The 28 Most Expensive and Must-Have Cards in Ravnica Remastered

Last updated on February 28, 2024

Bruvac the Grandiloquent | art by Ekaterina Burmak

Ravnica Remastered dropped on January 12, 2024, bringing with it over 450 reprints of classic cards from the original Ravnica block, Return to Ravnica block, and the Ravnica Allegiance-War of the Spark sets. As a remastered set, we're largely looking for the effect these choice cards have on non-rotating formats. We watch closely for trends like renewed interest in Izzet Phoenix for Pioneer and expect the phoenix of arclight's prices to level out after a month or two.

Many of these cards had only seen a single printing before this, making some hard-to-find and expensive cards easily accessible.

#28. Enter the Infinite

Listed at: $2

12 mana spells should win you the game, typically. Enter the Infinite, introduced in Gatecrash following Innistrad’s release of Laboratory Maniac, gave us a cool end game to guarantee we achieved the alternate win condition from Lab Man. Its single printing has kept this mythic’s price afloat, and the art and variant border versions should maintain this cost, or even increase.

#27. Master of Cruelties

Listed at: $2

Master of Cruelties is a funky mythic rare from Dragon’s Maze. It’s a pretty medium threat on its own, but there are some funny combos that make it interesting. I like to sneak it into play from my graveyard with my Alesha, Who Smiles at Death Commander deck, bypassing the attacks alone trigger. Master of Cruelties will always see play somewhere in some janky deck, and its lack of a downshift means it should maintain its price tag.

#26. Illusionist’s Bracers

Listed at: $2

Crazy that Illusionist's Bracers only has the one Gatecrash printing and the one The List reprint considering I see it so often in my casual games. Alas, this staple equipment has desperately needed another printing – especially since so many commanders have those juicy activated abilities to double up on.

#25. Krenko, Mob Boss

Listed at: $2.25

Krenko, Krenko, Krenko, Mob Boss. The undisputed king of goblin commanders is receiving its seventh reprint in Ravnica Remastered, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a valuable rare. Every time a set with Krenko is released, we see a small spike in the card’s price as Magic players the world over are suddenly reminded “oh yeah, this is the best possible goblin card ever created.” It’s not going to pay for your pack, but you can probably convince someone to trade for it.

#24. Ilharg, the Raze-Boar

Listed at: $3

Ilharg, the Raze-Boar is the unkillable boar god of the Gruul, and its reputation precedes it. Ilharg doesn’t see much play outside of Commander, but it's still a big nasty creature built to create a huge threat once it hits the field.

#23. Hellkite Tyrant

Listed at: $3

The early 2010s saw WotC experimenting with alternative win conditions, and because of this, we got Hellkite Tyrant. The Tyrant was out of place in Gatecrash, a decidedly non-artifact focused set, and so it flew under the radar for a while before folks realized “oh, wait, it’s incredibly easy to get 20 artifacts under your control in any Eternal format.” With two previous encore performances in Commander 2016 and Commander 2019, Hellkite Tyrant’s low print run has meant it’s kept a price tag that fluctuates for years.

#22. Supreme Verdict 

Listed at: $3

Gosh, this takes me back. Supreme Verdict was one of the key cards to a nasty control deck from Return to Ravnica Standard that relied on board wipes and Sphinx's Revelation to own the board. The deck was the bane of my existence as a 17-year-old running the jankiest Red Deck Wins pile I could throw together. The card’s since seen a fall from grace, with numerous reprintings keeping around the $3 mark, but it’ll still be a generally valuable pull with lots of application across formats. A board wipe’s a board wipe, after all.

#21. Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God

Listed at: $3.50

WotC seems to be taking this Ravnica reprints set as an opportunity to reissue some of the War of the Spark planeswalkers that haven’t yet received a reprint. Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God is getting its first draftable set reprint since its release, so that’s a little exciting. It's not the most expensive ‘walker from that set, but since the rest of its printings are much more, it makes a good pull from a pack no matter what.

#20. Deathrite Shaman

Listed at: $3.50

Hey, look! It’s the other best mana dork in Magic! Deathrite Shaman is so good it's caught the ban hammer in both Modern and Legacy. It’s a mana generator, graveyard hate, direct damage and lifegain all on a body that can hit the field turn one! And it survives 1-damage pings? One of the best Golgari cards ever printed, but not so valuable now that it’s banned in its relevant formats.

#19. Protean Hulk

Listed at: $3.50

If it is worth points on Canadian Highlander, it's probably a strong card that you should be playing. Protean Hulk needs to die in order for a whole host of creatures to be reanimated, for no additional cost.

#18. Karlov of the Ghost Council

Listed at: $3.5

Karlov of the Ghost Council makes an appearance for the first time since its original run as the alternate commander for the Orzhov Commander 2015 precon. Karlov’s a much-coveted commander due to its two synergistic abilities on an insanely cheap body. It’s entirely possible that Karlov will be able to activate its second ability as soon as it hits the field, or can just get big on its own while you play any ol’ lifegain strategy around it.

#17. Spark Double

Listed at: $4

Spark Double makes the list by only having a single previous printing. It’s one of the only clone effects for planeswalker cards, and comes with the added benefit of adding a loyalty counter when it enters as a copy of said planeswalker. This means there will be instances where you’re copying that Liliana, Dreadhorde General for four mana and getting a planeswalker with seven whole loyalty counters on it. Have fun hitting those ults!

#16. Birds of Paradise

Listed at: $4

It’s the best mana dork ever printed! New printings of classic staples usually end up a little cheaper than their older cousins, so I’d expect this one’s price to come to rest around $4. Alternatively, we might see an increased interest in decks that run Birds of Paradise, so maybe the floor on Birds’ price will stay consistent with the current price.

#15. Life from the Loam

Listed at: $4.50

Life from the Loam is one of those essential dredge cards that pulls double duty. It mills your deck with its dredge effect and returns any lands you’ll miss to your hand for just two mana. This Golgari sorcery still shows up in Modern decks from time to time, but it’s not nearly as valuable now that the meta has shifted away from graveyard-focused games.

#14. Lord of the Void

Listed at: $4.50

Wizards loves to print 7-mana 7/7 demons with flying (it’s a theme that’s been around since Lord of the Pit). Lord of the Void was Gatecrash’s take on the big demon creature and, surprisingly, it delivered. I remember when this guy was $2 back in the day – its expensive mana cost just meant it never saw the table in Standard (or early Commander). Without any reprints, Lord of the Void has risen in price! Keep an eye on this one, I’m expecting Commander players to finally get on the demon lord train and start grabbing copies of this for any black deck.

#13. Chord of Calling

Listed at: $4.50

The Chord of Calling is a well-loved spell. It allows you to basically skip past drawing a card and instead, you play your creature from the library. Excellent for finding those pieces to complete your combo.

#12. Divine Visitation

Listed at: $5

The ultimate token-replacement effect award goes to Divine Visitation, turning those 2/2 elf knight or 1/1 saproling tokens into 4/4 angels. Another desperately needed reprint, Divine Visitation received a Masters printing in Double Masters 2022, but that still wasn’t enough to feed the hungry piranhas that are tokens players.

#11. Dark Confidant

Listed at: $5.50

Dark Confidant was designed by pro MTG player Bob Maher after winning an invitational tournament. It’s since become one of the best black creatures on the market and sees play in everything from Legacy to Commander. It’s basically two mana for an extra draw each turn it sticks on the field.

#10. Crypt Ghast

Listed at: $5.75

A mana-doubler on a mono-black body with an extort effect to dump that extra mana into makes Crypt Ghast one of the best creatures for any deck running black. Its single reprint in now decade-old Commander 2014 precons means it held on to much of its value over the years, and we can assume the variant prints will go for above market value in the initial release.

#9. Utvara Hellkite

Listed at: $5.75

Despite its relative age and a handful of reprints, Utvara Hellkite has retained much of its value across its 10-year lifespan. Utvara Hellkite is one of the best cards for Dragon decks, as it effectively doubles the number of dragons you control each turn, pumping out some huge dragons basically for free.

#8. Karn, the Great Creator

Listed at: $6.50

Karn’s War of the Spark appearance was a little meta-defining. Ok, it was very meta-defining. Banned in Pioneer/Explorer and even restricted in Vintage, Karn, the Great Creator is one of the best planeswalkers you can play for four mana. Karn’s popular in Mono Black control in Modern and Tron decks wherever they’re found, and we can assume these reprints with special borders will be worth a tad more than its average cost.

#7. Teferi, Time Raveler

Listed at: $6.50

Teferi, Time Raveler is banned in Pioneer and Explorer, and is not available on Arena's Historic. The static ability completely changes the game, and the +1 ability doesn't directly affect the board.

#6. Cloudstone Curio

Listed at: $9.25

Ready to get lots of value from your stuff as it comes and goes? In Commander the singleton rules simplify some of the absurd things that can be done with Cloudstone Curio. If it only affects lands or only affected creatures, both would be excellent. Use a planeswalker to reset a planeswalker, yes, please!

#5. Guardian Project

Listed at: $10

Hahahaha, wait. Guardian Project got an upshift? This card is about to shoot up in price, at least on average. A mythic rare printing of this ostensibly rare card just means the RVR printings (and their associated variants) will shoot up in price by the simple law of supply/demand. Definitely sit on any variant art Guardian Projects you pull; once the dust settles I expect to see these going for $2-$5 more than the RNA printing.

#4. Liliana, Dreadhorde General

Listed at: $11

You know her, you love her, but you’re also a little surprised to see her. In a set built around the classic Ravnica cards, I don’t think anyone expected to see the mono-colored War of the Spark Liliana, Dreadhorde General. Regardless, Liliana’s a really powerful planeswalker for six mana. Entering with six whole loyalty counters, plus a passive ability to generate advantage, plus threatening removal and it makes its own blockers? With basically no draftable set reprint before now, this is your chance to get your hands on one of the more valuable Liliana cards out there.

#3. Bruvac the Grandiloquent

Listed at: $11

It might seem strange that one of the best money-reprints in Ravnica Remastered is actually a card that’s never appeared in a Ravnica set, but Bruvac the Grandiloquent’s first reprint since its release in Jumpstart and its claim to fame as the best mono-blue mill commander hikes its price up substantially. What’s funny is I didn’t even realize Bruvac was a character from Ravnica, I guess it's decidedly Dimir ability and absence of any surrounding Azorius imagery led me to believe they were just some guy with a big hat.

#2. Shocklands

Listed at: $9-16

You can hardly play this game without a shockland or two, and the best decks are running multiple copies. They’re the best targets for your fetchlands (excluding the original dual lands) and they’re all getting reprinted with cool art on retro frame and borderless cards.

#1. Cyclonic Rift

Listed at: $30

Cyclonic Rift is the best one-sided mono-blue board wipe, which might sound like a lot of qualifiers but really isn’t. Its upshift to mythic rare means even fewer copies of this printing will be around in the long run, so definitely sit on any you pull.

Promos, Alt Art, and More

The real money in Ravnica Remastered lies in the alternate art and retro-frame printings for the rares and mythics in this set. There are 135 retro frame cards in RVR across all rarities and they can be found in a small amount of Draft Boosters with some exceptions. The retro cards omitted from the draft packs (allegedly to help the draft environment) are:

• Aetherize
• Creeping Chill
• Darkblast
• Enter the Infinite
• Gigantoplasm
• Karn's Bastion
• Magewright's Stone
• Maze's End
• Narcomoeba
• Niv-Mizzet Reborn
• Pack Rat
• Perilous Forays
• Pithing Needle
• Rest in Peace
• Shambling Shell
• Shattering Spree
• Sphere of Safety
• Supreme Verdict
• Thespian's Stage
• Turnabout
• Wilderness Reclamation

The alternate art anime borderless cards also appear in both Draft and Collector’s Boosters.

However, if you’re really trying to pull some money in your RVR packs, the Collector’s Boosters are the way to go. Collector’s Boosters are the only packs that contain the borderless shock lands, as well as the XXX/500 foil retro-frame serialized cards. These are your real chase cards. The shock lands will hold value for years to come, as long as people are playing competitive Magic, and the serialized cards are always valuable, especially if you get one of those “cool” numbers like 069/500 or 420/500 (if you pull one of these, please let me know).

Wrap-Up

Niv-Mizzet Reborn | Illustration by Raymond Swanland

Ravnica Remastered’s average card value is all over the place. There are some huge reprints in the form of Bruvac the Grandiloquent and Cyclonic Rift, but also some odd upshifts reprints we didn’t necessarily need. Only time will tell how these cards' value changes as they age, and we may see some huge upsets to this list reflected in what you find on local game store shelves.

Keep checking back here or on the Draftsim Discord for updates on prices as we navigate Ravnica Remastered! Until then, keep your eyes on the prize!