While it was not the first nor the last IP to get the Universes Beyond treatment inMagic: The Gathering,Fallouthas been one of the most successful, adding several new and mechanically unique cards to the game. Past Universes Beyond releases were more limited in the number of newly added cards or their legality inMagic: The Gatheringformats, andFalloutwas released as an Eternal set, whereas current IPs are getting a full slew of products that range from Play Boosters to Commander decks. One ofMTG’s Commander decks forFalloutincluded a card that went on to become one of the most powerful and favorite by fans in the set, but it’s much rarer now than its video game counterpart.
EveryMagic: The Gatheringset can end up adding some unexpectedly powerful cards that are eventually added to many decks across multiple formats, andFalloutdid the same with the infamous Nuka-Cola Vending Machine. This card is an artifact inspired by the actual Nuka-Cola from theFalloutseries, which is one of the franchise’s icons, and it’s found in every game. Players will always find some Nuka-Cola bottles in their adventures, if not the entire vending machine, but the same cannot be said forMagic: The Gathering.
Magic: The Gathering’s Nuka-Cola Vending Machine is Surging in Price Again
Nuka-Cola Vending Machineis part of the Science! Commander deck forFallout, but it’s not found in any of the remaining three decks. Even then, since Commander decks only feature one copy of each card, there is just one Nuka-Cola Vending Machine to be found. Alternatively, this card can be found in multiple versions in the collector boosters forMTG’sFalloutset, but it has been quite some time since it first came out, and unopened packs or displays are mostly inaccessible now to the general public due to their prices.
Ever since it started dropping in price in May of this year, at least on TCGPlayer.com, Nuka-Cola Vending Machine reached a price of around $7.50, which started spiking again at the end of June and reached its current peak of over $15.50 and up to $17-20, depending on the listings. This is an uncommon card, but the product it came from is scarcely available now, with collector booster displays going over an eye-watering $1,300. Since buying packs or displays is mostly impossible for average players, and the card wouldn’t even be guaranteed to come out, the most sensible options forMTGCommander playersare to either buy it from other players or purchase a Science! deck.
However, the decks are also not that easily available, and even then, the cost of the Science! deck is usually between $40 and $60. Not only that, but the deck’s general value is much lower, so it may not be worth the purchase for those looking for just a few cards. With only a few listings online for the single cards or the products they come from, Nuka-Cola Vending Machine is now very rare and sought-after, unlikeNuka-Cola inFalloutgames.
Why MTG’s Nuka-Cola Vending Machine is Spiking in Price
Part of the reason its price surged again may be thatMTG’s Edge of Eternities includes a new commanderin the form of Ragost, Deft Gastronaut, which has a lot of synergy with Food tokens - the same generated by Nuka-Cola Vending Machine. The same happened with the release of Bloomburrow, as the animal-centric set added Ygra, Eater of All, as a potential commander, which also played heavily with Food tokens. These tokens have become a big staple of the game over the years, and it’s one of the reasons why Nuka-Cola Vending Machine will most likely remain a rare and pricey card moving forward.
