Hello, readers and welcome to the Friday edition of the Daily Stock Watch! Christmas is just around the corner, so now might be the best time for you to buy presents for your loved ones, enemies, and everyone else. If you have one for me, please message me so that I could provide you with my address. I'm definitely good with a box of Modern Masters 2017 or Eternal Masters..

Just kidding, guys!

Our last card for the week is one that has gained some steam after dodging a reprint in Iconic Masters. This is one of the better dragon cards that's really popular in Commander, so seeing a price increase is not something that's out of the ordinary. It's just that I think that the price is a bit absurd.

Balefire Dragon is one of those big, bad dragons that has only been printed once, and is used in a decent number of multiplayer Commander decks. One swing from this dragon could already elicit a one-sided Wrath of God effect to your opponent and cripple their board state, especially if it's filled with multiple creatures. It's a mythic that's considered by a lot of Commander players as one of the best dragons to include in popular decks such as Kaalia of the Vast, Scion of the Ur-Dragon, or Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund.

For reference, check out this dragon tribal Commander deck:

Dragons... Dragons everywhere! This list is a bit dreamy, but every creature in this deck is a threat to win games if left unanswered. Balefire Dragon is the go-to-guy when a board wipe is needed, as Ryusei, the Falling Star has to die first before it could do what Balefire Dragon does on a regular basis. That is what separates the men from the boys, and this also explains the disparity of the prices between these dragons despite of their relative utility in this deck.

I consulted the Utility Checker to see if this card is being used elsewhere besides Commander, but I wasn't surprised to find out that it's only being used there. I am convinced that its current all-time high price of $15.08 is somehow justified by its mythic status, besides the fact that it's also a dragon which could easily fit in any collector's binder.

These dragons were worth at least $30 each during their primes, but never really found their place in Commander after they rotated out of Standard. On the other hand, Balefire Dragon was a bulk mythic during its Standard time, and only enjoyed financial success a few years later as a Commander piece. However, this makes it a very likely target for any reprint in any Masters or Duel Deck in the near future because of its generic ability. I'd probably let go of any loose copies I have while it's valued this much.

At the moment, online stores such as TCGPlayer, Star City Games, Channel Fireball, and Card Kingdom are selling copies of the card from anywhere between $15.99 up to $17.99. The stocks are quite high, so I'm not sure what's driving the price spike, and I'd like to take advantage of this situation to let go of copies that you might have. It's not exactly the kind of card that I'd be willing to pay $20 for, but it's also possible that it could go beyond that wall if it dodges a reprint in the coming months. I suggest that you move your copies if there are takers for $15 and above, as 50% of the price increase just occurred in the latter half of the year. The decrease in its price might be faster once people realize that the demand for it is actually low.

And that’s it for this week's edition of the Daily Stock Watch! See you again on Christmas Day, as we check out a new card that should be on the go, or good enough for speculating. As always, feel free to share your opinion in the comments section below. And if you want to keep up with all the market movement, be sure to check in with the QS Discord Channel for real time market information, and stay ahead of the hottest specs!