2025 may be the year of Standard’s long overdue revitalization, but Modern is still the talk of the town right now. Following massive bans and unbans back in December, this format has been, arguably, the most interesting in all MTG. If nothing else, MTG players have been flocking to Modern events, eager to try out their latest brews.
Unsurprisingly, all this interest in a once-stagnant format has caused a ton of price spikes. In December, prices for the unbanned cards, and everything around them, were going mad. This hasn’t exactly stopped even now that 2025 has begun in earnest. What has changed, however, is the state of the Modern format as it has begun to be solved once again.
After a month of experimentation, we’re finally finding out what new archetypes stick in Modern. Affinity, for instance, is one such deck that’s proved it’s got the power to compete, though not consistently. This, in turn, has caused a whole new wave of price spikes as players rush to pick up this deck’s pieces. One Modern Horizons 3 card, in particular, has been seriously on the up and up recently.
Kappa Cannoneer
When Kappa Cannoneer was first spoiled for Modern Horizons 3, it didn’t exactly set the world on fire. New Affinity toys are always fun, there’s no doubt about that, but the archetype was hardly a main-stay in Modern. Once the format was overtaken by The One Ring-powered Energy decks, Affinity pretty much bit the dust.
Now that The One Ring has been banned, and Energy decks depowered, Affinity stands a chance once again. Better than just filling a void in Modern’s metagame, however, this deck has seen significant improvements. Thanks to Mox Opal being unbanned, this deck’s speed has been dramatically increased, making it a real meta player.
As mentioned, this has caused Kappa Cannoneer to see a surge of new interest as the card does real work in the archetype. It may not have the titular mechanic, but Improvise is the next best thing, allowing Cannoneer to be played for cheap. Once in play, Kappa Cannoneer is a remarkably resilient threat that can end games impressively quickly.
Thanks to Affinity having no shortage of artifacts, Kappa Cannoneer will, at worst, be a scaling 5/5 with unblockable. This already scary stat line gets bigger and bigger each turn, putting opponents on an impressively short clock. As if that wasn’t scary enough, Ward 4 makes removing Cannoneer a lot easier said than done.
Currently, Kappa Cannoneer sees a great deal of play in most Affinity decks, typically being a three-of at least. Thanks to this staple status, it’s little wonder their price has seen such an explosion recently. Factor in Cannoneer’s appearance in some Grinding Breach lists too, and it’s only a wonder they didn’t spike sooner.
The Spike
Mercifully, unlike some other Affinity staples we could name, Mox Opal cough cough, Kappa Cannoneer is still rather inexpensive. On TCGplayer, the card’s market price is only at $1.56 right now, which isn’t bad at all. Listings for the card also only start at around $1, which is great if you don’t mind getting a lightly played example.
Despite being fairly cheap in the grand scheme of MTG, Kappa Cannoneer has nonetheless spiked in price. Back in early December, this card was selling for just $0.37 on average. This low price shows just how unpopular Affinity decks were pre-ban, as Cannoneer was essentially draft-chaff.
Unsurprisingly, as is often the case, the Modern Horizons 3 printing of Kappa Cannoneer isn’t the only variant that’s spiked in price. The card’s original printing, from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Commander, has seen the biggest spike of 435%. Initially starting out at $0.40, these copes are now going for $2.14.
Considering each variant of Kappa Cannoneer uses the same art, this fairly significant price difference is almost certainly due to rarity. As popular as preconstructed Commander decks are Modern Horizons 3 was vastly more available. The same is also true for the Murders at Karlov Manor Commander reprint.
If you’re looking to save a little bit of money, this should be the variant that you have your eyes on. Despite there only being 67 listings available, compared to the 244 for the Modern Horizons 3 variant, prices start at just $0.84. Currently, the market price for this variant is just $1.31, but it may not stay that way for long.
The Future
Even though Kappa Cannoneer is hardly an expensive MTG card, its price appears to be slipping. As you can see above, the price graph for the Modern Horizons 3 variant has already experienced a drop. After hitting a $3.21 peak a few days ago, the market price has since dropped by 51%.
Currently, it’s unclear how much further the price of Kappa Cannoneer will drop in the near future. Should Affinity continue to hold its place as a tier 2 archetype in Modern, demand may dry up sooner rather than later. If this happens, we can expect to see another price drop, although Cannoneer should be worth a dollar, at least.
Alternatively, should someone crack the Affinity code, this card’s price may spike once more. Given that Canonneer is a staple within the Affinity archetype, there’s no doubt that it could go far in the right conditions. We may be waiting a while for these conditions to emerge, however, since Energy decks still rule the roost at the moment.
