The MTG card Pyretic Ritual has undergone a massive price spike, jumping up from $3.40 last week to $18.99 today, according to MTG Goldfish’s figures. The reason behind this rise of 460% is pretty straightforward. Like most of the oh-so-many price spikes we’re seeing this week, it’s sparked by the release of Modern Horizons 3 on June 14.
An Instant card originally from the MTG set Magic 2011, Pyretic Ritual costs two mana, but generates three mana. It’s proven to be a vital card for one of the fledgling new decks to arise from Modern Horizons 3: Ruby Storm.
Named after the red card cost-reducer Ruby Medallion, printed to Modern for the first time in Modern Horizons 3, Ruby Storm is a variant of an old Legacy deck. In Modern, it’s been enabled both by Ruby Medallion becoming a legal option for Modern, and a new MTG planeswalker card, Ral, Monsoon Mage – which we saw spiking last week.
The Ruby Storm game plan is pretty easy to understand. You use cost reducers like Medallion and Ral, combined with mana-makers like Pyretic Ritual and impulse draw like the new Glimpse The Impossible to keep spells flying until you’re able to finish your opponent off.
The new Ral adds a fun wrinkle when he flips into his planeswalker form and lets you play a bunch of spells for free, but the deck’s win condition is a Storm staple Grapeshot, or else the new Unstable Amulet which can slowly ping a player to death. Many players are also using Wish, letting them leave their wincon in their sideboard to be pulled out when the time is right, along with a load of other useful utility spells and answers.
Of course, none of this strategy would be possible without Pyretic Ritual to keep the mana flowing. Assuming you’ve got a cost reducer in play, this gives you a net gain of two mana when you cast it, helping you keep on casting spells until you win.
While it’s super popular right now, it’s worth noting that Ruby Storm hasn’t been put to the test in competitive tournaments. We don’t yet know how much longevity the deck will have. Which is to say that the currently spiking cards from this deck could come crashing back down if no one’s playing Ruby Storm in six month’s time.
For more price spike stories, check out this old enchantment that works brilliantly in Eldrazi decks, and this legendary land that’s been boosted by Legacy. Or check out our guide to the best MTG commanders.
Source: Wargamer
