Curated with value.
Introduced in Zendikar Rising, The List is a catalog of Magic: The Gathering cards that first took inspiration from the Mystery Booster product line. As part of Wizards of the Coast’s concept of “Booster Fun,” cards from The List only appear in about 25% of Set Boosters instead of a marketing card. The List changes and updates on a set-by-set basis, where Wizards of the Coast will announce the most recent The List catalog in conjunction with the latest expansion with Set Booster support.
For example, with March of the Machine, there are around 300 cards from The List you can open in Set Boosters with representation from Commons to Mythic Rares. This time around, many of the new additions to The List center around Legendary cards and haymaker spells as March of the Machine’s story cares about characters fighting agains the Phyrexians. With that, there’s some exciting inclusions such as Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers and Time Stretch. In particular, some of these cards from The List are valuable depending on their uses in other formats. While it may seem a little confusing that you opened a Eidolon of the Great Revel from your March of the Machine Set Booster, the card itself is a staple in Modern’s Boros Burn and is worth more than the Set Booster itself!
Eidolon of the Great Revel
The List
Market Price: $8.96
With that in mind, it is easy to dismiss these The List cards if you have never seen them before, but it is always worth checking their value as you may be pleasantly surprised. A quick trick to know if you have a card from The List is to check the bottom left corner. If you see a little white Planeswalker symbol on the card, it is a The List card from a Set Booster. With that out of the way, let’s run down some of the most valuable cards from The List with March of the Machine’s release.
#10 Jet Medallion
The List
Market Price: $38.04
Speaking of desirable Commander cards, Jet Medallion is another that garners plenty of attention in the singleton format. Any effect that reduces the cost of your spells is always in demand, especially for a Commander strategy that can’t ramp through traditional means by using Rampant Growth, for example. Jet Medallion is a fantastic option for Mono-Black Commanders such as K’rrik, Son of Yawgmoth or Tergrid, God of Fright, and depending on the density of Black spells, you can slide Jet Medallion into a two-color strategy such as Dimir or Orzhov.
Market Price: $41.85
Market Price: $35.46
Market Price: $16.61
Sapphire Medallion is the other Medallion card curated for The List. However, the original Tempest printing remains the cheaper option compared to The List printings, but you’re opening a card with better stock compared to 1997. Either way, opening a Jet Medallion is a money card with extensive demand due to the popularity of the Commander format, which could also see a reprint in Commander Masters this summer.
#9 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
The List
Market Price: $40.88
A popular card alongside Cabal Coffers is Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, another valuable card that appears on The List. Mostly a Commander desirable card these days, Urborg offers applications in Pioneer and Modern for Rakdos Midrange and Mono-Black Coffers archetypes, where you want a solid density of Swamps despite the symmetrical effect. While it seems unimpressive, pairing this with Cabal Coffers allows you to ramp to absurd levels as Urborg turns every land you control into a Swamp. From a highly casual standpoint, opening a The List printing of Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth may seem a little confusing. However, it remains a popular card for Commander and one to keep in your collection.
#8 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
The List
Market Price: $41.30
A mainstay in Pioneer’s Mono-Green Devotion, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx remains a valuable card as it’s only had one dedicated printing in Theros. What makes the Legendary card so good in Mono-Green Devotion is that you can play a Tron-like strategy, where your ramp into threats such as Karn, the Great Creator, Cavalier of Thorns, and Storm the Festival to extend your board presence. In addition, Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner is an excellent card within the build, as you can untap Nykthos and cast even more spells!
Pioneer
Mono-Green Devotion
Market Price:$559.65
Maindeck·60 cards
Creature (19)
- 4Cavalier of Thorns
- 1Cityscape Leveler
- 4Elvish Mystic
- 4Llanowar Elves
- 4Old-Growth Troll
- 1Silverback Elder
- 1Sylvan Caryatid
Planeswalker (8)
- 4Karn, the Great Creator
- 4Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner
Sorcery (4)
- 4Storm the Festival
Enchantment (8)
- 4Oath of Nissa
- 4Wolfwillow Haven
Land (21)
- 2Boseiju, Who Endures
- 13Forest
- 2Lair of the Hydra
- 4Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Sideboard (15)
- 1Cityscape Leveler
- 1Damping Sphere
- 1God-Pharaoh’s Statue
- 1Haywire Mite
- 1Pestilent Cauldron
- 1Pithing Needle
- 1Portal to Phyrexia
- 1Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
- 1The Chain Veil
- 1The Great Henge
- 1The Mightstone and Weakstone
- 1The Stone Brain
- 1Tormod’s Crypt
- 1Treasure Vault
- 1Woodcaller Automaton
Mono-Green Devotion aside, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is also excellent in any Enchantress-style strategy, where you cast permanents with a high devotion to a particular color. Often you see the card appear in Commander in these Enchantment-dedicated builds, so you can ramp into more Enchantment cards, potentially locking your opponents out of the game. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is remarkably unique in what it does, and even with The List and Pro Tour Promo, the card commands a high price because it’s just too good at what it does.
#7 Land Tax
The List
Market Price: $43.03
Ramping in white can be a challenge when playing Commander, but Land Tax can offer this within reason. First appearing in Legends, Land Tax is a situational ramp card — where you can find up to three Basic land cards if an opponent controls more lands than you. Appearing in a smattering of supplemental releases such as Double Masters 2022 and Battlebond, Land Tax remains a valuable card due to Commander and Cube applications. Given the unique effect that Land Tax offers, the card will maintain a solid price as white isn’t known for ramping with Basics within its color identity.
#6 Anointed Procession
The List
Market Price: $44.33
A color-shifted Parallel Lives, Anointed Procession is a desirable Commander card for numerous reasons. For a Token strategy, the ability to double-up on these effects is critical and will continue to see demand for as long as Commander remains popular. Similar attention occurs with cards such as Doubling Season and the previously mentioned Parallel Lives, as it enables you to have these explosive turns with little effort. In addition, Mondrak, Glory Dominus from Phyrexia: All Will Be One is another token-doubling effect seeing high interest from Commander players.
Market Price: $90.96
Market Price: $40.12
Market Price: $53.74
First printed in Amonkhet, Anointed Procession quickly became a Commander staple, which hasn’t seen a genuine reprint since. While The List is a pseudo-reprint of sorts, the value of Anointed Procession continues to climb as it somehow dodged a reprint in Double Masters 2022, making the card a valuable one to open from The List.
#5 Demonic Tutor
The List
Market Price: $43.78
Tutors play a critical role in Commander, where finding the card you need in any given situation gives you a better chance to close the game. Demonic Tutor is one of these and the one that achieves this effect the best. With the release of Dominaria Remastered, the value of The List copies of cards such as Enlightened Tutor and Vampiric Tutor have dipped in value as Dominaria Remastered reprints plummeted the overall price to a more affordable rate.
Market Price: $13.98
Market Price: $7.99
Market Price: $30.47
Since Demonic Tutor missed a reprint from this release, it’s probably the reason the card is seeing fresh interest, with The List printing appearing as one of the more valuable cards from this catalog at the time of writing.
#4 Wrenn and Six
The List
Market Price: $51.58
One of the more warping cards to enter Modern is Wrenn and Six, and the most valuable card on The List. First printed in Modern Horizons, Wrenn and Six quickly commanded the Modern format as the plus ability can recur cards such as Wooded Foothills or Scalding Tarn back to hand. By continuing to plus Wrenn’s first ability, you can fix your mana while reducing the chance of drawing Land cards in the later turns. Four-Color Omnath, Four-Color Creativity, and Azorius Control successfully adopt the card to profound success. A big reason why these Four and Five-Color archetypes can exist is because of Wrenn and Six and the fantastic mana support in Modern.
Market Price: $26.61
Market Price: $24.23
Market Price: $17.30
It’s that good, Wrenn and Six caught a ban in the Legacy format as the minus ability eroded any strategy that wanted to play one-toughness creatures such as Death & Taxes. Also, it’s pretty obnoxious alongside Wasteland, a Legacy staple where you strip the opponent’s resources of popular non-Basic mana options such as Volcanic Island or Gaea’s Cradle. Being able to recur Wasteland every turn and reduce the opponent’s ability to cast spells became too much, and rightly saw a ban in the format. There’s plenty of discourse on whether Wrenn and Six should meet a similar fate in Modern as the ability to smooth out your mana is incredibly strong, causing no downside to playing the card (outside of the financial reasons, of course).
Seeing a smattering of printings in Modern Horizons and Double Masters 2022, Wrenn and Six remains a highly valuable card, with The List printing coming in at nearly $60 at the time of writing. Wrenn and Six is by far the best two-mana value Planeswalker seen in Magic: The Gathering, and it isn’t close. Sorry, Tibalt.
#3 Gemstone Caverns
The List
Market Price: $52.66
One of the few valuable The List cards that doesn’t often see heavy play in Commander is Gemstone Caverns, a unique colorless mana source that offers applications in constructed formats such as Modern and Legacy. For Modern, the card appears in Tron, Crashing Footfalls, and Hardened Scales, with the latter seeing a resurgence after a few solid finishes in Magic Online Modern Challenges. While you mostly see Gemstone Caverns as a single copy given the effect, being able to cheat ahead on mana while on the draw is an excellent thing to do. With two printings in Time Spiral and an upshift to Mythic Rare in Time Spiral Remastered, Gemstone Caverns commands a high value as the effect is unusual and rewards mulliganing when on the draw. There’s not a card quite like Gemstones Cavern in Magic: The Gathering,
#2 Cavern of Souls
The List
Market Price: $55.48
Creature-matter archetypes are a prevalent aspect of Magic: The Gathering and Cavern of Souls remains one of the best-supported cards for the archetype. Having the confidence to cast your creature cards without the fear of countermagic is a fantastic feeling, especially when you overwhelm your opponent with synergistic effects. Cavern of Souls features heavily in multiple formats — including Modern, Legacy, and Commander.
Market Price: $38.98
Market Price: $8.38
Market Price: $9.46
Goblins, Elves, Merfolk, and Humans are all much-loved creatures in Magic: The Gathering, and in a competitive landscape, Cavern of Souls plays a significant role in providing success. In addition, the card sees incidental play in strategies such as Modern Amulet Titan, where you want to ensure your Primeval Titan remains uncounterable to further your game plan. With that in mind, Cavern of Souls is an expensive card, as creature-matter archetypes typically want to run a complete playset to guarantee they can draw the card during games. Despite the numerous printings in Double Masters 2022 and Ultimate Masters, Cavern of Souls remains an expensive card and one you’ll want to open from The List.
#1 Ancient Tomb
The List
Market Price: $142.64
Another expensive yet powerful land to appear in The List is Ancient Tomb, which is often referred to as a “Sol Land” as it offers fantastic acceleration similar to Sol Ring. As you may guess with the naming convention, Ancient Tomb is an excellent mana option for Commander as you start on forty life — mitigating any life loss as you take two damage when tapping the card.
Market Price: $9.73
Market Price: $318.25
Market Price: $29.73
Applications also extend to Legacy, where it is common to play Ancient Tomb and then cast a Chalice of the Void with one counter — preventing those Brainstorms, Ponders, and Dark Rituals from being cast. Often you see Ancient Tomb appear in Eldrazi Stompy, Sneak and Show, Painter, and many more Legacy archetypes. While Legacy remains one of the most expensive constructed formats, Ancient Tomb remains an expensive card from The List due to the popularity of the Commander format — where any Commander strategy can adopt the powerful mana accelerant.