Last updated on July 31, 2025
Quantum Riddler | Illustration by Cacho Rubione
To the Reddit user saying Quantum Riddler didn’t feel like it should be as low as $11, you were absolutely correct. As of Thursday morning, Riddler’s just shy of $30, making it Edge of Eternities‘ third most expensive card, counting base versions only (all those variants and bonus sheet cards get kind of muddy).
Riddle Me This
We’re still in week one of Edge of Eternities Standard, and even more important, post-rotation Standard, and it seems like the Riddler’s an early frontrunner for one of the cards to be on the lookout for. The average price has breached $30 already, putting it just below Tezzeret, Cruel Captain and Exalted Sunborn, the two most expensive cards from EOE right now. If the sphinx keeps trending upwards at the rate it’s going, it could very easily take that #1 spot by next week.
Of course, we’re still fresh off the heels of prerelease weekend and boxes are still being opened left and right, so prices will be in constant flux for a bit longer.
Breaking It Down
There’s a lot working in Quantum Riddler‘s favor. For just its base rate, a 4/6 flier is tanky and clocks an opponent, and the Riddler even refunds a card when it enters, so it’s not devastating if an opponent answers it right away.
However, the key is getting the second card out of the Riddler. Playing this on an empty or whittled down hand nets you two cards on ETB, which is a fantastic deal. You remember Mulldrifter? Well this is Swoledrifter. Getting a second card off the Riddler at any point is going to be great, and setting that up on the ETB is a huge part of the card’s inherent power.
Remember, too, that the extra card applies to any card draw. So if you’re able to trim your hand down before your next draw step, you’ll draw two cards for your turn.
Wheel effects aren’t as prevalent in Standard, but casting a draw-seven with Riddler in play also nets you one extra card. Maybe something there for the Weftwalking or Step Between Worlds believers out there.
Modern Monster
Ephemerate | Illustration by Bastien L. Deharme
Modern might be the real home for Quantum Riddler, though, because that’s where you can truly take advantage of the card’s warp ability. Warp’s going to be useful no matter where you play the card, since it’s essentially a cycling buyout (and sometimes better than that), but Modern gets one key thing that Standard doesn’t have: Ephemerate.
Warp in a Riddler, target it with Ephemerate, good game. The net result there is that you’re up minimum two cards from both sphinx ETBs, you’ve got an Ephemerate in exile waiting to be rebound, and you have the 4/6 in play, free from its warp restriction. It’s not some explosive new tech, people have been doing this with Solitude for a while now, but the Riddler fits into those shells so easily.
@BravoBrenden on X shares a UW blink deck that went 4-1 and 5-0 across two Magic Online leagues, showcasing the exact sorts of shells people have slotted the sphinx into.
There’s also a much more casual Standard approach with this decklist posted by @BrackAttackG on X. You don’t get the raw efficiency of Ephemerate in Standard, but there are tools like All-Fates Stalker and Charming Prince (legal from Foundations) that fill the role.
So you will end up seeing this sphinx moving forward. Whether its price stays up in the skies or not remains to be seen, but it really didn’t take that long for people to start cracking the code on the Quantum Riddler.
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