Shock Lands Abound!
Shock lands have become one of the most ubiquitous land cycles in Magic: the Gathering, seeing play in nearly all Commander, Modern, and Pioneer decks. With the release of
With EOE, this will be the eighth time this cycle has been reprinted. Typically with reprints we see some amount of volatility, and downward trends in value. Interestingly shock lands seem to largely shrug off most of this, mostly because this increased supply is met with increased demand.
Currently
Original printings of Sacred Foundry have seen an all-time high of nearly $30, shortly before
This demonstrates a high amount of resilience in the market, fueled by constant demand.
In comparison,
I would expect EOE printings of this cycle to follow this same trend, bottoming out above the $5 mark, only to eventually rebound at roughly twice the value.
Currently Edge of Eternities printings of Sacred Foundry are around $10 for standard versions, with extended art copies showing a downward trend and sitting around $15. The galaxy foil version is around $40 and may be close to its floor, as this version will surely rebound.
Specialty Printings
Borderless Ravnica Remastered copies have seen a floor of $15 and are currently hovering around a peak of $25, indicating low volatility over a short span of time.
The Secret Lair printing of
Unfinity borderless printings have recently seen an upturn, with a price point around $40. The galaxy foil printing has also recently seen an upward trend and is roughly $150.
Why Write About Sacred Foundry?
As a non-blue, non-green land, Sacred Foundry sits solidly in the middle of the field of this cycle, showing fewer peaks and valleys in its pricing than some of its counterparts. Sacred Foundry is very abundant in Modern at the moment, and also fills an important role in Commander decks that have limited access to mana fixing.
This is a land that’s always played, but unlike Breeding Pool, it doesn't surge in popularity as often and then plummet. A strong median, and what I felt would be the best example for this article.
Conclusion
I chose to write about this cycle because it shares the intersection of competitive, casual, and collecting. This cycle of lands is useful to almost anyone that plays Magic: The Gathering.
These cards will fluctuate. Standard printings will trend downward with an influx of supply before trending back up. They seem to be indifferent to many of the common driving forces in price variation, if for no other reason than consistent and constant demand.
Specialty printings and artworks show the strongest resilience, with the potential to even go up in value when their other versions are seeing decline, due to desirability and availability.
Bonus Land!
Starting Town immediately caught my eye as one of the higher power lands printed in the past few years. Offering upgrades to manabases in Standard and Pioneer, this land has a high level of playability. With the Town subtype, it’s unlikely to see an immediate reprint outside of a promotional version.
Starting Town has already started drifting away from its all time low of $9.17, with what appears to be the start of a strictly upward trend. We have yet to see the ceiling on this card, but it will likely show resilience due to high levels of playability and demand with limited supply.
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Bill Bingham
Bill Bingham has spent the past decade in the throws of competitive play, travelling, and managing a collection. With expansive knowledge and deep ties to the community, he looks to share this insight. In his time away from the game, he is utilizing these problem solving skills, learning, creating, or cooking.
