Throughout MTG’s history, there have been a ton of different unique Creature types showcased for players to build decks around. Some Creature types are more abundant than others, and to this day, there are still new Creature types emerging. Just recently, the world of MTG introduced the first Capybara Creature into the mix. A few Creature types, such as Rigger, have only appeared on a select few MTG cards.
Of course, there are also some Creature types that are featured on hundreds or even thousands of different cards. For instance, Soldiers and Wizards have been MTG staples for many years. No Creature type, however, comes close in this regard to Humans. Humans are by far the most populous of the Creature types, and the number of Humans in MTG continues to rise quickly as new sets get released.
Given the sheer volume of Humans that have been printed over the years, some are bound to be quite expensive. What’s interesting, though, is that a large percentage of the most expensive Humans all have one thing in common: they are on the Reserved List. Sets like Legends and Arabian Nights that originated almost 30 years ago are home to a handful of Human Creatures that, by showing up on the Reserved List, have never been reprinted.
Today, we are going to take a look at the most expensive Humans in MTG. Each of these cards is worth a large sum of money, whether they see extensive play in various formats or not. Notably, we will be using TCGplayer market price when determining the order of these rankings. Without further ado, here are the top five MTG most expensive Human cards!
#5 Argivian Archaeologist- $193
Earning the fifth spot on this list, we have Argivian Archaeologist. This card is a rare from Antiquities, and as stated, is on the Reserved List. Despite “Summon Archaeologist” being written on the card, Argivian Archaeologist is actually a Human Artificer.
The reality is, Argivian Archaeologist is a somewhat mediocre card. Allowing you to return Artifacts from your graveyard to your hand for two mana is a fine ability, but adding on the three-mana investment needed to cast it plus the fact that it is a 1/1 affected by Summoning Sickness means the card essentially doesn’t show up in any competitive setting.
Still, the card boasts a $193 price tag. This showcases just how incredibly valuable all of the Humans on this list truly are.
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#4 Hazezon Tamar- $210
Next up, we have Hazezon Tamar, from Legends. Hazezon Tamar is another rare Human, except in this case, the card is actually a rather intriguing Commander card. When you cast Hazezon Tamar, assuming you use only Lands to cast it, you will end up with at least seven 1/1 Sand Warrior tokens in play. On rate, this is actually pretty decent in Commander, especially if you have ways to buff your token squad or generate extra tokens. Cards like
Coat of Arms
Coat of Arms
Each creature gets +1/+1 for each other creature on the battlefield that shares at least one creature type with it. (For example, if two Goblin Warriors and a Goblin Shaman are on the battlefield, each gets +2/+2.)
and
Parallel Lives
Parallel Lives
If an effect would create one or more tokens under your control, it creates twice that many of those tokens instead.
are great inclusions in a Hazezon Tamar deck, for instance.
The downside, however, is that these tokens get exiled if Hazezon Tamar leaves play. As expected, though, there are a few ways to get around this. For example,
Clever Concealment
Clever Concealment
Convoke (Your creatures can help cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for {1} or one mana of that creature's color.)
Any number of target nonland permanents you control phase out. (Treat them and anything attached to them as though they don't exist until your next turn.)
can Phase Out your Sand Warrior Squad if Hazezon Tamar would be removed, keeping them on the battlefield for future turns. Now, with Hazezon Tamar back in the Command Zone, your tokens are safe.
Since the beginning of November, Hazezon Tamar has actually dropped over $20 in price according to TCGplayer market price history. Yet, the card is still worth $210, once again showcasing the power of the Reserved List.
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#3 Gwendlyn Di Corci- $254
Gwendlyn Di Corci is another example of an old Legends card that actually makes a reasonable Commander option. In this case, it’s pretty easy to see the types of cards that work well with Gwendlyn. Cards like
Waste Not
Waste Not
Whenever an opponent discards a creature card, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
Whenever an opponent discards a land card, add {B}{B}.
Whenever an opponent discards a noncreature, nonland card, draw a card.
and
Geth’s Grimoire
Geth’s Grimoire
Whenever an opponent discards a card, you may draw a card.
make Gwendlyn’s activated ability significantly more powerful.
While
Tinybones, Trinket Thief
Tinybones, Trinket Thief
At the beginning of each end step, if an opponent discarded a card this turn, you draw a card and you lose 1 life.
{4}{B}{B}: Each opponent with no cards in hand loses 10 life.
or
Tergrid, God of Fright
Tergrid, God of Fright
Menace
Whenever an opponent sacrifices a nontoken permanent or discards a permanent card, you may put that card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.
are likely better Commanders for a deck with a discard theme, Gwendlyn allows you to stay in a Grixis color combination. This opens the door for the inclusion of “Wheel” effects, such as
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune
Each player discards their hand, then draws seven cards.
and
Windfall
Windfall
Each player discards their hand, then draws cards equal to the greatest number of cards a player discarded this way.
.
Gwendlyn may be worth $254, but once again, the card has actually dropped pretty significantly in price over the last month. The card sat around $357 roughly one month ago, which is over a $100 difference from today. It’s unclear if this trend will continue in any meaningful way, but it is certainly worth noting.
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#2 Angus Mackenzie- $258
Next up, we have Angus Mackenzie. Angus Mackenzie is an interesting Bant legend, essentially allowing you to
Fog
Fog
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn.
at least once every turn cycle. In Commander, pairing this ability with ways to untap Angus Mackenzie and your mana, such as
Seedborn Muse
Seedborn Muse
Untap all permanents you control during each other player's untap step.
, can virtually lock Creature decks out of the game until Angus Mackenzie is removed. Add in some protection for your Commander, like Lightning Greeves, and you’re in business.
Angus Mackenzie, in similar fashion, has dropped nearly $100 over the last month. While the price has been falling a little over time throughout the last year, once again, the most significant drop-off occurred very recently.
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#1 Ali from Cairo- $389
Finally, at the top of this list is Ali from Cairo. This card breaks our streak of Legends cards, as Ali from Cairo appeared in Arabian Nights. The effect on Ali from Cairo can be powerful, theoretically helping you stay alive for as long as Ali stays alive. The problem is that, as a four-mana 0/1, Ali is incredibly easy to remove when necessary. Further, Ali only prevents you from losing via damage, so life loss or other win conditions like
Thassa’s Oracle
Thassa’s Oracle
When this creature enters, look at the top X cards of your library, where X is your devotion to blue. Put up to one of them on top of your library and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. If X is greater than or equal to the number of cards in your library, you win the game. (Each {U} in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to blue.)
are still on the table.
In this sense, Ali from Cairo is not a great card, even in a Commander setting. However, it still boasts the largest price tag of any Human in MTG by a pretty wide margin. Sitting at roughly $389, there’s a difference of over $125 between the top spot and the 2nd spot on this list. Furthermore, unlike the other cards on the list, Ali from Cairo has seemingly increased in value over the last month, from nearly $354 on October 12 to $389 now. Either way, though, all of these cards showcase just how influential the Reserved List can be on the price of MTG cards.
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