Foil Anime Rhystic Study Crosses $2000 Mark

Last updated on May 25, 2026

Rhystic Study | Illustration by FUZICHOCO

Rhystic Study is a card that is near and dear to the hearts of many Commander players. It is also a card that is despised by just as many. Simply hearing the phrase “Do you pay the 1?” is enough to send most into a fit of inconsolable rage. But like it or not, you can't deny that it's a staple of the format, and it has a price tag to match its status. However, as the collectibility of Magic has increased in the past few years with alternate printings and special foil treatments of cards, there is a version of Rhystic Study that has climbed to an astonishingly high price of $2000.00 USD.

Do You Pay The One?

Rhystic Study | Illustration by FUZICHOCO

So why $2000.00? What version of the card justifies a price like that? Well, just like anything else, the price is decided by supply and demand, and as you might imagine, the supply is low and the demand is high. The specific version of the card is the confetti foil anime borderless version from the Wilds of Eldraine enchanting tales bonus sheet. That's a mouthful, so I'll break it down. First off, it's anime. If you've ever been to a game store and looked at someone's playmat at random, I'd wager that there's a 50/50 chance it had some kind of anime character on it.

This is all just to say that the popularity of anime, especially within the broader TCG playing community, cannot be understated, and so it makes sense that anything anime related would be in high demand. Stack on top of that the special confetti foil treatment, and suddenly you have a card that is a widely played iconic format staple with a highly desired anime style artwork and very rare foil treatment, and the question becomes “Do you pay the $2000.00?”

Collectibility

Lord Xander, The Collector | Illustration by Martina Fackova

Obviously this is great news if you already have a copy of this card, and it's terrible news if you had one but sold it for less, but most people without a month's worth of rent money to blow on a shiny piece of cardboard, this seems like inconsequential news. For the most part it really is, but a card like this selling for a price like this does say something about the collectibility of Magic: The Gathering. Throughout the history of Magic, cards have been worth money because they are good in some deck; people might like Storm Crow just as much as Snapcaster Mage, but I don't need Storm Crow in my Modern deck. These are simply how the economics of the game work. 

Compare that to something like Pokemon, where a card's value isn't necessarily tied to its competitive viability, but moreso to the general feeling that players have about a given card. This is collectibility without competitiveness. After all, the laws of supply and demand make no mention of how good something is; it's just how badly people want something, and how much of it there is.

So with this version of Rhystic Study selling for such an absurd price, I think it shows a trend in that direction of collectibility and playability begin separate, at least in this instance. Yes, Rhystic Study is a format staple, but Commander is more of a casual format than it is a competitive one, and this card is also not as good as many give it credit for. Ultimately, it's iconic because it's iconic, and we want it because we want it. And so when the supply is low of a special printing like this one, it becomes more than just a card, it becomes a true collectible.

Wrap Up

Rhystic Study | Illustration by Serena Malyon

Whether or not the price tag is justified, you have to admit that it really is stunning. It's not hard to imagine why someone would want it. I'm still just hoping that one of my opponent's doesn't play it on turn three, because I really don't want to pay the one.