After plenty of anticipation, the release of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan is almost upon us. Featuring incredible powerhouse cards, new Commander staples, and reprints aplenty, this set has it all. Thanks to this, it’s no wonder that many MTG players are eagerly awaiting the start of prerelease weekend!
Offering the first chance to play the set at your local game store, Prerelease weekends are obviously a ton of fun. Beyond just being entertaining, however, these events can be surprisingly lucrative, as there’s immense demand for new cards. Thanks to this, it’s worth keeping an eye out while you’re opening your Prerelease Pack!
To make sure you know what you’re looking for, today, we’ll be detailing the most expensive cards within The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. Specifically, we’ll be looking at the priciest non-variant cards from Set and Draft boosters. Before we get to all the juicy details, however, there are a few things we have to go over first.
Before We Start
As tempting as it is to dive right into the list, unfortunately, there are a few things to go over beforehand. First of these, is the important note that The Lost Caverns of Ixalan isn’t out yet. As a result of this, the prices in this article are based on presales, which hardly reflect accurate demand. You’ll notice, for instance, that this list is entirely comprised of mythic cards.
Despite the inaccuracy of presale prices, they do nevertheless provide a barometer for what’s worth money. That being said, however, once Prerelease weekend begins, and the set launches on the 17th, expect these prices to change. In order to be as accurate as possible, we’ll endeavor to update this article frequently.
Speaking of prices, to determine those, we’ll be looking at TCGplayer. Typically, we’ll use TCGplayer’s handy Market Price feature for this, however, not so today. Currently, it’s more prudent to look at the lowest available near-mint price of a card on TCGplayer. So, that’s exactly what we’ll be doing throughout this article.
Now, with those caveats out of the way, here are the top ten most expensive cards in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan!
10 | Gishath, Sun’s Avatar
Price: $13.82
First printed in the original Ixalan, Gishath, Sun’s Avatar is back in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan! Capable of consistently cheating out Dinosaurs from your deck, Gishath is easily one of the top choices for a Dinosaur-Typal deck. Thanks to this, there’s undoubtedly steady demand for Gishath, which is only increasing thanks to all the new dinos about.
Despite this demand, it’s highly likely that the price of Gishath, Sun’s Avatar will tumble very soon. Sure, the card is popular and helms over 12,000 decks on EDHREC, but it’s not the most popular Commander ever. As a result, the new wave of supply may cause the price to crash completely over the coming weeks and months.
Even before The Lost Caverns of Ixalan has been released, we are already seeing this happen. Compared to copies, the new variants from Gishath, Sun’s Avatar are only half as valuable. While this is obviously a steep decline, thankfully, Gishath is still a great pull from packs.
9 | Bloodletter of Aclazotz
Price: $15.64
As many Commander players will know, doubling effects are incredibly popular. Even after being reprinted time and time again, Doubling Season is still incredibly expensive. Due to providing constant value, cards with doubling, or even tripling, effects are always in high demand. This is definitely the case for Bloodletter of Aclazotz.
Simply doubling the amount of life each opponent loses, Bloodletter of Aclazotz is obviously incredibly powerful. After all, once they’re in play, your opponent’s life total is effectively halved. Unsurprisingly, this will make them an incredibly potent force in Commander, where the high starting life total is usually a safety net.
Beyond being fantastic in Commander, Bloodletter of Aclazotz may have some competitive appeal too. Fitting into the already dominant black decks in Standard, this card could easily amp up their controlling and oppressive nature. With Bloodletter of Aclazotz and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse on the field, what more would you need?
8 | Ojer Kaslem, Deepest Growth
Price: $17.30
With each god card boasting incredibly powerful, game-defining abilities, it’s no wonder multiple gods are on this list. Obviously, as you can see above, the first of these is the green god, Ojer Kaslem, Deepest Growth.
Capable of cheating out a creature and or a land from your library each turn, Ojer Kaslem is undeniably powerful. Admittedly, this ability doesn’t come cheap, however, it’s nonetheless worth the cost. In Commander, Ojer Kaslem should provide value turn after turn, especially since they can easily transform themselves back after dying.
While Ojer Kaslem should excel in the high-cost land of Commander, they may be lacking in competitive formats. Despite this detail, there’s still plenty of interest in this powerful God, certainly enough to command a decent value. Whether or not this will persist, however, remains to be seen.
7 | Bonehoard Dracosaur
Price: $17.57
On its own, Impulse Draw is already an incredibly powerful and valuable tool within red decks. Providing a means to get ahead, these cards are often the cornerstone of aggressive decks. Since Bonehoard Dracosaur costs five mana, however, this dinosaur dragon is hardly the most aggressive in the world.
Despite its high casting cost, Bonehoard Dracosaur is nonetheless an incredibly powerful creature. Not only do they offer Impulse Draw each turn, but they also provide additional effects, depending on what you draw. Thanks to this, Bonehoard Dracosaur might just be one of the best new draw engines in red. So long as you can keep them alive, that is.
Since Bonehoard Dracosaur is a touch too expensive for competitive formats, their main home will unsurprisingly be Commander. In this format, however, the card should absolutely excel thanks to offering free draw, a powerful body, and treasure tokens! Through all these effects combined, Bonehoard Dracosaur should definitely be sticking around on this list.
6 | The Skullspore Nexus
Price: $19.55
In any big green stompy deck, The Skullspore Nexus works wonders. This is obviously thanks to its main ability, which effectively revives your fallen creatures. Sure, you only get their stats on a token, but when you’re playing mostly massive creatures, this is hardly the end of the world. As if these abilities weren’t good enough, The Skullspore Nexus can even double a creature’s power!
Much like The Great Henge, The Skullspore Nexus is an obvious choice for most green decks. Providing immense value for incredibly little cost, there’s hardly a reason not to use this powerhouse. As a result, you can expect to see this powerful Artifact in plenty of Commander games, maybe even a fair amount in Standard too.
For better or worse, The Skullspore Nexus isn’t quite on the level of The Great Henge. That being said, however, you can definitely expect this card to be expensive. So much so, in fact, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see it climbing this list’s ranks before too long.
5 | The Ancient One
Price: $20.11
As an 8/8 for just two mana, there’s an awful lot to love about The Ancient One. Unfortunately, however, there is a quite major catch when it comes to playing them. Due to Decend 8, this massive threat can’t actually do anything until your graveyard is fairly stocked. Thankfully, while obviously not ideal, this problem does have a fair few solutions.
As proven by Dredge decks, filling your graveyard in MTG can be a doddle. Even Standard can use some self-mill to help enable The Ancient One as early as possible. Using either of these strategies, The Ancient One can potentially be incredibly devastating, however, there is another catch.
Without any evasion abilities, The Ancient One may struggle against any deck with chump blockers. Combine this with a lack of protection, and The Ancient One might not be as useful as initially perceived. Still, due to their incredible stats and minimal casting cost, this card will surely see play.
4 | Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant
Price: $23.46
While Gishath, Sun’s Avatar may be the go-to Commander choice for Dinosaur Typal, they now have a new challenger. Perfect for dumping your hand onto the battlefield, Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant delivers massive swings of green creatures. Should you have Samut, Tyrant Smasher, this can end games in an instant.
Compared to Gishath, Ghalta does have one major disadvantage. Being only mono-green, when used as a Commander, Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant severely limits your options on what you can play. Thankfully, this is hardly the end of the world, especially since Ghalta synergizes perfectly with massive green creatures.
Speaking of creatures, this is the major upside of Ghalta over Gishath, as they don’t just care about Dinosaurs. Instead, Ghalta is able to put any creature from your hand directly onto the battlefield, which is significantly more useful. Thanks to this, Ghalta is undoubtedly destined to see a great amount of play, and be rather expensive as a result.
Whether or not they will be the greatest Commander for a Dinosaur Typal deck, however, remains to be seen.
3 | Cavern of Souls
Price: $29.44
Without a doubt, Cavern of Souls is easily the best reprint in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. Typically selling for around $40, hopefully, this latest reprint should bring the price down significantly. Looking at the pre-sale prices, this expected price drop already appears to be happening. After all, on TCGplayer right now, Cavern of Souls is only $29.
In case you’re not familiar with Cavern of Souls, this card is a true all-star in Commander. Synergizing perfectly with Typal decks, this iconic land gives players the fixing they require. Thanks to this, it’s played within a truly staggering number of Commander decks, over 173,000 according to EDHREC!
As if Caven of Souls wasn’t expensive enough already, the card is also available in the Neon Ink treatment. Potentially selling for upwards of a thousand dollars, if not more, Cavern of Souls is easily going to be the most expensive card in the set.
2 | Chimil, the Inner Sun
Price: $30.73
Offering not just one, but two incredible abilities, it’s completely unsurprising that Chimil, the Inner Sun is already so expensive. Between making all your spells uncounterable and providing Discover 5 each turn, this card is seriously strong. Being an Artifact, they’ll also fit into any deck, no matter what your theme or color identity is.
To explain the already high price of Chimil, the Inner Sun even more, it’s the first card to get its specific counter-prevention ability. Sure, in the past, there have been great cards like Allosaurus Shepherd, but Chimil is the first that prevents everything. Thanks to this, there are myriad situations where Chimil, the Inner Sun will be useful, in Commander especially.
While the absolute counter-prevention is more than enough reason to play Chimil, Discover 5 also isn’t to be scoffed at. Potentially allowing you to play much of your deck for free, this card offers insane value. As you might have gathered from this list so far, when there’s value on the line, cards tend to get expensive. If Chimil wasn’t expensive enough for your tastes already, it also has a Box Topper variant!
1 | Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation
Price: $35.48
Last, but certainly no means least, we have Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation, also affectionately known as tripling season. As that name suggests, Ojer Taq is able to triple the number of tokens you produce. Within any wide or token-focused deck, this ability is obviously a godsend, especially when combined with similar abilities.
Speaking of those similar abilities, we already know that effects like Doubling Season are incredibly expensive. Following this trend, it’s no wonder that Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation is topping this list already. While Neon Ink cards may be in a league of their own, Ojer Taq is undoubtedly going to retain its crown as the most expensive card for quite some time.
0 | Neon Ink Cards
Price: $1000+
While they can only be found within Collector Boosters, we’d be remiss not to talk about the actual most expensive cards. Returning following their appearance in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, these ultra-rare cards are expected to be supremely expensive. Judging by past precedent, the rarest variants of these cards could easily sell for $1000 if not more!
As much as $1000 is an awful lot of money, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Neon Ink cards may be even more expensive. This is thanks to them actually being rather good, unlike Hidetsugu, Devouring Chaos. With both Mana Crypt and Cavern of Souls seeing extensive play, these collectible variants will surely be in demand and incredibly expensive as a result.
Read More: Free MTG Arena Packs, Codes, and Content
