The MTG card Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm has seen a significant price increase in the past month, and is now close to becoming a $100 card. Ashcoat was at a very respectable $40 this time last month (according to MTG Goldfish) but gradually crept up to the $50 mark by the time Bloomburrow released; since then it has almost doubled in value.
The rat warlock is so prized because it’s one of the most powerful rat cards in Magic: The Gathering, and one of the hardest to get hold of. As a result, whenever an MTG set comes out with some good new rats, this card shoots up in price. We saw this not too long ago with Wilds of Eldraine, which catapulted Ashcoat from $35 to $70 for a few weeks.
Ashcoat makes all your rats much more powerful when it attacks, and it can bring some back from the graveyard for you – what rats deck wouldn’t want that? In Bloomburrow, we have Vren, the Relentless and Wick, the Whorled Mind, two MTG commanders that rely on large swarms of rats to defeat their opponents, and therefore could really use a copy of Ashcoat.
The big question, really, is whether Ashcoat will hold its value. The historical precedent suggests that the hype will die down and it will drop, coming to rest at a slightly higher price than it used to hold – say $45 – $50. However, it is worth noting that Wilds of Eldraine only had one popular rat commander (Totentanz) whereas Bloomburrow has two.
It’s also worth noting that the scarcity of this card (as well as fans’ love for meme-y Rat Colony decks) is the main reason it holds such a high price. It’s only ever been released as one of the Mythic themes for Jumpstart 2022, found in 1/121 of packs, so there are relatively few copies floating around.
We therefore think a reprint could see Ashcoat tumbling back down in value. There’s a new Jumpstart set on the not-too-distant horizons with MTG Foundations, so there’s at least a chance we’ll get one.
For more Magic: The Gathering content, check out our MTG release schedule guide and our list of all the working MTG Arena codes.
Source: Wargamer
