We've got a bumper crop of Magic: The Gathering price spikes to cover today, as loads of equipment-related cards are rising in value - including some that were already very popular staples.
There's no prize for guessing why these cards have ramped up in price. Cloud is one of the most popular Final Fantasy characters ever, and both Cloud cards from the Universes Beyond MTG set - Midgar Mecenary and Ex-SOLDIER - care specifically about equipment.
More players will have been on the hunt for upgrades to the Limit Break commander precon deck, but since all four of the cards below are mono-white, they work with either Cloud variant.
Starting with the most dramatic rise (proportionally, anyway), we've seen Codsworth, Handy Helper jump from $8.30 to $21 since Final Fantasy's release, a rise of $153.
A pretty new card from a Universes Beyond set, Codsworth is one of the most versatile cards for an equipment MTG commander. It not only protects your deck's leader with ward, it also attaches equipment for free and produces white mana to help pay for pricier artifacts.
Another card that's become much more expensive is Halvar, God of Battle, rising from $18.50 to $33.60. This Kaldheim god's ability to attach equipment for free and give all equipped creatures double strike can transform a board state from mid to monstrous, and his backside isn't bad either. Ahem, I mean the reverse face of the card, Sword of the Realms, can be pretty good if you're desperate for a way to protect a key creature.
Next, we have Steelshaper's Gift, up from $5 to $12 over the past few weeks. This extra cheap MTG tutor belongs in every deck with an artifact theme, yet it only has two proper printings, and one is in the ultra-expensive Commander Masters set.
That said, if you really just want to get hold of a version of this card, a variant with Fallout art is a little cheaper, even though it was sold in a Secret Lair. It's sitting at $8.50 and hasn't risen nearly as much over the past month. I guess fans don't want to pollute their Final Fantasy decks with a yucky Fallout card?
Finally we have another staple: Stoneforge Mystic. This is another equipment tutor that can even cheat the card type into play at a reduced cost. The cheapest variant is from Double Masters, but it'll still set you back a ways, especially now it's gone from $20.80 to $34.
We already covered Sigarda's Aid, which has also spiked. Honestly, I feel a bit sorry for anyone who was looking to build an equipment deck and is not a massive Final Fantasy fan - all the cards they needed have just gone through the roof.
For more Magic: the Gathering price stories, check out our list of the most expensive MTG cards. And come and chat about the Final Fantasy decks or anything else in the tabletop realm over on our Discord.