The MTG card Valki, God of Lies is spiking in price. It’s gone from $5 to $9 in just a week, while the foil variant of the card is up 300%, going from $5.3 to $21 according to MTG Goldfish figures. The reason for the card’s price rise, which doesn’t seem to be stopping just yet, lies on the reverse side of this double-faced card.
Yep, as always it’s not poor old Valki that Magic: The Gathering players are interested in, it’s his alter-ego, the powerful MTG planeswalker on the card’s rear: Tibalt, Cosmic Imposter.
Tibalt was previously a major threat thanks to MTG Modern players Cascading for the two mana Valki, then choosing to play the seven mana Planeswalker for free instead. This trick was deemed such a problem that Wizards altered the way MTG Cascade works just to stop cunning players cheating Tibalt out.
But, thanks to new mechanics debuting in MTG Outlaws of Thunder Junction, turn 3 Tibalt may well be back. It’s all about Plot, a new mechanic which lets players exile a card from their hand, then cast it on a later turn without paying any mana. I think you see where this is going…
While Valki/Tibalt obviously doesn’t have Plot, there are Thunder Junction cards, like the new two-mana Jace Planeswalker, that can Plot any non-land card that costs three mana or less. Target Valki with an ability like this, and then next turn you can cast Tibalt for free.
Obviously, if this interaction works the way we think it should (we’ll need the Thunder Junction release document to be sure) then Tibalt decks could become a major threat in the Modern MTG format once more (in which case expect this spike to get even more dramatic).
However, it’s equally possible that Wizards spotted this issue already, and will introduce some sort of caveat that prevents this exploit. In which case, presumably, Valki will drop back down again.
For more price spike stories, there’s some Universes Beyond crossover magic, as Fallout commanders drive a price spike for MTG Doctor Who Cybermen cards.