The Modern Horizons 3 set by MTG has significantly increased the power level of Magic, providing incredible new support for popular archetypes such as the Eldrazi and introducing standout Commanders that are suitable for both casual and competitive gameplay.
Despite the abundance of valuable cards in Modern Horizons 3, the price of a classic burn card, Soul Spike, has skyrocketed due to one exceptionally powerful MH3 pick.
It was predicted that Necrodominance would be among the most successful cards in Modern Horizons 3, ever since its early leaks and confirmations during spoiler season. The card was designed to address the issues with the notorious Necropotence.
Despite the Wizards’ design team incorporating several restrictions to the original Necropotence’s abilities, Necrodominance remains capable of producing significant value and functioning effectively within certain nefarious black mana combinations.
Furthermore, in addition to the numerous Necropotence combos that are still compatible with Necrodominance, Soul Spike, a long-standing lifedrain essential, has also been incorporated with impressive results.
Prior to the release of Modern Horizons 3, Soul Spike was being sold for a respectable $4.50. However, following the pre-release of the set, its price has skyrocketed by almost 1000% to $37.50.
Soul Spike was originally released in 2006 as part of the Cold Snap set and has not been reprinted since. This scarcity has contributed to its high market value, along with its potent combo potential. The spell inflicts four damage to a Creature or player, while also dealing four damage to its caster.
Despite its high cost of five generic mana and two black mana, Soul Spike is typically considered to be a poor value. In comparison to popular Boros burn and drain spells such as the iconic Lightning Helix, this effect is significantly overpriced and rarely justifies its expense.
Fortunately, there is another way to cast Soul Spike thanks to its alternative cost, which is where Necrodominance comes in handy. By discarding two cards with black mana symbols from the hand, Soul Spike can be cast without using any mana.
Black mana may not have always been considered the strongest color for burn damage, but with the proper strategy, it can certainly compete with red mana. The effectiveness of Soul Spike is due in part to black’s abundance of draw cards, such as Greed, which allow players to exchange life for additional cards.
With Soul Spike’s unique cost and ability to restore life, players have the opportunity to even out their life total. By paying to draw cards, discarding them to cast Soul Spike at no cost, and gaining life, one can also slowly diminish their opponents’ life totals.
Necrodominance has proven to be the ideal companion for Soul Spike. Instead of providing a single, temporary boost in card draw, Necrodominance offers the option to forgo your regular draw phase and pay life during the end step.
With the cost of that life, a player can draw an equivalent amount of cards. The hand limit of five cards imposed by Necrodominance serves as a deterrent for players to excessively deplete their life points. However, the presence of various life-gaining options such as Soul Spike allows players to utilize their life total as a strategic advantage.
The combination of Necrodominance and other burn damage cards has resulted in a strong revival of black mana burn decks in Modern. If this trend continues, it is likely that other popular black burn cards will also experience a rise in value.
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