Building a Rat-themed Typal deck turns out to be a surprisingly expensive endeavor. Not only are Commanders like Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm remarkably expensive, but Relentless Rats aren’t cheap either. Not to mention the Secret Lair variants of these cards can sell for hundreds of dollars.
Despite their price, Rats are undoubtedly the hottest pick of the month thanks to Bloomburrow. Following the release of new support cards, this archetype is more popular than ever. This has driven up the prices of several Rat staples in the last week, and it’s not stopping there!
Hailing from Shadowmoor, Plague of Vermin is the latest Rat Typal card to explode in price. This card has increased in price by 145% in the last month and now sells for around $40.
Pest infestation
In Commander, Infestation can give you a ton of 1/1 Rat tokens. Admittedly, this card has a few catches that make it less than perfect. First of all, you have to pay life equal to the number of Rat tokens you create. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, every opponent also gets the opportunity to do the same.
Fortunately, it’s unlikely that your opponents are also playing Rat Typal decks with all the relevant support cards. This means that Plague of Vermin can give you a significant lead depending on the state of your board. For example, if you have Ashcoat in play, you can instantly field a massive army that can overwhelm any opponent.
While this synergy is very impressive, it is not the reason why Plague of Vermin has seen such a surge recently. Instead, Bloomburrow is responsible for this recent increase. In particular, new Rat cards like Vren, the Relentless and Wick, the twisted spirit drive up demand.
Of these two cards, Wick is definitely the better choice for Plague of Vermin. In addition to all the Rat tokens, you also get an absolutely massive Snail as an additional threat. This can then be sacrificed to deal damage to any opponent and also draw cards. If you can get this two-card combo going, you can potentially win the game outright if you have enough life to spend.
In addition to this new synergy, Rats are simply in style at the moment. Because of this, many players are buying every relevant support card, driving up prices across the board. Since Plague of Vermin comes from Shadowmoor, copies of this card are hard to find everywhere, making it quite susceptible to price spikes.
A high ceiling?
In theory, the sky’s the limit for Plague of Vermin when you look at other Rat Typal support cards. However, this card isn’t perfect in every single situation. Without a synergistic board to utilize the tokens, your opponents can just keep up and block. If every opponent is actually doing this, you’re in a very difficult position.
Because of this, Plague of Vermin probably won’t go to the moon. While current prices are high, they’re far from sold out, especially for lower quality copies. If you want a near-mint card, you’ll currently have to spend at least $45. However, as long as you don’t mind a little wear and tear, you can get one for $33.
Looking at recent sales, the prices people are playing for Plague of Vermin vary greatly, but they are definitely trending upward. In early August, you could easily grab this card for around $16. Now, however, as mentioned, you’ll have to pay at least $33. If you want a foil copy of Plague of Vermin, the average price is also around $30. However, the only offer on TCGplayer currently costs over $100.
Read more: Bloomburrow Commander Card price rises 220% after mass purchase
