The MTG card Locket of Yesterdays has spiked in price by 336%, jumping from the very low cost of $1.10 in February, to $4.80 this year. Foil copies of the card are much pricier than they used to be, at $18.50. However, they spiked in price more suddenly and significantly earlier than the regular version – rising from $9 back in January.
Locket of Yesterdays is a one mana artifact from the MTG set Time Spiral. Functionally, it works as an MTG Mana Ramp card, providing a discount to some of your spells. To be specific, it makes spells cost one colorless mana less for each card in your graveyard with the same name as them.
Given the effect, you might be surprised to learn that the singleton format Commander is the cause of the recent jump in value. That’s because, while it’s completely useless in most Commander decks, Locket of Yesterdays is absolutely vital in a few.
That’s because there are a few Magic cards that let you break the basic rules of the Commander format, letting you pop unlimited numbers of the same card into your deck. These are Dragon’s Approach for Red, Persistent Petitioners for Blue, and Shadowborn Apostle, Rat Colony, and Relentless Rats for Black…
…And, most recently, Slime Against Humanity, for the Green MTG color. Released in Murders at Karlov Manor in early February 2024, it’s this gooey Green card that’s to blame for Locket of Yesterday’s high price point.
It’s hard to know exactly how common Ooze decks using Slime Against Humanity are. They must be pretty popular, as Slime Against Humanity is currently besting Dragon’s Approach in terms of price point (this is the best point of comparison we have, since neither of the two has had a reprint). However, it’s possible that, as more packs of Karlov Manor are opened, Slime Against Humanity’s cost will go down.
It’s worth noting that Locket of Yesterdays is especially synergistic with these two cards, as opposed to the creature variants on the theme. That’s because both are three mana spells, with two colorless mana available to be removed. It’s also notable that as they’re Sorceries, these cards go right to the grave once you cost them, immediately making the Locket helpful.
This isn’t the first MTG card boosted in price by Slime Against Humanity. When it was first announced, this squirrel making card went up by 470%, and it hasn’t dropped much since.