The MTG card Dolmen Gate seems to be entering a price spike. We say seems, because the cheapest version of the card, found in Mystery Boosters, has only risen a little, going from $10 to $17. But it’s the foil copies from Lorwyn where the change is highly noticeable. An already expensive card in foil, shiny Dolmen Gate copies have shot up from $52 to $116, a price spike of 120%.
This artifact card, released in the MTG set Lorwyn, has an interesting effect, preventing your attacking creatures from taking combat damage. It’s a pretty cool bonus for aggressive decks: a one-sided fog that’s always online. The biggest problem with this card is that it only has a place in decks that are going to be attacking, who generally can’t waste a 2-drop slot on something that doesn’t increase your damage output.
Enter Anzrag, the Quake-Mole, a new creature in MTG Murders at Karlov Manor which seems to be the driving force behind this latest price spike. This Mole God has a trifecta of power, uniqueness, and comedy value going for it, which has made it an instant hit. Already, there are 921 Anzrag decks listed on EDHREC, and 534 of them run a copy of Dolmen Gate.
What does Anzrag do? Well, he attacks – again and again. When Anzrag gets blocked, you get to untap all your creatures and then have another combat step. The big downside is that Anzrag has a mighty eight power but only four toughness, so he’s liable to die on his first or second combat in the same turn.
But if you have a Dolmen Gate, you no longer have to worry about the health of your Mole God. Plus, even better, the effect works on your whole board. Since most of the other creatures you play in an Anzrag deck are likely to have attack triggers too, that means you can get loads of value from all of your creatures.
Looking back at the price history of this card, it would not be the first time it’s been boosted by a popular new MTG commander. When Kamigawa Neon Dynasty came out in 2022, this card jumped from $10 to $15 before slowly falling back down, while foil copies went from $10 to $60, and have remained pretty pricey.
It was Isshin, Two Heavens as one, one of the most popular modern commanders, who doubles attack triggers, behind that spike.
For more MTG price stories, check out the cat cards creeping up in value, or this essential disguise-enabler that’s highly sort after. And check out the MTG release schedule for everything on the slate for 2024.
Source: Wargamer
