MTG Assassin’s Creed’s deadly Dimir Commander gets 500% price spike

Basim Ibn Ashaq is one of the most in-demand cards from Universes Beyond: Assassin’s Creed, as this unblockable Dimir card can be a great Commander or card draw engine.

Few characters are as important to the post-Desmond era of Assassin’s Creed as Basim Ibn Ashaq. Appearing in Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla as a manipulative, antagonistic force – the reincarnation of Loki of the Isu – AC players had the chance to step into Basim’s shoes in the prequel story Assassin’s Creed: Mirage.

With Mirage bringing the series closer to its stealth-action routes than the RPG territory it had experimented with in prior outings, Assassin’s Creed fans found a lot to love in this standout entry.

As a result, when Assassin’s Creed players are thinking of the most memorable characters in Ubisoft’s long-running franchise, Basim is front-and-center in many minds alongside Ezio and Kassandra. This, alongside the card’s excellent mechanics, has led to the card spiking significantly in price since the Universes Beyond set launch.

From an initial price of $2.70, regular copies of Basim Ibn Ashaq have shot up to a median price of $15 at TCGplayer. Borderless showcase variants are fetching an even steeper price, currently at an average of $26.67.

In terms of gameplay, it isn’t hard to see why the Basim card is being coveted by MTG players and Assassin’s Creed fans. For a cost of just UB, Basim hits the field as a 2/2 that can gain a +1/+1 every time it deals combat damage to a player.

This damage boost is incredibly easy to pull off, as Basim becomes unblockable on any turn you cast a Historic spell, drawing you a card into the bargain. Artifacts, Sagas, and Legendaries are all Historic, giving players a wide array of potential ways to trigger Basim’s unblockable effect.

This card not only works as a reliable centerpiece of a Dimir deck, but it also fits extremely well with existing Ninja Commanders like Satoru Umezawa and Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow who thrive on unblockable damage.

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