The market price for the MTG card Cut Down has shot up by 700% in just four days, with a surge of sales on Friday September 4 driving the price to an all time high. The cause is simple: the card has just been made legal in the Pauper format, where it’s now one of the absolute best black removal spells players have access to.
At time of writing, MTG Goldfish estimates that the market price for Cut Down is $4.10, up from $0.50 on Friday. There is vary broad variation depending on seller – on TCGPlayer the cheapest copy on sale is $5.70, but eBay listings start around $2.00.
Cut Down was originally printed at uncommon rarity in 2022 in the MTG set Dominaria United. It’s an Instant that lets you destroy a creature for just one black mana, balanced out by a pretty tight restriction: it can only target a creature with total power and toughness five or less. It was ubquitous in Standard while it was legal there, and it’s particularly effective in eternal formats that feature a lot of weenie creatures.
Last Friday, September 4, the Pauper format committee announced that it was making Cut Down – and several other cards – playable in the format. These card have received their first common rarity printing in an unusual product, the Zeta Set Secret Lair. It’s the first time that we’ve seen cards downshifted to common in a Secret Lair, and the committee had initially planned not to recognise them, but it announced it was reversing that decision last Friday.
As MtG designer Gavin Verhey notes in the article announcing the changes, Cut Down is a “best-in-class removal spell” – small wonder that players have been grabbing copies to add to their decks. The Pauper format committee is apparently watching intently for signs that the new cards are distorting the format, and Verhey states that “I wouldn’t be surprised if we have to ban cards in October and December”.
If you play Pauper, which of the cards introduced by the Zeta Set are you most interested to try? Which are you dreading playing against? Let us know in the Wargamer Discord community.
Source: Wargamer
