We’re heading into the time that’s usually a lull, but don’t worry, there’s lots of speculating and likely some news dumps coming up.
On January 23, we get Lorwyn Rising, and while six weeks seems like a lot of time, holidays make that time go by incredibly quickly. We know a little bit about the set, including the Commander decks, and that’s enough data to start thinking about cards worth a spec.
We’re getting two Commander decks, and while some of that will be new cards, some will be reprints. I expect that some of the cards on this list will end up in the decks, or the reprint/bonus sheet of the main set, and there’s nothing I can do about that. Waiting is a guarantee that you won’t get burned, but it also means you might miss out. Best advice I can offer is to be prepared, and as soon as we know information, pounce!
First of all, let’s go over the Commander deck called Blight Curse, which apparently is a -1/-1 counters deck in Jund colors. This is a theme that’s been visited before, but never really in Commander, so there’s some juicy, juicy targets. Like I said though, we’re running a risk with potential reprints. When the decklist is released, it’ll be time to pounce. I also expect this to have a couple of pricey cards (Necroskitter, Yawgmoth, etc.) to boost its total value.
Black Sun’s Zenith (Avatar or full-art) – There’s a lot of versions that are already cheap, so my expectation is that this will be in the deck. If it isn’t, I’m partial to the older full-art version, but cheap borderless foils from the TLE set could have a nice jump. I’m not expecting much if it’s reprinted though. Note that this works the way you want it to with Hapatra, Nest of Scarabs, and Flourishing Defenses.
Blowfly Infestation – Basically this adds up counters until everything is dead, making it brutally efficient at making sure stuff with counters are always in play. Strong candidate for the deck.
Flourishing Defenses and Nest of Scarabs – Close to the same card, wonderfully efficient, very likely to be reprinted in the deck. Since the only foils are the pack foils, I’m not sure if those foils will jump much, but since supply is already low, some gain is almost guaranteed.
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons – When Tarkir: Dragonstorm was announced to have a Temur Dragons Commander deck, we all thought Mirrym would be in there. Turns out, they don’t want to add old commanders to a precon that could be better than the new ones. Hapatra might fall into this category, but at only two colors, might be safe to add.
Crumbling Ashes – One creature a turn doesn’t seem super powerful, but the synergy is strong and this should see some new interest.
Dusk Urchins – It’s a cute combo with Black Sun’s Zenith, or some other mega-counter-adding sort of thing, and nearly every card that says ‘-1/-1 counter’ on it will see some renewed interest.
Fevered Convulsions – Yes, it’s six mana for the first counter and ten for the second, but if your deck is focused doing one thing, then this might be an attractive option.
Necroskitter – One of the main things I expect to be in the Commander deck, this is powerful and specific to the theme. It’s not cheap, which is something they usually keep in mind when putting the decklist together. The price is all due to printings in 2008 and 2015, and a pretty measly inclusion rate in Commander decks. They love reprints that look expensive but are going to stay cheap when reprinted.
Spitting Dilophosaurus – One of the best things we know they probably won’t add to the deck, since it belongs to a different IP. They’ve done a smidgeon of reprints from specific IPs, but this should be a safe bet. The Jurassic Park logo version is already crazy expensive, but I would not be shocked to see the foils double or more.
The Scorpion God – A cheap price means it’s likely to be in the deck, and there’s some special versions to chase down. We might see this have a big jump on the Invocation version.
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician – I especially like the Amano nonfoils here, though the base version is pricey enough to not be included in the Commander deck and if that’s the case, I expect all versions to rise by a couple bucks.
Massacre Girl, Known Killer – The special folder versions are under $10, and when added to a deck full of the right counters, it’s quite a wonderful addition.
Fallen Ferromancer and Hateflayer – If the deck needs ways to add counters to creatures, these are two good ways to do that. Pretty likely these are in the main deck, but if they aren’t, watch out.
Misfortune – It’s on the Reserved List! And while it’s the perfect colors, it’s a card that’s pretty terrible. Your opponents will almost certainly let you have the 4 life and bonus counters, which takes away the whole point. But as I’ve said, anything that mentions the minus counters and is in Jund will get some attention. I won’t be shocked if this has a spike, but it’s a thoroughly irrational one.
The other deck is five-color Elementals, called Dance of the Elements, and there’s a lot of potential in this as well. Given that the main set has a lot of Elementals too, most of the sweet cards should get a basic reprint, like Smokebraider. However, there’s a few that I’d like to keep an eye on.
Creeping Trailblazer – There’s so many Elementals to choose from, they can’t reprint them all. I think this is one of the contenders to get overlooked, and so we might see the six-year-old foils see a pretty jump.
Chandra’s Embercat – Chandra and Elementals have a long history, and a lot of her cards make Elementals or care about the creature type in some way. This particular kitty is another card likely to be overlooked, but would a two-mana dork be good enough for the deck? I’m doubtful.
Flamekin Harbinger & Risen Reef – Almost certain to be in the Commander deck, there’s a Secret Lair from 2023 called The Stars Gaze Back that has special versions of these two, plus Omnath, Locus of Rage and Voice of Resurgence. The art is unique, and should be a sought-after upgrade for all the cards. Full disclosure: I’ve bought some of the sealed Lairs and some of the special foils.
Incandescent Soulstoke – There’s a chance this doesn’t get the reprint, because the two abilities together are incredibly good, but if it’s in there it’ll stay cheap and if it’s not it’ll go over $5 in foil. This one I’m keeping a close eye on when preview season is rolling.
Kaheera, the Orphanguard – Halo Foils are about $15, and that’s clearly the target here. A deck would happily add this to the 99, or play it as the actual Companion. I don’t think this would be in the precon deck, as they sort of view Companion as a mistake in Constructed, but who knows?
2-color and 3-color Omnath – Four- and Five- color versions of Omnath don’t care about Elementals in the same way, so the more basic versions are worth looking at. Locus of Rage has a SLD printing to watch, as I mentioned above, but Locus of the Roil might be a little too pricey at its base to be put into the Commander deck. I’m pretty sure this will be in, though, and I don’t think pack foils would move too much as a result.
Cliff (@WordOfCommander at Twitter and BlueSky) has been writing for MTGPrice since 2013, and is an eager Commander player, Draft enthusiast, and Cube fanatic. A high school science teacher by day, he’s also the co-host of the MTG Fast Finance podcast. If you’re ever at an event and you see a giant flashing ‘CUBE DRAFT’ sign, go over, say hi, and be ready to draft.
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