Last updated on February 7, 2025
Stony Silence | Illustration by Wayne England
The unbanning of Mox Opal created a window for some old cards to strike once again. Stony Silence, a tenured hater for all things artifacts, has seen its star rise in Modern because of the surge in Grinding Station decks. This success has done wonders for its price point, which has been climbing steadily for months now.
Rags to Much Nicer Rags
Stony Silence has two versions (besides Mystery Booster 2); Innistrad‘s and Modern Masters 2017‘s. Both have followed a fairly similar price trajectory in recent months. At the start of January 2025, they each sat at around $2.50-3, and began spiking in February towards their current peaks. There's about a $5 difference between them in price now as well, as MM2's Stony Silence has seen a more dramatic spike.
Why Did this Happen?
Modern! There really is no great mystery to this price spike. No one is buying out Stony Silence to torment their EDH playgroup, that's for sure. Instead, this is just a hostile reaction to the success of Grinding Station decks, which can go off shockingly fast if left to their own devices. It also shuts down the aforementioned Mox Opal, but right now, Mox Opal decks are Grinding Station decks.
But Why the Price Difference Between Versions?
Fortune's Favor | Illustration by Yohann Schepacz
A little bit of variance between printings is very common with MTG cards, but it is interesting to see different climbs for the same card. Some speculative drivers:
- Players prefer the newer art
- Players prefer the newer MTG border, so as to be consistent with their other cards
- When you search for “Stony Silence” on MTG stores, Modern Masters 2017 pops up first, so most players just went with that and vendors followed suit
It's hard to say for sure, so if you are ever locked down by Stony Silence, ask your opponent why they chose that version! The conversion will at least give you something to do….
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