The Hidden Tale Behind Farm // Market and the Un-sets
Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
If you’ve ever cracked open an old Un-set or skimmed through a nostalgic MTG meme compilation, you know the thrill of design that pokes fun at the rules while still delivering real gameplay. Farm // Market sits squarely at that crossroads. Printed in Commander 2019 as a split instant/sorcery with the Aftermath keyword, this pair of spells feels like a friendly wink from Wizard of the Coast to fans who grew up with bizarre layouts, clever flavor text, and the joy of “what if” in every duel. The art by Victor Adame Minguez gleams with color and character, reminding us that the Multiverse is a place where serious strategy meets playful mischief 🧙♂️🔥💎.
Split design, dual identities, and a nod to the Un-set spirit
The card is a two-face entry that showcases two very different spell types under one umbrella. On Farm, you pay {2}{W} and destroy a target attacking or blocking creature — a clean, straightforward piece of combat denial that white often leans on. On Market, you pay {2}{U} and, in a world where a bargain can be a battlefield tactic, you cast it from your graveyard (Aftermath). That means you can reset your defenses with Farm during combat, then, if the stars align and you’ve engineered a graveyard setup, unleash Market to draw two and discard two — a tidy hand-refresh that can swing momentum just as a blue spell would.
- Color pair and identity: Blue and White (U/W) converge on disruption, card draw, and combat tricks. Farm // Market’s color identity reflects a classic control tempo pair: removal and card advantage wrapped in a single package.
- Mana costs and resource rhythm: Farm costs 2W, Market costs 2U, for a total of six mana across both faces. The CMC of 6.0 hints at the “big idea” you’re hoping to realize with careful sequencing and graveyard synergy.
- Split card and Aftermath: The Aftermath mechanic, which rebirths a second face from the graveyard, is the bridge to Un-set nostalgia. It bends conventional spell timing in a way that invites creative deck-building rather than strict turn-by-turn optimization.
- Rarity and accessibility: Uncommon in Commander 2019, Farm // Market sits in a bargain-bin-friendly space for many players — it’s the kind of card you slot into a combo or a thematic deck and still feel like you’re playing with friends at the kitchen table 🔥.
Flavor, lore, and the playful heartbeat of the Un-sets
What makes Farm // Market so compelling isn’t the length of its rules text but the flavor it carries. The name itself conjures a bustling village trade scene: a farmer clearing the field of threats so the marketplace can flourish, then a pivot to the counter-trade of wits and wit in the graveyard’s quiet market. It’s a micro-story told in two halves, each behaving like an act in a small play about order, chaos, and clever onlookers who always have a card up their sleeve 🧙♂️🎨.
The Un-sets are less about random chaos and more about shared jokes turned into clever cards that still reward skilled play.
Victor Adame Minguez’s illustration for both faces carries a curious whimsy. The farmer’s figure feels like a nod to pastoral calm that’s suddenly interrupted by a tactical strike, while the market half explodes in color and possibility — a reminder that in the MTG ecosystem, even a graveyard can be a thriving bazaar of ideas. The artwork, paired with the two abilities, embodies the best of both nostalgia and modern design: a lineage that respects the past while inviting new players to explore a flexible, thoughtfully crafted mechanic 🔥⚔️.
Gameplay in a world where tempo, control, and a touch of chaos collide
In practical terms, Farm // Market asks you to think in two tempos at once. In a defensive moment, Farm helps you stabilize a board by removing a troublesome attacker or blocker, preserving your life total and your offensive plans for a later turn. If your graveyard becomes a strategic resource — perhaps you’ve built around cheap cantrips, bounce spells, or recurring threats — Market becomes a late-game engine: two fresh cards, then a pair of discards to wheel out choice options and cycle through your deck. This is the kind of engine that thrives in Commander, where games stretch long enough for a mid-to-late-game Market to feel like a grocery run in a glittering city of librarians and artifact lords 🧙♂️🎲.
Of course, the card’s legalities reflect its playful-yet-serious design ethos. In formats like Modern or Legacy, you’ll find Team Blue-White lists that lean on the graveyard to fuel big plays, and Market can slot into that plan with the right set of enablers. In Commander and other casual circles, it shines as a two-faced narrative card — a reminder that sometimes the best play is a well-timed destruction, followed by a cunning draw engine in the same breath.
Deck-building ideas and cultural resonance
For players chasing a UW control shell, Farm // Market provides a clean line of removal and hand-filtering that scales with the board. Pair it with counterspells, wheel effects, and graveyard-filling plays to maximize the Aftermath second act. It’s a little nod to earlier Un-set vibes, where the joke was never at the expense of functionality, but rather, the joke was the invitation to think differently about how a spell can function across two realities. This dual-nature design mirrors the broader MTG culture: the community loves a card that is at once clever, collectible, and genuinely playable.
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Value, accessibility, and where to look next
From a collector perspective, Farm // Market remains an affordable piece of Commander 2019’s unorthodox charm. The card’s price sits in the budget-friendly corner, which makes it a great entry point for players who want a memorable two-faced spell without breaking the bank. It’s the kind of card you might pull in a pack or pick up on a casual day of shopping, only to discover that the synergy and timing offer more depth than a first glance might suggest. For those who track price trends, its uncommon status and reprint history contribute to a stable, approachable entry point into UW two-color spellcraft 🧙♂️💎.
Whether you’re chasing pure nostalgia, clever two-faced design, or a practical removal-and-draw engine for your commander games, Farm // Market checks all the boxes. It’s a reminder that the best MTG cards aren’t always the ones with the flashiest text; sometimes they’re the ones that quietly unlock two distinct strategies, each with its own flavor and charm.
- Flavor and design blend of Un-set humor with solid gameplay.
- Two versatile halves ensure value in multiple stages of the game.
- Accessible price point for casual and new players alike.
- Iconic art from a noted MTG artist enhances its collectible appeal.