Mox Jasper, Tarkir: Dragonstorm’s headliner card signaled a renaissance for Dragons in Magic: The Gathering. Dragon decks across all formats received some serious support, which has caused players to want to build them.
If you’re planning on using these newfound cards to build Dragons in Commander, or any other format, you may want to buy the best Dragons that money can buy. If that’s the case, here are the most expensive Dragons in MTG.
Notably, we will be excluding cards that cannot be played in the Commander format. Additionally, we will only be using the prices of the cheapest variants for each Dragon card.
6 | Terror of the Peaks
Price: $30
Kicking things off, we have Terror of the Peaks. Terror of the Peaks is a brutal card to see on the other end of the table. If it sticks around, any Creature you play afterwards lets you fling damage at any target of your choice.
Terror of the Peaks originally made headlines in Standard decks built around Genesis Ultimatum when it was printed in Core Set 2021. It was later reprinted in Outlaws of Thunder Junction, and saw some play alongside Calamity,Galloping Inferno.
Now, the card can still wreak havoc in a Commander game if left unchecked. Five mana isn’t too costly for all things considered, so it makes sense why Terror of the Peaks holds a $30 price tag.
5 | Old Gnawbone
Price: $42
Old Gnawbone has some similarities with a Dragon higher up on this list. If this creature connects, it creates an absurd amount of Treasures. Dragon decks tend to be mana greedy most of the time, and Old Gnawbone can create a massive tempo swing to snowball the game out of control.
This is exactly the type of card that overperforms in casual Commander games. If Old Gnawbone manages to get an attack in, you get a ridiculous amount of value. If you can empower Old Gnawbone further, the amount of Treasure Tokens you can generate scales heavily. Old Gnawbone won’t perform well in 2-player Magic because it doesn’t impact the board immediately, but it can be a serious threat in Commander.
4 | Ancient Silver Dragon
Price: $43
Ancient Silver Dragon is the first of two Dragons on this list that allow you to roll a 20-sided die when it connects in combat, and receive a benefit based on your roll. This may sound like a lot of variance is placed on a die roll, but it’s hard to go wrong here. Even if you only draw five cards instead of 20 when this deals damage you’re still far ahead in the exchange.
The concern is the mana cost. An eight-mana Creature with no built-in protection is vulnerable to any sort of removal in a Commander setting. Nonetheless, Ancient Silver Dragon is a nice inclusion alongside Dragon Commanders like Scion of the Ur-Dragon that reward you for having beefy Dragons with outrageous abilities in your deck.
Ancient Silver Dragon has only been printed in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate up to this point. This further contributes to its hefty $43 price tag.
3 | The Ur-Dragon
Price: $48
Even though The Ur-Dragon isn’t the most expensive Dragon card on this list, it is probably the strongest among the five cards in Commander. Eminence is one of the best keywords in the Commander format. This allows your Commanders to impact the game even from the Command Zone. In The Ur-Dragon’s case, you get a small discount on all your Dragon cards.
Should you manage to cast The Ur-Dragon, you can start drawing a ton of cards and cheating permanents into play. The Ur-Dragon offers massive effects in both the Command Zone and in play.
Despite being reprinted in Commander Masters, The Ur-Dragon surged in price following the release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm. It’s worth roughly $48 at the moment in its cheapest form, which is significantly higher than it was a few months ago.
2 | Ancient Copper Dragon
Price: $89
Ancient Copper Dragon threatens to ramp you to absurd degrees. Getting a 20 after connecting with the Dragon means that you instantly have 20 mana to use. Unlike most Treasure Token cards released nowadays, these Treasures don’t even enter tapped. Even if you get a lower number on your D20 roll, it is extremely easy for Ancient Copper Dragon to pay for itself and start generating extra mana. This is a great deal for six mana.
The only major downside to Ancient Copper Dragon in a format like Commander is its price tag. $89 is nothing to sneeze at. The good news is that this card is getting reprinted in the upcoming MTG Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set releasing this June. This could help knock down the price of Ancient Copper Dragon depending on how easy it is to open. The card notably appears as part of the Through the Ages bonus sheet in the set. It is pictured above.
Until now, Ancient Copper Dragon has only seen one printing in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate.
1 | Zodiac Dragon
Price: $523
Zodiac Dragon is the only card on this list whose price does not translate to power. The oracle text on Zodiac Dragon is extremely unkind to it. Basically, the Dragon only returns to your hand if it goes to the graveyard from the battlefield. This means that the Dragon is an understated 8/8 for 9 mana with very little utility. It doesn’t even have Flying.
The reason why Zodiac Dragon costs $523 despite the fact that it’s terrible is because it’s extraordinarily rare. This card only has one paper release in Portal Three Kingdoms: an MTG set released 26 years ago. Portal Three Kingdoms also wasn’t sold in North America, making the set even more difficult to find than usual.
The only reason to purchase a Zodiac Dragon is as a collector’s item. Despite being the most expensive Dragon in Magic: The Gathering, this is not a good card. Do not put this card into your Commander deck.