The recent ban announcement led to major changes in the Modern metagame. This is to be expected when four very powerful cards get unbanned. All four unbanned cards have made some noise over the last two weeks.
From a financial perspective, while most of the unbanned cards have begun to have their prices settle in recent days, one in particular continues to climb. The card in question is none other than Green Sun’s Zenith. Mox Opal may be worth the most money out of the four unbanned cards, but Green Sun’s Zenith’s price spike showcases a much bigger percentage change.
So today, we’re going to talk about Green Sun’s Zenith’s history in Modern, what makes the card such a versatile powerhouse even by today’s standards and, of course, take a closer look at the card’s continued price spike. If you were lucky enough to have some copies of Green Sun’s Zenith in your collection prior to the unban, things are looking great for you now.
A Brief History
Green Sun’s Zenith is an interesting card with a bit of a unique history in Modern. Modern was introduced as a sanctioned format in August 2011, and a lengthy initial banlist was created alongside it. Green Sun’s Zenith was not among these first cards to be banned.
Nonetheless, Green Sun’s Zenith quickly began to make its presence felt as a force in green creature decks. At the first Modern Pro Tour, a multi-color Zoo variant featuring a playset of Green Sun’s Zenith managed to get second place.
It didn’t take long before Wizards of the Coast made some more adjustments to the banlist. Green Sun’s Zenith bit the dust just a month later, during September 2011.
The main reason Wizards provided for this decision was that Green Sun’s Zenith was simply too efficient for the flexible effect it provided. It served as a mana accelerant on turn one since you could go tutor up Dryad Arbor and could grab any number of strong cards the further you went up the curve. From Gaddock Teeg to Knight of the Reliquary, Green Sun’s Zenith gave you a plethora of options.
Wizards also mentioned that, despite all these options, because every green creature deck in the format devolved into a Green Sun’s Zenith pile, the card capped the level of diversity we’d see in green decks at the time. After all, there was little incentive to structure your deck differently.
With Green Sun’s Zenith banned, the card would remain banned for the next 13 years. It’s seen ample play in Legacy, especially nowadays with Nadu, Winged Wisdom in the mix. Still, that wasn’t enough to raise Green Sun’s Zenith’s price at all, as its value remained constant all year until December 16.
The Unban
Now that Green Sun’s Zenith has finally been unbanned, the floodgates are open, and a bunch of different Modern decks have adopted the potent sorcery. Arguably the two strongest Green Sun’s Zenith decks at the moment are both combo shells in the form of Golgari Yawgmoth and Amulet Titan.
For Golgari Yawgmoth, Green Sun’s Zenith obviously can’t find the namesake card, since Yawgmoth isn’t a green creature. Still, you can search for other combo cards like Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons. Tutoring for Grist, the Hunger Tide is very strong in midrange matchups, while grabbing Delighted Halfling helps you play around Counterspells.
For Amulet Titan, you have the luxury of finding Primeval Titan as well as smaller threats like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove. Of course, you can always find silver bullets like Endurance and Collector Ouphe when applicable.
The mere existence of Green Sun’s Zenith in Modern has even given hope to a variety of other green creature decks. From Modern Omnath, Locus of Creation shells to Elf typal strategies, the color green hasn’t been this powerful in Modern in years.
The Spike
With Green Sun’s Zenith decks emerging as top-tier archetypes in Modern, it makes sense why the card would spike significantly alongside demand. For almost the entirety of 2024, you could pick up non-foil Eternal Masters copies for just over $10. On December 16 following the unban announcement, the value of near mint copies rose to $24.63, according to TCGPlayer market price history.
Interestingly, the card’s selling price has ballooned further and further over the last two weeks, as Golgari Yawgmoth continues to put up excellent results in Modern. Currently, the market price for near-mint Eternal Masters versions of Green Sun’s Zenith is $42.45. Yet even this doesn’t tell the full story, as the lowest sale price listing is $50 at the time of writing this article.
This is pretty consistent with other traditional printings of the card. Double Masters copies have some sales listed under the $50 threshold, but not by much. Meanwhile, foil etched variants from Double Masters are being sold for $74+.
It’s very possible the card’s price increase will taper off sometime soon. Regardless, reaching $50 as a rare is very impressive considering what the card was worth prior to the unban. If you managed to pick up some copies before the spike, you’re in great shape.
