I went on vacation at the beginning of August, but the MTG market didn't take a break. That’s why today I’m giving you a recap of all the most interesting spikes from this past month.
Hatsune Miku, The Hobbit, the evolution of Modern, and upcoming products have been the main drivers of the market in recent weeks. The new Miku-themed Secret Lair triggered a fresh spike for several premium versions, while the arrival of The Hobbit has started moving numerous cards tied to the new commanders.
Modern also continues to generate interesting movements, both in paper and on Magic Online, thanks to the rise of Eldrazi Ramp and Devoted Combo.
Let’s take a closer look at the most interesting spikes.
Just to clarify, the prices I’m referring to are for English-language cards. For cards under €20, I use Cardtrader as my reference, while for those over €20, I use Cardmarket. If a card has multiple sellers with at least four copies available on Cardmarket at a lower price than on Cardtrader, I will use the Cardmarket price.
P.S. The price displayed below the card images corresponds to the lowest offer available on Cardtrader, regardless of the card's language.
Modern
Let’s start with Modern, where Fanatic of Rhonas registered one of the most interesting spikes, jumping from around €10 to €18. The card is played as a four-of in Eldrazi Ramp, and the growing popularity of the archetype has fueled this price increase.
Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler is also on the rise, going from about €1.50 to €4. The card is a key piece in Devoted Combo, a strategy that has started gaining traction and, as we’ll see later, has also triggered several price movements on Magic Online.
Premodern
In Premodern, Iridescent Angel is worth noting, having climbed from around €2 to €8. The card has been showing up in the sideboard of some Reanimator lists.
Hatsune Miku: A Third Spike for the Secret Lair Versions
However, the most obvious market activity lately involves several cards from the older Hatsune Miku Secret Lairs.
This is the third significant spike in just a few months for these printings. The first spike occurred when the product leaked, while the second was fueled by the deck's spoiler, when it became clear that some of the most desirable cards wouldn’t be included directly in the Commander deck.
The latest surge came after the announcement that the Secret Lair would be print-to-demand. The option to buy the product without a limited print run seems to have prompted some players and collectors to complete their purchases by picking up the singles they needed for the deck.
Some of the most significant spikes include:
Sol Ring – Hatsune Miku: from €20 to €70.
Command Tower – Hatsune Miku: from €20 to €60.
Elvish Mystic – Hatsune Miku: from €20 to €50.
Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury – Hatsune Miku: from €10 to €35.
Shelter – Hatsune Miku: from €3 to €10.
Harmonize – Hatsune Miku: from €5 to €30.
Beloved Princess – Hatsune Miku: from €1 to €5.
Youthful Valkyrie – Hatsune Miku: from €2.50 to €5.
As is often the case with these special versions, we have to separate actual playability from pure collectibility. In this instance, both factors seem to have combined, leading to particularly sharp increases for the most highly sought-after versions.
Mystery Booster Commander Edition
Another major catalyst for the market was the announcement of Mystery Booster Commander Edition, which will be distributed for the first time during MagicCon Atlanta, starting November 13.
The product introduces 59 new commanders, and some of them have already started driving interest toward older cards, especially those that can slot into these new strategies.
Battle of Wits jumped from about €0.50 to €4, with other printings of the card spiking as well. The culprit is Whtz, the Bibliophile, a commander that lets you run Battle of Wits in a strategy specifically built around meeting its alternate win condition.
The Nephilim have also started moving following the spoiler of Nephilim Epochal. The foil version of Ink-Treader Nephilim jumped from around €5 to €25, while foil Dune-Brood Nephilim rose from €5 to €15.
Finally, Uchuulon went from about €1.50 to €5 after the spoiler of Uugguu, the Omniplasm, which seems to have put the spotlight back on the card.
The Hobbit
The Hobbit continues to drive a ton of market movement tied to Commander.
One of the most interesting names is Thranduil, the Elvenking, who seems to have drawn a lot of attention. His presence has driven up several cards related to Elf strategies.
Prime Speaker Vannifar went from about €1.50 to €6, while Tyvar, the Pummeler climbed from €3.50 to €10. The latter can also find a home in Modern Devoted Combo.
Another commander turning heads is The Great Goblin, which has pushed up several cards tied to the Goblin tribe.
Knucklebone Witch went from about €0.50 to €10, while Wort, Boggart Auntie rose from €7 to €12.
Thorin, King of Durin's Folk, Smaug the Impenetrable, and Smaug the Magnificent are also starting to impact the market.
Among the cards benefiting the most from these strategies, we find Alchemist's Talent, which rose from €4.50 to €8.50, There and Back Again, up from €2 to €6, and The Reaver Cleaver, going from €10 to €15.
Glóin, Dwarf Emissary also ticked up, going from around €0.50 to €2, while Gimli of the Glittering Caves jumped from €2.50 to €8.
Two other particularly interesting movements are Last Laugh, which rose from €1.50 to €5, and the foil version of Night Dealings, which quickly went out of stock after selling for as high as €20. Both are likely tied to strategies built around Smaug the Impenetrable and Sahir, Visitor in Darkness.
Marneus Calgar and the Return of Premium Commanders
Another spike that was initially hard for me to explain is the Surge Foil version of Marneus Calgar, which went from around €40 to €85.
At first, I figured this movement was purely collector-driven, since it was the Surge Foil version. However, after looking deeper into it—partly thanks to an analysis published by MTG Rocks—there seems to be a gameplay-related explanation.
Marneus Calgar is getting a second look as a commander thanks to the numerous cards in The Hobbit that generate or synergize with tokens.
This is one of those rare cases where the commander itself is the card spiking. It’s worth noting that in these scenarios, the premium versions of the card tend to see the biggest gains, while the cheaper, non-foil copies remain relatively unaffected.
Secret Lair: The Odds & Ends Leak
Another interesting spike came from a leak regarding the Secret Lair: Odds & Ends, which apparently features Yennet, Cryptic Sovereign as its commander.
The product has garnered a lot of attention because the featured artist is rumored to be Ricardo Cavolo, who previously illustrated a highly stylized and distinct Secret Lair.
As a result, the price of Secret Lair Drop Series: Burning Revelations jumped from around €85 to €150, with upward movement also affecting the individual cards inside the drop: Akroma's Memorial, Inspiring Overseer, Consider, Price of Glory, and Reckless Fireweaver.
Collectibles
On the purely collectible side of things, the Showcase Scroll version of Gandalf the White rose from around €15 to €30.
In this case, the spike seems to be driven primarily by low supply and collector demand, rather than any sudden shift in tournament playability.
Mysterious Movements
As always, not every spike has a clear-cut explanation.
Shimmer, a Reserved List card, went from around €2 to €5 on Cardtrader, though the movement on other platforms seems much less pronounced. This could be spec-driven, tied to future phasing interactions ahead of the Zhalfir-themed set planned for 2027.
Indominus Rex, Alpha also climbed from around €15 to €20, but I haven't found a convincing explanation for this movement yet.
Magic Online
As is often the case, Magic Online has also produced some spikes. Even though we're talking about small numbers, I find them interesting because they are directly tied to actual GAMEPLAY.
Let’s start with Acererak the Archlich, which went from about 0.5 to 1.5 tix. The card is used in Legacy Aluren Combo. This isn't a new inclusion for the deck, but it’s highly possible that the recent banlist changes—particularly the ban of The Fantasticar—helped bring attention back to the archetype.
Meanwhile, Tranquil Grove rose from about 0.5 to 1.5 tix. Here too, the exact reason is a bit hazy; one possible explanation could be growing interest in the card as a Premodern sideboard tech against Enchantress, though I haven't seen a significant number of lists actually running it yet.
We saw a much more obvious movement for Minamo, School at Water's Edge, which spiked from about 0.05 to 0.5 tix before quickly settling back down to around 0.15. The land sees play in Modern thanks to its synergy with Loki, God of Mischief.
The recent Standard bans also seem to have pushed some players toward Mono Green Landfall strategies, leading to spikes for a few cards on MTGO.
Sazh's Chocobo went from about 0.1 to 1 tix, while Icetill Explorer climbed from 0.8 to 3 tix.
In Premodern, a specific Reanimator list put up a competitive finish, driving Petradon up from about 0.04 to 0.4 tix.
We close with the deck that probably triggered the most price movements on Magic Online: Devoted Combo.
The strategy received renewed attention thanks to the addition of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, and several cards from the list started seeing significant price spikes.
Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler went from a mere 0.006 to 0.2 tix.
However, the most important spike belongs to Leyline of Abundance, which climbed from about 0.5 to 4 tix. The card is played as a four-of in the strategy, making its price highly sensitive to any surge in demand.
We also saw increases for Nature's Rhythm, going from 0.1 to 1 tix (another four-of), and Dryad Arbor, which went from about 2.5 to 5 tix and is generally run as a two- or three-of.
Did I miss anything?
Thanks for reading, and see you in the next Magic market update!
