can be played in. Appearing in Workshop and Tinker lists in the Vintage format, this card may be restricted, but it still puts in work. Considering the abundance of Moxen, mana rocks, and The One Ring, it’s no wonder Tolarian Academy goes hard.
As mentioned, Tolarian Academy can currently only be played in Vintage, as it’s banned everywhere else. Now that Wizards is in control of Commander, however, some players seem to be convinced it may get unbanned soon. This seems to be the only explanation behind the miraculous and intense price spike we’ve been seeing recently.
Will Tolarian Academy Be Unbanned?
Considering the price of Tolarian Academy has already shot up, it’s clear that many players are convinced an unbanning is possible. If you ask us, and many MTG players on social media, however, we’re not so convinced. At the end of the day, Tolarian Academy is an obscenely powerful MTG card, even if it does have parallels.
The closest thing to Tolarian Academy in Commander at the moment is Gaea’s Cradle. Similarly hailing from Urza’s Saga, this legendary land can produce an obscene amount of mana in the right deck. Serra’s Sanctum has an almost identical effect once again, allowing for insane mana generation shenanigans.
The difference between these three cards is that Gaea’s Cradle and Serra’s Sanctum require a lot more work. Sure, green decks have mana dorks aplenty and can flood the board with tokens, but that still takes time. The same is true for white, as while it can amass enchantments rather quickly, you’ll still need a few turns.
In comparison, Tolarian Academy can immediately pop off since there are tons of zero mana artifacts in MTG. Even without the Moxen and Black Lotus in Commander, the card still facilitates incredibly quick starts. Considering the reasoning behind the recent major Commander bans, it’s no wonder Tolarian Academy hasn’t been legal since 2010.
While fast starts in Commander were identified as a problem by the old Rules Committee, Wizards is in charge now. As a result, technically there is a non-zero chance that fast mana, including Tolarian Academy, could be unbanned. If we’re honest, however, this card is simply too good, even for tier four, or even tier five, gameplay.
The Spike
While we may not believe that Tolarian Academy will be unbanned, its price has already spiked hard. Since the start of October, eager MTG players have been snapping up copies where they can. Notably, since Tolarian Academy is on the Reserved List, the available supply, especially of high-quality examples, is incredibly limited.
At the start of October near mint copies of Tolarian Academy were selling for around $100. Fast forward to now, however, and sales are topping out at $225 on TCGplayer! With new listings starting at a similar price, it’s unlikely it’ll come down anytime soon.
Thankfully, cheaper copies of Tolarian Academy do still exist in lightly and moderately played examples. Currently, these conditions are selling for around $175 and $155 respectively. Considering these cards were going for $99 and $70 at the start of the month, the ongoing demand is clear.
If you don’t care about quality, heavily played examples of Tolarian Academy are selling for around $115 right now. Unsurprisingly, this variant has spiked the least at only $60, which is still very impressive.
At the moment, it’s entirely unclear which direction the price of Tolarian Academy may go. Should it miraculously be unbanned in Commander, its price will likely skyrocket to newfound highs as cEDH players scramble to buy in. If it’s not unbanned, however, the prices may end up crashing back down since there would be no genuine demand. Ultimately, we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens.
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