Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
Basim Ibn Ishaq Parody Cards: MTG Investment Potential Unveiled
In the evergreen conversation about MTG investment, crossover and parody cards sit at an intriguing crossroads 🧭—a blend of nostalgia, curiosity, and a whisper of rarity. Basim Ibn Ishaq arrives with the Assassin’s Creed collaboration, a Universes Beyond embrace that fans both crave and scrutinize. This particular card sits in the rare slot of a set built around a pop-culture IP, and its value as an investment hinges on more than just its power on the battlefield. It’s a barometer for how collectors value interwoven universes, how players weigh modern playability, and how marketing narratives can lift a card from “nice to own” to “must-have.” 🔍💎
What the card actually brings to the table
At a glance, Basim Ibn Ishaq is a two-mana Dimir creature: Legendary Creature — Human Assassin with a sleek two-turn clock and a pair of evocative abilities. Its mana cost of {U}{B} places it squarely in the color pair widely respected for disruption and card economy. The lifeblood of the card is its historic spell trigger: “Whenever you cast a historic spell, draw a card. Basim Ibn Ishaq can’t be blocked this turn. This ability triggers only once each turn.” Paired with a solid 2/2 body, the card asks you to build around its historic synergy—artifacts, legendary spells, and Sagas all count toward the draw once per turn, creating a mana-efficient engine when you sequence your plays thoughtfully. And if Basim ever lands a hit, its power grows with a +1/+1 counter for each time it dealt combat damage to a player. The result is a creature that scales with both combat and card advantage—a neat dual-lane threat that can surprise opponents and collectors alike. ⚔️🎨
The set this card belongs to—the Assassin's Creed crossover—carries its own lore weight. It’s more than a unique card design; it’s a bridge between video game storytelling and physical card collecting. Flavor text like “Haunted by memories he never had, of a family that was never his” reads like a character profile from a sprawling saga, which fans adore as much as the card’s mechanical footprint. That narrative depth often translates into stronger collector interest, because a card isn’t merely a line on a spreadsheet—it’s a piece of a broader story. 🧙♂️🔥
The investment lens: scarcity, demand, and cross-promotional hype
From a market perspective, this Basim card sits in a fascinating tier. It’s a rare print in a Universes Beyond release, which typically means a capped supply relative to mainstream rares in standard fantasy sets. On the current secondary-market snapshot, the card is valued around $1.67 in non-foil form and about $2.09 foil, with EUR prices around €4.12 and €4.24 foil. That premium over non-foil is modest compared to some high-demand mythics, but the foil premium is worth watching as more collectors chase shiny versions for display and value. The TCG footprint is complemented by an EDHREC influence—the card sits at rank around 3,488, indicating a defined, not overwhelming, but steady interest in 99-card formats that prize unique and flavorful commanders or allies. 🧠🎲
Print runs and reprint risk are always central to parody or crossover cards. Universes Beyond titles have demonstrated that cross-brand love can drive short-term spikes, while long-term appreciation often hinges on how the broader MTG ecosystem embraces the crossover era and how many copies circulate in the wild. The Basim card benefits from being modern and legacy legal, which broadens its audience beyond casual collectors to players who care about long-tail value and potential card-spotlight moments. The risk, of course, is that a reprint or a reimagined iteration could dampen price momentum. Still, the current price point shows a healthy appetite without perilously high volatility, a good sign for a card tied to a timeless IP. 🧩💎
Deck-building implications and strategic takeaways
For players, Basim’s power level sits at the intersection of tempo and card advantage. In Modern, where it’s legal, you can leverage its unblockable-speed edge while fueling card draw via historic spells. The limit of once-per-turn trigger means you’ll want to maximize efficiency—play the historic spell that nets the best draw that turn, then push to land Basim or protect it with disruption. In a Dimir shell, you combine countermagic and removal with a carefully curated subset of historic spells that maximize value when drawn. It’s a delicate balance, but that’s where the fun lives: you’re crafting a mini-engine that rewards precise timing and tactical planning. 🧙♂️🔥
- Engine design: include artifacts, legendary spells, and Sagas to reliably trigger draws without overcommitting your mana.
- Protection and reach: couple Basim with efficient counterspells or tutorable removal to keep the threat online while you assemble the draw-and-counter flow.
- Early vs. late game: Basim can threaten early with unblockable pressure, but the real payoff comes as you stack historic draws and build incremental card advantage while the opponent scrambles to stabilize.
- Collector appeal: the unique crossover art and lore-friendly flavor text amplify display value, making it a featured piece in any Assassin’s Creed MTG collection. 🎨
Practical tips: capitalizing on the cross-promotional moment
Collectors who lean into the cross-media storylines will want to plank Basim next to other Universes Beyond cards to demonstrate a narrative throughline in their collection. The cross-promo product ecosystem—like the sleek phone case with card holder linked below—serves as a tangible reminder that MTG can be more than a game; it’s a lifestyle. If you’re heading to a Saturday draft or a casual night with friends, this card makes for a conversation starter about the blend of digital-era storytelling and traditional card collecting. And yes, you might sneak a quick draw during a long match—card advantage is both a game mechanic and a bragging right. 🧙♂️🔥💎
“When a crossover card sings both lore and function, it’s a small victory for the collector and the commander alike.” — a fan who loves the mash-up magic as much as the draw spells.
Final thoughts for investors and enthusiasts alike
Parody and crossover cards like Basim Ibn Ishaq remind us that MTG is a living, breathing multiverse bridge—one foot in timeless strategy, the other in pop culture spectacle. The investment potential hinges on a mix of playability, scarcity, and cultural resonance. With a measured price point, a supportive Modern-legal profile, and the ongoing fandom for Assassin’s Creed collaborations, there’s a case to be made for holding a few copies for the long game, particularly in foil if you’re chasing display-worthy pieces. And if you’re new to the scene, consider that the truly enduring value of these cards often lies not just in numbers, but in the stories they carry and the conversations they spark at tables across the world. 🧙♂️🎲