This week in Magic finance, the biggest gainer looks pretty far into the future, with the Tempest uncommon Searing Touch jumping from bulk to nearly $6. As far as I can tell, this is because Searing Touch goes infinite with the backside of Avatar Aang, the one card that has been previewed from the Avatar set, which doesn't release until the end of November. If you can flip Avatar Aang, you get a WUBRG discount on your spells, which means you can cast and buyback Searing Touch for free—allowing you to burn the entire table out of the game one damage at a time. While Searing Touch does seem good in Avatar Aang, and it is a one-print card from nearly 30 years ago, I do wonder if it’s a bit early for the buyout, considering we have multiple sets full of hyped new commanders releasing before Avatar. That said, you might as well dig through your bulk if you think you have some Searing Touchs lying around.

Meanwhile, Shabraz, the Skyshark is on the rise thanks to Hope Estheim, gaining 211% this week to $8. If you need a copy, look for the foil printing, which is still in the $3 price range—more than half off compared to the non-foil.

Finally, the Jumpstart 2022 rare Zask, Skittering Swarmlord more than tripled this week to $25 thanks to the new World Shaper Commander precon from Edge of Eternities. The Jund deck is all about sacrificing lands and getting value from lands entering and leaving the battlefield, and Zask, Skittering Swarmlord seems like the perfect upgrade for the deck, which even has some Insect synergies. It turns out that Jumpstart sets aren't especially heavily opened since they’re aimed at new players, making it fairly easy for cards to spike based on increased demand. That said, Zask, Skittering Swarmlord had one past spike back in November when Foundations released, but it quickly started to trend back down. I wouldn’t be surprised if $16 is near the top for Zask, Skittering Swarmlord, and it trends back down toward $10–$15 in the coming weeks.