We’ve got six Marvel sets on the MTG release schedule, which just so happens to match up with the number of Infinity Stones there are in the Marvel comics. Marvel Super Heroes gave us the Mind Stone, while last year’s Spider-Man MTG expansion gave us The Soul Stone. Neither of these two magical rock macguffins are cheap, but The Soul Stone is particularly pricy, and has been massively spiking since the release of the most recent set last month. Let’s explore why…
The website MTGGoldfish charts the prices of MTG singles and sealed products over time. If we look at their data for The Soul Stone, we can see that it’s always been a costly card. When Marvel’s Spider-Man released in September last year, it was already valued at $79 (£59).
Since then, the value of The Soul Stone has only risen. It was worth $95 (£70) when Marvel Super Heroes released this June, and in the days since, it has rocketed up to $138 (£103), making it one of the most expensive MTG cards released in the last few years.
Curiously, this cost doesn’t appear to be tied to its competitive viability. While The Soul Stone is a powerful card, and it definitely makes for a spicy inclusion in a reanimation focused Commander deck, it doesn’t currently command a huge presence in the meta of any major MTG format. None of the top 8 decks in Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven featured it, and its greatest claim to fame (besides its financial value) is showing up in a handful of lists for Magic Online Pioneer tournaments.
So why is the Soul Stone so valuable, and why did its worth skyrocket after the release of Marvel Super Heroes? Like many questions related to TCG finances, the answers aren’t clear cut, but my personal analysis would tie it to two factors.
- The Spider-Man set in which The Soul Stone released was unpopular, and as such, fewer players cracked packs from it than from other contemporary sets. This means that there are simply fewer copies of The Soul Stone in circulation, and this relative scarcity makes it more valuable.
- The release of The Mind Stone in Marvel Super Heroes demonstrated that the Infinity Stone cycle is continuing. Because of this, MTG players have been scrambling to get their hands on the original stone, so they can assemble the complete set.
What’s your take? Do you have an alternative explanation for The Soul Stone’s high cost? Share it with us in the Wargamer Discord.
Source: Wargamer
