For better or worse, the Marvel Super Heroes set has had a rather muted impact on the secondary market so far. Despite almost all the main set cards being revealed, we've only seen a few cards suddenly spike in price. While the set's pre-con reveals, expected this week, could change things, for now, it seems only one legend is leading the charge.
The Serpent Society
Legendary Creature — Human Snake Villain
The Serpent Society
Legendary Creature — Human Snake Villain
Deathtouch
Ward—Get five poison counters. (A player with ten or more poison counters loses the game.)
Whenever another creature you control with deathtouch dies, each opponent sacrifices a nontoken creature of their choice.
Thanks to offering a new take on Deathtouch Typal, The Serpent Society immediately caught players' attention. Blending sacrifice and Poison synergies, this card wasted no time in causing a truly significant price spike. As if that weren't enough, now Aphelia, Viper Whisperer, from the MTG Foundations Jumpstart set, has also seen a noticeable increase.
Aphelia, Viper Whisperer
Legendary Creature — Gorgon Assassin
Aphelia, Viper Whisperer
Legendary Creature — Gorgon Assassin
Deathtouch
Whenever Aphelia attacks, you may pay 
. If you do, create a 1/1 black Snake creature token with deathtouch.
: Until end of turn, whenever one or more Gorgons and/or Snakes you control deal combat damage to a player, that player loses half their life, rounded up.
In the grand scheme of MTG, Aphelia, Viper Whisperer is already a rather popular Commander. Leading just under 5,000 decks, Aphelia, Viper Whisperer can set up lethal one-shot kills with just one other card. Combined with Wound Reflection, hitting an opponent with Aphelia, Viper Whisperer's third ability active will directly kill them.
Thanks to its ability to create Deathtouch Snake tokens, Aphelia, Viper Whisperer even handles the necessary setup to facilitate this win condition. If we have to find a flaw, the only downside is how expensive Aphelia, Viper Whisperer's ultimate ability is, but it's not the end of the world. With support like Hooded Blightfang, Ohran Frostfang, and Fynn, the Fangbearer, this deck is scary even without combo wins.
Beyond being strong in the command zone, Aphelia, Viper Whisperer is also perfect in the 99 of The Serpent Society decks. By creating Deathtouch creatures, Aphelia, Viper Whisperer provides plenty of fodder to trade in combat or sacrifice, enabling The Serpent Society's edict effect. Even if you only do it once per turn cycle, since Aphelia, Viper Whisperer has to attack, the effect can still be devastating.
Unsurprisingly, thanks to this synergy, Aphelia, Viper Whisperer already appears in 26% of The Serpent Society decks, according to EDHREC. Considering we are still in the very early stages, this demand could easily increase as the set's release approaches. Even before that happens, however, the new synergy has been more than enough to drive Aphelia, Viper Whisperer's price upwards.
The Spike
As an MTG Foundations Jumpstart Mythic, Aphelia, Viper Whisperer has always been a relatively expensive card. For much of May, the original article listed it around $8, which is about €7. Today, however, the situation has changed: on CardTrader, Near Mint copies start at around €11.50, while MTGGoldfish reports an American value of $34.99 for the Anime version, equivalent to about €30.
The most interesting data is the disparity between the European and American markets. In the United States, the article indicates a spike up to $25.95, which is about €22.50, with very few Near Mint copies remaining below $30. In Europe, however, the available price is still lower, at least for base copies: this may indicate a delay in the European market compared to the American spike, or a difference related to availability, language, and card version.
Currently, therefore, Aphelia, Viper Whisperer should be considered a card in the €11-€12 range for the cheapest European copies, but with an American reference already much higher, between €22 and €30 depending on the source and version. If demand from The Serpent Society were to increase with the release of Marvel Super Heroes, it would not be surprising to see the European price adjust upwards as well.
Unfortunately, even if you don't care about the card's condition, there are no significantly cheaper copies of Aphelia, Viper Whisperer on the American market. At best, the original article reported a single lightly played copy at $25.34, which is about €22. Not exactly an exciting saving. To make matters worse, there's no guarantee that Aphelia, Viper Whisperer will drop in price even if demand wanes.
The Future
For better or worse, Jumpstart cards have a history of ridiculously high prices. This is especially true for the mythics from these sets, which are usually unique to a single theme pack. Even rares, however, such as Scythecat Cub at around €26, can be worth a lot if they see play in multiple archetypes.
When Jumpstart cards like these become popular, even reprints can do little to lower their price. Allosaurus Shepherd and Bruvac the Grandiloquent, for example, are both super staples and sell for around €42 and €34 respectively even after being reprinted. Keeping this in mind, it seems possible that Aphelia, Viper Whisperer could maintain a significant price, especially if Commander demand consolidates.
That said, there's a big difference between these cards. Unlike other super staples from Jumpstart, Aphelia, Viper Whisperer is truly strong almost exclusively in Snake and Deathtouch themed decks. This key detail greatly limits the contexts in which Aphelia, Viper Whisperer can be played, partly keeping its price in check. Even so, however, the card remains scarce, so don't expect its price to crash overnight.
If historical precedent continues to hold true, it might take a reprint of Aphelia, Viper Whisperer for its price to truly drop. Unfortunately, given that reprints are not so easy to obtain these days, this could mean it will remain expensive for a while. Ultimately, as always, we'll simply have to wait and see what happens, as we cannot predict the future.
