The market price for the MTG card Zo-Zu the Punisher has more than tripled in a week, with the most popular ‘Mind vs Might’ Duel Deck printing going from $9.90 to $35.60, according to card game market website MTG Goldfish. Zo-Zu is another addition to the popular ‘Endless Punishment’ commander precon, with a triggered ability that synergises perfectly with the deck’s face commander Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls.
Zo-Zu is a legendary red goblin warrior that costs one generic and two red mana. He’s a 2/2, but you’re not playing him for his stats. Whenever a land enters the battlefield, Zo-Zu deals two damage to its controller. It’s this ability that makes him a good fit for the new Commander precon.
Valgavoth, Harrower of souls is a flying demon who gets a +1/+1 counter and lets you draw a card the first time that an opponent loses life during their turn, something that Zo-Zu can enable pretty reliably. While Endless Punishment is already stacked with MTG cards that ping your opponents during their turns, Commander players are seeking an even higher density to ensure they never miss an opportunity to burn when it isn’t their turn.
We reported on three cards earlier this week that had already seen substantial spikes thanks to interest from people sleeving up Valgavoth Commander decks, and we doubt that Zo-Zu will be the last.
Zo-Zu was originally printed in the MTG set Champions of Kamigawa in 2004, with a single reprint in a 2017 duel deck. A tiny supply of foil copies is available from the original Champions of Kamigawa printing, but these haven’t moved in price because they’re already well outside the budget of most commander players.
As we write this, Duskmourn has only just become available to the public on the MTG release schedule. We’ll be watching prices to see which cards from the set go up (into the haunted attic) or down (into the cursed basement) in the coming weeks.
Don’t like the idea of value suddenly being wiped off your collection by market movements? You can always build an MTG Arena deck and play in a format with no secondary market at all. Check out our guide to MTG Arena codes to get started with some free digital boosters.
Source: Wargamer
