The MTG card Agatha's Soul Cauldron was always expensive, but over the past couple of weeks it's risen to new heights. This artifact from Wilds of Eldraine has become a key player in Standard, ever since the massive wave of bannings at the end of June which completely transformed the format.
Released in the 2023 MTG set Wilds of Eldraine, Agatha's Soul Cauldron is a complex mythic artifact that lets you exile creatures from graveyards and then give any creature you control with a +1/+1 counter all the activated abilities of the critters in your pot. It also throws around those counters itself to help you get the most out of its power.
This card is incredibly powerful and very flexible. It's formed some pretty interesting combos over the years, and even has a role in cEDH. It's great with popular competitive MTG commanders like Sisay, as it mana fixes for her ability, and can turn everything on your side of the field into, say, a Bloom Tender.
That's why the card has always been pretty costly, but now it's Standard's turn to enjoy the Cauldron, and the card has jumped from $30 to $68. That's because the hot new Izzet deck, featuring one of the best MTG cards in months, Vivi Ornitier, requires four copies.
This deck is pretty complex, with multiple lines you can take towards victory and a good amount of thought required to really make it sing. Often, however, you'll end up exiling a Vivi with your Agatha's Cauldron, allowing you to make a ridiculous amount of mana and chain spells together.
It's not just the regular version of Agatha's Cauldron that's gotten pricier. Foils are now over $80 and extended art copies of the card have risen from $65 to a ridiculous $147. With Vivi in there as well this makes for one seriously blingy deck - over twice as costly as the current best-performing Standard deck, Dimir Midrange.
Fortunately for digital players, it's also one of the best MTG Arena decks (funny that), online, where all the rares cost the same.
How are you finding Izzet Cauldron? And does Standard look healthier than it did before the MTG banlist changes? Let us know your thoughts over at the Wargamer Discord.