Punching Up – White Removal Prices Jump 450% as Control Decks Return

Last updated on September 5, 2024

Get Lost | Illustration by Eli Minaya

Rekindled interest in control decks in Standard and Pioneer is increasing prices for white board wipes and removal.

Temporary Lockdown, a control staple in both formats, leads the charge with a 450% price increase during Bloomburrow, rising from less than $2 a month ago to over $9 this week in US markets, according to MTGStocks.com.

Sunfall, usually played in the same Magic decks, went up from $3.70 pre-BLB to around $8 this week – a 200% increase – and spot removal staple Get Lost shows a similar trend. 

Temporary Lockdown

Temporary Lockdown had climbed to about $8 after Murders at Karlov, enjoying quite a bit of popularity in the sideboards of UW Control and Lotus Field in Pioneer. Both decks performed very well during the MKM Pro Tour, with Lotus Field earning two Top 8 spots.

Source: MTGStocks.com

Interest in this cheap white board wipe dwindled after the MKM Pro Tour – it was still a mainstay in Domain Control decks in Standard, but as a card that sees no Commander play, Temporary Lockdown‘s price slumped until Bloomburrow.

Standard's rotation rekindled the interest for the white enchantment, especially after Yushi Uziki took down the MTG Japan Open 2024, piloting a brand-new control brew: Boros Control, with 2x Temporary Lockdown main-deck and an extra copy in the sideboard.

Aggro decks are running rampant in Standard right now, and anti-aggro tools – from cheap board wipes to efficient spot removal like Cut Down, which has also skyrocketed in price – are in high demand.

But Pioneer seems to be the format driving Temporary Lockdown‘s price increase: Lotus Field and Greasefang Parhelion are again putting Lockdown in their sideboards, and for UW Control builds it's often a main-deck card now, as seen in this MTGO Qualifier deck from Schiaveto.

Main Deck

Sideboard

Sunfall

Sunfall is enjoying a similar rebound: usually a sideboard card for Lotus Field and main-deck for UW control, players lost interest in this 5-mana board wipe until Bloomburrow came around to push the prices up.

Source: MTGStocks.com

In Standard, Control Domain and Boros Control are the two decks interested in keeping the board clean until their value engines can take over.

Get Lost

White spot removal staple Get Lost exhibits a similar graph.

Source: MTGStocks.com

Lotus Field decks don't seem too interested in this white instant, but the other three archetypes (UW Control, Domain Control, and Boros Control) usually include it in their main decks.

Much more flexible than the board wipes, Get Lost also sees play in Standard and Pioneer decks, and it makes the cut in top-tier cEDH decks like Tivit, Seller of Secrets or Kenrith, the Returned King.

White control decks are gearing up for a fight in Standard and Pioneer, and those leaning into red, like Boros or Jeskai, are about to get an amazing red board wipe reprinted after 13 years. It looks like Duskmourn will be a dangerous place for aggro decks.