The holidays are here, and many who frequent this site probably expect some MTG-related gifts in their stockings. Jumpstart 2022 is the most recent MTG set released as of Christmas 2022, and it’s tailored toward the casual, pack-loving player. Should you be one of many MTG players likely to see some of these on Christmas morning, here are the Top 10 most expensive Jumpstart 2022 cards that you may hope to open! We will be using TCGplayer recent sales prices as of December 23rd to determine this list.
#10 – Auntie Blyte, Bad Influence
This bizarre Commander card starts off as our #10 spot on this list! Auntie Blyte offers a really weird theme for mono-red players that encourages you to hurt yourself. This, ironically, fits the theme of a devil trying to manipulate your thoughts pretty well. The upside is a Voltron-style EDH deck that offers all kinds of ways to kill your opponents in one fell swoop! Just make sure you are dealing damage and not paying life because the ladder will not work.
Auntie Blyte, unlike many of the Jumpstart 2022 exclusive cards, has had a significant decline in price since its release. Starting at $20, Blythe suffered a substantial plummet in price to about $13 and shows signs of seeing a slight increase. This suggests that Blythe may be a decent pickup at the moment.
#9 Karn Liberated
Karn Liberated is one of the few reprints that you’ll be dying to see in your Jumpstart 2022 packet. This comes in the Tron packet, a Mythic rarity option that sports one of the highest consistent financial values in the entire set. Complete with a Walking Ballista and a suite of UrzaTron, this is a very difficult packet to battle should you play Jumpstart constructed. If you manage to resolve Karn, it will be near impossible for your opponent to come back. Between its insane loyalty boosts on its plus ability and the constant resource advantage it provides, Karn is an absolute nightmare even in Modern.
Karn has seen its fair share of reprintings lately. This card has multiple List appearances and, combined with this Jumpstart 2022 reprint, has managed to curb the price to about $15.
#8 Isu, the Abominable
The snow packet may be, secretly, one of the best packets you could receive in your Jumpstart 2022 box! Not only does the packet nail the Christmas theme, but you will also receive a Coldsteel Heart alongside Isu! With exclusive anime artwork, this Coldsteel Heart has an absurd 10x value compared to the usual artwork found on the card.
Coldsteel Heart currently offers about a $10 value, while Isu suggests another $18 may be coming your way. If you want to build a Christmas-themed snow deck, this is an absolutely fantastic packet to find. Be aware that Isu’s price is heavily fluctuating, making it quite challenging to figure out where it will settle.
#7 Preston, the Vanisher
Preston’s on a bit of a hot streak as of the writing of this list. This card has seen a substantial spike in price, reaching $18. As mentioned in our biggest market movers for Jumpstart 2022, Preston, the Vanisher synergizes incredibly well with Blink strategies. Not only does Blink get around Preston’s restriction, but those decks generally care about Enter the Battlefield triggers. Preston ends up becoming a Panharmonicon that provides additional bodies. While they aren’t that good, Preston’s second ability can repurpose them. If anything has been established with the recent Commander ban controversy, it’s that Parharmonicon is a good card to have. Preston’s market value has almost reached $19, but it is still selling for $17 or less, holding it back a bit.
#6 Pirated Copy
Pirated Copy comes in yet another Jumpstart 2022 packet that is absolutely loaded with value. Between the anime Mirror Image, which goes for just under $10, and Pirated Copy’s $19 price tag, you have another incredible $30 pack on your hands.
Pirated Copy has a bizarre additional ability to add to the standard copying ability. Pirated Copy will also steal the name of whatever card it copies, which is an important distinction here. Whenever a creature with the same name as the Pirated Copy deals damage to a player, you draw a card. That means if you copy an opponent’s creature with Pirated Copy and it deals damage to any player, you draw a card.
#5 Rodolf Duskbringer
Rodolf Duskbringer is a popular Commander option that embodies two of the most common archetypes in the Orzhov color identity. Beautifully blending both lifegain and Reanimator, Rudolf Duskbringer is an Orzhov player’s dream. We discuss this card more extensively when looking at our Jumpstart 2022 movers.
In terms of price, Rodolf has recently seen a huge price spike. It jumped from $12 to about $24 over the last week.
#4 Lita, Mechanical Engineer
With the sudden rise of artifact creature Commanders with The Brothers’ War, Lita, Mechanical Engineer is going to make it into a lot of new brews. This Mythic Rare Jumpstart 2022 exclusive can untap your artifact creatures on each end step and create additional Zeppelin vehicles that you can Crew and keep as blockers with her ability!
Even though Lita has a considerable price tag, her financial movements have not been too exciting. She has only jumped $5 to about $25 since she released, but current trends suggest that Lita will continue to increase until she finds a decent price point.
#3 Balan, Wandering Knight
Once upon a time, Balan was the most expensive card in all of Jumpstart 2022. Balan has been dropping in price a fair bit, as have all the anime artwork cards in the set that had some value. For those who want to run a white equipment-based Commander deck or just want their deck helmed by an anime cat girl, this isn’t a terrible choice. That said, this artwork is going for a significant uptick compared to non-anime artworks for those interested in playing Balan on a budget.
At her peak, Balan was going for $45. She has since reduced to about $35 in price. The non-anime version of this card goes for about $5.
#2 Rhystic Study
Rhystic Study is a three-mana powerhouse capable of taking over an entire game of Commander. While Rhystic Study’s ability is not fantastic when you’re only playing against one player, the card gets much better when there are three or more players to mooch off of. Paying the one has almost become synonymous with playing Commander, and you can guarantee that, while Rhystic Study will drown you in card advantage, it will also get you some less-than-pleased looks from across the table.
Rhystic Study is a Commander staple. As such, the card has a massive price tag. Rhystic Study debuted Jumpstart 2022’s release at $50 and dropped to about $35. It’s already beginning to recover to $40, but there is still some time to buy up this Commander reprint before it likely, climbs back up to its initial price point!
#1 Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm
Rat players have been asking for new toys, and, boy, did Wizards of the Coast deliver. Rats are likely the single most expensive packet of Jumpstart 2022 that you can open- as long as you get your Ashcoat. This $55 Rat Commander does it all. It rewards the go-wide strategy generally assigned to the archetype, but, more importantly, it allows the Rat archetype to grind into the lategame. Typically, most Rat decks will have an aggressive push, and if no engine is established in that push, their board gets wiped, and they are out of the game. Ashcoat is the first recurring value engine that the archetype has, allowing the deck to keep up with other decks that like drawing cards.
While Ashcoat has, generally, been among the top three most expensive Jumpstart 2022 cards since release, Ashcoat has increased in price when a Legendary Rat creature was leaked to be coming in Phyrexia: All Will Be One. This means that there is a chance that a Rat theme will be present in MTG’s next core release, but there is no way to confirm that so far.
