MTG Weekly Price Spikes: 5/2-5/8

Last updated on May 8, 2026

Erode | Illustration by Florian Herold

This week’s biggest movers in the Magic card market are split between two familiar forces: new set hype pushing prices up, and an old-school format dragging forgotten cards out of bulk boxes.

Secrets of Strixhaven is still doing most of the work, with a couple of its early underperformers bouncing hard now that players are actually putting them into decks. But Premodern is back on the menu too, giving forgotten original printings a chance to shine.

Let’s check the biggest movers!

Erode

Erode flew under most players’ radar during the lead-up to Secrets of Strixhaven. After starting above $15, it fell abruptly to around $5 in the couple of weeks before launch.

That drop didn’t last.

Since release, Erode has bounced sharply back above $10, with roughly half of that gain happening since last Friday.

Source: MTGStocks

The explanation is pretty simple: Erode is just very good removal!

In Standard, Erode has found a natural home in Selesnya Aggro decks, where it provides an efficient answer against the current field. It’s also making some early inroads in Modern, and has gained quick adoption in casual Commander decks. The perfect storm for a price spike!

Improvisation Capstone

Improvisation Capstone shows a similar pattern of flying under the radar for the majority of players: It was priced at around $25 a month ago, during SOS' presales; then dropped all the way below $7, spent a few days there, and has now rebounded to about $18, with an 80% gain in the last seven days.

Source: MTGStocks

Improvisation Capstone is seeing a lot of play in casual Commander decks, usually in the 99 of Secrets of Strixhaven commanders… and in particular with Lorehold, the Historian in the command zone. And, again like Erode, is making its way into 60-card formats, being played competitively in Standard, Modern, and Pioneer.

Bane of the Living

If you've been paying attention to the Magic card market this year, you may know this trend already: a very old card that sees pretty much no Commander play, all of a sudden goes parabolic… but only for its original printing.

That's usually a pretty good tell that you're looking at one of the latest hot cards in Premodern. Bane of the Living‘s this week biggest example: this black creature sees top-tier Premodern play in Moneyball Black decks, and  its Legion printing has jumped from well below $1 a couple of weeks ago, to over $2

Source: MTGStocks

Victory Chimes

Victory Chimes is an interesting mana rock, adding a bit of politics to your mana-generation needs. In casual Commander it's a staple of Yurlok of Scorch Thrash decks (a commander that brings back mana burn!), but as of late this artifact has found its way into a big chunk of Lorehold, the Historian decks.

Source: MTGStocks

Near-mint copies were trading this week at around $7 (nearly twice of their price before Secrets of Strixhaven's release), and listed copies are currently above $11.