The MTG Aftermath card Nissa, Resurgent Animist has seen an explosive price rise, shooting up from $18 to $47.50 in just a single day. Already the most expensive card in a rather cheap set, this legendary creature has rocketed up in price – though it dipped to $40 today, according to MTG Goldfish prices.
This desparked version of Nissa from March of the Machine: The Aftermath is a mana creature that can also aid you with card selection. Basically, it’s an expensive Lotus Cobra that can draw you an elemental or elf if you’re getting multiple land cards down in one turn. But given that it’s only really useful if you’re playing the specific tribes it cares about, and otherwise is strictly worse than a $3 snake, what’s caused the almighty 160% jump in price?
Well, there are multiple camps looking at the card right now. cEDH is interested in Nissa for her tutoring potential. If the only elves and elementals in your deck are combo pieces, then putting Nissa, Resurgent Animist in your Command zone means you’re guaranteed to tutor them up lightning fast. Quirion Ranger and Ashaya, Soul of the Wild are the two main picks people are playing around with, as they give you infinite storm count and infinite ETBs. You can easily pair this combo with something like Beast Whisperer to draw your whole deck.
Meanwhile, in Modern, there’s already a great elementals deck, built around the four colour Omnath. It can really make use of Nissa, Resurgent Animist, pairing her up with cards like Risen Reef – allowing you to go card draw/ mana ramp crazy. A bit more tenuous, but there’s also the Amulet Titan archetype, all about ramping as swiftly as possible, which already aims to play numerous lands each turn. In this deck, Nissa could fetch – say – a Titan of Industry, as a big finisher.
These are some reasons why Nissa, Resurgent Animist is clearly a playable card, but there may be a simpler reason why she’s spiking so dramatically. It may just be that this is the big mythic, the most valuable card in a set that’s proven quite unpopular overall. March of the Machine Aftermath seems to have been received poorly – you don’t have to look far to find umpteen critics and fans bashing it – which likely means fewer card packs were bought and cracked. That means fewer copies of Nissa, Resurgent Animist in circulation at present, meaning she’s more susceptible to price spikes.
Want more MTG money stories? Nissa’s GF Chandra is also seeing a price rise, though on a slower scale, and Breach the Multiverse is managing to maintain its post-spike price. Don’t miss our MTG Arena codes guide if you like picking up (virtual) packs for free, and our MTG release schedule guide to see everything coming up this year.