MTG Green Creature Spikes 800% Thanks To Classic Modern Archetype

Last updated on May 22, 2025

Allosaurus Rider – illus. Daren Bader

Alright, Vivi and Y'sthola – You're off the hook this time.

Final Fantasy is undoubtedly the biggest thing in Magic right now, and perhaps the biggest MTG set ever. Not a day goes by without this upcoming Standard set sending prices through the roof… but FIN is not the only game in MTGtown.

While most of the biggest swings in the MTG card market can indeed be traced back to the usual Final Fantasy suspects (looking at you, Vivi and Y'shtola!) and their impact in Commander, today's biggest winner comes from an MTG format where FIN cards are not making too many waves: Modern.
Specifically, from a well-known Modern archetype that has had its couple of price spikes in years past, Allosaurus-Neoform Combo, aka Neobrand.

Allosaurus Rider is one of this combo deck's foundations, teaming up with Neoform to find the next piece of your engine, usually Griselbrand.

Source: MTGStocks – Allosaurus Rider (CSP)

Allosaurus Rider shot up from a flat $1.50 – $2.00 to a $16 spike yesterday for its original Coldsnap version.

A Tale of Three Spikes

Allosaurus Rider is no stranger to huge spikes from out of nowhere. Back in 2016, the release of Eldritch Evolution led to speculation about its synergy with Allosaurus Rider, causing its price to shoot to about $16. As it's often the case, the hype had an ugly confrontation with reality and the Eldritch-Rider combo ended up going nowhere… but the idea was not entirely out of place.

Three years later, War of the Spark would bring a juiced-up Eldritch Evolution, Neoform. And on top of that, the new London Mulligan rule was seen as more generous with combo decks.

“Allosaurus Rider was a huge spike back when Neoform first came out,”  remembers Tim, our Managing Editor. “My older brother traded a mana crypt (and other cards) for a playset of Allosaurus Riders when the Neoform hype started.”

That second spike wasn't destined to be long-lived, though…

Source: MTGStocks – Allosaurus Rider (CSP)

… But while the hype again died down, this time the Allosaurus-Neoform combo deck had enough legs to become a playable archetype in Modern, even getting some tournament results during 2020. And it even had room for Eldritch Evolution as a Neoform at home.

Neoform-Allosaurus decks then went into obscurity for a few years (still playable at the FNM level, but without serious tournament results to brag about), up until November last year, when it came back with quite a punch.

Ghalta and Hungry Sorin Have Entered the Chat

Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant – illus. Lars Grant-West

Since last November, Neoform combo decks have been putting quite a bit of work: Deng Yunan made Top 4 at the Champions Cup Special Qualifier in Kawasaki, Japan, Jeremy Grenier got into Top 8 at the Final League in Reims, France, and above all Neobrand has been getting a lot of solid results on MTGO during the last couple of weeks. With all these accolades, financial-inclined redditors have taken notice. 

Unlike the two previous spikes, there's no new tutor with a specific synergy with Allosaurus Rider – but some newer additions like Sorin of House Markov and above all Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant have increased the deck's consistency.

It's still a glass cannon that either wins by turn 2 or dies shamefully, but the last few weeks suggest it can deliver the results a lot more reliably, getting more players interested in the archetype.

And, as a four-of, Allosaurus Rider has seen its price rising at a result.

There's one important caveat here, though: Only Allosaurus Rider‘s Coldsnap copies seem to be spiking.

Not All Bling Is Gold

If you want a Coldsnap version today, your wallet will be about 10 bucks lighter. But other printings can be bought for quite a bit less:

• A Duel Decks: Elves vs. Goblins copy is two bucks,
• A Duel Decks: Anthology copy costs around $2.50,
• A Mystery Booster Retail Edition Foils copy is less than $2

In other words, Allosaurus Rider‘s price surge is concentrated on the Coldsnap printing. It's hard to say precisely why, though; it may simply be a case of the original version being more sought-after among collectors and players who are willing to pay a few bucks more for the vintage copies.

What Will Happen with Allosaurus Rider's Price?

Neoform – illus. Bram Sels

So, is the third time the charm? Will Allosaurus Rider‘s price remain above $5-$10 this time?

With the usual disclaimer that this is not investment advice (always do your own research!), it's hard to imagine the Coldsnap printing remaining at its current price while you can get other printings a lot cheaper. And, as past spikes show, hype does tend to die down.

On the other hand, tournament results are a lot better than in the past. And, above all, the current spike is happening after those results. Allosaurus Rider‘s 2016 spike was all about hype (with zero competitive results afterwards); the 2019 hype did have some results to show for, but then petered out; this time players are buying Allosaurus Rider after it's been packing a punch for months, and has been getting serious results in the last few weeks.

All-in glass-cannon decks like Neoform are a bit of an acquired taste and certainly not for everybody – but this deck has been around for years, definitely has its fans, and it's putting up the work. It won't break Modern in half, but looks like it's gotten from fringe to very playable.