Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
Dauntless Aven: Buyouts, Small Sets, and Value
In the grand theater of Magic: The Gathering, small-set cards often act like theater props with surprising clout. They’re not the loudest players in a workshop of megacards, but when a card lands in a commander table, a budget deck, or a vintage sleeves-spangled display, they can steal the show. Dauntless Aven, a common white creature from Hour of Devastation, is a quintessential case study for how buyouts can ripple through small-set staples—even when the card’s raw stats are humble. 🧙🔥💎⚔️
Meet the card, then measure the market
Dauntless Aven is a creature — Bird Warrior that costs {2}{W} for a 2/1 with flying. Its oracle text is clean and tempo-friendly: Flying. Whenever this creature attacks, untap target creature you control. The ability isn’t a flashy combo engine, but it presents a useful tempo tool in the right shell. In play, you attack with Aven to threaten a quick damage race, and the ability to untap another creature on attack gives you subtle resilience—perhaps re-arming a previously tapped attacker or enabling another evasive threat to swing the next turn. Flavorfully, the card’s lore text ties Aven war-bird pathfinders to the ruins of Naktamun, a reminder that even quick wings carry stories beyond the battlefield. The artwork by Zack Stella captures that swift, pale-winged efficiency in classic Hour of Devastation style. 🖼️
- Set: Hour of Devastation (Hou), a white-aligned expansion from 2017.
- Rarity: Common, with both nonfoil and foil prints available.
- Mana cost / CMC: 2W, for a total Converted Mana Cost of 3.
- Power/Toughness: 2/1.
- Keywords: Flying.
- Flavor text: “In the chaos brought by the new gods, swift-winged aven served as pathfinders, leading the last of the people away from the ruins of Naktamun.”
“A card that looks modest on a sheet yet can polish a white-leaning tempo shell in Commander or casual Modern-traits decks.”
Why small-set cards become buyout magnets
To the uninitiated, a common card like Dauntless Aven might seem unworthy of any speculative attention. Yet in the right corner of the market, small-set cards attract a unique gravity. Here’s why:
- Commander demand elevates many white creatures from the Hou era. Aven’s cost and body fit cleanly in faster white decks that prize evasive flyers and cheap early sticks. While not a powerhouse in competitive modern formats, its EDH-friendly status keeps copies circulating and can lift price slightly when new players discover older commons in precon decks.
- Limited print windows in smaller sets can reduce available stock over time, particularly for foil versions, even if reprints occur later in reprint sets. The perceived scarcity in a popular format adds a premium on paper copies that aren’t as readily stocked as evergreen staples.
- Foil vs nonfoil dynamics play a big role. Dauntless Aven exists in foil and nonfoil prints, but foil availability varies by reprint cadence. Collectors often chase foils for display, which can buffer price floors and create pockets where a buyout influences the foil market more than the nonfoil.
- Market noise around reprints can make retail shelves flashier targets for buyouts. When a set is nearing a reprint block or a new appearance in an anthology, speculators sometimes pull current stock to drive short-term price spikes, betting on delayed restocks or secondary-market demand.
How Dauntless Aven plays into buyout dynamics
Even as a common creature, Aven’s value proposition is tied to broader market moves. If a spike is driven by EDH players seeking white-for-white synergy, you might see a few high-tier shops slowly tighten supply, especially for foils. If, on the other hand, a new white tempo shell surfaces in a popular casual format, demand can accelerate for budget cards like Aven that slot into those lists with minimal fuss. The card’s inexpensive mana cost and straightforward trigger keep it approachable, which paradoxically makes it a competitive target for buyouts—because there are enough casual players who want copies, but a limited supply in some printings. 🧙♂️🎲
“A small card with a big story: wings that lift a plan, not just a body.”
Practical takeaways for players and collectors
If you’re looking to engage with Dauntless Aven in the wake of buyouts, here are a few practical moves:
—do you want a handful of copies for a budget White-aggro EDH or a handful of foils for a display? The decision affects whether you chase price trends or hold steady. —pair Aven with untap-friendly or attacking-rewarding strategies. In casual formats or Commander, the ability to untap a creature after attack can enable repeat pressure or protect a fragile board state. —Hour of Devastation released a wave of value cards; keep an eye on reprint rotations, bundle promos, and cardmarket/Tcgplayer movements that might dampen or exaggerate value. —commons tend to see price stability tied to playability and reprint frequency. Don’t bet your entire collection on a temporary swing caused by a market blip; diversify across colors and strategies.
Connections to a broader MTG conversation
Buyouts around small-set cards aren’t just about numbers on a price tag; they reveal how communities value flexibility, nostalgia, and accessibility. Dauntless Aven sits at an interesting crossroads: it’s a modestly powered white flyer with a niche-but-not-trivial upside in the right deck-building context, and it hails from a set that fans still reminisce about for its mythic creatures, a dramatic storyline, and a distinct art direction. The card’s modest profile makes it a whisper-quiet staple in many collections, but whispers can grow loud when collectors recognize how a single print runs through multiple formats and casual playgroups. 💎⚔️🎨
Where to look next—and a little promo to boot
If you’re browsing for cards that pair nicely with a white-leaning tempo or want a reliable, budget-friendly flyer for EDH table presence, Dauntless Aven deserves a spot on your radar. And if you’re here for more than MTG talk—yes, this article also nods to a practical cross-promo moment. For a neat side quest between pulls, you can check a stylish, practical product that sits on your desk or on the go: a handy phone grip kickstand. It’s a modern gadget with vintage MTG vibes, a reminder that every hobby blends great art, smart utility, and a little everyday magic. 🧙🔥
Ready to explore more? Discover the product that inspired this moment and keep your deck-building sharp: Phone Grip Kickstand Reusable Adhesive Holder.