Betray common sense with some wacky prices.
Betrayers of Kamigawa, the second set in the original Kamigawa block, is hardly a headline act. Champions of Kamigawa has Kokusho, Saviors of Kamigawa has Oboro, Palace in the Clouds, Betrayers of Kamigawa has… well, you’ll find out as you read the article, but I can tell you now, it’s easily the least exciting set from the original Kamigawa block in terms of card prices. All the same, it’s worth digging around to see if there are any hidden gems, so let’s get stuck into the most expensive cards from Betrayers of Kamigawa and see what’s what.
10. Patron of the Orochi
Betrayers of Kamigawa
/12329.jpg)
Patron of the Orochi offers a rather unique effect that a mono-green mage might look at with a great level of excitement, before they double-check the card and realize, oh yeah, this untap all Forests and all green creatures, including your opponents’. It’s not quite as attractive a card after realizing that, and it’s not really very popular in Commander as a result, not seeing much play at all. When you can play cards like Seedborn Muse, why would you play Patron of the Orochi? Still, with its unique effect and total lack of reprints, this card holds a $5 price tag, which will almost certainly be annihilated in the unlikely situation where it is reprinted.
9. Genju of the Realm
Betrayers of Kamigawa
/12266.jpg)
This is such a weird card – again, one that has never been reprinted – and given how competitive slots are in five-color Commander decks, it’s surprising it sees any play at all. It makes sense in Jenson Carthalion, Druid Exile, but outside of that… why would you play Genju of the Realm in your Kenrith, the Returned King deck when you could play, I don’t know, any other card at all? An 8/12 trampler can be useful, sure, but for WUBRG you could just play Maelstrom Nexus and get some real value without paying an extra two mana each turn. At $6, this card doesn’t feel remotely worth it.
8. Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
Betrayers of Kamigawa
/12295.jpg)
Kira, Great Glass-Spinner has been so strongly associated with Merfolk typal for so long that people might be surprised to find out that it is not, in fact, a Merfolk at all. Some Modern Merfolk decks have stopped playing it, replacing it with other cards that can protect the squad such as Svyelun of Sea and Sky, but more traditional lists still find room for a copy or two of Kira, for old times’ sake. With greatly decreased demand, however, and a few reprints, Kira is now a $6 card – quite a long way away from her former peak of $18.
7. Throat Slitter
Betrayers of Kamigawa
/12376.jpg)
Throat Slitter has done alright for itself in recent years. Back in 2019 it was barely much more than a bulk uncommon, and now it’s worth $6.50? I think a lot of that has to do with the resurgence of Ninja in sets like Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, which has allowed Throat Slitter to do what it does best: slit throats. Even connecting once with this card makes it all worth it, and Ninja decks are filled with tricks to make the most of their tricksy ninjutsu cards, so Throat Slitter remains a very popular inclusion in EDH Ninja decks led by the likes of Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow.
6. Higure, the Still Wind
Betrayers of Kamigawa
/12277.jpg)
Speaking of ninjutsu, how about Higure, the Still Wind? Higure spiked as high as $25 before the release of Neon Dynasty, but has calmed down and fallen back to around $7.50 since then. This card offers a very potent suite of abilities, from being able to tutor up whichever Ninja you need for a given situation to making your ninjutsu creatures unblockable in consequent combat steps once they’ve been snuck in. Almost a must-play in EDH Ninja, I’m not surprised to see this card retain decent value despite a few reprints.
5. Lifegift
Betrayers of Kamigawa
/12300.jpg)
Any life gain deck that plays green is sure to consider playing a copy of Lifegift, especially if they already have other landfall synergies going on (Jaddi Offshoot, anyone?). Three mana is a little pricey for this effect, it’s true, but a repeatable, manaless way to gain life is always welcome in dedicated life gain decks. Like so many other cards in Betrayers of Kamigawa, Lifegift has never been reprinted, which is probably helping to maintain its price at just under $8, so I can understand people passing on it purely when it comes to its bang-to-buck aspect.
4. Umezawa’s Jitte
Betrayers of Kamigawa
/12383.jpg)
A classic, iconic card, Umezawa’s Jitte is so powerful it has been banned in Modern ever since the format was first conceived. Anyone who has ever played either with or against this card will understand how impossible it makes combat for those who are up against it, and with cards like Stoneforge Mystic available to search it up, it makes a great inclusion in an Equipment suite. Would it be too good for Modern these days? I’m not sure about that, but I do know that an unbanning would see the price skyrocket, at least to begin with, as people tested it out. For such a powerful and famous card, $8.50 feels reasonable – but if that’s asking too much, you can pick up a version from The List for around $6.
3. Shining Shoal
Betrayers of Kamigawa
/12347.jpg)
Shining Shoal was a dollar rare for years – decades, almost – before a massive price spike earlier this year. A “budget” mono-white Humans list put up some results in Modern, playing Shining Shoal as well as cards like Chancellor of the Annex and Emeria’s Call to close out games with a surprise seven damage. The deck hasn’t really stuck around, but Shining Shoal’s price certainly has, costing more than 10 times what it did at the beginning of the year. Unless you’re hellbent on playing a weird, fringe Modern deck that didn’t really make it, I’d stay well away from this card.
2. Goryo’s Vengeance
Betrayers of Kamigawa
/12271.jpg)
Once the centerpiece card of a deck that dominated Modern, the best days of Goryo’s Vengeance are probably behind it. Back in 2017 and 2018, this was a $50 card, but between an Ultimate Masters reprint and the fact that, y’know, the deck it was in just isn’t really a deck any more, Goryo’s Vengeance has completely collapsed in price. It was as low as $5, earlier in the year, but a spike back in March has seen it settle at around $15 since then. It’s a powerful card, there’s no doubt about it, and a great way to cheat something like Griselbrand into play – albeit very briefly.
1. Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
Betrayers of Kamigawa
/12284.jpg)
The most expensive card in Betrayers of Kamigawa isn’t really all that expensive – Ink-Eyes is a $15 card, due to its popularity in Ninja EDH decks. Very rarely played as a commander itself (why would you deprive yourself of playing all the blue cards), Ink-Eyes has a very powerful on-hit effect and a cheap regeneration ability, making it a very difficult card to beat when you’re left without an appropriate answer. Additionally, it’s not just Ninja decks that play Ink-Eyes – you’ll also find it in Rat decks, led by the likes of Karumonix, the Rat King. Steady demand plus a lack of recent proper reprints mean that Ink-Eyes maintains solid value!