After two decades of waiting, Magic: The Gathering players are finally getting another chance to pick up Soul Spike. The powerful black instant, first printed in 2006's Coldsnap, has become a surprisingly valuable card thanks to its competitive applications and a remarkable lack of reprints. Now, Wizards of the Coast is bringing the roughly $18 card back as part of a brand-new Secret Lair drop inspired by Reality Fracture.
Announced on October 13, 怪異学校 — Strange School features five mono-black cards sporting suitably macabre, manga-inspired artwork from Japanese artists and illustrators. Soul Spike is arguably the most interesting inclusion, although the drop also contains several other valuable reprints. The collection will retail for $29.99 in non-foil and $39.99 in traditional foil.
Originally released in July 2006, Soul Spike is a seven-mana black instant that deals four damage to any target while gaining its controller four life. That doesn't sound particularly impressive for seven mana, but fortunately, there's a rather important catch: Players can exile two black cards from their hand instead of paying Soul Spike's mana cost. Suddenly, dealing four damage and gaining four life without spending a single mana sounds considerably more appealing, even if it means sacrificing some card advantage along the way.
Soul Spike has found a particularly comfortable home in Modern's Necrodominance decks, which use the powerful enchantment to pay life in order to draw an abundance of cards. Soul Spike offers an excellent way to convert those extra black cards into damage while replenishing some of that precious life total. It's a decidedly nasty combination, and one that has helped keep the card relevant in competitive Magic.
Of course, Soul Spike's price isn't entirely down to its playability. The card has never received another paper printing since Coldsnap, leaving players with a single, increasingly scarce version to choose from. According to current market price, a non-foil copy commands approximately $17.57, while original foils are substantially more expensive.
Older Magic cards have enjoyed some extraordinary secondary-market attention lately. Previously overlooked cards have found new life in Commander, while Reality Fracture has already helped send older planeswalkers soaring in price. Soul Spike's value, however, is a relatively straightforward combination of gSign in Bloodenuine competitive demand and two decades without a reprint.
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