Since 2025 began, the Modern metagame has been looking surprisingly samey. Of course, massive bans shook the format back in December, but the meta stabilized surprisingly quickly after that. Now, many players are simply waiting for new bans in March to hopefully fix the problems that have been created.
While the Modern metagame may have slowed down, it remains an incredibly popular format. Thanks to this, it’s still more than capable of causing price spikes whenever the metagame shifts slightly. More recently, while Breach has been comfortably sitting at the top, Eldrazi Ramp decks have been proving incredibly popular.
Kozilek’s Return
If you’re playing Eldrazi Ramp, you’ll almost always need a playset of Kozilek’s Return. The card is just too good not to use since it’s essentially a free spell. Sure, you might have to pay for it normally first, but then it’ll come back with a vengeance for absolutely free.
Given the prevalence of Boros Energy in the Modern meta, even playing for Kozilek’s Return normally can be worth it. Admittedly Pyroclasm can do the same job for a cheaper price, but it doesn’t offer anywhere near the same level of utility. As mentioned, Kozilek’s Return is like two spells in one, as, rather aptly, it can return.
Upon returning, Kozilek’s Return can deal with threats like Abhorrent Oculus and the worst from Orzhov Blink decks. While five damage isn’t enough to kill everything in the format, it’ll certainly cleave away a good chunk of the board. Once again, this effect would be good enough to pay for, but this extra damage comes at no added cost.
Essentially, thanks to Eldrazi Ramp’s namesake cards, you’re all but guaranteed to get Kozilek’s Return for free. Devourer of Destiny, World Breaker, and Emrakul, the Promised End, will all let you exile Kozilek’s Return for free. You can even Evoke Nulldrifter and exile the board wipe. While this extra value is fantastic, giving each of these creatures more impact, it does require some work.
To get Kozilek’s Return into the bin, you only really have two viable options. Firstly, you can cast the card normally, ideally getting some decent early value from it. Failing this, you can use Malevolent Rumble to, hopefully, put it into the graveyard. Technically, using Commercial District’s Surveil effect is another option, albeit a less likely one. Thankfully, this range of options helps to make Kozilek’s Return fairly consistent.
The Spike
As mentioned, Kozilek’s Return is a staple within the Eldrazi Ramp archetype in Modern. With this in mind, it’s safe to say that Kozilek’s Return is an incredibly popular and in-demand MTG card. As usual, this has caused quite an impressive price spike.
This time last month, copies of Kozilek’s Return were fairly affordable in the grand scheme of MTG. Near mint examples of this card could easily be yours for as little as $1.52, which isn’t bad considering the card’s popularity. While it has only recently gotten expensive, Kozilek’s Return is hardly a new innovation in Modern, after all.
Despite not being anything new, over time, the available supply of this card has nonetheless dwindled. There’s been a fairly high volume of sales each day over the past month and now only 19 listings are available on TCGplayer. Out of these, only ten copies are near mint examples, with prices now starting at $7.58, including shipping.
Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, the Modern Horizons 3 Commander variant of this card hasn’t been the only one spiking. The original printing from Oath of the Gatewatch has also spiked, albeit by slightly less. Moving from $1.86 to now $7.50 there’s sadly no cheaper copies lurking amount in the market.
Unfortunately, the overall lack of supply is the main reason behind this current price spike. While Kozilek’s Return was reprinted in Modern Horizons 3, it was not available in the main set at all, making it difficult to come by. Inevitably, this left it unable to keep up with the continued demand which has sustained thanks to the card’s power.
The Future
Depending on your position in the MTG financial markets, the future of Kozilek’s Return either looks amazing or terrible. If you’re an investor who managed to get in on the ground floor, then you’re potentially in for an amazing time. If you’re a would-be Eldrazi Ramp player, however, then you may end up having to part with quite a stack of cash.
While they’re not imminent, many MTG players expect Breach and Energy to be hit by bans in March. If this happens, Eldrazi Ramp may be left to rule the roost, becoming even more popular than it is already. Should the deck still need a board-clearing removal spell, then Kozilek’s Return will become more of a staple.
Admittedly, that last part isn’t guaranteed, especially if Energy decks get wiped off the map. Personally, it feels unlikely that Wizards would nuke the archetype from orbit, but there’s no denying they’re still prevalent. Even if that entire archetype does get banned, there’s bound to be an aggressive deck of some kind in Modern post-bans.
Ultimately, while Kozilek’s Return does appear to have a fairly safe future, nothing is set in stone. There’s no telling what, if anything, Wizards will ban at their next opportunity in March. Even if nothing is changed, a rogue deck or card from an upcoming set could shift the competitive order. All we know for now is that Kozilek’s Return is rather hard to get ahold of, and likely won’t be reprinted anytime soon.