Erayo, Soratami Ascendant Spikes Over 550% to $58+

Erayo, Soratami Ascendant | Art by Matt Cavotta

This past week, a card from Saviors of Kamigawa spiked over 550%. That card is Erayo, Soratami Ascendant. Why did this card, one that is banned in the most popular Magic format, suddenly shoot up in price? Read on and we'll explain!

The Rise of Erayo

Saviors of Kamigawa, a set containing multiple sleeper hit cards, is partly known for its parasitic and overall lackluster set design. However, over the years, several cards have broken through to formats like Commander.

(Pictured above: Three of the "Epic" spells, a cycle from Saviors with immense flaws in Wizards of the Coast's approach to card design.)

Normally, when a card spikes, especially a legendary creature such as Erayo, people will try to initially point the finger at Commander as the main cause. However, it's interesting to note that Erayo is currently banned in the format. Her ability to counter the first spell each opponent casts each turn upon flipping is generally deemed too powerful to be in the command zone. This is especially true with effects from cards like Rule of Law or Arcane Laboratory, cards that restrict casting to once each turn. Because this suite of cards with such abilities has only increased in size over the years, there's not a very good chance that Erayo will ever leave the Commander banlist.

So, why has Erayo Spiked?

No, indeed, the answer to the mystery of Erayo spiking does not lie within Commander, but Modern!

On April 8th, AspiringSpike, a Magic player responsible for some pretty wild Modern decks, posted a video on his YouTube channel about how this card warps Modern in a big way. In it, AspiringSpike lists multiple cards that turn this 20-year-old legendary creature into something positively monstrous:

AspiringSpike's latest Modern Izzet Erayo build can be found here.

At any rate, news outlets caught wind of the card beginning to spike, seemingly because of the effect AspiringSpike's deckbuilding has had on the market value. This isn't the first time AspiringSpike has caused an unlikely card to shoot up in price. Basim Ibn Ishaq is another such example directly correlating to his use of the card in Modern. And then, Ben Bateman, another member of the Magic community, saw the coverage of Erayo and chimed in as well.

All of this new coverage has only served to increase Erayo, Soratami Ascendant's price to just over $58, thereby resulting in a 550% increase in price from April 8's sub-$9 average cost.

Will This Price Hold?

We can't say for sure whether the current price for Erayo will stay as high as it is. After all, Modern hardly drives the prices for cards anymore, with players mostly going after cards for Commander. Furthermore, the market price for the card hasn't gone over $18 yet. Plus, Basim Ibn Ishaq's price subsided considerably after the deck lost favor in Modern. This thereby proved that some of these cards are largely a passing trend within Modern. That being said, the card hasn't seen a single reprint since Saviors. For this reason, perhaps this 20+ year-old card will, in fact, retain its value.

Conclusion

And now, let's hear from you, dear readers! Are you a proud owner of at least one copy of Erayo, Soratami Ascendant? Do you think the card will increase in value, plateau, or drop from here? Alternatively, are you anticipating a ban on the Soratami Ascendant in the coming months? Sound off in the comments below!