Wizards of the Coast has addressed some upcoming changes to the Regional Championship circuit and, in doing so, announced upcoming competitive seasons! Pioneer and Modern players have something to be excited about, but, as has been the case for the past few seasons, a new round of promotional cards have also been revealed! These are available to players participating in the next Regional Championship season but can also be bought on the secondary market for those who want to spice up their decks. Players are incredibly excited about what’s in store, so let’s get to it!
Unholy Heat
Unholy Heat is an incredibly popular removal spell in the Modern format, and it’s easy to see why. This one-mana instant is capable of removing almost every threat in the format once Delirium is turned on. It’s pretty difficult to come by six damage at such a cheap rate, and achieving Delirium in the Modern format is easier than you may think. From powerful cheap enablers like Dragon-Rage Channeler to zero-mana artifacts that quickly end up in the graveyard like Mishra’s Bauble to Fetch Lands, enabling Delirium in the first few turns is easier than you think. This could be an effect that a dedicated Delirium Commander deck could be interested in, but cheap single-target removal like this one doesn’t tend to be too popular because of the nature of the four-player format.
For those interested in achieving the Unholy Heat promotional card, it’s as easy as competing in a Regional Championship Qualifier. Getting the foil version of this card generally requires you to participate in a larger RCQ. Considering the price that the current RCQ participation promotional card is selling for, this may be a better deal than you think.
For reference, the current participation promo for Season three of the RCQs is the Mystical Dispute pictured above. According to recent TCGplayer sales, these are going for around $11-14 each. Compare this to normal Mystical Disputes that are going for only 40 cents, and you have a massive uptick in price. While Unholy Heat may not necessarily follow this price trend, it is a nice consolation prize that should make RCQ entry more affordable.
Eldritch Evolution
Eldritch Evolution has a bit more applications in Commander than Unholy Heat, but it still has a lot of competitive relevance. The card sees play in both Pioneer and Modern in creature combo decks. The card is commonly used in Modern Yawgmoth builds and Pioneer Greasefang decks.
Regarding Commander relevance, Eldritch Evolution is a tutor with restrictions. Any tutor effect is proven to be quite strong in Commander because of the format’s singleton nature. These can up the consistency of your Commander deck, ensuring you hit your most powerful pieces consistently. Additionally, this can be a great choice if your deck cares about certain lower-cost creatures to enable combos or value engines.
Part of why this card is so powerful in Yawgmoth combo decks in Modern is how well it synergizes with Undying – which helps mitigate the sacrifice downside present in the card’s cost. This makes Eldritch Evolution an excellent choice in decks that care about creatures dying – an archetype that just got some powerful support.
Players interested in acquiring this Secret Lair promotional card themselves will need to clean up their competitive chops a bit. You need to be a ‘top finisher’ at a Regional Championship Qualifier event to be awarded an Eldritch Evolution. Obtaining a foil variant generally means qualifying for a Regional Championship successfully, but doing so grants some incredible value. While the card’s final price depends largely on its competitive/Commander relevance, past Regional Championship promotional cards of this nature currently vary between $40 and $95 for their foil variants!
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Awarded solely to those who qualify for their Regional Championship in this upcoming season (the fourth season), this Ugin, the Spirit Dragon looks absolutely remarkable. Ugin doesn’t have a ton of competitive relevance currently but sees occasional Pioneer play in Lotus Field sideboards and off-meta ramp decks. In Modern, the card sees play across multiple Tron builds.
Commander players like gigantic spells that do splashy things, and Ugin fits that role perfectly. While his plus ability is not too flashy, it is an incredibly powerful way to run away with the game if the board has already been stabilized, especially in 1v1 formats. On that note, Ugin’s -X ability allows you to immediately stabilize your position on board by exiling all colored permanents with mana value equal to or less than Ugin’s ability. The Ultimate on this Planeswalker is an expected win condition for Superfriends decks, an archetype that got a ton of support in the new set.
While there will likely be a premium on the normal variant of this card due to its difficulty to acquire, Ugin’s foil version will be incredibly expensive. This is because the foil variants to these Regional Championship cards are only awarded to players who successfully qualify for the coveted Pro Tour event. The foil Teferi, Hero of Dominaria from season one of the Regional Championship event, for example, has recorded instances of it selling for $300 or more. Notably, this Teferi doesn’t have a unique art treatment, so it will be interesting to see how valuable this Ugin may become!
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