This weekend, tons of players are trekking out to their local game stores to play in Modern Horizons 3 Prerelease events. This new set looks like a blast to play with, and players are eager to get their hands on some powerful MTG goodies. If the first two Modern Horizons sets were any indication, MH3 should provide a massive shakeup to Modern in the coming weeks.
Interestingly, while players are focusing their attention on the release of MH3, the debut of the MTG Assassin’s Creed crossover set is looming. MTG Assassin’s Creed is coming out in less than a month, and the set has also been confirmed to be Modern-legal.
Unsurprisingly, MTG Assassin’s Creed will certainly have a massive focus on the Assassin Creature type. We’ve already seen a few intriguing Assassins spoiled back in February as part of our first look at the set, such as Ezio Auditore da Firenze. With MTG Assassin’s Creed on the horizon, we thought it would be worthwhile to go over the priciest Assassins in MTG thus far. Assassins are bound to get more support, so some of these cards may become even more intriguing in the coming weeks. Without further ado, here are the top five MTG most expensive Assassin cards.
#5 | Wei Assassins
Price: $6
Kicking things off, we have Wei Assassins. Wei Assassins frankly isn’t the most exciting card in the world and is also worded a bit strangely. Even though it destroys an opposing Creature when it enters the battlefield, the opponent gets to choose which of their Creatures is destroyed. In this sense, Wei Assassin’s effect on the game is much closer to “target player sacrifices a Creature” than “destroy target Creature.”
For five mana, this is not very efficient by today’s standards. Add in the fact that Wei Assassins is only an uncommon, and it may seem a bit surprising to see the card crack our rankings. However, like a couple other cards that will appear on the list, most of the reason Wei Assassins remains a bit pricy is due to the set it appeared in and its lack of reprints over the years.
Wei Assassins is from Portal Three Kingdoms, which came out roughly 25 years ago. On top of that, the card has never been reprinted. As such, the card holds a price tag of about $6 according to TCGPlayer market price.
Read More: Borderless Bonus Card Theme Is Beginning To Wear Thin
#4 | Scarblade Elite
Price: $8
Next up, we have Scarblade Elite. Scarblade Elite is another card that has yet to be reprinted a single time, this time debuting as a rare from Morningide. Unlike Wei Assassins, though, Scarblade Elite is an excellent addition to any Assassin-themed EDH deck. At only two mana, Scarblade Elite is quite cheap to play. If your opponents can’t kill it right away, the card threatens to remove the biggest opposing Creatures on the battlefield every turn.
Of course, you do need to be playing a high density of Assassins and be filling your graveyard to make Scarblade Elite work. Still, if you’re putting in the effort, the effect Scarblade Elite can have on a game is certainly quite strong. This card currently sits at roughly $8 in its cheapest traditional form.
Read More: The Most Overrated Cards In Modern Horizons 3
#3 | King’s Assassin
Price: $13
King’s Assassin is in a similar boat to Wei Assassins in that its price is largely driven by the fact that it only appeared in Portal. However, King’s Assassin is definitely a stronger card for EDH purposes. With King’s Assassin in play, your opponents will have to think long and hard about what Creatures they want to attack with. Almost any Creature that they send into the red zone (barring an ability like Vigilance that prevents the Creature from tapping to attack) can be killed during your next turn with King’s Assassin.
Getting to destroy a tapped Creature every turn cycle is nice, though being forced to do so during your turn isn’t ideal. As such, this card is a strictly worse version of Royal Assassin, which is a rather cheap rare. Still, with a lack of reprints available, the rare King’s Assassin currently sits at $13.
Read More: MTG Top 5 Best Free Spells
#2 | Vein Ripper
Price: $21
Vein Ripper is absolutely the strongest card on this list. Unlike every other card in our rankings, Vein Ripper was printed very recently. This mythic rare monster is a Pioneer powerhouse, which certainly contributes to its hefty price tag.
Despite being an Assassin too, what makes the card a Constructed all-star is the fact that the card is a Vampire. This makes it an elite card to put into play with Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord. From there, the opponent needs to kill Vein Ripper, or it will take over the game. Removing Vein Ripper isn’t easy, though. If the opponent doesn’t have a Creature to sacrifice, Ward completely shuts down targeted removal. A turn-three Vein Ripper from Rakdos Vampires is one of the most feared plays in Pioneer, and that doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon.
In EDH, the card is also very strong in sacrifice shells or decks with lots of Creatures, acting as a supercharged Blood Artist. It’s astonishing just how much upside is packed into this six-drop. Vein Ripper currently sits at $21 in its cheapest form.
Read More: 5 Tips To Conquer MH3 Limited!
#1 | Ramses Overdark
Price: $46
Coming in at number one, we have Ramses Overdark. Ramses Overdark may the most expensive Assassin on this list, but it is also the weakest. It’s not easy to cast, and its power and toughness are rather putrid when factoring in its mana cost. Sure, the card has a potentially strong activated ability, but only if the opponent is playing a bunch of Auras in their deck. Otherwise, Ramses Overdark just sits in play as a vanilla 4/3 for six mana.
The reality is, Ramses Overdark’s price is as high as it is solely because it is a rare from Legends. Legends released 30 years ago, and because Ramses Overdark is on The Reserved List, there’s no opportunity for it to be reprinted. With this in mind, it’s not shocking to see Ramses Overdark hold a price tag of $46, making it by far the most expensive MTG Assassin ever.
Read More: Best MTG Energy Payoffs for Commander
