MTG Avatar: The Last Airbender spoiler season has finally come to a close. As expected, there are tons of powerful cards for players to be hyped about. It may be early, but many of these gems already hold hefty presale price tags in the secondary market.
Now that it’s Prerelease weekend, it’s important to know what heavy hitters you should be on the lookout for. If you’re lucky, you could open up a pack that singlehandedly earns you back the money you used to enter the Prerelease in the first place. With this in mind, it’s high time we take a look at the most expensive cards that this set has to offer.
Presale Price Warning
Before we get into our rankings, it’s important to note that we’re still in the presale phase. MTG Avatar is set to release on November 21st, and until then, price will likely continue to wax and wane. Plus, once more cards start entering and circulating in the secondary market, many of these inflated prices should drop significantly.
Furthermore, because cards are still listed at incredibly high premiums, early purchases can heavily altar the average TCGplayer market price which makes depending on market price a bit unreliable. As such, we’ll be focusing on the cheapest listing for each card at the time of writing instead of the market prices.
With that out of the way, let’s jump in and look at the most expensive MTG Avatar cards.
8 | Fated Firepower
Price: $9
One of the most intriguing build-arounds in the entire MTG Avatar set is definitely Fated Firepower. By itself, this enchantment does absolutely nothing even if you sink a bunch of mana into it. Assuming you have a board full of creatures, however, Firepower becomes an enormous problem for the opponent. As such, any red EDH deck with a token theme should be able to pile on damage with this card when timed right.
Notably, Firepower also bolsters any sources of non-combat damage. Vivi Ornitier‘s triggered ability can become an absurdly fast clock in conjunction with Firepower as a result, all while Vivi’s activated ability gives you extra mana to funnel into casting the enchantment.
While Firepower definitely has incredibly high upside, its applications are a bit narrow. EDH decks that don’t emphasize dealing lots of damage won’t want it, and it seems a bit too inefficient to see Constructed play. Don’t be surprised if its price tag dips over time as a result.
7 | Avatar Aang//Aang, Master of Elements
Price: $9
Of all the legends in MTG Avatar, Avatar Aang is the one with the highest build-around upside. Because its triggered ability isn’t limited to triggering once each turn, every threat you play that features a Bending ability makes it more likely you’ll still generating an absurd amount of card advantage.
Obviously, transforming Avatar Aang into Aang, Master of Elements is very difficult even if the payoff is there. The good news, though, is that the front half alone easily pulls its weight. Even just getting to attack with Avatar Aang gets the cards flowing your way. If you’re looking for a fun multi-color Commander that incorporates some new themes, you’re in luck.
6 | Bumi, Unleashed
Price: $9
Bumi, Unleashed is yet another card that currently falls into the $9 range that has plenty of Commander potential. As you might expect, it’s final ability makes Bumi a great legend to lead a deck centered around the Earthbend mechanic. Beyond that, filling your deck with ramp and Landfall creatures is a solid way to go.
Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention how well Bumi synergizes with Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. Because Ashaya makes Bumi into a land creature, you can easily set up infinite combat steps for Bumi and your other land creatures.
Having all of this upside stapled to a five-drop that adds nine power to the board across two bodies is awesome. It’s not out of the question that this massive collection of stats allows Bumi to see some Standard play as well, even if it looks a bit unlikely.
5 | Planetarium of Wan Shi Tong
Price: $10
Keeping the trend of mana-intensive yet powerful Commander cards going, Planetarium of Wan Shi Tong will take over games in the long run. While Planetarium does get stronger when you add other Scry and Surveil effects to your deck, because of the artifact’s activated ability, you don’t even need to build around it for it to pull its weight. All you need are some expensive cards to cast and you’ll get your money’s worth.
Of course, the more ways you have to manipulate the top of your deck, the better chance you have of spiking something large to cast. Library searching effects such as Vampiric Tutor synergize perfectly with Planetarium, too. It’s unlikely that such a costly artifact that isn’t guaranteed to impact the board when you play it sees ample Standard play, but that shouldn’t stop it from being a solid addition to any ramp-themed EDH deck.
4 | White Lotus Tile
Price: $11
White Lotus Tile is another card that is almost certainly too clunky for Constructed but may have what it takes to make a splash in EDH. Much like Three Tree City, this artifact only pulls its weight when you’ve built out a decent board of creatures that share a creature type. That being said, the ceiling on this card is incredible.
Any token producers, such as Unified Front in an Ally typal EDH deck, fuel Tile perfectly. From there, the extra mana you get only helps you build your board out further, making Tile that much more threatening the turn after. Given how popular typal archetypes tend to be in Commander, don’t be surprised if this card maintains a somewhat hefty price tag.
3 | The Walls of Ba Sing Se
Price: $14
The Walls of Ba Sing Se isn’t just one of the most expensive cards in the set; it’s also one of the most amusing. 30 toughness is the highest we’ve ever seen on a Magic card, which only heightens its casual appeal. It also makes the legend an awesome addition to Betor, Kin to All and Felothar, the Steadfast Commander decks that are built to take advantage of any and all creatures with big butts.
Unfortunately, as an individual card, The Walls of Ba Sing Se is quite clunky. It has no built-in protection, so most targeted removal spells that see Commander play will be able to get this card off the board. If you can land another effect like Darksteel Plate to give this creature Indestructible, you will be able to make your whole board impenetrable, but this is hard to pull off. There’s no denying how cool the card is, however, and that has value.
2 | Badgermole Cub
Price: $30
Of all the cards from MTG avatar that have major Commander applications, Badgermole Cub may be the scariest early play your opponents can see. Many green decks naturally feature lots of mana dorks, and this card makes it easy to ramp to your big plays in no time.
While it doesn’t increase mana production from mana rocks like Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy, it does help make up for this by turning one of your lands into a creature that can now produce extra mana. Its interaction with land creatures makes it a premium inclusion in Jyoti, Moag Ancient EDH shells as well as any decks that emphasize the new Eartbending mechanic.
It’s not out of the question that this card could make a splash in Standard, either. Its vulnerability to Burst Lightning is a bit tough, but the upside of curving Llanowar Elves into Badgermole Cub right out of the gates is noteworthy. Don’t let this creature’s cuteness distract you; Badgermole Cub is the real deal.
1 | Wan Shi Tong, Librarian
Price: $37
Interestingly, the most expensive MTG Avatar card is also the card that sat atop our list of the best cards from the set, which just goes to show how high the demand for Wan Shi Tong, Librarian truly is. No card scales over the course of the game quite like Wan Shi Tong, which threatens to come down as an enormous flier late in the game while simultaneously refueling your hand. Because it has Flash, tempo and control decks alike are free to pass the turn and simply react to the opponent.
What really gives the card insane multi-format potential, though, is its final triggered ability. In Modern, Legacy, and cEDH where Fetchlands run rampant, Wan Shi Tong demands an immediate answer even if it’s cast as a two-drop. Meanwhile, in Pioneer, pairing the legend with Field of Ruin makes it even stronger as a control finisher.
While Wan Shi Tong sold for $50 shortly after its reveal, prices seem to have calmed down somewhat, as the card is now selling for around $37 rather consistently. Prices will continue to fluctuate during the presale period and could lower once the set releases. Still, we wouldn’t be shocked if this card emerges as a multi-format powerhouse just like Quantum Riddler and creeps back up in price over time.
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