Duskmourn Mythic Sees Multi-Format Success – Then MASSIVE Price Spike

Last updated on January 17, 2025

Overlord of the Balemurk – Illustration by Mikio Masuda

Overlord of the Balemurk, a mythic rare MTG card from Duskmourn: House of Horror, has skyrocketed in value. As seen on MTGStocks, its price has climbed to around $32 , which is an astonishing 86% since yesterday alone, and 160% since last week, marking it as the top gainer in Magic's Standard format. 

SOURCE: MTGStocks

On MTGO (Magic Online), Overlord of the Balemurk has displayed similar momentum, surpassing the 60-ticket threshold according to MTGGoldfish.

SOURCE: MTGGoldfish

And the Japanese market seems desperate to get copies of Duskmourn‘s impending overlord for around $32 (at current exchange rates), be it the Japanese or English version.

Why Is Overlord of the Balemurk's Price Spiking?

Overlord of the Balemurk – Illustration by Babs Webb

Several factors are fueling Overlord of the Balemurk’s newfound popularity, which has already caught the attention of the /r/mtgfinance subreddit.

For starters, Overlord of the Balemurk has already proven it can hold its own in a Pioneer fight – back in October, Greasefang Parhelion and Enigmatic Incarnation decks put a decent showing in top-tier Pioneer tournaments, which back at the time caused the card's price to spike to nearly $40 barely ten days after Duskmourn released.

But this week, Kusakabe Kyouhei’s #1 finish with Esper Vial at MMM Hareruya Tournament Center (Osaka, Japan) confirmed the Overlord's viability in Modern, where it's also making its way into Modern Energy decks to the point that influential content creator fireshoes is wondering if the enchantment creature is the new The One Ring.

Overlord of the Balemurk has also clawed its way to a top-four finish in Duel Commander's CR Île-de-France’s Palaiseau tournament with an Aminatou, the Fateshifter deck. It's also becoming a threat in Standard, where Overlord of the Balemurk’s mill and reanimation abilities are thriving in Esper Enchantment and Orzhov Aggro decks…

… And has enough punch to have caught a former MTG World Champion's attention.

A World Class Threat

In a recent article for Cardrush, former MTG World Champion Yuta Takahashi described Overlord of the Balemurk as a “potentially format-defining black creature” that excels in midrange and reanimator strategies, calling its enter-the-battlefield effect a “game-swinging ability.”

The former World Champion considers Overlord of the Balemurk a finisher in black-based midrange and control strategies, noting that “it can stabilize the board instantly if timed well.”

Will Overlord of the Balemurk's Price Climb Higher?

The One Ring – Illustration by Veli Nystrom

In this case it won't be necessary to include our usual caveat that this is not investment advice (always do your own research, folks!) because the answer is a very clear “Hard to say.”

For starters, the market is already reacting to today's spike, and on TCGPlayer you can find near-mint copies of Overlord of the Balemurk trading at about $20-$23 at the time of writing.

That's still twice as much as the $10-$12 you could have paid for them last week, but also a lot less than the recent $32 high.

Source: TCGPlayer – Overlord of the Balemurk (DSK)

On the other hand, though, as noted above this isn’t the first time Overlord of the Balemurk has captured attention. Back in October, the card spiked due to its inclusion in Pioneer Greasefang and Enigmatic Incarnation decks in Pioneer, driving the price to close to $40. Now that it's poised as one of Magic's multi-format stars, you could argue demand will be much higher.

But do notice that last October's spike happened just a few days after Overlord of the Balemurk released. Duskmourn is by all accounts a great drafting experience (and arguably one of the best Magic sets to draft for beginners), so lots of packs were surely drafted since then; and Magic's Head Designer Mark Rosewater has confirmed WotC considers Duskmourn a success, which all points to the card's supply being far larger than three months ago. 

But if you play Standard, Pioneer, or Modern, something does seem clear: If you see a swamp, you may want to start planning how to deal with Overlord of the Balemurk.

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