Top 10 Most Expensive MTG Cards in Alliances

No, #1 isn’t Force of Will.

Usually, when examining old sets filled with expensive Reserved List cards, there’s no reason that the cards are expensive other than the fact that they’re on the Reserved List. Today as we go all the way back to 1996’s Alliances, however, things are a little different. Many of the Reserved List cards in Alliances do actually see some play, or have made a name for themselves as well-known cards. And on top of all this, of course, Alliances contains one of the most famous and powerful cards in Magic’s history – let’s not hang about any longer, and get stuck straight into the list!

10. Ritual of the Machine

Ritual of the Machine

Alliances, Rare

Whenever I see that a card is on the Reserved List, I automatically assume two things: it’s going to cost 10 billion dollars, and it is probably going to be pretty bad as well. I’m happy to say that in Ritual of the Machine’s case, I’m only half-right! This card is indeed pretty bad, but it’s only $6. Now, the reason it’s a $6 Reserved List card may have something to do with the fact that it’s pretty bad, but still, we take what we can get with the Reserved List. In any case, Ritual of the Machine sees close to zero play, even in decks that are all about mind control effects like Merieke Ri Berit or decks that have plenty of sacrifice fodder like Chatterfang, Squirrel General, Ritual of the Machine isn’t ever really included. Just play Mind Control instead, I guess.

9. Thought Lash

Thought Lash

Alliances, Rare

Mark Tedin has a hell of an imagination, I tell you what. I’m so glad these old cards let him off the leash like this. Anyway – Thought Lash! Another reasonably cheap Reserved List card, at “only” $10, Thought Lash actually sees a little bit of play in a few niche EDH lists. First, decks like Falco Spara, Pactweaver and Emperor Mihail II need a way to clear the top of their library for their Future Sight effects, and Thought Lash does that for free. Second, donation-themed decks like Zedruu the Greathearted, which can pile up some age counters on this card then give it away before things get really hairy. Both uses are very neat and tidy ways to get some value out of a card that would, otherwise, be pretty unimpressive.

8. Phelddagrif

Phelddagrif

Alliances, Rare

Phelddagrif is the original “group hug” commander – decks that are themed around playing effects that benefit everyone at the table. Group hug decks can lead to some pretty wild games of Commander, as everyone draws their extra cards with Rites of Flourishing and Dictate of Kruphix while having bonus mana through Heartbeat of Spring and Selvala, Explorer Returned. You can see how well-suited Phelddagrif is suited to being a group hug commander, but all the same, it’s usually Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis that lead group hug decks these days. Still, Phelddagrif is a classic, and at only $10, it’s actually cheaper than Kynaios and Tiro.

7. Phyrexian Devourer

Phyrexian Devourer

Alliances, Rare

Here’s another card like Thought Lash, one that can clear the top card of your library! …but only for a little while, unfortunately. You don’t see Falco Spara, Pactweaver decks playing Phyrexian Devourer purely because so few activations of the card-clearing ability really isn’t enough to make it worthwhile (especially at six mana). Where Phyrexian Devourer can be of some us is in Trazyn the Infinite, as Trazyn can pick up the Devourer’s ability once it dies, and some Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord decks play it as a quick way to dome the table for a bunch of damage. All the same, I wouldn’t call Phyrexian Devourer an overachiever, and it doesn’t feel worth $13.50 to me.

6. Kjeldoran Outpost

Kjeldoran Outpost

Alliances, Rare

One of the original and most efficient token-producing lands, Kjeldoran Outpost has been imitated many times, especially in more recent years: Legion’s Landing, Castle Ardenvale, the list goes on. Kjeldoran Outpost does come with the significant downside of having to sacrifice a land, but after that you can tap just three lands to make a 1/1 every single turn. There are a lot of token decks that are very interested in such an ability, especially if there are Soldier synergies to exploit with commanders such as Harbin, Vanguard Aviator. This is a card I would consider to be closer in value to its asking price: $16 for a classic old card like this doesn’t feel like much, and between the Reserved List and the fact that token decks are always going to be popular, it’s not likely to lose value.

5. Thawing Glaciers

Thawing Glaciers

Alliances, Rare

The name of this card isn’t the only glacial thing about it – Thawing Glaciers will provide value, but it will take a long time as the lands trickle in at a truly glacial pace. Despite being a solid if clunky value engine, this card doesn’t see too much play in today’s Commander format. The card does have some cool uses: you’re are able to do silly things with fringe commanders like Patron of the Moon or Taniwha (Taniwha phases out the Thawing Glaciers before it bounces back to your hand, or something, I don’t know – no one really understands phasing, let’s be honest). Overall, however, Thawing Glaciers is just too slow, and there are better and quicker ways to get lands out of your library – and they don’t cost $20.

4. Soldevi Excavations

Soldevi Excavations

Alliances, Rare

Soldevi Excavations has the same “sacrifice a land” clause as Kjeldoran Outpost, but offers a little more payoff in two ways: first, it taps for two mana, which goes a long way in making up for the land you sacrificed. Second, its scry ability costs just a single mana (on top of tapping the Excavations), which is very cheap indeed. Every single Eligeth, Crossroads Augur deck wants to play this card, obviously, and if you’re planning to build a deck around the brand-new Galadriel of Lothlorien, I would look to include Soldevi Excavations there, as well. However – it’s not cheap, at $23, having spiked as recently as a few months ago. There might still be some downward movement on the price after the spike, so it’s not an urgent buy.

3. Helm of Obedience

Helm of Obedience

Alliances, Rare

Helm of Obedience is a very effective combo piece, which should explain its heft $50 price tag. Combine this card with any static graveyard-exiling effect (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void, Dauthi Voidwalker), and you can mill out an opponent in one go for just five mana: four for the Helm, and one to activate it. As the milled cards are immediately exiled rather than going to the graveyard, the Helm never stops milling them, and so their entire library ends up exiled. This is sometimes played as a finisher in hatebear or stax-style decks like Grand Arbiter Augustin IV or Lavinia, Azorius Renegade, but I like it best in Selesnya decks – because then you can play Wheel of Sun and Moon instead of Rest in Peace and draw the game instantly!

2. Force of Will

Force of Will

Dominaria Remastered, Mythic

One of Magic’s most iconic and enduringly powerful cards, Force of Will is a staple in Legacy, where it acts as a safety net against the most broken combos the format has to offer. A free counterspell is very necessary in a format where turn-one kills are possible! Force of Will is also very popular in cEDH – for the same reasons as in Legacy, I imagine – but, in my opinion at least, far too many people play this card in casual Commander. Anyway, when it comes to price, there was a time that Force of Will cost well over $100, as much as $150, even! Thankfully, the price has come down a long way thanks to a few reprints (as an uncommon, originally, Force isn’t on the Reserved List), and the original Alliances printing is “only” $75 now, compared to the $55 Dominaria Remastered versions.

1. Lake of the Dead

Lake of the Dead

Alliances, Rare

In fact, Force of Will has fallen in price so much that it’s not even the most expensive card in the set! Lake of the Dead, which is on the Reserved List and therefore not eligible to be reprinted like Force, is almost a $100 card, after a spike in early 2021 set the price soaring. It’s a useful card in decks like The Gitrog Monster, and isn’t bad in mono-black decks like K’rrik, Son of Yawgmoth or Yawgmoth, Thran Physician – any land that taps for four mana is going to have something going for it. I’ve also seen it in Legacy a little bit here and there, in some Reanimator lists, but this is not a card that is widely played enough to justify costing $92. It has a unique and powerful effect, but for almost $100? You can build a half-decent K’rrik deck for $100, never mind spending it all on one single card.