Duskmourn: House of Horror is finally here. After plenty of hype, anticipation, and just a sprinkle of controversy, the set officially releases today, September 27th. Now this date is finally upon us, Duskmourn is more available than ever before, allowing packs and decks to be purchased en masse.
As always, there’s a lot of interest in the preconstructed Commander decks for the latest MTG set. Offering compelling themes and supporting mechanics, these products are a firm favorite way to enjoy a new set. While they’re plenty of fun out of the box, many players are understandably keen to upgrade these decks and push them further.
This desire for power has caused no end of price spikes since the face Commanders for Duskmourn were revealed. As time has gone on, we’ve only seen more and more spikes as interest and hype ramp up. Unsurprisingly, this trend has continued on the day of Duskmourn’s release, as there’s yet another Commander-based price spike!
Zo-Zu the Punisher
- Mana Value: 1RR
- Rarity: Rare
- Card Type: Legendary Creature – Goblin Warrior
- Stats: 2/2
- Card Text: Whenever a land enters, Zo-Zu the Punisher deals 2 damage to that land’s controller.
First released back in 2004’s Champions of Kamigawa, Zo-Zu the Punisher has always been an annoying, albeit hardly broken, card. Capable of dishing out the hurt whenever an opponent plays a land, this card could feasibly kill every opponent if left unchecked for an entire game. The likelihood of this happening, however, is pretty low, since it’s rare opponents will drop 20 lands with no lifegain.
With this in mind, it’s safe to say that Zo-Zu the Punisher isn’t that great. Against a Landfall-based deck, they could do a lot of work, but you can rarely guarantee what your opponents are playing. Thanks to this, they’re typically just an annoyance that can deal some widespread symmetrical damage, but not much else.
In Duskmourn: House of Horror, Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls can really capitalize on Zo-Zu the Punisher being relentlessly annoying. Found in the Endless Punishment precon, this deck is all about group slug effects that dish out damage every turn. Said damage triggers Valgavoth, buffing them and drawing you a card.
In Endless Punishment, Zo-Zu the Punisher is yet another engine to practically guarantee you’re dealing damage every single turn. Since MTG players are almost playing a land every turn, Zo-Zu could easily facilitate a lot of Valgavoth triggers. As if that wasn’t enticing enough, the two cards also curve into one another nicely.
To make things even better, Zo-Zu the Punisher works perfectly against another Duskmourn: House of Horror precon. Since it features a heavy Landfall theme out of the box, the Jump Scare! deck gets properly punished by Zo-Zu. This makes them a fantastic upgrade to Endless Punishment if you’re pitting the Duskmourn precons against one another.
The Spike
When looking at the price of Zo-Zu the Punisher, it’s worth looking at the card’s one and only reprint. Hailing from 2017’s Duel Decks: Mind vs. Might, this reprint massively boosted the card’s supply. Thanks to this, the variant is significantly more stable and is more widely available in higher quality.
As for the actual price of this variant, it currently begins at just under $27 for a Near Mint example. Should this not be expensive enough, for whatever reason, recent sales have pushed as high as $29.99! This is quite a leap from the card’s price at the start of September, which was around $7.50.
Unsurprisingly, as the release date for Duskmourn: House of Horror has loomed near, available supply has quickly been snapped up. Thanks to this, the price has skyrocketed over the past few sales now that cheap $13 copies are no longer available. Potentially, this dramatic increase may fall before too long, but for now, the price is sky-high.
Thankfully, if you’re after a cheaper variant of Zo-Zu, there are plenty of lower-quality examples available. This is especially true for the Champions of Kamigawa variant which has seemingly been ravaged by time. On TCGplayer, the cheapest copy of Zo-Zu the Punisher is a $18 damaged copy.
Notably, this price is a huge step above the usual $4-6 price of damaged copies. Alas, the nature of the MTG financial markets and price spikes means such deals are no longer available. Even the Duel Decks reprints start at $20 for a lightly played copy.
For better or worse, it’s unclear how long these significantly higher prices will last. While supply is at an all-time low right now, demand may not match such a spike.
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