Sphere of Influence: July 26, 2024

Welcome to Sphere of Influence, a pre-FNM look at some potential movers and shakers that are worth picking up before their prices increase.

The onslaught of new sets can fatigue even the most devoted Magic players, though it comes with the significant upside of enabling additional reprints of expensive staples or obscure cards. Even in the span of only a few months, prices on the below cards have drastically reduced, making them a worthy pick-up.

Terror of the Peaks

In the simpler time of March 2024, Terror of the Peaks was a $40 card appearing in a single set, Core 2021. Outlaws of Thunder Junction changed all of that with a reprint at mythic rare. And while the price of this edition has yet to demonstrate a financial dip, the previous printing of the card took an almost-immediate nosedive to roughly $16, where all versions now sit.

Terror is a bit too mana-intensive for most formats, but shines bright in Commander as a borderline unstoppable damage-dealing force with the potential to swing the game in your favor. Its current price is a lot to stomach, even if it’s a fraction of what it was six months ago; once you see the card in action, you’ll understand.

Necromancy

Animate Dead and Reanimate get a lot of attention, but never overlook their long lost triplet with as much, if not more, utility for the slightly higher mana investment. Necromancy is a normal enchantment that becomes an Aura, meaning the spell can’t fizzle on the stack since it doesn’t target until its ETB goes off. It can also be cast at instant speed for a quick, one-turn trick that can surprise an opponent for a huge advantage.

Necromancy’s printing way back in Visions has fluctuated between $8 and $25 for most of its lifetime. The preconstructed Commander decks for Karlov Manor changed all of that with a reprint, sporting new art, that almost immediately set its price to $6—a fantastic price for this tertiary staple.

Toxic Deluge

No question, Toxic Deluge is the best board wipe in Commander. It’s cheap, efficient, powerful, and does its job with almost 100% effectiveness. Fittingly, the card, which also sees a bit of Legacy play, cost $25 due to limited reprints.

Modern Horizons 3, however, is minting new Toxic Deluges en masse, and the price has dipped to below $5, which is a steal given how many times the card will keep you in the game. And they say Magic isn’t a pay-to-win game!

Bennie Bracks, Zoologist

Drawing cards is what makes Magic worth playing. Bennie Bracks, Zoologist agrees, enabling essentially free card draw on everyone’s turn for the low price of creating a token of any kind. And, thanks to a reprint in the Karlov Manor: Commander precons, you, too, can benefit from Bennie’s generosity for only $6, a fraction of what used to be its $25 price. The card isn’t a full-on staple, but in the right deck, it’s one of the best inclusions.

Doom Whisperer

The last year or so has demonstrated the power of Surveil as a mechanic—something Doom Whisperer has known since it debuted in Guilds of Ravnica. Commander games start with players at 40 life, so given the repeatable nature of Doom Whisperer’s activated ability, you can pretty much set yourself up for the rest of the game in one turn, leaving a five mana, 6/6 flying trampler behind for good measure. The card never quite broke into double digit prices, but even so, the reprint from Karlov Manor: Commander is sitting at the price of a bulk rare. Each time you pay two life, you’ll remember the savings.

Printing Press

Which cards are you hoping receive a reprint soon? Any you’ve been dying to get ahold of if the price would finally dip? I’d love to know so I can add ‘em to the watchlist. Hope the next set of reprints contains all the goodies you’ve ever wanted!