Since the start of September, the MTG card Forsaken Wastes has shot up from a niche collector’s item trading at under $5, to a must-have card that commands a $40 price tag, according to MTG market tracking website MTG Goldfish. The demand is being driven by the new ‘House of Horror’ commander deck, as the card synergises beautifully with the deck’s theme.
Forsaken Wastes is a black MTG card that costs one black and two generic mana. It’s an enchantment with the now little-used ‘world’ subtype, which simply indicates it affects all players and must be sacrificed if another world enchantment enters.
While it’s in play, player’s can’t gain life. If Forsaken Wastes is targeted by a spell, after that spell resolves the caster suffers five damage. Lastly, each player loses one life during their upkeep – which is the part that’s so useful in the House of Horror.
The face commander for the deck is Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls. For one black, one red, and two generic mana, he’s a 4/4 elder demon with flying and ward: pay 2 life. The first time an opponent loses life during their turn, you put a +1/+1 counter onto Valgavoth, and draw a card. He’s a classic Rakdos combinationf of beatstick and value engine.
Forsaken Waste has a simple synergy with Valgavoth – with both cards in play, Valgavoth will grow and draw you a card during every one of your opponent’s turns. While synergistic cards for a new commander often shoot up in price, Forsaken Wastes has gone up so steeply because there just aren’t many copies of it.
Forsaken Wastes was only printed once, in the 1996 MTG set Mirage. At the time, Wizards of the Coast added the 75% most rare MTG cards from each new set onto the MTG Reserved list, pledging never to reprint them to preserve their secondary market value.
Two other cards are seeing big jumps as a result of the new deck. Chandra, Awakened Inferno has gone from $2.70 to $7.10 in the last week. She’s an expensive but uncounterable planeswalker with a +2 ability that gives each opponent an emblem which deals one damage to them at the start of their upkeep.
Then there’s Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin, which has risen from $2.70 to $17.40 in a week. He has the same cost, similar stats, and a similar ability to Valgavoth: whenever one or more opponents each lose exactly one life, you put a +1/+1 counter onto Ob Nixilis, then exile the top card of your library, which you can play until your next end-step. He works beautifully as an upgrade to the House of Horror Commander precon, and even as an alternative commander.
It’s not just new commander decks on the MTG release schedule that are driving price rises. See this article to learn why classic fast-mana card Mana Vault has tripled in price, following an update to the MTG Commander banlist.
Make sure you check out our guide to MTG Arena codes to grab some free digital boosters for your MTG Arena decks!
Source: Wargamer
