If you have old copies of the MTG card Chronomantic Escape lying around, you’ll be pleased to know this unloved uncommon is worth something all of a sudden. The card has swiftly shot up in price, going from $0.80 just a few weeks ago to $5.95 today, thanks to its synergies with the Time Travel mechanic.
Chronomantic Escape has risen in price by 650% (and counting) since the MTG Doctor Who decks released on October 13, and that’s no coincidence. It’s once again the Timey Wimey Commander deck that’s proving the most impactful of the four, giving old Suspend cards like this one a new lease on life.
Printed in MTG Time Spiral (and never again) Chronomantic Escape is an interesting protection spell that uses Suspend. When cast, it prevents creatures from attacking you until your next turn, then it goes back into exile with three time counters on it and you can cast it again later.
Without some cunning time counter manipulation it basically saves you from eating attacks every third turn. Big whoop. If you can reduce the cycle, however, by taking off time counters, the card suddenly functions considerably better. In Timey Wimey, it’s a permanent source of time counters, for cards that care about that. It also functions as a free sorcery spell that keeps coming back, which can trigger all sorts of synergies.
This card isn’t the only Suspend card we’ve seen rising in price off the back of the Doctor Who decks – Mox Tantalite has also gotten considerably pricier. However, it is the largest and most sudden spike seen so far.
Perhaps because the card is from a retro MTG set and only ever saw one printing, it’s more susceptible to big price fluctuations. As a rather useless uncommon, it seems demand for the card has shot up from almost nothing, whereas many of the rare cards trending upwards were already $5 cards.
Chronomantic Escape is part of a cycle, but the blue and red versions, Reality Strobe and Arc Flicker, don’t seem impactful enough to make it in the Commander format, so don’t bank on seeing similar spikes for these cards.
For more Magic: The Gathering price stories, check out the energy cards currently flying. And check out our list of the most expensive MTG cards of all time.