The Magic: The Gathering card Sapling of Colfenor has seen a 212% price spike. It cost just $1.60 the week before Tarkir Dragonstorm launched, but since then has jumped all the way to a pricier $5 and still appears to be rising.
Originally printed in the 2008 MTG set Eventide, Sapling of Colfenor is a Treefolk Shaman with an interesting effect. First up, he’s indestructible, letting you attack with him with impunity. When you do, he also has a neat card draw ability. You check the top card of your library and pop it into your hand if it’s a creature. First though, you have to gain life equal to the creature’s toughness and lose life equal to its power.
This card’s only reprint, in 2021, put it in the Witherbloom Commander precon deck for Strixhaven, where its life gain and life loss effect synergized nicely with the MTG commander, Willowdusk, Essence Seer. However, it’s now seeing tons of play in a different archetype – in Defender decks led by Felothar, the Steadfast or Betor, Kin to All.
In case it’s not obvious, the card is fantastic in a Defender deck because all your creatures have very high toughness and low (or zero) power. This means the Sapling of Colfenor can gain you a big chunk of life each turn. In a pinch it makes a pretty good blocker too when creatures deal damage with their toughness, thanks to its indestructibility.
We should probably have seen this price spike coming. After all, Sapling of Colfenor is one of the most-played cards in a Doran the Siege Tower deck, the previous toughness-matters Commander in Abzan colors. The black in its color identity has kept it from playing a role in dedicated defender decks (which are generally Bant) up to now, but with Tarkir Dragonstorm, a new color combination has opened up the archetype to several new cards.
This has led to multiple price spikes over the past week or two, not just this one. For instance, Tree of Perdition rose in price once more, whilst a Fallout card you probably haven’t thought twice about has absolutely blown up in value.
For more Magic: The Gathering price stories, check out our list of the most expensive MTG cards. You also have the chance to win a booster box of Tarkir Dragonstorm on our Discord. And if you need a primer on Magic in 2025, our MTG release schedule is the place to go.
Source: Wargamer
