Adventures in the Forgotten Realms introduced five-new “man-lands”, a nickname given to lands that can be animated into creatures and attack. All of them are pretty good, but Den of the Bugbear is rising above the others in both play and price!
Unlike many other man-lands in MTG’s history like Raging Ravine, Den of the Bugbear can enter the battlefield untapped. This is a massive upgrade and is why many aggressive red decks across magic formats are making room for Den of the Bugbear in their manabases.
Den of the Bugbear
Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast
When Den of the Bugbear first came out, it was about $1.50. But then people slowly figured out how good the land was, and started playing it in more and more decks.
And as you can see in the graph below, the card’s price has risen respectively. These days, Den of the Bugbear is about $8.00! The Dungeon Model variant is even more expensive, coming in at around $9.00-$10.00 at the time of writing.
Read More: Why is this Common Card from an MTG Planeswalker Deck so Expensive?
Why is Den of the Bugbear Rising in Price?
As red is typically the most aggressive color in Magic: the Gathering, it is of the utmost importance that its lands enter the battlefield untapped. Den of the Bugbear does so with an additional aggressive twist. It can turn itself into a 3/2 Goblin and attack, making 1/1 tokens in the process.
Den of the Bugbear is becoming a ubiquitous inclusion amongst red decks in Magic which keeps pushing the price of the card up. Red decks in Standard, Pioneer, Historic are all playing the land. And the card is even good enough to see play in Modern where it is a staple of Rakdos Rock, one of the best decks in the current metagame:
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Are the Other AFR Lands Worth Picking Up?
Of the other colored man-lands that came out of Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, two others are seeing consistent play and have room for financial growth.
Cave of the Frost Dragon
Wizards of the Coast -
Wizards of the Coast
Cave of the Frost Dragon is a staple of Mono-White Aggro in Standard, one of the top three decks in the format. But Cave of the Frost Dragon’s play extends to Death & Taxes decks in Modern. And at the time of writing, the land is only $1.00.
Hall of Storm Giants
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Wizards of the Coast -
Wizards of the Coast
Hall of Storm Giants sees extensive play as it is a good finisher in control decks. Izzet, Grixis, and Dimir Standard decks all play the card. But even blue-white control decks in Modern will play a copy or two of Hall of Storm Giants. The fact that this card is viable across Magic formats and is only $3.00 at the time of writing makes it a great pick-up.
