Prices that ain’t horsin’ around.
With a couple of weeks having passed since Outlaws of Thunder Junction’s release, we’ve got a much clearer picture of the value of the set, and in particular the value of the chase cards it brought with it. In the base set, there are plenty of exciting cards that people are scrambling to get their hands on, but we’re also seeing some hyped cards come down in price as well. Let’s have a look at what the top 10 most expensive cards look like right now, and try to figure out if these prices are likely to stay the same or change as time goes on.
10. The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride
The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride
Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Mythic
After a ludicrous start out at $35 or so, the latest iteration of the Gitrog has settled down to a much more reasonable $5. Already, thousands of decks have been built around Magic’s second-most famous Frog – Yargle, needless to say, occupies the top position, and incidentally is pretty good in decks led by The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride. Combine the new Gitrog with over-statted creatures like Daemogoth Titan and Rotting Regisaur and you’ll be drawing cards and playing lands like crazy – for a decently powerful and fun-looking mythic commander, $5 feels like a reasonable price.
9. Jace Reawakened
Jace Reawakened
Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Mythic
Jace is back, to the great relief of dedicated blue mages everywhere, and this latest version looks pretty sweet. It’s not all that often that we get a two-mana planeswalker, and even if this one can’t be cast on turn two, it still offers a lot of power for a small mana cost. Jace Reawakened is already seeing some play in Modern, as diehard Grixis fans do whatever they can to put together a deck that’s actually playable, and the demand for this new two-drop Jace means it’s going for $8 or so.
8. Railway Brawler
Railway Brawler
Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Mythic
Doubling the power of every creature you play is no joke, especially in a deck that cares about +1/+1 counters. Play Railway Breaker in a deck like Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider, and when you play your commander it’ll be an… 18/18? I think? Or you can play Railway Breaker in Shalai and Hallar to mete out a ton of damage with every creature you play, or put it in Indominus Rex, Alpha to draw at least six cards after deploying the mighty Dinosaur. $8 feels pretty reasonable for an effect this powerful, to be honest, so if you’re in the business of +1/+1 counters, snap up your copies in case it goes up in price.
7. Gisa, the Hellraiser
Gisa, the Hellraiser
Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Mythic
Assuming you build around this card properly, you get an enormous amount of power from Gisa, the Hellraiser. Making two Zombie tokens every turn is no joke – with Gisa as your commander, you can use cards like Withered Wretch or Zombie Trailblazer to commit a crime every single turn and generate eight tokens per turn cycle. That’s pretty good! Breaking into the top level of Zombie commanders is very difficult, as it’s a crowded field, but Gisa offers a lot of power with minimal setup, and will only set you back around $11.
6. Goldvein Hydra
Goldvein Hydra
Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Mythic
Hydras generally do pretty well for themselves as a popular creature type, and Goldvein Hydra is a pretty sweet one. Starting things off as a battlefield-based Fireball, thanks to its trample/haste combo, Goldvein Hydra can also play defense with vigilance, and then you get a rebate on all the mana you spent on it when it dies thanks to all those Treasure tokens. Whether you’re playing a Hydra deck, a +1/+1 counter deck or a Treasure deck, Goldvein Hydra is going to do some work, and as such this card costs around $13.
5. Slickshot Show-Off
Slickshot Show-Off
Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Rare
A powerful addition to prowess-style decks everywhere, Slickshot Show-Off has been very quickly adopted by aggressive strategies across Standard, Pioneer and Modern. Pioneer Mono-Red has never looked better, while Slickshot Show-Off seems to be replacing Ledger Shredder in Modern Prowess decks. Given most of its demand comes from older formats, it’ll be interesting to see what happens to this card’s price in the long term, especially as unlike many other rares in OTJ, Slickshot Show-Off is currently increasing in value right now. $13.50 feels like a lot for a rare, but it may prove to be cheap if this card continues to see widespread play.
4. Bristly Bill, Spine Sower
Bristly Bill, Spine Sower
Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Mythic
What an inclusion in any deck that can distribute +1/+1 counters across its creatures – Bristly Bill will very swiftly cause those creatures to grow to a staggering size as he doubles the counters on them, turn after turn. While not necessarily the best choice for a commander, as just playing mono-green restricts your card choices pretty significantly, Bristly Bill is terrific in the 99 and will, I suspect, be a terrifying late-game card in any +1/+1 counter deck. As a result, this card remains one of the chase mythics of the set, and currently sits at a respectable $15.
3. Final Showdown
Final Showdown
Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Mythic
We don’t get a lot of instant-speed sweepers these days, and for good reason. They tend to be very good, to put it mildly, as the ability to clear the board in the end step before you start your turn means you’re the one to start rebuilding first. It gets better with Final Showdown, however, a card that also kills indestructible creatures and can save your best threat as it sweeps the battlefield. I’m not surprised to see Final Showdown at $17, and I think that number is only going to go up in time – people are going to want this card for a long time, and as it has spree it won’t be the easiest card to reprint.
2. Terror of the Peaks
Terror of the Peaks
Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Mythic
A reprint from M21, Terror of the Peaks was a $45 card before turning up in Thunder Junction. This reprint has more than halved the price – new copies are only $17 – which will allow more players than ever to unleash terror on their opponents with this deadly mythic. If you haven’t ever played against this card, hoo boy, it won’t take you long to learn what it’s capable of – especially in a Dragon deck filled with huge creatures, and especially especially when led by Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm. One Terror of the Peaks is bad enough, but when your opponent has multiple copies, forget about it.
1. Tinybones, the Pickpocket
Tinybones, the Pickpocket
Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Mythic
“The new Ragavan”, they’re saying, but I don’t see it. Sure, blocking a 1/1 deathtouch is annoying, but it’s preferable to letting them loot your graveyard! Maybe I’m dead wrong and the new Tinybones is as good as people are saying, but somehow I don’t think so. As sweet as this card is, I think it’s overrated, and I don’t think it will sustain its $20 price tag in the long term. If you’re in desperate need of this card, go ahead and grab it, but I think patience will be rewarded in time with Tinybones, the Pickpocket, as I don’t think it’s a $22 card.