The 10 Most Expensive MTG Cards in The Brothers’ War

The sibling rivalry continues.

Magic: The Gathering’s November 2022 Standard set, The Brothers’ War, became available globally in mid-November. The Brothers’ War is a journey to MTG’s past when two brothers waged war on Dominaria. Draft, Set, and Collector Boosters from The Brothers’ War contain retro artifacts, melding planeswalkers, Transformers, and other exciting cards.

Interestingly, The Brothers’ War contains 40 Story Spotlight cards that tell the tale of Urza and Mishra, along with their epic feud. Also, The Brothers’ War includes six legendary Urza and Mishra creature cards representing different aspects of their lives. If Story Spotlight cards and legendary creatures aren’t enough to satisfy players, the opportunity to open serialized schematic artifacts and Shattered Glass Transformer cards exclusively in Collector Boosters may suffice.

Market Price: $14.13

Prices for Rares and Mythic Rares from The Brothers’ War fluctuated throughout November. Several new cards from the expansion could see extensive play across Commander, Pioneer, and Modern. Now that players have played with The Brothers’ War cards, let’s review the ten most expensive regular-version cards.

#10 Wurmcoil Engine 

The Brothers’ War: Retro Frame Artifacts

Market Price: $10.30

Many Commander and Modern players are familiar with Wurmcoil Engine. Six mana for a 6/6 Phyrexian Wurm with deathtouch, lifelink, and the ability to split in two upon death is frightening. Wurmcoil Engine is a worthwhile upgrade to Mishra’s Burnished Banner and Urza’s Iron Alliance Commander Precon Decks. Before The Brothers’ War, Wurmcoil Engine’s average market price was about $20. Considering Wurmcoil Engine’s current average market price is closer to $10, now may be an excellent opportunity to grab a copy.

#9 Phyrexian Fleshgorger 

The Brothers’ War | Mythic

Phyrexian Fleshgorger is a seven-mana 7/5 with menace, lifelink, ward, and prototype. Phyrexian Fleshgorger’s prototype cost of 1BB nets you a 3/3 with menace, lifelink, and ward instead. It is worth noting that Phyrexian Fleshgorger will enter the battlefield as a 7/5 if it becomes reanimated from a graveyard or blinked by a spell or ability like Cloudshift.

Players are experimenting with Phyrexian Fleshgorger across constructed formats. However, Standard Mono-Black Midrange decks appear to be Phyrexian Fleshgorger’s primary usage. Phyrexian Fleshgorger’s average market price of about $14 may drop over the new few months if it fails to find a spot in other decks across Constructed formats.

#8 Myrel, Shield of Argive 

The Brothers’ War | Mythic

Market Price: $14.69

The Brothers’ War gives Commander players several new cards for players interested in building tribal Soldier Constructed decks. Myrel, Shield of Argive is one of the most exciting Soldier inclusions in the expansion as a 3/4 legendary Human Soldier with relevant abilities. During your turn, Myrel, Shield of Argive prevents opponents from casting spells or activating abilities of artifacts, creatures, and enchantments. Also, whenever Myrel, Shield of Argive attacks, you create X 1/1 colorless Soldier artifact creature tokens where X is the number of Soldiers you control.

Market Price: $23.10

Myrel, Shield of Argive seems best suited for leading or supporting Soldier Commander decks. Their abilities help advance an aggressive game plan by protecting your creatures and adding more to the battlefield. Other legendary Soldiers such as King Darien XLVIII, Darien, King of Kjeldor, and Brimaz, King of Oreskos complement Myrel, Shield of Argive as other sources for generating 1/1 Soldier Creature tokens. Between The Brothers’ War, Dominaria United, and Universes Beyond: Warhammer 40,000, Commander players have plenty of new Soldier cards for Commander.

 #7 Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor 

The Brothers’ War | Mythic

Market Price: $9.40

Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor is a 3/3 legendary Phyrexian Praetor with two beneficial abilities. Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor’s first ability triggers whenever a creature deals combat damage to one of your opponents. When a creature does deal combat damage to an opponent, its controller may pay one life to draw a card. Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor’s second ability requires seven mana and discarding X cards. Paying the required cost enables you to exile the top X cards of an opponent’s library. Additionally, you may play land cards and cast spells from among cards exiled this way without paying their mana costs.

Standard

Mono-Black Midrange

Market Price:$344.37

Maindeck, 60 cards

Creature (21)

• 4Evolved Sleeper
• 3Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor
• 3Graveyard Trespasser
• 3Misery’s Shadow
• 2Phyrexian Fleshgorger
• 3Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
• 3Tenacious Underdog

Sorcery (4)

• 4Invoke Despair

Instant (8)

• 3Cut Down
• 3Go for the Throat
• 2Infernal Grasp

Artifact (3)

• 3Reckoner Bankbuster

Land (24)

• 3Mishra’s Foundry
• 20Swamp
• 1Takenuma, Abandoned Mire

Sideboard (15)

• 1Cut Down
• 3Duress
• 2Liliana of the Veil
• 3Malicious Malfunction
• 1Reckoner Bankbuster
• 2Sorin the Mirthless
• 1Soul Transfer
• 2Unlicensed Hearse

Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor’s two abilities are helpful in Commander. Enticing opponents to draw cards by attacking each other keeps their creatures away from you. Later in a Commander game, you may activate Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor’s pricier ability to turn an opponent’s cards against them. Although Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor looks like a card designed for Commander, it is seeing play in Standard Mono-Black Midrange and Esper Midrange decks.

#6 Awaken the Woods 

The Brothers’ War | Mythic

Market Price: $14.56

Awaken the Woods’ inclusion in The Brothers’ War shows that Wizards of the Coast is not afraid of printing more Dryad Arbors. Paying XGG at sorcery speed generates X 1/1 green Forest Dryad land creature tokens. Awaken the Woods synergizes well with Lands and Landfall Commander strategies. Omnath, Locus of Creation, Greensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer, and Tatyova, Benthic Druid are a few lands-matter commanders that may benefit from Awaken the Woods in their 99. Interestingly, Magus Lucea Kane can maximize Awaken the Woods’ ability by copying the spell and netting you twice as many X 1/1 green Forest Dryad land creature tokens.

 #5 Portal to Phyrexia 

The Brothers’ War | Mythic

Market Price: $22.19

Portal to Phyrexia is a nine-mana artifact with devastating potential. When Portal to Phyrexia enters the battlefield, each opponent must sacrifice three creatures. Putting creatures into opponents’ graveyards enables Portal to Phyrexia’s upkeep ability. At the beginning of your upkeep, you get to put a target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control, and it gains Phyrexian typing.

Market Price: $12.96

Unsurprisingly, Portal to Phyrexia’s average market price is above $20. Wiping the board of creatures and resurrecting them from your opponents’ graveyards each turn may end games. If you are looking to play Portal of Phyrexia without paying its high casting cost, Daretti, Scrap Savant, Golbin Welder, and Arcum Dagsson are all excellent options.

#4 Titania, Voice of Gaea

The Brothers’ War | Mythic

Market Price: $10.43

The Brothers’ War contains three legendary creatures who can meld, including Titania, Voice of Gaea. For three mana, Titania, Voice of Gaea enters the battlefield as a 3/4 Elemental with reach and the ability to gain you two life whenever one or more land cards enter your graveyard from anywhere. Titania, Voice of Gaea melds with Argoth, Sanctum of Nature into Titania, Gaea Incarnate at the beginning of your upkeep if there are four or more land cards in your graveyard and you control and own and control both cards.

Argoth, Sanctum of Nature

The Brothers’ War | Rare

Titania, Gaea Incarnate’s power and toughness equal the number of lands you control and possesses vigilance, reach, haste, and trample. In addition, Titania, Gaea Incarnate return all lands from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped upon entering. Lastly, Titania, Gaea Incarnate’s four-mana activated ability puts four +1/+1 counters on a land you control and turns it into a 0/0 Elemental creature with haste.

Being a mono-color legendary creature with pushed stats and the ability to meld makes Titania, Voice of Gaea very appealing in Lands and Landfall-themed Commander decks. Lord Windgrace, The Gitrog Monster, and Slogurk, the Overslime will likely want Titania, Voice of Gaea in the 99.

#3 Mox Amber

The Brothers’ War: Retro Frame Artifacts

Market Price: $33.59

After reaching an average market price close to $63 in October, retro artifact versions of Mox Amber from The Brothers’ War are selling for around $27 at the time of writing. Mox Amber is a zero-mana legendary artifact originally printed in Dominaria that taps for one mana of any color among legendary creatures and planeswalkers you control. When included in synergistic decks, the hurdle to utilizing Mox Amber is relatively tiny.  

In Commander, Mox Amber sees extensive play in decks featuring low-casting cost commanders like Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh, Thrasios, Triton Hero, and Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful. Mox Amber is also part of Modern’s Jeskai Breach and Pioneer’s Gruul Bard Class decks. The Brothers’ War reprinting of Mox Amber may drive demand higher for the legendary artifact since its average market price is now much more approachable.

 #2 Mishra, Claimed by Gix 

The Brothers’ War | Mythic

Mishra, Claimed by Gix is another legendary creature in The Brothers’ War capable of melding into a more significant threat. Four mana nets you a 3/5 Phyrexian Human Artificer with abundant text. Whenever you attack with Claimed by Gix on the battlefield, you gain X life and drain opponents for X life, where X is the number of attacking creatures. If Mishra, Claimed by Gix and Phyrexian Dragon Engine attack together and you both control and own them, exile both cards and meld them into a tapped and attacking Mishra, Lost to Phyrexia.

Mishra, Lost to Phyrexia is a 9/9 legendary creature that lets you choose three of its six abilities whenever it enters the battlefield or attacks. The Professor recently showcased Mishra, Lost to Phyrexia’s potency in Game Knights Episode 58. Shortly after the episode aired on YouTube, Mishra, Claimed by Gix’s average market price skyrocketed to over $30. Considering Game Knights episodes get viewed by hundreds of thousands of people, it is highly probable that the show influenced player demand and secondary market prices for Mishra, Claimed by Gix.

#1 Urza, Lord Protector 

The Brothers’ War | Mythic

Market Price: $11.07

Urza, Lord Protector is the most expensive regular-version card in The Brothers’ War. Urza, Lord Protector provides cost-reduction benefits for instants, sorceries, and artifacts. For seven mana, Urza, Lord Protector can meld with The Mightstone and Weakstone into Urza, Planeswalker. 

The Mightstone and Weakstone

The Brothers’ War | Rare

Urza, Planeswalker possesses an incredible five loyalty abilities. Additionally, you may activate Urza, Planeswalker’s loyalty abilities twice each turn instead of once. Activating Urza, Planeswalker’s +2 loyalty ability twice sets up the -10 ultimate on your next turn. Ultimating Urza, Planeswalker should win a game as your opponents loses all of their nonland permanents while your battlefield remains intact. Urza, Lord Protector is currently the most popular Commander from The Brothers’ War on EDHREC. Commander-related demand for Urza, Lord Protector is likely why its average market price hovers around $36. Even if player demand for Urza, Lord Protector softens, expect its average market price to stay above $20.