Controversial EDH Pirate Skyrockets Following Avatar Bonus Sheet Reprint

Last updated on November 4, 2025

Dockside Extortionist | Illustration by Douglas Shuler

“Goodbye, and good riddance,” was the general sentiment among most Commander players last year when, at long last, Dockside Extortionist was banned.

So you can imagine the one hell of a Halloween jump-scare it was among Commander fans to learn that Dockside Extortionist is being reprinted in Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s Source Material cards.

Wizards of the Coast has given no hints that this reprint means that Dockside Extortionist will be unbanned in Commander – but there has been enough speculation among Magic players that this former Commander staple's price has gone up by nearly 500%.

Dockside Extortionist's Price Spike

Dockside Extortionist | Illustration by Forrest Imel

For all of its tenure in Commander, Dockside Extortionist was easily one of the most powerful cards in the whole format, and even in cEDH.

It was also one of the most divisive. When a year ago the Commander Rules Committee banned four cards, the players' negative backlash was so huge that the Committee was disbanded and, since then, the WotC-run Commander Format Panel took its place…

… but the negative backlash was entirely not about Dockside Extortionist (players were furious about the Committee banning Jeweled Lotus and Mana Crypt), and in fact it was one ban most players were actually behind.

As a result, Dockside Extortionist‘s price plummeted from about $80 in September last year, to around $10 two months later. But, from time to time, rumors of WotC unbanning Dockside Extortionist make its price spike sky-high, as it did back in March and back in May this year…

Source: MTGStocks

… and as it's doing right now: At the time of writing, the cheapest near-mint copies of Dockside Extortionist‘s original Commander 2019 printing sit at about $30 on TCGplayer, and the listed average has jumped all the way up to $50. Copies from the Double Masters 2022 reprint show a similar spike.

“Dockside is honestly the last card I expected for them to print,” notes u/Shadethewolf0 in one of the most upvoted replies from the reveal thread on Reddit. “It's honestly pretty bad in limited and it's banned in commander (not legal almost anywhere else). No real reason to use a banned card.”

So the big question is: Is Dockside Extortionist coming back to Commander? And is that why the price has gone up like crazy?

Will Dockside Extortionist Be Unbanned in Commander?

Some Commander players were similarly surprised with Final Fantasy‘s reprint of Primeval Titan (another former EDH staple, until it was banned), but in Primeval's case the reason is straightforward: Primeval Titan sees tons of play in Modern in Amulet Titan decks. In other words, reprints make total sense if the card is popular in at least one MTG format, even if it's banned in others.

WotC's Gavin Verhey, who leads the Commander Format Panel, was very clear when explaining the unbans we had last April. “I will be transparent and say that I believe if any of these are ever to return,” Gavin wrote in April, referring to the four cards banned last year by the now-extinct Rules Commitee, “the most likely one is Jeweled Lotus due to its one-shot nature, iconic feel, and ability to help support high-mana value commanders.”

What Will Happen With Dockside Extortionist's Price?

Revel In Riches | Illustration by Eric Deschamps

Finance-savvy traders have a rule of thumb about “Buy the rumors, sell the news.”

While this is not investment advice (let alone savvy!), this looks very much like players assuming that, because a card gets reprinted, it will be unbanned.

It's hard to guess why WotC decided to reprint it. The most likely scenario, in my opinion, is that they had already locked the reprint in before the infamous ban, and they either didn't have time to make changes, or they decided the hassle was not worth it.

So, you know, if you happen to have a couple of spare copies that you literally can't play anywhere, these may be good news to get rid of Dockside Extortionist once and for all.