Thanks to its support for multiple beloved archetypes, The Hobbit has caused multiple price spikes. Dwarf Typal and Treasure decks were the most prominent causes of this, but even Bear Typal caused some shifts a little later on. While Radagast of Rhosgobel’s spike is partially related to the latter, it’s also just a strong Commander card that went unnoticed right after release.
MTG Radagast of Rhosgobel
Between granting the first creature you cast each turn a cost reduction and Flash, Radagast of Rhosgobel is a fantastic addition to any creature-focused EDH deck. Saving eight mana per turn rotation should you cast four creatures, Radagast makes powering out cards like Ornithopter of Paradise trivial. Combine the Wizard with draw engines like Beast Whisperer or The Great Henge, and you’ll never run out of gas.
Thanks to being an amazing support piece for creature decks, Radagast of Rhosgobel has already found itself in over 13,000 different Commander decks according to EDHREC. Interestingly, its most popular home is in Beorn the Fierce decks, where Radagast appears in 62%, or 2,300 decks. Since Beorn can make Radagast into a Bear, the Wizard doubles as an amazing body and a great way to get your Bears into play quickly.
Outside of its 99 appearances, Radagast is a surprisingly popular Commander himself. With about 2,380 decklists, Radagast is surprisingly the sixth most popular Commander from The Hobbit. This popularity is likely due in part to Radagast’s strong performance on an Extra Turns episode of The Command Zone. With a whopping 47 creatures in the deck, Rachel Weeks’ take on Radagast looks like a blast to play.
The Spike
After falling rapidly from its ridiculous prerelease price, Radagast eventually settled at a market average of $1.32 after The Hobbit’s official release. Once Radagast’s initial demand after release settled, interest picked back up after his appearance on Extra Turns. Thanks to this renewed interest, Radagast’s price slowly started to climb.
Now, the cheapest copy of Radagast available is $4.03 before shipping, representing a 205% price increase over a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, there are no deals to be had for Radagast either, with the extended art variant starting at $7.75 and showing signs of spiking further.
A Future Commander Staple?
So long as you can keep your hand stocked, Radagast saves creature decks a ton of mana, making it a fantastic way to snowball an advantage. With how generic this card’s value is, Radagast could easily see play in all kinds of Commander decks, giving it a ton of future potential.
With this in mind, Radagast’s price tag could easily continue to rise as supply for the card dwindles. Reprinting Radagast will likely be a challenge, too, since it represents a rather popular Universes Beyond character. There is a slight chance that Radagast’s price drops after demand caused by Beorn fades, but considering how many other decks Radagast fits into, this seems unlikely.
All of that said, as always, it’s impossible to predict the future, as a new MTG card could easily power creep Radagast and make him less desirable. As it stands now, however, Radagast appears to have a great future ahead.
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