Ixalan is one of MTG’s most beloved planes, and it’s easy to see why. Ixalan showcases a unique environment of land and sea, with a focus on a multitude of different Creature types. Many players gravitate towards the enormous Dinosaurs that roam this world, but Ixalan is centered around a few other notable Creature types. With The Lost Caverns of Ixalan on the horizon, we’re going to take a deep dive and focus on a Creature type that has been around for a very long time.
Today, we will be emphasizing sea rather than land, showcasing the wonderful world of Merfolk. Merfolk have been around since the printing of Lord of Atlantis in Alpha 30 years ago, and continue to be immersed in future sets. The Lost Caverns of Ixalan has a heavy focus on Merfolk, featuring plenty of strong payoffs for the archetype.
This is a chance for Merfolk Commander players to add some juicy pieces to their decks. In recognition, we are going to go over the most expensive Merfolk out there, many of which happen to be excellent Commander cards. Notably, we will be specifically looking at these cards in their cheapest forms, and will be using TCGplayer market price in our rankings. If you’re looking to make upgrades to your Merfolk deck, some of these cards are excellent additions and are well worth the price. Without further ado, here are the top five MTG most expensive Merfolk cards.
#5 Lord of Atlantis- $7
Speaking of Lord of Atlantis, this powerful Merfolk is number five on this list. Lord of Atlantis is one of the key pieces of the Modern Merfolk deck. Both Lord of Atlantis and Master of the Pearl Trident do very similar things, helping to both buff the rest of your squad and provide evasion to your team, so long as your opponent controls an Island. With Tide Shaper in the mix, making use of Islandwalk is more useful than you might expect. Funnily enough, Lord of Atlantis does affect your opponent’s Merfolk as well, leading to some interesting situations when playing a Merfolk mirror match.
Lord of Atlantis has been reprinted multiple times, but still holds a relatively high price tag. Part of this is because the card hasn’t actually been reprinted in recent years. It’s been a long time since the card was Timeshifted into Modern. However, Lord of Atlantis will be appearing both as a special guest alongside the release of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, as well as a quarterly promo that can be found at WPN premium stores. It’s unclear if these printings will help drive down the price much, but is definitely worth monitoring. Chances are players can expect to see Lord of Atlantis become a bit more affordable.
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#4 Alandra, Sky Dreamer- $8
Alandra is a solid Commander option from Jumpstart 2022. The goal with Alandra is simple: draw extra cards and reap the rewards. Notably, Alandra’s abilities happen each turn, not just during your turn, so drawing multiple cards on an opponent’s turn, such as with Thirst for Discovery, can be an effective strategy.
Once you have enough Drakes in play, if you can manage to draw five cards in one turn, your army will get an enormous buff. Luckily, cards like Time Spiral can make triggering this ability more trivial than it may appear at first glance. Alandra has not been reprinted yet, and as a strong Commander option, the price tag is certainly justified.
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#3 Thassa’s Oracle- $10
Thassa’s Oracle is a powerful Merfolk Wizard, but in general, this card is not an important piece for Merfolk-centric strategies. Instead, Thassa’s Oracle is almost exclusively a combo piece. In any deck that is capable of ending up with zero cards in library, Thassa’s Oracle is usually the primary win condition. Rather than relying on Laboratory Maniac, you can simply cast Thassa’s Oracle and win the game immediately off its enters-the-battlefield effect.
Decks like Legacy and Vintage Doomsday combo make great use of this card. It pairs especially nicely with Demonic Consultation for a clean, two-card combo that requires only three mana. While it isn’t exactly a versatile card, it is essential for decks that want the effect. As such, it makes sense why this elite Merfolk has a hefty price tag.
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#2 Thrasios, Triton Hero- $17
Thrasios is one the best Partner Commanders out there. As a staple general in both regular EDH and cEDH, Thrasios is an efficient value engine that also works well as a win condition alongside infinite colorless mana. There are lots of ways to generate infinite colorless mana in Commander, especially by using Grim Monolith and Basalt Monolith, and Thrasios is a perfect mana sink.
Interestingly, Thrasios was printed in both Commander 2016 and Commander Legends, but in both sets, Thrasios was not available in traditional, non-foil form. With this being the case, Thrasios being reprinted as a Special Guest may help decrease its value a bit over time. In fact, even Commander 2016 foil versions of Thrasios have been consistently trending downward in price from $20 three months ago according to TCGplayer market price history. It’ll be interesting to see how far this trend continues.
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#1 Adrix and Nev, Twincasters- $19
Adrix and Nev, Twincasters is the most expensive Merfolk on this list, and given its ability, it’s easy to see why. Other token doublers, such as Parallel Lives, are Commander favorites and are typically worth a lot of money as a result. Adrix and Nev is no exception, and being able to utilize this effect stapled to your Commander is very strong. Using cards like Scute Swarm that can get completely out of control with Adrix and Nev’s ability can make winning the game trivial.
Adrix and Nev was only printed in Commander 2021, and there doesn’t seem to be any indication that it will be reprinted any time soon. Unlike Thrasios, Adrix and Nev’s price has been steadily climbing from where it sat at $11 roughly three months ago, according to TCGplayer market price history. Adrix and Nev’s effect is definitely powerful and continues to be in high demand, so it makes sense why it would be at the top of this list.
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