The MTG card Darksteel Reactor has doubled in price, going from $9.90 on March 29 to $19.90 on April 5. This indestructible artifact has shot up in value by 100%, and we think we know the reason why.
It’s all to do with a new MTG commander option that’s releasing in MTG Thunder Junction, and can make this card much stronger.
Darksteel Reactor is an alternative win condition, which accumulates charge counters over the course of a game. You win once you reach 20. The card gets a new charge counter on each upkeep step, and one way to take advantage is to do lots of proliferating, but what if – instead – you just had more upkeep steps?
Enter Obeka, Splitter of Seconds, an ogre who’s all about messing with time using brute force. This time it’s the Magic: The Gathering turn structure she’s shattered, as each time she deals combat damage, she gives you – you guessed it – additional upkeep steps.
This means if you consistently hit with Obeka, you can theoretically third the amount of time Darksteel Reactor takes to win the match, and if you can give her double strike things get even better.
We’re a little concerned this card might still be too slow to work out, but it is a fun interaction, and seems less irritating to come up against than Obeka’s other instant win options like Mechanized Production and Revel in Riches.
Obeka, Splitter of Seconds seems destined to be the most popular commander from Outlaws of Thunder Junction, or at the very least in the top three. As such, there are already signs of price movement across a number of the cards that work well in her deck.
We’re going to be keeping a very close eye on cards like Descent into Avernus and Court of Vantress in the next few weeks. We’re willing to bet that Darksteel Reactor isn’t the last card that will be driven up in value by
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