A largely forgotten Magic: The Gathering enchantment has suddenly become one of the hottest cards on the secondary market. Words of Worship, an Onslaught rare from 2002, has surged from only a few dollars to more than $10 after players discovered a particularly nasty interaction with one of Reality Fracture’s newest Commanders.
According to MTGStocks, Words of Worship rocketed to $19.95 on Sept. 22, a one-day gain of more than 330%, before climbing again to $31.06 on Sept. 23. The card had been selling for just a few dollars beforehand, with a near-mint TCGplayer sale recorded at $2.08 as recently as Sept. 8 and another at $7.69 on Sept. 19.
The culprit is Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel, one of the alternate-universe legends included in Reality Fracture’s Multiverse Reforged Commander deck. The six-mana Spirit Dragon lets its controller pay life whenever they gain life in order to draw that many cards.
That immediately makes a dusty old card like Words of Worship substantially more interesting and gives you compelling reason to check your old Magic binders. Other than to stare at the card’s exquisite Rebecca Guay artwork, that is.
Why Words of Worship Is Suddenly Exploding
Words of Worship costs three mana and lets its controller pay one mana to replace their next card draw that turn with gaining five life instead.
Ordinarily, voluntarily skipping a card in exchange for five life is hardly the sort of effect that makes Commander players sprint toward their bulk boxes. Pair it with Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel, however, and things get considerably more card advantageous.
Activate Words of Worship before drawing a card, and that draw instead gains five life. Niv-Mizzet then triggers, allowing the player to pay those same five life to draw five cards.
In other words, a single mana effectively turns one incoming card draw into five cards. Sounds like a pretty good trade-off.
It’s another example of Reality Fracture encouraging players to rethink how seemingly awkward cards can function, much like the set’s new “any number of copies” card, Sphinx’s Approach does with the little-used Sphinx of the Chimes.
That alone makes Words of Worship substantially more appealing, much like Kasmina, Enigma Sage recently became a hot commodity after players discovered a powerful new Reality Fracture combo.
Things get even more ridiculous once Skirge Familiar joins the fray. Because Words of Worship can be activated in response to Niv-Mizzet’s five-card draw resolving, one of those draws can once again become five life, triggering Niv-Mizzet another time while leaving additional cards still to draw.
Skirge Familiar then lets its controller discard one of those extra cards for a black mana, which can immediately pay for another Words of Worship activation. Repeat the process and the deck can churn through its entire library while continuing to generate cards along the way.
That’s the joy of Magic: The Gathering. An antiquated white enchantment with a putrescent activated ability can transform overnight into the belle of the ball (or at least an essential part of a modern Commander combo).
Another Reality Fracture Card Resurrects an Old Classic
The sudden demand is especially potent because Words of Worship is more than two decades old and has never been a major Commander staple. Relatively shallow supply means even a modest rush of new buyers can move its price dramatically – as the wild swings over the past several days demonstrate.
Whether that elevated price holds is another question entirely. But for now, one of Onslaught’s obsolete rares has found itself squarely in the Reality Fracture spotlight.
Read Full Article At Source
