March of the Machine: The Aftermath is something that we’ve never seen before. Even though there are only 50 different cards in Wizards of the Coast’s first mini-set, each one has a ton of varying art treatments, making financial assessments a bit unique. As has been seen with Innistrad: Double Feature, scarcity, even in recent products, means money. That set’s unique approach made it a flop overall, meaning there are fewer copies of the cards in circulation. The Aftermath set has a stronger than average chance of being opened less as well, thanks to the set being undraftable. This could make these cards a lot more scarce than expected.
We’re still in Prerelease season, so these prices are subject to some significant changes, but here are, currently, the most expensive MTG Aftermath cards you can open in a pack! The list will be in the order of most expensive cards at their traditional iterations, but we will also discuss the most expensive copies of each pick that are currently available.
#5 Calix, Guided by Fate
Our number five slot is an excellent example of how heavily secondary market prices for March of the Machine: The Aftermath cards are currently in flux. There are a few cards other cards whose cheapest variants have higher market averages than Calix, Guided by Fate, but they are already selling for less than this card currently is.
Calix is a great pickup for Enchantress decks, whether that be in Standard, Modern, or Commander. The card offers incremental growth for each enchantment that enters the battlefield under your control, and can snowball even further whenever it or an enchanted creature connects. This works excellently with enchantments like Doubling Season and Anointed Procession in Commander, allowing for someexplosive potential.
On the cheap end, copies of Calix are currently selling for $6.50, but the Halo Foil variant is now going for about $21.
#4 Training Grounds
This incredible reprint was quite needed, as Training Grounds has already lost a ton of value, making it accessible to players. While the card is probably best used in Commander, Training Grounds is a one-mana enchantment that enables a lot of infinite combos. These strategies in a constructed environment generally need to be build-around ones since the card only provides value in combination with other cards, making it a dead draw in many scenarios. Because of this, the card is not super impactful in Modern at the moment, but this reprint will make it Pioneer and Standard legal, where it could stand to make an impact.
Training Grounds is currently selling for about $8.50, with non-foil versions selling for a bit more. This is less than one-third of the card’s price back in February, where it was selling for $35! The most expensive variant of Training Grounds does not even match this price, approaching the $30 mark.
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#3 Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin (Most Potential Value)
As of the writing of this article, March of the Machine: The Aftermath is not currently available on shelves, but it is available on MTG Arena. Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin is threatening to reshape the meta only days after the end of the Pro Tour. Instead of this reshaping being a whole new archetype, however, it threatens the same core-shell that has plagued Standard for more than a year with a new infinite combo sprinkled on top. We discussed it in much more detail in a separate article but, long story short, Ob Nixilis and All Will Be One will win the game once Ob Nixilis is triggered.
In its most expensive variant, the Captive Kingpinoffers a Halo Foil iteration in the Gilded borders from Streets of New Capenna. Notably, not a lot of these have currently sold on TCGplayer, and the prices are pretty unstable at the moment, but the average asking price for one of these currently sits at $55.
The cheapest iteration of the new Rakdos star currently costs about $12, but there is a lot of opportunity for the card to increase in price. Players are already seeing this card impact Standard in a massive way, and, thanks to it slotting perfectly into an existing Pioneer archetype, it may also see some play there. The card also looks like an incredibly unique Commander that could fit into a lot of existing strategies. Should this card take off, it’s iterations are likely to become the most expensive MTG Aftermath cards.
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#2 Nissa, Resurgent Animist
Nissa, Resurgent Animist shows some potential as a one-of in Modern Elemental decks, may be playable in Elves, but is primarily a powerful tribal card for Commander. Nissa’s crucial ability to trigger off of a second land drop per turn makes it a tougher sell in non-Fetch Land formats, but Omnath, Locus of Creation still has a niche spot in Pioneer, as does the Elves archetype.
Nissa’s cheapest variant is comparable to our number-one spot, even exceeding it in some cases. That said, the most expensive iteration of this card (currently $27 to $30) is cheaper than the #1 spot, which placed it here on our list. You can find the most affordable copies of Nissa for about $14-15 right now, but foil variants seem to be even cheaper.
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#1 Karn, Legacy Reforged
Karn, Legacy Reforged is a Commander card through and through. Gigantic mana sinks like this one don’t tend to significantly impact constructed, especially with a mana value of five. Regardless of this, Karn, Legacy Reforged looks like the artifact Commander that many MTG players have been waiting for. Boasting a gigantic body and creating absurd amounts of mana, Karn truly shines in a grindy format like Commander, where games can go on for hours.
Even though Karn’s most expensive variant doesn’t come close to touching Ob Nixilis’s, its cheapest variant is still a bit more expensive than Ob Nixilis. Currently going for about $14, I think Karn will likely lose some value upon the set release since demand for the card is unlikely to be as high as Ob Nixilis. That said, the most valuable iteration of the card, the Retro Foil, seems to be quite popular, currently available for about $37. Overall, Karn, Living Legacy’s variants are some of the most expensive MTG Aftermath cards.
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