Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
Spotlight on Reprints and Card Prices
When a beloved card pops up in a newer set, the MTG economy gets a little twitchy. Reprints do what the market loves to argue about in hushed tones: they flood the supply channel and nudge prices downward, even for cards with dedicated followings. For a creature from Judgment that wears the humble laurels of a common, the price movement isn’t always dramatic, but it offers a perfect case study in how reprint cycles shape value over time. 🧙♂️🔥💎
Card snapshot: what this rat brings to the table
- Name: Earsplitting Rats
- Mana cost: {3}{B}
- Color: Black
- Type: Creature — Rat
- Rarity: Common
- Set: Judgment
- Power/Toughness: 2/1
- Text: When this creature enters, each player discards a card. Discard a card: Regenerate this creature.
- Flavor text: “Rats come in one amount: too many.”
- Legal formats: Legacy and older formats—less relevant in today’s Standard, but beloved by long-time gathers.
- Prices (as data provided): USD 0.17 (nonfoil), USD 0.70 (foil); EUR 0.15 (nonfoil), EUR 0.65 (foil); Tix 0.04.
Judgment, released in 2002, brought a late-90s aesthetic into a new era—frame style, art direction, and the flavor text that has aged with a wink. Earsplitting Rats, a common black creature, embodies the era’s flavor and the cunning of discard strategies that peppered casual and competitive Black decks. Its ability to push a cascade of discards at creature entry — and the option to regenerate by discarding a card — creates a dynamic dance of risk and tempo. In a world where modern sets occasionally outpace old staples in power, this rat remains a reminder that value in MTG isn’t solely about raw stats; it’s about long-tail utility and nostalgia. 🎲⚔️🎨
Why reprints matter for card prices
Reprints influence prices through a straightforward economic lens: supply and demand. When Wizards of the Coast or a third-party publisher reissues a card, they effectively raise the available print run. More copies—especially nonfoil copies—enter the market, often reducing price pressure for the long tail of collectors and players who aren’t chasing rare chase-foils. For a common like Earsplitting Rats, that dynamic can be pronounced. Even with a small but dedicated fan base, a fresh printing punctures scarcity-driven prices, nudging the market toward a more even baseline. 🧙♂️💎
But there are meaningful nuances hiding in plain sight. First, the card’s practical utility matters. A discard-on-entry trigger interacts with a wide swath of strategies in older formats, where curated discard effects can swing games in surprising ways. Yet in contemporary play, the card’s power level and synergy aren't headline-grabbing staples, so reprints may dampen price more slowly than for a modern staple like a low-cost at-your-door competitive card. That’s why you’ll often see a multi-year price drift rather than a rapid dump after a reprint announcement. The market’s memory for Judgment-era design also cushions drastic swings—nostalgia fans and collectors still value original prints for their distinct border, flavor, and historical context. 🧙♂️🔥
Price is a story written in supply and demand—reprints write new chapters, while collectors remember the first printing’s lore.
What drives the delta in this particular card's value
- Print run size: The more copies in circulation after a reprint, the more downward pressure on nonfoil prices tends to follow, especially for a common. The numeric snapshot—USD 0.17 nonfoil and USD 0.70 foil—reflects a strong foil premium, a pattern often seen in commons where foils are sought by collectors but nonfoil supply climbs quickly.
- Foil vs nonfoil dynamics: Foils typically command higher prices due to limited foil print runs and player demand for shiny versions in EDH setups or display options. This gap can widen if a reprint expands nonfoil supply while foils stay relatively contained.
- Format relevance: The card’s legacy/legal status in formats like Legacy and Vintage matters more for price stability than its presence in Modern or Standard. Even if a reprint lands, the card’s real-world impact is tempered by format-specific demand. 🧙♂️
- Art and nostalgia: Heather Hudson’s art contributes to collector value beyond raw mechanics. Nostalgia can insulate rare cards from dramatic declines, especially when the original art is beloved by the community. The Judgment era remains a nostalgic anchor for many players who cut their MTG teeth on this time period. 🎨
- Card’s utility over time: As games evolve, discard effects become either more or less central depending on meta trends. A card that felt essential in a past format might drift if new interactions render its abilities less impactful, or conversely rise if discard-themed strategies surge again. 🔥
Flavor, art, and the culture of retention
The Judgment set carries a particular charm—black-and-white border texture, a tactile sense of early-2000s design, and a flavor that emphasizes the gritty, gnawing underbelly of ringed streets and back-alley plots. Earsplitting Rats isn’t just about stats; it’s a story card that speaks to a time when discard engines began to take shape in popular decks. The art and flavor text—“Rats come in one amount: too many”—read as a wink to the MTG household where players staple themselves to themes of overload, counterplay, and the occasional rodent reign. It’s the kind of card that’s easy to overlook in a modern cube, but it ages gracefully in the memory of dedicated collectors and casuals alike. 🧙♂️🎲
Practical takeaways for players and collectors
- Watch reprint announcements, but don’t panic if you already own copies. A new printing tends to equalize prices, but the card’s role in EDH and casual Discard decks can sustain interest beyond a single set release. ⚔️
- Foil copies often carry more premium than nonfoils, even for commons. If you’re chasing aesthetic value for a display shelf or a deck collection, foils remain a compelling option. 💎
- For new builders, consider how discard engines interact with entry-triggered effects. The New World of your cube or Commander pod might benefit from a well-timed discard trigger that can swing resource advantage. 🧙♂️
- If you’re a bargain hunter, diversify across format formats—legacy and vintage-minded players may anchor value, while newer players may push demand in casual settings. Always factor in market volatility and collector tendencies when evaluating a potential purchase. 🎲
For fans who like to weave game theory with market awareness, the ebb and flow of a card’s price after a reprint is a mini saga about supply, demand, and community memory. Earsplitting Rats provides a crisp illustration: a common with a simple, effective effect that can be fun in specific builds, yet remains accessible enough to spawn siblings in price when the market broadens its gaze to encompass reprints and new printings. And as the MTG multiverse continues to expand, there will always be more moments where a humble rat has its day—whether in a sealed booster draft or a Commander table where a well-timed discard can turn the tide. 🧙♂️🔥💎