Weekly Price Spikes: 12/13 – 12/19

Last updated on December 19, 2025

Fire Lord Zuko | Illustration by Jo Cordisco

Things have cooled off in the Magic card market this week, following what was one of the most hectic we've had in some time (including an insane 4500% price spike!!)

There are a handful of cards that have more than doubled in price, but in some cases it's not entirely clear why they are going up. Proceed with extra caution if you're considering buying or selling!

Hansk, Slayer Zealot – 350%

Daryl, Hunter of Walkers | Illustration by Romana Kendelic

Opening this week's somewhat dubious spikes, prices listed on the US market for near-mint copies of Hansk, Slayer Zealot have gone up a bit less than $7 a week ago, to nearly thirty bucks.

Source: MTGStocks

Hansk, Slayer Zealot is literally Daryl, Hunter of Walkers…

…who, besides hunting zombies, was one of the cards that started the Universes Beyond trend that has become Magic's new normal. Daryl has also been going up (and is around $30 right now, in foil). They are real cards, that have even shown up a time or two on the final table of a cEDH tournament, but there doesn't seem to be a recent reason for such a big spike.

Unless somebody is specifically after the Universes Within versions of the original Walking Dead crew… more about this in a bit!

Galadhrim Ambush – 125%

There's nothing dubious about Galadhrim Ambush, though…

… which has more than doubled since last week, going from bulk bin to a respectable $2.25.

Source: MTGStocks

Definitely not as impressive as the forty-fold spike we saw for Flourishing Defenses last week, but they went up for the exact same reason: There's a new elf commander in town: High Perfect Morcant

Last week, we didn't exactly know how blight worked. Morcant was the only blight card WotC had shown us at that point. But, this week, WotC published the last episode of the Lorwyn story, with two big reveals: There's very likely a white Liliana coming in 2026, and a second blight card, Dose of Dawnglow, that makes clear how blight works: Each blighted player puts X -1/-1 counters on one creature.

According to EDHREC, Galadhrim Ambush already shows up in two out of three Morcant decks, which as a rule tend to be full of other elves.

Brallin, Skyshark Rider – 115%

It sure is a bumpy ride when you're riding a flying shark, as Brallin, Skyshark Rider can attest!

This red human shaman has been up and down in the last couple of months, although it seems to have reached cruising altitude since last week and, up from around $7, it has stabilized (for now…) at double that: $14

Source: MTGStocks

Unlike Galadhrim Ambush, though, there doesn't seem to be a clear, recent reason for such a spike; Brallin, Skyshark Rider may soon resume its bumpy ways and crash down.

Gregor, Shrewd Magistrate – 100%

In isolation, Gregor, Shrewd Magistrate doubled in price this week (from about $5 to around $10) without a clear catalyst: 

Source: MTGStocks

But here's the intriguing part: Gregor, Shrewd Magistrate is the Universes Within of another character from The Waking dead: Glenn.

Perhaps somebody is going Pokémon on the Universes Within versions, and just wants to catch them all?

At a quick glance, other UW versions of TWD cards don't follow this trend, though…

Vedalken Orrery

Like Galadhrim Ambush, Vedalken Orrery looks like the real deal. It's up by just a modest 20% since last week, but more than 100% since a month ago (where it was priced at around $8), and looks to be going up steadily.

Source: MTGStocks

In this case, the reasons for the increased demand seem clear: It's a Commander card that, on the one hand, can produce top-tier cEDH results, usually when Zhulodok, Void Gorger is in the command zone…

… but has also found its way into the decks of two of the most popular Avatar: The Last Airbender commanders: Fire Lord Azula[/card, and above all [card]Fire Lord Zuko, where it has an inclusion rate above 50%.

Other flash staples like Leyline of Anticipation are also seeing some price action, although in this latter case it depends a lot on the version (some Leyline of Anticipation versions are actually down as of late).