Landfalling into value.
Zendikar is a classic set from Magic’s part, introducing us to a plane we’ve since revisited (although much less enjoyably, sorry, Battle for Zendikar) along with propagating some iconic gameplay and aesthetic aspects. Landfall, one of Magic’s most popular mechanics, is from Zendikar, and Zendikar full-art basics were amongst Magic’s first. Zendikar introduced enemy-colored fetchlands, of course, but those aren’t the only cards to have held a high price over the years – let’s get into the most expensive cards from this set!
Note: As I’ve done in previous articles, I’m leaving out the cycle of expensive lands that is found in this set. Having half the article be about fetchlands would not make for good content, and it’s hardly news to anyone even remotely invested in Magic that fetchlands are really good – and, ergo, really expensive. From Marsh Flats at $12 to Scalding Tarn at $25, these are top-tier Constructed staples, the sort of cards you can rely upon to hold a reasonable amount of value long-term. Fetchlands are great: buy them, play them, love them. We move on.
10. Warren Instigator
Warren Instigator is a very common inclusion in Goblin decks in Commander, and between that and being a mythic, it has managed to hold steady at around $8 for many years. Warren Instigator offers a pretty ridiculous effect, able to cheat two Goblins into play if it can connect: a free Siege-Gang Commander is no joke, let alone something like a Muxus, Goblin Grandee. This card was reprinted in an old Duel Deck many years ago, and more recently in a Secret Lair, but there hasn’t yet been a full-scale reprint of Warren Instigator – it’ll be interesting to see how much the price ends up coming down once there is a proper reprint.
9. Sorin Markov
Sorin’s first appearance was in Zendikar, despite him becoming more closely associated with Innistrad in the years to come. Sorin Markov sees a bit of play in all sorts of EDH decks: superfriends lists with Carth the Lion or Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice, life gain lists with Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose or Astarion, the Decadent, Vampire-themed lists with Olivia Voldaren, and devotion lists with Erebos, God of the Dead. He’s not a standout inclusion in any of these strategies, but with a set of powerful abilities (being able to bring the life gain player down to 10 life instantly is pretty ridiculous) and lasting appeal as a longstanding character in Magic’s story, it makes sense that this card still costs $9.
8. Bloodghast
Bloodghast has settled down from its time as a $25 to $30 card, and has hovered at or above $10 since being reprinted in Iconic Masters. As one of Magic’s most frustratingly resilient recursive creatures, Bloodghast has seen plenty of play in Modern Dredge and other decks that similarly play out of the graveyard. Right now, those decks aren’t at their best in any competitive format, but Bloodghast still gets played in Commander, perfect fodder for commanders such as Braids, Arisen Nightmare and Yawgmoth, Thran Physician. If you need reliable ways to sacrifice creatures, Bloodghast is a great way to ensure you have something to toss away each turn.
7. Luminarch Ascension
As you can very easily figure out just by looking at this card, it is not very difficult to satisfy its conditions in a game of EDH – in under two turn cycles, you can go from playing this to churning out 4/4 fliers for just two mana apiece. That makes it a very attractive inclusion in defensive decks that load up on Ghostly Prison-type effects to discourage attacks, as well as being a must-play card in Angel decks as a cheap way to keep your board filled with relevant creatures. Luminarch Ascension has only been reprinted once, in Masters 25 (I’m not including the Spanish-only Salvat 2011 printing here) and jumped from $5 to $11 a couple of years ago as interest in EDH rose. I can’t see it being widely reprinted, so it’s probably a reasonably safe buy at this price.
6. Eldrazi Monument
Another card that jumped up in price a couple of years ago, Eldrazi Monument has remained a consistent $12 since 2021, and is a reasonably common anthem effect in go-wide token decks led by commanders such as Rhys the Redeemed, Marrow-Gnawer and even Krenko, Mob Boss. Any deck with tokens to throw away to Eldrazi Monument’s triggered ability should consider playing this card – having your team be indestructible is absolutely bonkers, and the stat boost and flying aren’t bad either. Is it worth $12? Like Luminarch Ascension, Eldrazi Monument is less likely to see a wide-scale reprint due to its thematic tie to Zendikar (meaning they can’t just jam it into a set like Wilds of Eldraine) – but it’s worth noting that it has never had a wide-scale reprint, only some supplementary reprints, and so the price may have some room to fall should it be widely reprinted in something like Commander Masters.
5. Archive Trap
With Dimir Mill decks taking Modern by storm at the moment, Archive Trap is back to doing its very best work: burning through 13 cards for zero mana. But that’s not all Archive Trap does – it’s also commonly found in Vintage sideboards. Why? I’m not an expert, and this is just my best guess, but seeing that Doomsday is reasonably well-represented in Vintage at the moment, Archive Trap might be played as a silver bullet to kill Doomsday players on the spot after they’ve searched for their five cards. Doomsday does say “search” in its Oracle text, and with a library of just five cards once the spell resolves, Doomsday players will just die to decking thanks to a well-timed Archive Trap. With high demand in competitive formats and no reprints to speak of outside The List, it makes sense to see Archive Trap at $17.
4. Bloodchief Ascension
There are a lot of commanders that can quite easily ensure that opponents lose two life a turn – Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Nekusar, the Mindrazer, Mogis, God of Slaughter, the list goes on – and so it becomes trivially easy for Bloodchief Ascension to come online and start draining people like crazy. A lot of cards are put in graveyards in EDH, and an active Bloodchief Ascension demands a very quick answer before it singlehandedly burns out the table, buffering its owner’s life total all the while. If you’re playing with a commander that can routinely deal two damage, such as those mentioned above or others like Kambal, Consul of Allocation, Liesa, Shroud of Dusk or even Seizan, Perverter of Truth, you should find room for a Bloodchief Ascension – even if it does cost $18.
3. Emeria, the Sky Ruin
If you’re playing a mono-white Commander deck, you better have a very good reason not to run Emeria, the Sky Ruin. This card can provide an absolutely absurd amount of value without you jumping through any hoops at all: you just play lands, like you would anyway, and every turn you’re reanimating your best creature. Think of the nonsense you can get up to with cards like Ranger-Captain of Eos, Kami of False Hope and especially Lena, Selfless Champion! Emeria, the Sky Ruin is great, your opponents will be forced to answer it, and its power is why it will cost you a princely $20 – but that price might just be safe, as like some of the other strongly Zendikar-themed cards in this article, Emeria is a tough one to reprint widely.
2. Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
As is Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, the centerpiece of Scapeshift decks of old. Today, Valakut is still played in Modern, in decks like Amulet Titan and even Omnath lists. Outside of competitive considerations, much like Emeria in white decks, you have to have a pretty good reason not to play Valakut in mono-red EDH lists. A Lightning Bolt whenever you play a Mountain is excellent – it’s not as strong as Emeria’s triggered ability, but it is essentially free, with the only cost you pay being the fact you’re playing a tapland. Oh, and the $20 you pay for the Valakut, of course, a price it has held firmly for many years. It would be interesting if lands like Emeria and Valakut were reprinted in something like Commander Masters, but as Valakut is more of a competitive card and as that would probably result in some of the set’s rare slots being “wasted” on the other cards in the cycle (like the thoroughly mediocre Magosi, the Waterveil), I can’t see it happening.
1. Mindbreak Trap
Free spells always have the potential to be absolutely busted, and much like Archive Trap, Mindbreak Trap is also an eternal staple. A hugely important sideboard card in Vintage that also sees play in Legacy, Mindbreak Trap flourishes in a format filled with cheap spells, wins protracted counter wars, and completely stops storm decks in their tracks. Additionally, Mindbreak Trap is sometimes seen in cEDH, so there’s no shortage of demand for this card, which helps to explain why it costs 50 American dollars. A somewhat old mythic, never been reprinted, that happens to be an essential piece of sideboard technology in Magic’s most expensive format? Mindbreak Trap is not cheap, and is in desperate need of a reprint in order to bring its price back under control.