Following the Weekly MTG show on January 28th, all ten Aetherdrift Special Guest cards have finally been spoiled. There are some absolutely incredible hard hitters in the set, while other cards have artwork done from iconic personalities. Every single Special Guest in Aetherdrift seems to have something special.
Now that we know the entire list of Special Guests in MTG Aetherdrift, it’s time to see exactly what they’re worth!
10 | Thoughtcast
Price: $0.70
Thoughtcast isn’t even worth a dollar, but this Special Guest could be worth a lot more. This card has multiple common printings but is rather sought after thanks to it seeing play in multiple formats. Affinity allows Thoughtcast to draw two cards for one mana in any artifact-centric deck. This has allowed Thoughtcast to break formats in the past.
Currently, Thoughtcast sees lots of Commander play, some moderate Modern play, some fringe Legacy play and a decent amount of Pauper play. I would expect this Thoughtcast to be worth a pretty penny despite its secondary market value, but it is technically the cheapest Special Guest card looking strictly at reprint value.
9 | Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
Price: $1.40
As far as Limited goes, Skysovereign, Consul Flagship is the best Special Guest card to see in your prerelease pool. While the card doesn’t have a massive secondary market value, it is an absolutely incredible card.
Capable of dealing out three damage on entry and on attack, Skysovereign will take over the board incredibly quickly. Sadly, outside of Greasefang combo in Pioneer, the card sees no competitive play, and this Special Guest reprint is unlikely to change that. If you’re in a big MTG tournament, however, this $1 Special Guest could very well win you more money than it’s worth.
8 | Galvanic Blast
Price: $3
Despite being a common, Galvanic Blast is worth more than you might expect. The $3 card commonly sees play in formats that utilize lots of artifacts. Right now, that’s Modern and Pauper. As long as you can turn on Metalcraft, Galvanic Blast turns into a stronger Lightning Bolt. Four damage anywhere you want for one mana is an absolutely incredible deal, but the card doesn’t see tons of Commander play. You’re generally better off using effects that affect all players instead of one.
7 | Chandra’s Ignition
Price: $3.09
Chandra’s Ignition had a decent secondary market price recently, but a series of reprints made it a lot more reasonable to access. The $3 reprint is probably one of the less exciting Special Guests to find in your packs, but the artwork of Chandra is immaculate.
This card works best when used alongside Blightsteel Colossus in Commander. Wipe your opponent’s boards and immediately threaten to end the table’s life. Since Blightsteel Colossus is the one dealing damage, it counts as Infect. If you can’t remove the Colossus in response to Chandra’s Ignition, the game ends.
As sweet as the artwork is for this Special Guest card, the recent reprints likely means that many MTG players won’t be interested in the card.
6 | Whir of Invention
Price: $5.40
Whir of Invention is a homestay in Commander. Capable of searching up any artifact and tutoring it directly into play, this card is capable of finding anything that you might need. Improvise just makes the card easier to use for Affinity-style decks. Notably, the card also sees play in Modern Charbelcher decks.
Like many of the Special Guests appearing in Aetherdrift, Whir of Invention has some synergy with Aetherdrift. In particular, the Affinity elements appearing in the Azorius colors of the main set should synergize well with Whir of Invention.
At the moment, Whir of Invention has a secondary market price of about $5 for its cheapest variant.
5 | Cavalier of Dawn
Price: $7
This is the strangest Special Guest in MTG Aetherdrift. While all of the other cards fit into obvious themes from Aetherdrift, this card seems more generic. That said, considering the card’s $7 secondary market value, Cavalier of Dawn is actually a decent reprint.
Currently Cavalier of Dawn sees no play, but it did see some play in Pioneer about a year ago. The card does remain a decent Commander option, capable of destroying the scariest threat on board while returning a resource upon death. Even though the card awards a 3/3 Golem to the player whose permanent got destroyed, the versatility of its effect makes it a very good choice in Commander. Add on that this card has never seen a reprint, and Cavalier of Dawn is a surprisingly decent reprint that no one asked for.
4 | Lord of the Undead
Price: $10
Lord of the Undead was the first Special Guest revealed for Aetherdrift. Considering that there are some Zombie synergies in the set thanks to some time spent on Amonkhet, this reprint makes a lot of sense.
While Lord of the Undead doesn’t synergize quite as well with Aetherdrift’s themes as another Special Guest Zombie does, Lord of the Undead is still a Lord for the archetype. Since there is a ton of discard in the set, Lord of the Undead’s ability to recur Zombies from your grave will likely be sought after.
Lord of the Undead doesn’t have easily accessible prints and is worth about $10 at the moment. You won’t see this card outside of Zombie Commander decks.
3 | Bone Miser
Price: $15
Does this Bone Miser look familiar to you? Jay Howell, the animator for Bob’s Burgers, had the opportunity to do a Special Guest for Magic: The Gathering. The flavor text is particularly fantastic.
Past the incredible callout, Bone Miser also happens to be a decent reprint. Available for about $15 on the secondary market, Bone Miser synergizes well with the discard and zombie themes present in Aetherdrift. The card synergizes particularly well with the contents of the Eternal Might Commander deck. Both Commanders discard cards or care about discarding cards, which lets Bone Miser do its thing.
Any deck that wants to discard cards would be happier with a Bone Miser than without one. Overall, since the demand for this card should rise as a result of Aetherdrift, this is a fantastic Special Guest in our books.
2 | Pathbreaker Ibex
Price: $17
Pathbreaker Ibex is the second-best Special Guest you can find in MTG Aetherdrift, and it’s obvious why. As long as Pathbreaker Ibex can attack, it will end a majority of Commander games on the spot. Any creature that can offer a Craterhoof Behemoth-esque effect in Commander tends to show up somewhere, and Pathbreaker Ibex offers a repeatable one. The downside is that your board won’t be immediately buffed unless you can somehow give the Ibex haste.
Pathbreaker Ibex’s cheapest secondary market variant is worth about $17. Part of that is because of its Commander popularity, but Pathbreaker Ibex also has very few printings. Between the card’s four printings, it has never been printed in a tentpole set – meaning that Pathbreaker Ibex is very difficult to get ahold of. This Special Guest printing isn’t likely to change that, but for players that really want a copy of this, they should be able to find it with some searching.
1 | Chrome Mox
Price: $90
Chrome Mox isn’t just the best Special Guest card in MTG Aetherdrift; it’s the best card to open in the entire set. Moxen are some of the most powerful effects in Magic: The Gathering capable as, essentially, functioning as lands that don’t eat up your one land per turn count. Having two mana to work with instead of one mana on your first turn is a game-changer, even if you need to Imprint an additional card to make things work.
Chrome Mox is a commonplace card in almost every format it’s legal in. Appearing in Legacy and cEDH, anyone trying to build a top-tier Commander deck is going to want this card. As a result, this card is problematically expensive. Currently available for $90 at the cheapest, opening a First Place Finish foil of this card is akin to winning the Aetherdrift lottery. You should always want to find this card in your packs.