Masako, the Humorless, a white legendary creature printed over 20 years ago, has spiked from her long time stable price of $5 up to $15, according to market tracking data on MTG Goldfish. Her price began to rise in mid July, and really took off along with the launch of Edge of Eternities. It's easy to see why - this venerable MTG card is incredible defensive tech for any EDH deck running a spacecraft as its commander.
Only ever printed in the 2004 MTG set Champions of Kamigawa, Masaka the Humorless is a white legendary creature human advisor that costs two generic and one white mana, and has two power and one toughness. She has the MTG keyword flash, and a static ability that allows your tapped creatures to block as though they were not tapped.
She's a great piece of defensive tech for any EDH deck that wants to tap out its creatures, as you can flash her in during your opponent's turn and surprise block their attackers. Unlike a fog effect or a Teferi's Intervention, Masako can't protect you from attackers unless you have a board state to defend with - but you also get to pull the mother of all combat tricks on whoever attacked you.
She works beautifully with the new spacecraft and planet cards from MTG Edge of Eternities. These enter as artifacts and lands but unlock powerful abilities once you've 'stationed' enough of your creatures to them, tapping the creature to feed the spacecraft or planet charge counters.
With Masaka in hand you can cheerfully tap your board down to power up Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought, safe in the knowledge you can block anything that comes your way. She's the perfect upgrade to the Counter Intelligence MTG Commander precon.
There are other ways to tap your creatures for value, of course. The last time Masako, the Humorless saw a price spike this large was January 2022, in the run up to the release of Kamigawa Neon Dynasty. That set was packed with vehicles and came with the vehicles-matter commander precon Buckle Up, featuring the borderline busted vehicle commander Shorikai, Genesis Engine - Masako was a popular upgrade.
What other tricks are you using Masako for? Is she the key defensive tech in a convoke deck? Is she the ace in your sleeve for a pure aggro build? What's the biggest blowout you've ever caused by flashing her in? We'd love to hear from you in the official Wargamer Discord community.
Edge of Eternities is just out, and already Wizards of the Coast is dropping spoilers for the next two sets. To keep up to date with what's incoming, check out our guide to the official MTG release schedule.