Top 10 Most Expensive MTG Cards in Fifth Dawn

These Fifth Dawn prices are still uncommonly high!

Historically speaking, artifact-based sets have always done very well for themselves over the years. Being filled with powerful cards lacking meaningful color restrictions means the contents of artifact-based sets are just that more likely to see widespread play, and Fifth Dawn is no exception. It won’t surprise you to learn that of the 10 most expensive cards from Fifth Dawn, eight are artifacts, and one of the non-artifact cards directly relates to artifacts. However – at the risk of coming off as very clickbaity – you very genuinely will be surprised at what comes in at number one!

10. Fist of Suns

Commander 2017, Rare

Fist of Suns is a very popular card in five-color Commander decks and has a price tag that reflects that. $8.50 seems about right for a powerful card that fits into a reasonably commonly-played EDH archetype, although as the format continues to grow (and assuming it doesn’t get a major reprint), Fist of Suns will only rise in price as supply dwindles. Fifth Dawn was printed a long time ago – almost 20 years – and Fist of Suns has only been reprinted once, in Commander 2017. If you’re looking for a copy for your five-color monstrosity, now’s probably as good a time as any to buy. 

9. Vedalken Orrery

Double Masters 2022, Rare

Another useful utility artifact that comes in at around the $9 mark, Vedalken Orrery’s price has had a much wilder journey than Fist of Suns. There was a point, around the release of Strixhaven, that this card was more than $60! Thankfully, a Double Masters 2022 reprint has calmed the price down to its current spot (a Double Masters 2022 copy can be picked up for around $6). This card remains popular in all sorts of different Commander decks because some people just really enjoy Leyline of Anticipation effects – it’s not the sort of card that is purpose-built for a particular artifact, it’s just a powerful and fun Magic card that can spice up a game of Commander.  

8. Auriok Champion

Iconic Masters, Rare

For a two-mana 1/1, Auriok Champion punches well above its weight when it comes to price. Like Vedalken Orrery, it surged to over $60 in mid-2021! Today’s price of around $14 isn’t due to being reprinted or anything like that – its only reprint was in 2017’s Iconic Masters – but it does tell us a few things. First, Auriok Champion isn’t as playable in formats like Modern as it used to be: there was a period where this was an auto-include in white sideboards. Second, as the Iconic Masters version is about half the price of the Fifth Dawn version, it seems like people prefer the old art. Third, price memory is a powerful thing, as despite not really being played outside of Humans and Mono-White in Modern, it remains a relatively pricey card. 

7. Doubling Cube

10th Edition, Rare

When decks want to go big – really big – in Commander, Doubling Cube is here to help out. From Kruphix, God of Horizons to Omnath, Locus of Mana, Doubling Cube helps any deck looking to make boatloads of mana go bigger than ever before. It’s a weird and rather unique effect, and even if the card doesn’t have the broad, I-might-as-well-play-this appeal of Vedalken Orrery, it being a rather niche option hasn’t affected its price. It hasn’t received a major reprint since Tenth Edition, and remains a commonly played card in big mana EDH decks, so Doubling Cube maintains a respectable $15 price tag as a result. 

6. Engineered Explosives

Double Masters, Rare

Do you remember when this card was $100? I remember. Back in 2018, this card was so wildly prevalent in Modern sideboards that it broke into three figures for awhile – and that was with a reprint in the first Modern Masters. It’s still commonly included in Modern 75s, but has thankfully shed its absurd price tag. Since 2018, we’ve seen Engineered Explosives included in both Ultimate Masters and Double Masters, and so the price is a little more reasonable at $17. However, as is the case with Auriok Champion, the original Fifth Dawn version is about twice the price of later reprints, which cost between $8 and $9. There is a real premium put on these old Fifth Dawn cards, it seems!

5. Steelshaper’s Gift

Commander Masters, Rare

$17 for an uncommon? It’s more likely than you think. Sensei’s Divining Top, even Force of Will – plenty of old uncommons end up being worth squillions, and this card is one of them. Steelshaper’s Gift sees a decent amount of play in Commander, as a powerful tutor in Equipment-based decks led by generals such as Balan, Wandering Knight or Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale  – but more than anything, it’s Steelshaper’s role in Modern that keeps its price high. A key piece of redundancy in Hammer Time decks, even being played as a one-of in these lists means it remains expensive. This card has only been reprinted in an old Duel Deck, so there simply aren’t enough copies out there for it to be properly affordable. 

4. Crucible of Worlds

Double Masters 2022, Mythic

Man, Fifth Dawn is full of powerful, weirdly unique utility artifacts, isn’t it? Crucible of Worlds is yet another EDH archetype staple, absolutely essential in decks that a) want to play a lot of lands and b) exploit the graveyard, such as Lord Windgrace, The Gitrog Monster or Titania, Protector of Argoth. A reprint in Core Set 2019 wasn’t enough to keep the price down – especially after the release of Zendikar Rising – and so it took another reprint in Double Masters 2022 to satisfy demand. Since then, Crucible’s price has consistently trended down to where it sits today, at around $25 – irrespective of version, interestingly. 

3. Grinding Station

Fifth Dawn, Uncommon

Grinding Station is another weirdly expensive uncommon – due to the fact that it has never been reprinted, not ever, not even once – this card is almost $30. Why? Again, it’s a niche utility card in EDH, very popular in decks like Teshar, Ancestor’s Apostle or Emry, Lurker of the Loch, and it’s also a key part of a Modern deck alongside Underworld Breach. However, the real reason this card is so expensive is that if you need a copy, you are limited to the ever-diminishing supply from Fifth Dawn. This makes it a risky purchase these days, given that every other card we’ve gone over today has been reprinted at least once – you’d think Grinding Station would be due for a reprint of its own, which will almost certainly bring its price down. 

2. Krark-Clan Ironworks

Fifth Dawn, Uncommon

Would you believe it, another weird utility uncommon artifact printed in Fifth Dawn that commands a steep price! Krark-Clan Ironworks was, as many will remember, the centerpiece of one of the most complicated and confusing combo decks in Modern’s history before it was finally banned back in 2019. The ban didn’t do much to depress the price of this card, however, which remains at around $32 despite only really seeing play in Commander. Why? Because it’s still out there enabling ridiculous combos: Ironworks plus Thopter/Sword gains you infinite life and mana, Ironworks plus Breya and Nim Deathmantle (or Eldrazi Displacer) also throws in infinite damage for good measure. Again, however, this card is a risky buy, given that it could see a reprint at any time in some kind of supplemental set. 

1. Mycosynth Golem

Fifth Dawn, Rare

If I were writing this article two months ago, Mycosynth Golem would have been in the middle of the pack as a $15 to $20 card. In late 2022, however, there was a massive price spike and now Mycosynth Golem is the most expensive card in Fifth Dawn, having doubled to around $40. Sure, it’s a strong card with an absurd effect – affinity for artifacts is one of the most broken mechanics in Magic’s history – but this is not a sustainable price. Mycosynth Golem sees some play in Golem decks with Bosh, Iron Golem or Ich-Tekik, Salvage Splicer, but this is not a $40 card and the price will crash the moment it sees a reprint. Which, given the number of highly reprintable cards from Fifth Dawn, hopefully won’t be too far away!