Welcome, everyone to another week, another article, and another card to discuss. Today we talk about a planeswalker that has more than potential to go up in price. That card is Domri Rade, and I feel it has room to grow with Pioneer being around. I did a video on this and four other cards (Selfless Spirit was one) in my “Breaking Pioneer” series, about five plus months ago. I just wanted to circle back to this one, because I feel it’s a deal where it currently sits. Pioneer is not the only reason I have had my eye on this, as it’s a Commander card worth noting. We are going to break down how, why, and where this card can grow.

Current price and reasonable long-term goals

The first thing to bring up on why this is worth considering is its cost, both CMC and monetary price. It’s currently sitting at (TCG Mid) roughly $3.12 for the Gatecrash copy, and $2.97 for the Modern Masters 2017 copy, which is very cheap for a non-foil mythic. Secondly, it’s mana cost of three should at the least drive some intrigue for speed. If you are playing Pioneer, this can be out for you turn two. Depending your opponent’s deck, you might not want it out turn two, which is worth noting. I bring this up because CMC is one of the many angles I look at when speculating a planeswalker, and this being at three is very good.

For the Commander players that like to foil out their decks, the foil price is at (TCG Mid) $6.97 for Gatecrash and $6.60 for Modern Masters 2017. For buylisting, I have been finding that the promos are going at a higher rate than normal foils. When it comes to this card though, there is no foil promo. If you have foils or are considering acquiring some, now would be the best time. I’m not suggesting it will skyrocket in price, just its current price is rather low.

A realistic price range long-term for non-foils is $5.00-$10.00, and foils could be around $10.00- $20.00 if it doesn’t see another reprint. It’s not always about the home-run when speculating. Like real stocks, we aren’t putting all our eggs in one basket. You want to see consistent growth in many cards over time.

Commander and Pioneer

Usability is what we are going to be looking at next with this guy. From a Commander standpoint, this card is being featured in (based on my own research) 2532 decks. Being in that many decks is nothing to scoff at. The big draw with this in Commander is the -7 ability. Being that this will be in a creature heavy build, the +1 has a better chance to hit than not. This is one of those ninety-nine cards that isn’t OP but can change the game if you pop it. A shortlist of the commanders it’s used in are as followed.

1. Klothys, God of Destiny
2. Ulrich of the Krallenhorde // Ulrich, Uncontested Alpha
3. Xenagos, God of Revels
4. Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund
5. Stonebrow, Krosan Hero
6. Ulasht, the Hate Seed
7. Rosheen Meanderer
8. Radha, Heir to Keld
9. Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
10. Mayael the Anima

Now jumping into Pioneer, Gruul Aggro currently makes up roughly 3% (73 Decks) of the competitive meta. There are plenty of ways we can fit this in, as Gruul needs to keep ramping. Domri is just one of many ways to help in this regard, as we get potential card draw from the +1 ability.

Another thing we can use is the -2 ability for potential creature removal. How many times have you found yourself in a pickle, and you have no response to fliers? This will help you to be able to fight off those pesky fliers you otherwise couldn’t.

There’s another angle I wanted to look at, but I understand is super niche. If our opponent is running a heavy planeswalker build and we are using this in a Jund build, we can sideboard The Elderspell to remove potential walker threats. Getting the extra counters will help with potentially getting to that sweet -7 ability.

Compare and contrast

We are now going to do a little comparison to shed some light on the current price and how it can go up. Looking at another planeswalker with a CMC of three is Kaya, Orzhov Usurper. The current price for non-foils are at $4.33 and $12.11 for foils. Another thing to consider here is Kaya has a promo print and the Mythic Edition in addition to that.

With any card (especially newer sets) we now see how this influences the prices of regular foils and non. We will dive more into this topic at a later date. I just wanted to point out this factor to you all as it is relevant to the conversation. Kaya is being used less in both Pioneer and Modern formats. In Commander, it’s being used in 732 decks currently, which Domri is used 3.45 times more in the format. Kaya is currently being used in a lot of Esper styled control builds in Standard, which is possibly why the price is where it is. Once rotation hits it may quite possibly go down in price.

How it can fit in the Pioneer meta and closing statements

There are concepts in Gruul that are doing well currently in Pioneer, and Domri Rade seems like it would be a good fit in. This is a build that got fifth in Pioneer league (3/19/20) recently, and Domri has a chance to fit in it.

Given where the current foil price for Kaya and Domri, I don’t see why Kaya is almost double. I’m not suggesting Kaya isn’t worth the cost, but Domri should be seeing something similar based on usage. Usually, Commander has an influence on foils; with Domri being used more than Kaya, one would think the prices would be similar.

Overall, I feel Domri should be finding a home in Pioneer in the future. Planeswalkers with a lower CMC such as Domri should be contenders as specs going forward. Let me know what you all think in the comments below and thank you for taking the time out to read this take on Domri Rade! If you enjoy these articles check out what I have to offer on YouTube!