Last updated on March 25, 2025
Tiamat | Illustration by Tyler Jacobson
“I don't want to set the world on fire,” sang The Ink Spots, and said no dragon ever. And, thanks to the upcoming Tarkir: Dragonstorm MTG set, legendary dragons are now setting the market ablaze.
Tiamat – a mega popular legendary god dragon from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms – has seen spikes from close to 100% to more than 400%, depending on the printing.
Over the past week alone, prices soared from less than $10 to over $40 for near-mint regular Tiamat copies, according to TCGplayer, with versions from The List showing similar numbers.
Source: TCGplayer – Tiamat, Adventures in the Forgotten Realms (AFR)
Premium Tiamat versions, like the Secret Lair edition, have escalated from about $35 to about $165 at the time of writing…
Source: TCGplayer – Tiamat, Secret Lair Drop Series (SLD)
… and if you want to purchase the highly sought-after Tiamat Ampersand treatment, your wallet will feel lighter by $249 minimum.
Source: TCGplayer – Tiamat, AFR Ampersand Promos (AFR&)
Tiamat is a very popular five-color card in Commander (Magic's most popular format by far), working well both as a 5-color commander or as a powerful card in the 99. It even has cEDH chops, again both when leading the deck, or when flying under the The Ur Dragon.
Source: MTGTop8
It would seem obvious that, with Tarkir: Dragonstorm just around the corner, there would be a lot of hype for dragons… But as seen in MTGStock‘s price data, Tiamat‘s price for its regular copy has been a flat $10 for years right up until last week. So what pushed the price up seven days ago?
Source: MTGStocks – Tiamat, regular AFR version
Why Has Tiamat's Price Increased?
Tiamat | Illustration by Chris Rahn
There seem to be two main reasons for Tiamat‘s crazy spike: Low chances of a reprint in Tarkir: Dragonstorm, and Dracogenesis.
Tiamat Very Likely Won't Be Reprinted in TDM
As a character (broadly) based on Mesopotamian mythology, Magic's Tiamat is uniquely tied to Dungeons & Dragons lore and wouldn't fit too well into Tarkir: Dragonstorm‘s storyline. Also, most cards from the set have been revealed thus far, so it's a pretty safe bet we won't see a Tiamat reprint in April. Players feel that now is the time to buy existing Tiamat copies without fear of its price plunging next month.
Synergy with “Dracogenesis”
What seems to have triggered this particular spike, though, is a specific red enchantment that was revealed seven days ago – which coincides with Tiamat‘s price going up.
Dracogenesis allows you to cast dragon spells without paying mana their costs. Although the red enchantment itself costs 8 mana, once it's in play you get to slam Tiamat down, tutor five other dragons, and play them for free. Which sounds as close to setting the world on fire as you can get in Magic.
As Reddit user u/wifi12345678910 notes, “Dracogenesis works extremely well with Tiamat, more than just good dragons alone would. I suspect that's the reason behind the spike.”
Cherry on top, yesterday WotC revealed Call of the Spirit Dragons, a new alternate wincon that works exclusively with five color dragon decks. This enchantment will surely help dragons stay expensive, but it's clear it was Dracogenesis what produced the spike.
The Ur-Dragon Soars Too
An updraft raises all dragons, and the Tarkir thermal is pushing The Ur-Dragon up too. This is the dragon commander, and easily one of the top five most popular commanders in the whole format. Unlike Tiamat, The Ur-Dragon started to glide upwards as soon as Tarkir: Dragonstorm‘s hype-train got rolling, and was already 50% up by late February when compared to 2024 prices…
Source: MTGStocks
… But, as soon as Dracogenesis dropped, the price just went crazy and nearly doubled since last week.
Imagine Dragons from Final Fantasy
The Ur-Dragon | Illustration by Jaime Jones
Say that marrying Tiamat with Dracogenesis manages to set your heart afire. Should you pay north of $40 for a regular copy of Tiamat, or depart with more than $200 for one of Tiamat‘s premium printings?
As noted, Tiamat is loosely based on real-life myths. It has been used in tons of other IPs, from comics like Order of the Stick, to multiple appearances in a video game franchise that's just about to have a Magic crossover: Final Fantasy.
“A crossover with another IP that has their own version of Tiamat is a perfect opportunity for a reprint,” notes u/bjlinden on a reddit post on the MTG financial subreddit.
While of course we'll have to wait a bit to know for sure, Final Fantasy reveals will start not too long after Tarkir: Dragonstorm is released (FIN itself drops June 13).
While this is not investment advice (doing your own research always pays off!), it would seem wise to wait for FIN reveals if you're itching to buy a copy of Tiamat.
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