Premodern is a paradoxical MTG format in a number of ways. It’s an old-school format that’s only 14 years old, yet it has also only become truly relevant recently, after its introduction on MTGO. As a result, this retro format still feels new and novel for many players.
A major consequence of the increased eyes on Premodern is the increased demand for cards that see play there. We’ve seen a bunch of forgotten old school gems jump in price since the format’s ascent, and that train doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Just this past week, in fact, Volrath’s Shapeshifter, a unique Clone card from MTG Stronghold, has seen a significant price spike.
Volrath’s Shapeshifter MTG
Volrath’s Shapeshifter is the kind of MTG card about which you can say “they don’t make ’em like this anymore” with absolute certainty. While it’s a Clone effect, which we still see plenty of today, the way it works is totally different from the norm. Instead of copying one creature on entry, it continually changes to become the top card in your graveyard.
This idea of caring about the order of the cards in your graveyard was something you saw a fair bit in older Magic, but never today. Mark Rosewater has spoken about the topic on Blogatog many times, noting that all of R&D consider the idea “a mistake,” and that they’re very unlikely to use it again. In this sense, Volrath’s Shapeshifter is very much a relic of the past.
Because of this unusual, now taboo, design, Volrath’s Shapeshifter is actually a potent combo enabler in Premodern. The card is the centerpiece of a deck known as ‘Full English Breakfast,’ a confusing combo brew with a bunch of intricate lines in its arsenal.
The idea is to use Shapeshifter to take the form of a Phyrexian Devourer on top of your graveyard, exile your entire deck with its activated ability, then pay two and discard Triskelion to receive all the counters and ping your opponent to death. You can also use it as a straightforward beatstick by stacking counters, then switching to Akroma, Angel of Wrath or Birds of Paradise in a pinch.
While Full English Breakfast isn’t dominating the Premodern metagame just yet, it has been putting up great results in MTGO Challenges and Leagues. As a result, the price of its key card, Volrath’s Shapeshifter, has begun to spike hard.
The Spike
Back at the start of January, near mint copies of Volrath’s Shapeshifter could be had for just over $4 apiece. Considering how unique the card is, and that it’s part of the Reserved List, this actually feels incredibly low in hindsight. It didn’t take long, however, for this price to change significantly.
Volrath’s Shapeshifter saw a surge of interest around January 18th, right after the first major Premodern ban announcement since the format came to MTGO. Players, clearly anticipating that decks like Full English Breakfast stood to benefit from the power vacuum left behind by Parallax Tide, started scooping up copies.
Sales continued to escalate over the next few days, and the price climbed in turn. Now, a near mint copy will cost you around $22 on average, marking a 439% increase from the beginning of the month. Current listings are pushing even higher than that, too, with several in the $25-40 range.
Since Volrath’s Shapeshifter is a single-printing Reserved List card, there aren’t any alternative versions you can go for to get around the price spike here. You can save yourself a bit of money if you’re willing to buy the card in a worse condition than near mint, mind you. TCGplayer currently has several lightly played copies available in the $17-19 range, for example, and even a heavily played one for $13.
There aren’t a ton of listings like this available, however, as even lightly played copies are trending up into the $20+ range on average right now. These cheaper listings, therefore, likely won’t be around for long.
The Future
Looking forward, I think the price spike on Volrath’s Shapeshifter is here to stay. The card is unique in what it does, the key piece in a successful deck, and impossible to reprint due to its Reserved List status. For that reason, as long as players want to try out Full English Breakfast, demand for the card will exist and outstrip its limited supply.
It is worth noting, however, that Volrath’s Shapeshifter’s worth is entirely tied up in Premodern. The card doesn’t see any play in Legacy or Vintage, and it’s barely even used in Commander. According to EDHREC data, in fact, a paltry 749 decks run it in total. This means that, if Full English Breakfast catches any bans in the future, the viability of the card will tank. If this happens, we could see its price drop back to its previous $4 in turn.
Even if the card does fall out of favor in Premodern, however, there’s no guarantee that the new price on Volrath’s Shapeshifter will fall. Parallax Tide is another Reserved List card whose playability rested solely on Premodern, and so far, it being banned in the format hasn’t impacted its price at all. It’s very possible that Shapeshifter, as a card in a near-identical situation, follows the same path if it stops being playable in Premodern.
All of that said, it’s impossible to predict the future of the Magic markets with any kind of certainty. Only time will tell whether the price of Volrath’s Shapeshifter continues to rise, or instead falls, in the weeks to come.
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