In an earlier edition of my Underused Card Hall of Fame articles, I mentioned that I watched the casual market for casual cards with a high value. Those cards are still in high demand and can go for quite a lot of money.
Afterwards, several people asked me about high-value casual cards. I realized that there was a serious need to get this information out there. You don’t want to get ripped off in a trade because you didn’t know that Phage the Untouchable still has a really high market value due to massive casual interest.
This article will look at some old cards that have kept their value over time. It will also look at some recent cards that have high values as well. These cards are especially important, because tournament level players may undervalue them while casual players highly covet them.
I will list a variety of cards, and their current StarCityGames.com price. I’m listing the price so that you can see how it has changed over time in case you look back at this article. I will give a quick overview of why the card is doing well, and what I expect the card’s value to do in the future. I am not a store owner – but I do carefully watch the casual market, and I know casual decks and casual players.
To a casual player, these are the chase cards. I hope you find this information useful.
This list will not include cards like Vampiric Tutor and Mox Diamond. Although casual players can certainly benefit from efficient cards like these, their value is largely due to high demand in tournament-level decks.
I am going to group cards by category, instead of the normal methods. I want to show various themes that one can witness in the value of these cards. Knowing the themes can help predict the future.
Large, Efficient White Creatures
White must get a lot of play in casual circles, because the best of the White beef still holds an impressive value. Some of the highest value White cards are up there in value with the most expensive tournament legal cards. Let’s take a look/
Akroma, Angel of Wrath – $20
Akroma is casual gaming royalty, and her value is proof that White rules the casual gaming world. Many casual metagames are warped around dealing with Akroma once she hits play. As long as White remains immensely popular on the multiplayer and casual stage, Akroma will continue to have significant value.
Radiant, Archangel – $7
Although not as well known as some of her higher-profile White comrades (like, say, Akroma), Radiant still holds a very respectable value for a card that cannot be played in anything newer than extended. With a continuing value despite her age, Radiant promises to retain her value for a while. But thanks to her lack of press, as time passes by fewer players will remember her, and her value may drop a couple of bucks.
Reya Dawnbringer – $17.50
Reya appeals to both Timmy and Johnny; Timmy likes the powerful ability of Reya while Johnny likes to find ways to animate her cheaply or combine her with cards like Volrath’s Shapeshifter. As long as Reya remains the only card to do what she does, she will retain her significant value. However, if another, similar card comes along, I’d expect her value to take a hit.
Serra Avatar – $25
It looks like the Avatar of Serra wins in the “highest value” category. Serra Avatar is more expensive than even Chrome Mox or Mox Diamond. The Serra Avatar has an interesting ability that Timmy really loves because life gaining is Timmy’s friend. Life gain loves Serra Avatar. I wouldn’t expect Serra Avatar’s price to drop any time soon.
Large, Powerful Black Creatures
Only Black and White have these two sections. Black and White have very few truly powerful beefy creatures – at least ones that have acceptable casting costs. Green has plenty of options, so its rare ones hardly chart; if you can’t get a Verdant Force, surely you have a Force of Nature or a Thorn Elemental! Blue players tend to go for other cards, instead of the big beef. And while Red has several dragons, dragons aren’t nearly as popular as angels.
Avatar of Woe – $15
The Avatar has been a high-value card for an awfully long time. In multiplayer, it can almost always be played for its alternate of BB instead of its normal cost. It serves as both a beater and a control mechanism. It’s better at attacking than Visara the Dreadful is, and it usually costs less as well. I expect the Avatar’s value to stay the same.
Sliver Overlord – $5
I decided to cheat and include this here, since it is technically a Black card… And a Red card, and a White card, and a Blue card….. (You’ll see the Queen in a different category later.)
The Sliver Overlord is still a decent fellow, even if you don’t see him played much these days. On the other hand, he’s great in a Sliver deck as well as being an interesting metagame choice against Sliver decks. I would expect his value to topple a bit as slivers continue to go out of style, until they get reprinted again.
Spirit of the Night – $9
Spirit of the Night is the original Akroma, Angel of Wrath. It costs a bit more, and you can’t reanimate it via targeted spells like Animate Dead or Dance of the Dead. However, due to the influx of reanimation spells like Zombify and Vigor Mortis, Spirit of the Night is perfectly re-animatable, and has been for years. (Heck, it recently saw play in an Oath of Druids deck!) The Spirit’s value may actually increase after the release of Mirage cards online reminds some players about the card.
Visara the Dreadful – $10
As you can see, Visara is worth 33% less than the Avatar of Woe. It still serves as a nice adjunct to the Avatar, of course, but it can’t be Cloned successfully, often costs more, requires more Black to play, and flies instead of having fear. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Visara drop a buck or three as time goes by.
Old Cards that Still Have a Bit of Value
Here, I want to highlight some really old cards that you may just have laying around. You may not realize that some of these cards still have a modest value. Sure, they aren’t as popular or expensive as Sneak Attack and Akroma, but they’re still worth a good, tournament-playable rare from a recent set. There are tons of these cards hiding out there, but I wanted to highlight a few, in order to get you started looking.
Avatar of Fury – $5
The good thing about the Avatar of Fury is that it is immensely playable in multiplayer. Someone always has seven lands out, and the Avatar can deal a lot of damage quickly. Just this week I Berserked an Avatar that I had pumped up to a 14/6, dealing twenty-eight trampling points of love. I think five dollars is about where this card will stay.
Avatar of Might – $5
Another solid Avatar, the Might one suffers due to some fierce competition at the Green ground-pounders table. Lots of these cheap creatures exist, from Silvos to Child of Gaea to Hunted Troll. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Avatar slacked off a bit more in value after everything is said and done.
Catacomb Dragon – $5
All of the Dragons in Mirage still have some value, but the Catacomb is the top dog. It’s a very flavorful creature, you have to admit. I would not be surprised to see the Mirage dragons pick up in price after Mirage hits online and reminds players of these cool cards and introduces new players to them.
Tournament-Level Cards That Have Gone Casual
Lots of cards are tournament-level one day, and casual the next; that’s the nature of set rotations. Most of these cards drop in value – but some hold their value for some time, as tournament players look to dump them while casual players finally look to acquire some. Many casual players won’t pay big prices for some of these cards, but when tournament players dump them, a large market continues to thrive. This is a relatively large category, and you can get an idea of what sort of cards that are currently being played in tournaments might retain value after leaving said environment. Some of these cards may still see occasional play in tournaments.
Academy Rector – $6
The Academy Rector is a creature of choice in a variety of enchantment based combo decks. Johnnies around the world love the consistency that a Rector brings. The Academy Rector’s usefulness to a certain segment of the population should keep its value relatively constant.
Ball Lightning – $15
I wrestled with including Ball Lightning on this list or not. It continues to get occasional play in Legacy and Vintage… But not that much. Ultimately, I decided to include Ball Lightning because its value wasn’t attributable to its sporadic tournament usage, but due to casual players picking these up. I actually think Ball Lightning’s value is a bit artificial, and I expect to see this price drop somewhat over time.
Deranged Hermit – $8
Once a candidate to see play in everything from Trinity Green to Angry Hermit to the original versions of The Rock and his Millions to Rec/Sur. These days, Deranged Hermit typically hangs out with the casual players who like squirrels. It’s a solid card and a great choice for effects like Skyshroud Poacher. I expect its value to remain relatively constant, perhaps dropping a buck or two.
Living Death – $8.50
This is one of the most game-swinging cards ever printed, taking you from “seriously losing” to “seriously winning” in a single spell. That sort of power makes Living Death a permanent fixture in the casual metagame, and I simply cannot imagine it ever diminishing much in value.
Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary – $8.50
Once a typical tournament mana accelerant, Rofellos is now largely a casual only card, helping Green decks get out big creatures faster. He is both an efficient beater and a great mana producer. As long as Rofellos is viewed as an essential mono-Green tool for casual players, his value will remain. However, I’ve seen fewer decklists with him in them recently, so he may be going out of style. If that happens, expect his value to drop 50% or so.
Sapphire Medallion – $8.50
All of the Tempest Medallions have retained some value – including ones you rarely see get played like the Pearl and Emerald ones. The Sapphire Medallion, however, still has a great value. It was always the one that got played the most, since Blue has few methods of mana acceleration. It works well with Capsize and other buyback spells. As long as classic control Blue is played by certain casual players, Sapphire Medallion will remain a high value, because there is so little competition for what it does.
Tradewind Rider – $5
Another classic Blue card from Tempest (Sapphire Medallion is Blue, even if it’s technically an artifact) is the classic Tradewind Rider. Although it has diminished somewhat in value, the Tradewind Rider still packs a powerful punch around the kitchen table. Its mana-free ability to bounce a permanent fits perfectly into many Blue players’ hands. I expect its value has hardened at five bucks and will remain there.
Undermine – $6
Lots of Invasion-era cards still have several dollars of value attached to them. All of these cards are still legal in Extended, so I suspect that many have a lingering value, despite getting little actual play. Undermine has one of the best prices of these cards. Despite being a worse card than Absorb in many ways, it has always had a higher value, and that trend continues today. I wouldn’t be surprised to see another dollar or two get shaved off the price after Invasion rotates out of Extended, but that won’t be for a long while.
Unique Cards
These are cards that do things no other card does. Alternatively, they may do it better than any other card can. Cards like these will retain their value long after they’ve seen print, precisely because they are the best at what they do. The banner card for this section is Phage, who still is worth a good ten dollars today.
Haunting Echoes – $9
Time has proven the Jester’s Cap/Lobotomy strategy of stripping cards out of decks to be fairly popular among the casual crowd. But no card can do what the Echoes can. Not only does it single-handedly take out a graveyard, thus preventing graveyard tricks, but it also strips a deck clean. One resolved Echoes can turn formidable deck into a pile of lands with a few random cards tossed in. Unless another card is printed to compete with this, I doubt the Echoes’ value will ever fall significantly.
Phage the Untouchable – $10
Our banner card is a casual-game staple. Phage decks use all sorts of tricks from Whispersilk Cloak to Endless Whispers. Phage’s ability to kill opponents in a single strike changes the game from the time she hits the table until she goes farming with a Swords to Plowshares. It’s also loads of fun figuring out how to kill the Phage player; we all have stories of Astral Slides, Otherworldly Journeys, and Living Deaths killing those who thought they could control the Phage. With such flavor and verve, I expect Phage to remain a high-value card for the rest of the game.
Traumatize – $10
Traumatize used to be the best milling card in the game. Milling has always been a popular strategy, and the recent influx of milling cards from Ravnica may popularize the mechanic more, causing Traumatize’s price to rise. On the other hand, they may flood the market with alternative cards with the same effect, causing Traumatize’s price to diminish. I don’t feel comfortable making a call on this one.
Sneak Attack – $15
Sneak Attack will go down in Magic history as one of the all-time favorite enchantments to build a deck around. You get to swing with big, huge creatures that you would never otherwise play. It’s great fun to build a deck around Sneak Attack. In fact, I submit that unless a similar reusable effect is created, Sneak Attack will only rise in value over time, as players try to get more and more of them.
Cards that Rule the Roost
Among this selection of cards you will find those cards that rule in multiplayer or casual Magic. Darksteel Colossus is the banner card for this section, which also includes some goodies like Gaea’s Cradle. Expect some of the highlights of casual Magic to be featured here.
Darksteel Colossus – $10
One of the newest beatsticks of Timmies everywhere is the 1/1 indestructible trampling Colossus of all things Darksteel. From Tinker to Defense of the Heart to Tooth and Nail to Show and Tell, the “get a Darksteel out on the cheap” play is a staple among multiplayer tables. As such, I’d expect to see his value remain steady, if not experience a slight increase.
Elvish Piper – $7.50
Elvish Piper is the tool of choice at many a table. You can play an actual Timmy, Power Gamer or maybe a Quicksilver Amulet, but the Elvish Piper is the tool of choice for most players. Its’ cost is a simple one Green mana. It can play Akromas, Darksteel Colossi, and much more. As an enabler of broken things, its own value is quite apparent. As a fragile enabler, I would not be surprised to see its value slide a bit.
Gaea’s Cradle – $25
The Cradle has a deep appeal to all three players – Johnnies and Timmies and Spikes. Timmies love playing Green creatures, and Cradle gets the biggest ones out much more quickly. Johnnies like the extra mana and the benefit it provides. Spikes like playing past the curve and getting out threats faster than people can respond. All three have uses for the Cradle, and that’s the reason for its high value. Expect it to remain this high for as long as the game is in print, since I don’t see Wizards making another land that has the potential to make this much mana this easily.
Sliver Queen – $22.50
The Queen of Slivers has a rather odd price. Sure, she’s good – but she’s not that much better than other choices. Sure, Slivers are nice and all, but Sliver Overlord is sitting at a more reasonable five dollars. What is it about Sliver Queen that so captivates people? I’m stumped. I cannot come up with a $22.50 answer; just $7.50 and $10 answers. I would not be surprised to see Sliver Queen’s value deflate, because she’s not Akroma good.
(She does, however, have an ability you can’t get anywhere else, and her Sliver-making abilities can lead to crazy infinite loops – The Ferrett)
The Strange Case of Dragons
Dragons are an odd case. At first, I thought that dragons might have a high casual value because, well, they’re dragons. I suspected that dragon decks would abound, and collectors would like extras. But if that were the case, then dragon deck enablers like Kilnmouth Dragon and Zirilan of the Claw and Bladewing the Risen should have a high value… And they don’t.
Therefore, it can’t be merely dragon-hood which causes some dragons to have a high value. It also can’t be good Constructed playability, because dragons like Covetous Dragon and Fledgling Dragon have small prices as well.
Next I suspected that it might be that dragons which have a solid casual playability might have the high values. While that certainly is true of, say, Rith, the Awakener, you’ll see several less playable dragons below.
Lastly, I thought that the cool factor might help the value of some dragons. While Draco is arguably cool, as is Rith, the Awakener, we still have cool dragons like Shivan Hellkite left out, while questionably uncool dragons like Vampiric Dragon are in.
That leaves me without a major trend as to why the below dragons all have a value of $5+ dollars while others do not. Therefore I present to you the strange case of dragons.
Draco – $5
I may not get some of the dragons…. But Draco I get. A high casting cost allows it to be abused with a variety of Scourge’s “size matters” cards, while it remains a playable 9/9 flyer for just six mana under the right circumstances. I suspect that it will keep this value for as long as sixteen casting-cost 9/9 flyers for six mana are rare. Which should be always.
Rith, the Awakener (And Friends) – $7
Rith has the highest value of the Invasion rare dragons, but others still retain some value as well. Look for non-Dromar dragons to all have a value of $5+. I can get why these still have a value too, because they have the cool factor with their 6/6 bodies and three color casting costs. Still, I suspect that they can continue to be antiquated, and maybe drop another buck or two before settling.
Rorix Bladewing – $6
Rorix is a great efficient beater for Red. Red lacks a large selection of good flyers, so you take what you can get. Rorix is very Red, so he won’t get splashed too much. You get a great hasty body with Rorix, plus the whole flying ability, so Rorix remains a great card.., And it makes Volcanic Dragon redundant, so I expect it will enjoy a high value for a while.
Teeka’s Dragon – $6
Teeka’s Dragon is one of those I just don’t get. It’s overcosted, it has lousy abilities, and it’s not nearly as good as Draco. Nine mana spent, and all you get is a 5/5 flyer with trample? (Who cares about the rampage?) It’s not even that cool. Unlike many of the other Mirage cards, which I expect may rise in value when they are introduced to new players, the online Mirage cards may remind people why Teeka’s Dragon sucks.
Vampiric Dragon – $6
I get the whole “A Black/Red dragon must be cool” element…. But if that were the case, then why isn’t Bladewing the Risen in this list as well? Vampiric Dragon has got to be the biggest “What the…?” card on this list. Teeka’s Dragon, although sucky, at least has held its value for years and years. Vampiric Dragon, on the other hand, retains a solid value despite not being all that great. The sheer number of better dragons with lower prices that I could name would stagger a mule. I have no reason to believe that Vampiric Dragon will retain its price, because it should never have had this price to begin with.
The Classics
These are cards that never go out of style. Other cards may do what they do, so these will never have a super-high value, but they continue to do things well and players still want them.
Coat of Arms – $10
Ah yes, the Coat of Arms has arrived. It’s been one of the most valuable cards in the basic set over the past few sets… And yet you never see it in serious tournament play. It’s retained its value because of enormous casual appeal. Virtually every single creature theme deck can benefit from Coats. I don’t expect its value to drop much at all, and it may only rise if it fails to see reprinting.
Ertai, Wizard Adept – $5
Ertai is a recurring, uncounterable Counterspell every turn. Last Word is essentially one activation of Ertai. Other permanents may counter and be less fragile or more reliable or versatile – but Ertai is the classic, and I think its value will remain solid.
Grave Pact – $6
Grave Pact is one of the top multiplayer cards of all time. Look no further than previous incarnations of Anthony Alongi Multiplayer Hall of Fame to see that it rates highly on several important elements. Although less in vogue today than yesterday, Grave Pact is still a solid card that can be built around. I don’t expect too much of a drop here.
Scroll Rack – $6.50
Scroll Rack is usually a bad card in a Blue deck, since Blue has lots of other abilities that trump the Scroll Rack. But other colors often have a hard time drawing extra lands or digging into their deck. That’s where Scroll Rack steps in. Sure, Sensei’s Divining Top, Sylvan Library, and Mirri’s Guile are good enough… But the Scroll Rack is the ubiquitous way of getting a chance to look at more cards and doing it for very little mana. I love including Racks in my decks. I expect its value to increase over time, unless some other card antiquates it.
Time Warp – $7.50
Time Warp is one of the best ways to take an extra turn that doesn’t involve spending tons of dough to get one of the Power Nine. There are plenty of other ways, from Final Fortune to Second Chance to Time Vault and more. It’s a splashy card that was considered fair enough to see printed in two different Portal sets under different names. It will hold its value for now – but it feels like the sort of card that Wizards might reprint, either literally or virtually. If that happens, watch its value change.
Volrath’s Stronghold – $6
The Stronghold does something that plenty of other cards can do; recurring creatures is nothing, especially when all you do is put one on top of your library. However, it is the classic and will always have a place in decks. Sure, you can play Haunted Crossroads or something – but why not just play the original? That thought will keep the Stronghold at a good value, and may even slightly increase over time.
Recent Cards that Will Keep Their Value For a Long Time
These cards currently are Standard-legal and have a relatively high value. I believe that they will retain this value after they rotate out of Type Two because of high casual demand. Normally, cards lose value as they rotate out of environments, but I think these are safe investments.
Cranial Extraction – $20
Cranial Extraction is a fine card and a great way to take out annoying cards in casual and multiplayer without having to ban them. Want to stop Mr. Obliterate from striking again? Enter the Cranial Extraction. After it rotates out, I think casual demand should be enough to keep it in the $10-12 price range. However, if it continues to see tournament play in Legacy, Vintage and/or Extended, then its value could be higher – probably around its current level.
Jester’s Cap – $6.50
The Jester’s Cap has been printed and reprinted an awful lot, and the value of this card is still a solid six-fifty. If there is no Cap in Tenth Edition, I’d still expect it to demand a solid price, because it has kept its value for so long. There may be better ways of Capping an opponent these days, but nothing does it like the original.
Kokusho the Evening Star – $18.50
Kokusho the Broken Star is an amazing creature for multiplayer. Killing off a Kokusho and gaining twenty-five life while nailing all opponents for five is a great swing, and many a player has fallen before the Broken Star. I do not expect this value to diminish much at all, since it’s become such a casual favorite in such a short time span.
Verdant Force – $8.50
Much like the Cap, the Force has been around for a while and has kept a decent value. Although it has been eclipsed by recent quality fat creatures like Akroma, the Verdant Force still remains a memorable card that really can turn the tides in a game. I expect it to keep its value.
Truly Old-School Cards
The last category highlights some really old cards that have a really high value. In these cases, it can be hard to determine if the value is due to heir desirability in casual play, or merely the collectibility of the card itself. (By the way, I looked up “collectibility” in a dictionary, because Word didn’t like it very much, and I couldn’t find it. After doing a search, I found it used in malpractice suits, IRS form instructions, and more. As such, I consider it to be an official word that simply hasn’t made the transition to official dictionary form.)
Nevertheless, I have looked at the price of other cards from the first three expansion sets, and virtually unplayable cards have a much lower value. All of these cards are in high demand in casual circles. I wouldn’t be surprised if the general tendency for these cards is to have high values due both to casual playability as well as rarity. I expect the value on each of these cards to remain steady, except for one note on Diamond Valley below.
All Hallow’ Eve – $40
Despite the fact that Living Death, Twilight’s Call and other effects do what All Hallow’ Eve does, only better, this enchantment from Legends still has a high value. Maybe it’s because it has such flavor, or the cool errata from sorcery to enchantment.
Diamond Valley – $75
Diamond Valley did something that few other cards did, and none did as well. Sure, Life Chisel allowed you to sac a critter for life, but only during your upkeep. Miren, the Moaning Well also does what Diamond Valley did; it has a mana activation, but it also taps for mana, so there’s a give and take there. It certainly is possible that the recently-printed Miren and future effects could cut into Diamond Valley’s playability, and therefore its price. I’d watch for that.
Drop of Honey – $40
This is a fine card that does something unusual, although recent printings of cards like Necroplasm and Culling Scales feel remarkably similar. Still, Drop of Honey is sufficiently different (and cheaper to cast) that many people really like it.
Guardian Beast – $50
Although Leonin Abunas is similar in flavor to the Guardian Beast, the result is much different. Guardian Beast still allows artifacts to be targeted, but they are unenchantable, indestructible, and unstealable. That’s a nice trifecta of casual Magic protection. Of course, you can’t swing with the Guardian Beast and keep the protection, but that’s the way it goes sometime. It’s still a great creature to this day.
Eureka – $40
One of the most-loved cards in all the casual world. Eureka is fun, flavorful, memorable, and easy to play. Everybody loves a Eureka – except for maybe Counterspell Boy. Wrath of God Girl really likes Eureka. I can’t imagine Wizards ever printing a similar card for an equivalent mana cost – and as such, Eureka should keep a high value for as long as Magic is still played.
Khabal Ghoul – $25
Although there have been similar abilities printed since this, the Khabal Ghoul does his job cheaply and effectively. It still feels like a mechanic that they might reprint some day, so I would not be surprised to see the Ghoul’s value drop if that were the case.
Well, there you have it. Hopefully you’ve learned about a few cards that you didn’t already know about. Remember these values when trading your cards away. As a caveat, this list is by no means exhaustive; there are other cards out there that have high values, and many casual players want them. Nonetheless, I suspect that there is useful information here, both in seeing the individual cards and in observing the patterns.
I hope this information is of use to you!
Until later,
Abe Sargent