The release of Aetherdrift is fast approaching, as Prerelease events are set to start this weekend. As always, these events will be a fantastic first opportunity for players to get their hands on new cards. Alongside Prerelease events starting on February 7th, Aetherdrift will also become available for purchase at Local Game Stores. This means players can finally start cracking packs in the hopes of striking it rich.
If you plan on cracking packs this coming Prerelease weekend, it’s always worth knowing what cards are the best to find. Thankfully, we’re here to help show exactly that! While Aetherdrift has no end of fancy foiling treatments and unique borders, we’ll mostly just be looking at standard normal card variants today.
With that little caveat out of the way, it’s time to go over the most expensive MTG cards in Aetherdrift!
5 | Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied
Price: $12
To kick off this list, we have a card that seems unusually expensive at the moment. While she did cause a stir upon first being spoiled, players haven’t been clamoring for Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied. That appeared to be the case on social media, at least, but evidently, Sab-Sunen has plenty of supporters.
As an MTG card, while she is somewhat slow, Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied is a very substantial threat, to say the least. Offering compelling stats that only get stronger, Sab-Sunen has midrange written all over her, especially since they draw cards too. Sadly, despite this strength, Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied might not end up seeing much competitive play.
Unless Aetherdrift completely upends the competitive order, Sab-Sunen may struggle to find a home. Currently, Simic Midrange isn’t really a thing in Standard, or anywhere else for that matter. On her own, Sab-Sunen isn’t really strong enough to make the archetype work too, since she lacks immediate impact.
Despite appearing to be somewhat weak competitively, Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied will work wonders in Commander. Thanks to her Indestructible body, Sab-Sunen should be able to provide a lot of card draw and damage throughout a game. Whether or not this Commander appeal will be enough to have Sab-Sunen’s price stick, however, is another question entirely.
4 | Loot, the Pathfinder
Price: $12
Boasting two effects eerily similar to Power Nine cards, it’s little wonder MTG players are excited about Loot, the Pathfinder. Whether you want ramp, card draw, or removal, Loot offers exactly what you need for a minimal price. Well… for a minimal mana cost at least, as this questionably adorable critter is currently selling for $12.
In theory, Loot’s power should be kept in check by Exhaust, which stops them from constantly generating value. Should you have a reliable way to flicker this card, however, then Loot’s Exhaust abilities will reset. This allows you to keep activating them for obscene amounts of repeat value.
Thanks to synergies with Agatha’s Soul Cauldron a lot of players are interested in Loot for more than just combo shenanigans. There’s a very real chance that Loot could make an appearance in competitive Standard decks, at least. Given this potential, it’s little wonder that Loot is so expensive and in demand right now.
3 | Ketramose, the New Dawn
Price: $25
It is absolutely no surprise to see Ketramose, the New Dawn on this list. From the moment they were revealed, it was clear that Ketramose was going to be one of the best cards in Aetherdrift. Due to this, it seems only fair that they’re also one of the most expensive MTG cards in Aetherdrift right now.
If anything, it’s only a surprise that Ketramose, the New Dawn isn’t higher up on this list. If you ask us, Ketramose is both the best card and the best Commander in the set, so they should see a lot of demand. Should this demand meet expectations, Ketramose will end up being a very expensive MTG card indeed.
Beyond just being one of the best new Commander options from Aetherdrift, it looks like Ketramose has real competitive legs too. Appearing viable for both Standard and Pioneer, it’ll be well worth watching this card closely. While its current price tag is certainly nothing to scoff at, we expect that Ketramose will be on this list for a long long time.
2 | Radiant Lotus
Price: $35
The current price of Radiant Lotus is very interesting, to say the least. Given listings currently start at around the $35 mark, you’d think it’s one of the best cards in the set. Technically, this may be true, however, we reckon that Radiant Lotus could go either way. Either this card will be completely busted and broken, or it’ll be just another mediocre Lotus card…
Right now, it’s almost impossible to tell which way things will go once Aetherdrift is released. While players can brew and build decks featuring Radiant Lotus, there’s no telling how the metagame will react. Whether it pops up in Standard, Pioneer, or even Modern, players will be sure to fight back with relevant tech.
Due to this, it’s very difficult to tell whether or not Radiant Lotus is at a good price right now. Should it turn out to be competitively unviable, then it’ll likely only see play in Commander. This, in turn, would cause the price of Radiant Lotus to drop fairly harshly from where it is now. If this card does turn out to be the meta-breaker that some players fear, however, then $35 might end up being surprisingly affordable.
1 | The Aetherspark
Price: $36
Currently, the most expensive MTG card in all of Aetherdrift is The Aetherspark. Considering this is the headliner card for the set, and something wholly new in MTG, this is no surprise at all. That being said, the effectiveness of The Aetherspark is currently still up for debate and there’s no guarantee it’ll prove itself.
When attached to the right creature, there’s no question that The Aetherspark is a great high-value card. You can either get consistent buffs, card draw, or massive ramp without too much effort. The fact that it’s colorless and can go in any deck will be a great boon for Commander too.
Outside of Commander, however, the strength of this card is a lot more suspect. Four mana is a lot to drop on a Planeswalker with very little immediate impact. While drawing two cards on the second turn it’s out is very feasible, it’s by no means meta-breaking. If The Aetherspark is to show up anywhere, it’ll be in Midrange-focused decks in Stadnard. Right now, this archetype isn’t too plentiful.
Looking ahead, it seems likely that the price of The Aetherspark will fluctuate fairly heavily once Aetherdrift releases. Should this card end up having real competitive potential, then its current price point may hold firm. If Magic’s first equipment planeswalker only ends up being a toy for Commander decks, however, then it’ll likely lose some value.
Unsurprisingly, on top of having the most expensive normal variant The Aetherspark is also the hands-down most expensive Aetherdrift card. Currently, the card’s First-Place Foil variant has listings starting at $244. Whether or not this price will last once Aetherdrift is actually released is anyone’s guess at this point.
