An old, 2007 goblin Magic card previously valued at $1.70 has rocketed up in price and is now selling for $11. The one-drop Lorwyn goblin, Knucklebone Witch, has spiked 550%, and it’s all thanks to the new Hobbit set.
This cheap, black creature has a simple effect: it grows larger whenever a goblin bites the dust. For a hot minute back in 2019, this was enough to let it see play in a Rakdos Goblins Modern build. Even back then though, it was one of the weaker cards in the archetype, and since this deck fell out of favor, the card has been more or less out of commission for years.
However, The Hobbit has one very interesting goblin card which works well with Knucklebone Witch. It’s The Great Goblin, which is shaping up to be one of the best MTG commanders of this UB release.
The Great Goblin blats opponents in the face for 2 damage whenever you place a counter on a goblin (or orcs, or army), and it gives you impulse draw whenever a goblin (or orc, or army) dies. The card is clearly intended to be an amass leader, working with the amass cards from both Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
You’ll notice both halves of The Great Goblin synergize with Knucklebone, however. The two cards each gain a benefit from other goblins dying, and because the shaman picks up counters when they do, it feeds the engine, allowing your commander to start blasting.
Since goblins are usually going for the ‘swarm the board and die in droves’ tactic, there aren’t that many of them that grow big with +1/+1 counters, making Knucklebone Witch an invaluable addition to the team – especially since hordes of goblins eating it will trigger his ability a ton, dealing a scary amount of damage with The Great Goblin.
While faffing about with persist combos is the most popular thing to do with The Great Goblin, more than 50% of the decks logged on EDHREC contain Knucklebone Witch. And since this card was printed once in Lorwyn, then never again, that’s more than enough to trigger a price spike of this magnitude.
Source: Wargamer
