The Shadowmoor Magic: The Gathering card Knacksaw Clique is getting seriously expensive. Regular copies have gone from $2.80 back in August, to over $18 today. Meanwhile, foils have been selling for as much as $200, even if they’re not in mint condition. TCGPlayer lists very few sales for these foil Cliques, incidentally, suggesting the supply is already pretty low.
As a rare card from an older set, and a faerie at that, this card was always liable to spike if the right synergies came along. It seems like its time is here, but surprisingly the format that seems responsible for this spike is actually cEDH – not where we normally look for big market drivers.
Even weirder, there’s no new cards at all making this one spike. Instead, it’s an infinite combo that already existed, but seems to have been undervalued up until now. However, in the last few months Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy decks featuring Knacksaw Clique have topped several cEDH tournaments, including the 80-player Topdeck Invitational back in August.
Since Knacksaw Clique has an untap ability, it’s fairly easy to make its ability go infinite. You just need a way to make the creature tap for mana. With Paradise Mantle equipped or Cryptolith Rites on the board, Knacksaw Clique can tap for one blue mana, and with Kinnan in play that becomes two. Then you’re free to mill all of your opponents down to nothing.
The combo is very versatile, with multiple cards that can make it work. For instance, you can use it even if Kinnan isn’t available, with a card like Training Grounds to reduce the activated ability cost to one, which then means you don’t need his mana doubling.
While it’s not new, it seems fans have gained a new appreciation for the combo, or perhaps someone just decided to buy out the supply after the tournament wins? What’s funny to me is that people have been calling Knacksaw Clique underrated for quite literally a decade.
Either way, if the hype dies down we might expect to see its price fall somewhat, but given how few copies are around, it’ll probably remain fairly expensive if it doesn’t get an eventual reprint.
Source: Wargamer
