It’s no secret that the Standard MTG format has been getting more expensive recently. Increased demand from competitive appeal, and Universes Beyond, as well as gradual power creep, have pushed prices up. Now, a playset of some of the best cards in Standard can easily set you back $250 or more.
While this isn’t good news if you’re trying to build a deck, it’s fantastic if you’re cracking some Standard legal packs. Thanks to current prices, there are some obscenely high value hits that are well worth looking out for. Whether you’re hunting these hits in packs and want to know what to look out for, or just curious about the market, we’ve got you covered.
Here are the top five most expensive MTG cards in Standard right now.
5 | Buster Sword
Price: $40
Curiously, despite being one of the most expensive MTG cards in Standard, Buster Sword doesn’t see any play in the format. Instead, this card’s main home is in Commander, where it can more reliably churn out value. With three opponents to pick from, dealing combat damage with this card isn’t too hard, and the potential upside is even higher.
Unsurprisingly, given the card’s flavor, Buster Sword commonly appears within Cloud, EX-Soldier decks in Commander. Beyond just being flavorful, Buster Sword can be attached for free and puts Cloud over his seven power threshold. Outside of this, Buster Sword sees play in a wide range of decks, most typically equipment-focused ones.
Thanks to this strong demand from Commander, even though the card doesn’t have competitive appeal, it’s still very expensive. Being a high-power colorless artifact, this demand is likely going to continue for a long time, too. At the moment, copies of Buster Sword are selling for around $40 on average, which is undeniably impressive.
4 | Quantum Riddler
Price: $41
Technically, copies of Quantum Riddler can also be picked up for around $41 at the moment. That said, copies are scarce at this price tag, as only the prerelease promo costs this much. Default near-mint non-foil copies of the card, meanwhile, are selling for around $47. Considering that Quantum Riddler is everywhere at the moment, this price point isn’t at all surprising.
In Standard, Quantum Riddler is a key part of Simic, Temur, and Izzet decks thanks to doing it all. For two mana, you can pay its Warp cost to effectively just draw an extra card. Playing it in the late game, however, has a good chance of doubling your card draw, provided you can keep your hand empty.
While this utility is incredibly effective in Standard, Quantum Riddler is seeing play all over the place. In Modern, this card is a key component within multiple archetypes, like Jeskai Blink, Esper Reanimator, and Esper Phelia. This card also sees strong play in Legacy, which speaks volumes to its power.
Curiously, despite being a competitive powerhouse, Quantum Riddler isn’t a format staple in Commander. With less of a need to empty your hand in the format, Riddler can’t excel quite as much, although it does see some occasional play. Even without Commander causing an extra source of demand, this card is more than expensive enough already.
3 | Wan Shi Tong, Librarian
Price: $45
From the moment Wan Shi Tong, Librarian was revealed during the MTG Avatar spoiler season, we knew this card would be expensive. While this big bird hasn’t seen immediate success in Standard, as expected, it’s a big deal in Modern and Commander. With MTG players often searching their library in these formats, Wan Shi Tong’s final ability comes in clutch.
Curiously, while Wan Shi Tong, Librarian is proving popular and expensive, at the moment, it’s not a format staple. Looking at EDHREC, it’s mostly Avatar-themed Commander decks running this card. While this may be the trend for the moment, there’s a good chance Wan Shi Tong will break containment eventually and appear all over the place.
Even without truly hitting the Commander market just yet, copies of Wan Shi Tong, Librarian are still selling for $45 right now. While this card is definitely deserving of this price, it’s worth noting we’re still quite close to MTG Avatar’s release. Due to this, there’s a non-zero chance this card’s price may drop in the near future.
2 | The Soul Stone
Price: $61
It’s entirely unsurprising that The Soul Stone is one of the most expensive MTG cards in Standard. From the moment it was unveiled to the world, this card screamed ‘expensive Commander staple.’ Not only is this card a cheap mana rock for black decks, but its ∞ ability is obscenely powerful.
Currently, according to EDHREC, The Soul Stone sees play in over 40,000 Commander decks. Since The Soul Stone is still a relatively new card, this number is bound to increase over time. When it does, this card may well get even more expensive.
Notably, despite a few attempts from players, The Soul Stone has yet to break out in competitive formats. There is a chance this will change in the future, as Mono-Black Demons shells could use the card, but it’s hardly a staple. Even if that doesn’t change, however, this card will likely remain as one of the most expensive MTG cards in Standard.
1 | Badgermole Cub
Price: $72
Currently, Badgermole Cub is the most expensive MTG card in Standard. Selling for $72 on average on TCGplayer, this card is insanely expensive. If you want a full playset of this card, as many Standard decks currently do, you’ll need to sell out around $288! While this price tag is absolutely obscene, it’s hard to say that Badgermole Cub doesn’t deserve it.
While it’s still early days, as expected, Badgermole Cub is seeing very strong play in Commander. Thanks to this format’s love of mana dorks, it’s incredibly easy for Badgermole Cub to provide great value. Hell, even just casting this card lets you Earthbend a land, which refunds one mana immediately.
Outside of Commander, Badgermole Cub has also already proven to be incredibly effective in Standard. Thanks to the format having a fair few mana dorks at the moment, it can offer a wild amount of early acceleration. This card is looking so good, in fact, that some MTG players are already calling to have it banned. The card is so efficient that it’s even bringing back old archetypes in formats like Modern.
Whether or not a Badgermole Cub ban will actually happen is currently up for debate. Even if it does, however, it’s unlikely to shake the price of the Cub too much. That said, it is still early days for MTG Avatar. Due to this, there’s undoubtedly a rush of demand to get new cards, which could be pumping prices up. This could mean the price of Badgermole Cub falls over time, or this current high might just be the beginning.
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