Magic: The Gathering Is Officially Reprinting a Powerful $18 Card for the First Time in 20 Years
Magic: The Gathering is reprinting Soul Spike for the first time since its 2006 debut, giving players a new way to obtain a scarce card used in competitive play. Wizards of the Coast announced it as part of Strange School, a manga-inspired Secret Lair collection tied to Reality Fracture.
Soul Spike costs seven mana, but can instead be cast by exiling two black cards from its player’s hand; it deals four damage and gains four life. Its competitive use in Modern Necrodominance decks and lack of reprints have helped make it worth about $17.57. The five-card Strange School drop costs $29.99 non-foil or $39.99 foil and also includes Bitter Ordeal and Attrition; a separate four-card drop, Duality Distorted, has the same prices.
- Soul Spike returns after 20 years without a paper reprint.
- The card is worth about $17.57 on the current market.
- Strange School costs $29.99 non-foil or $39.99 foil.
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Magic: The Gathering is a card game in which players build decks and use spells to challenge one another. Wizards of the Coast makes the game and releases new cards and themed collections; competitive players also use cards from older sets when building decks for organised formats such as Modern.
Soul Spike is a black spell that can deal damage to an opponent while restoring its player’s life. Although its printed cost is high, it can instead be played by setting aside two other black cards from the player’s hand, which can make it useful in decks built around drawing many cards.
A card’s scarcity and usefulness in competitive play can affect how much players pay for it. Reprints make older cards available again, while themed collections may sell them in limited bundles alongside other cards.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Reprinting Soul Spike gives players a more accessible route to a card that has been scarce and costly, which can broaden participation in competitive play. A new printing can also reduce the pressure to treat an older collectible as an investment and help keep the game focused on playing.
The case against
A Secret Lair release may not make the card widely or reliably available, particularly when it is bundled with other cards at a fixed price. Collectors and players who value the original printing may also reasonably worry that another supply will reduce its scarcity and market value.