Finally some "normal" spikes between those Reserved List buyouts. The release of Dominaria is having its effect on Standard and Commander. And all the while Pauper is still going strong and is pushing the prices of some surprising cards.
Once again, just in time for FNM, I will now tell you what cards will be the talk of the town tonight!
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After weeks and weeks of reserved list spikes dominating the top slot in weekly winnings, the time has finally come that we have a "normal" spike in the #1 slot. Thrashing Brontodon gets all the credit this week as it skyrocketed from $0.69 to $3.50 in a matter of days.
And with that spike, Thrashing Brontodon is now in the top 20 of most expensive cards in Rivals of Ixalan at place 16. And with its $3.50 price tag it is by far the most expensive uncommon in the set, leaving Merfolk Mistbinder ($1.11) and Ravenous Chupacabra ($0.95) far behind.
Thrashing Brontodon is seeing a lot of play in Standard and decks playing it have netted good results SCG and Grand Prix tournaments. For just you get a 3/4 creature which is already pretty decent. For you can use its ability and destroy an artifact or enchantment. Not to shabby in a Standard meta where cards like Walking Ballista, Scrapheap Scrounger and History of Benalia are popular.
Marrow-Gnawer is one of those cards that has instant flavor and playability for Commander and Casual players. The card itself is a walking combo, as it almost doubles your amount of rats every turn and it gives all his little friends fear, making them so much harder to block.
With only one printing in Champions of Kamigawa, Marrow-Gnawer has always been a card in high demand and in short supply. Even before 2013 you had to pay at least $3 for a copy. After that Marrow-Gnawer tripled in price as Commander got more and more popular.
And now you will have to really pay top dollar to get a copy of Marrow-Gnawer on your hands. This week's spike has everything to do with the printing of Rat Colony, a cheaper and maybe even better version of Relentless Rats. Your deck can contain any number of those rats. Combine that with the strength of Marrow-Gnawer and your got a core of an EDH deck right there.
This week I had to go down to my storage unit (4 floors down under my appartment complex) to rummage through my boxes of bulky but still interesting cards that I don't keep in my house permanently. My goal? To find copies of Spore Frog. I've been down there several times since Pauper became a supported side-event format at Grand Prix events. Ever since that announcement, paper pauper cards have skyrocketed and Spore Frog one of the examples.
But Pauper is not the only reason Spore Frog is gaining in price. The Fog Frog sees pay in Muldrotha, the Gravetide Commander decks as well. Since you will be able to play a Spore Frog from your graveyard, you can keep your opponent at bey by preventing all combat damage, turn after turn.
Spore Frog's Spike most probably has something to do with speculation as well. On different finance boards there has been talk about Spore Frog's potential to be a valuable card, and not only because of Commander, but mainly because it is now (also) popular in Pauper.
Since Spore Frog is from an older set with a very limited print run, no reprints and a unique ability on a 1 mana card it has all the potential to gain value. But only if it actually sees play in a format. Well it does in Pauper. Spore Frog is seen in sideboards of mono-green decks. But more interestingly, it sees maindeck play in decks that use Tortured Existence in combination with madness, dredge and delve cards.
Expect Spore Frog to keep its value as long as it sees the same amount play in Pauper as it does now.
