The Magic: The Gathering card Razorkin Needlehead has seen a sharp spike in value. This Pinhead-inspired Duskmourn card was priced at $3.20 on August 23, but since then it's gone up to $7.30 and still seems to be on the rise.
This aggressive red creature is a 2/2 for two red mana, which gains first strike on its controller's turn, making it a decent little attacker. But much more important is its other ability. It deals 1 damage to opponents every time they draw a card.
While that doesn't do much to punish a deck like Azorius Control, which gets most of its card advantage from spells that simply pop cards into players' hands like Stock Up and Consult the Star Charts, it's great against the best Standard/MTG Arena deck of the moment - Izzet Cauldron.
That's because Izzet Cauldron runs loads of looting cards which draw a bunch but also demand some discard. This creature punishes spells like Steamcore Scholar and Tersa Lightbringer, shocking their owner when they're played. And if your opponent wants to cast Winternight Stories, they may do so, but they'll have to take a free lightning bolt to the face.
With Cauldron making up more than 50% of the competitive meta right now, it makes sense that this two-drop would find a home in mono red aggro. The post-ban, post-rotation version of mono red is the only deck that has a halfway decent matchup against Cauldron, able to bring it down by striking fast and hard and simply going under it.
With Monstrous Rage no longer available, the current form of red aggro favors burn-type effects over pump spells, which is definitely the way I prefer it. All these ways to deal one damage to the opponent makes me nostalgic for the days of Goblin Chainwhirler.
This is actually not the first time Razorkin Needlehead has seen a price spike. It went up to a ridiculous $14 almost as soon as it released, because it was a worthwhile inclusion in the Valgavoth Commander precon deck. That didn't last long, however, and by the time the next MTG set Foundations arrived it was already down to five bucks.
For more great Magic reads, check out our list of the most expensive MTG cards or our full guide to the MTG release schedule. Or come and share your zaniest deck ideas on the Wargamer Discord.