Once Standard bulk, now Commander staples.
Released in 2004, Champions of Kamigawa became an MTG fan favorite for the most peculiar reasons. The Shinto-inspired block introduced beloved creature subtypes such as Monk, Samurai, and Ninjas. Also, the set provided some unique mechanics you only see in reprint sets, such as Arcane, Soulshift, and Spirits. While these mechanics were seen as flawed, there were some encouraging options with Bushido and the flip cards. Even with the controversy at the time, flip cards played into a design space that paved the way for the MTG double-faced cards we play today. So even with the negatives, there were a lot of positives to take away from the charming expansion.
Champions of Kamigawa brought an array of Legendary cards which helped hugely bolster Commander as it’s now the most popular format in Magic: The Gathering. Given the expansion was such a weird and wonderful release, it’s tricky to reprint these cards into Standard or Masters releases without adding a bunch more Kamigawa cards to make it work from a Limited perspective. With that, let’s dive into some valuable cards from Champions of Kamigawa with Commander’s popularity in mind.
#10 Konda’s Banner
Champions Of Kamigawa
Market Price: $11.23
If there’s one thing Commander players simply love doing is doming opponents with powerful equipment coupled with a tribal payoff. Konda’s Banner sees play in strategies that offer a Voltron-style gameplan with a bonus for creature typings such as Najeela, the Blade-Blossom, where Warriors and Human creatures you control gain +1/+1. While these don’t stack for each typing, Konda’s Banner allows you to give an anthem effect to all creatures as long as they share typings with the equipped Legendary permanent. A unique card, Konda’s Banner is becoming a popular Commander choice given there are so many Legendaries with numerous typings that the ceiling on the Champions of Kamigawa card has risen.
#9 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
Champions Of Kamigawa
Market Price: $12.87
The red-leaning Legendary land from Champions of Kamigawa, Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep can give target legendary creature first strike, which may seem unassuming. However, as the land comes in untapped, it’s basically a Mountain with a cheap activation cost and upside.
You see this legendary land in Commander for dedicated red decks that care about being aggressive. It crops up in Modern from time to time, especially in Rakdos Midrange, as there are so many copies of Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer and Tourach, Dread Cantor you can target with the ability. Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep requires minimal work to incorporate, which makes it a popular option in Commander with the emphasis on Legendary creatures.
#8 Sensei’s Divining Top
Champions Of Kamigawa
Market Price: $23.26
Once one of the most expensive cards from Champions of Kamigawa, Sensei’s Diving Top became affordable thanks to recent releases such as Double Masters 2022. Despite these reprints, the card manages to peep into some of the most expensive cards from Champions of Kamigawa, and for good reasons. Sensei’s Divining Top saw heavy play in Legacy alongside miracle cards such as Terminus. By activating the artifact repeatedly, the card slowed down competitive games heavily to the point of it encouraging delays between rounds. Along with repetitive play patterns, this was one of the compelling reasons the card saw a ban in Legacy, alongside it being a powerhouse in Counterbalance archetypes in the format. Oh, and it quickly saw a ban in Modern for similar reasons.
Market Price: $27.97
Market Price: $26.62
Despite being banished from most constructed formats, Sensei’s Diving Top is a serviceable Commander despite consuming so much time during games. In addition, it’s neat alongside Urza’s Saga, where the final chapter allows you to search for a colorless artifact card with a mana value of one or zero. It’s unlikely we’ll see a card like Sensei’s Divining Top printed again due to creating a perfect storm of aggravating mechanics. Despite these qualms, it’s a solid card in the correct Commander strategy.
#7 Nature’s Will
Champions Of Kamigawa
Market Price: $13.63
Some of the cards in Kamigawa became valuable until years after the expansion went out of print, one of those is Nature’s Will, an enchantment that untaps your lands when one or more creatures you control deal combat damage to a player. What sparked the price hike was the printing of Najeela, the Blade-Blossom from Battlebond. With these two cards, a player can take infinite combat steps, which ends Commander games without many issues. Even without the combination, Nature’s Will is an independently sound card for strategies that want to get aggressive or ramp into their win conditions faster before the opponent does anything.
#6 Kokusho, the Evening Star
Champions Of Kamigawa
Market Price: $27.14
A plague in Champions of Kamigawa Limited, Kokusho, the Evening Star is a powerhouse in Commander. Often you see the Dragon Spirit as a reanimation target since you want to trigger the ability numerous times in the same turn. Using cards such as Phyrexian Altar and Chainer, Dementia Master, you can chain off multiple Kokusho activations for just three black mana.
Market Price: $25.82
Market Price: $9.10
At one point, Kokusho was banned in Commander as the card offered a warping effect since there was little graveyard hate at the time that could answer Kokusho’s combo. Since 2015, Magic: The Gathering has changed in such a big way, and Kokusho is now legal which encouraged the card price to rise over time.
#5 Glimpse of Nature
Champions Of Kamigawa
Market Price: $18.14
Dubbed the green Ancestral Recall, Glimpse of Nature sees play in Legacy and Commander as it allows you to draw an incredible amount of cards in the right the strategy. Glimpse of Nature often features in low-mana tribal decks such as Elves, as it’s so easy to draw so many cards thanks to Heritage Druid and Birchlore Rangers.
As such, Glimpse of Nature is banned in Modern due to the aftertaste of the significant impact made in Extended and Standard. It’s very unlikely the card will come off the banned list, but it’s still effective in Commander and Legacy if built around correctly. You won’t get an effect as good as this for the same mana value in future sets, which is another reason the card will remain at a high price.
#4 Shizo, Death’s Storehouse
Champions Of Kamigawa
Market Price: $15.52
Carrying on with the mana cycle, next is [Shizo, Death’s Storehouse, the black Legendary land from Champions of Kamigawa. Similar to Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep, Shizo offers an ability for a cheap activation cost, and in this case, Shizo, Death’s Storehouse provides fear to a legendary creature. Fear is an old ability where a creature can only be blocked by a black or an artifact creature, making it an evasive option if you want your creatures to connect with the opponent.
Market Price: $23.01
Market Price: $63.36
Once again, the land features heavily in Commander with a smattering in Modern given the trend of powerful Legendary creatures. It’s common in Rakdos Midrange in Modern for similar reasons as Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep, but in this case making your Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer or Grief unblockable seems a good way to generate some excellent value.
#3 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
Champions Of Kamigawa
Market Price: $19.75
Kamigawa introduced an impressive amount of staple Commander cards with abilities that can prevent interaction from your opponents. One of these cards is [Boseiju, Who Shelters All, a land that can make any instant or sorcery you control uncounterable at the exchange of two life. In the realms of Commander, this card is excellent at protecting big-mana win conditions such as Torment of Hailfire or Villainous Wealth. With Commander encouraging a high mana count to guarantee land drops, running cards like Boseiju, Who Shelters All offer excellent utility.
It even saw play in Modern in Ad Nauseam lists to ensure the strategy could combo off with the namesake card, but has fallen out of favor since the Simian Spirit Guide ban. Either way, instants, and sorceries will always see print in MTG sets, which will only encourage the price of Boseiju, Who Shelters All further.
#2 Minamo, School at Water’s Edge
Champions Of Kamigawa
Market Price: $31.62
Creeping up as one of the most valuable Champions of Kamigawa cards is Minamo, School at Water’s Edge, a versatile mana option that sees frequent play in Commander and Modern. For Commander, the ability to untap a Legendary permanent is fantastic the number of Legendary cards in the format. It can enable mana generation with Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, or untap potent creatures such as Prime Speaker Vannifar to activate the ability again. Given the emphasis on Legendary permanents in Commander, Minamo is becoming a staple for Blue-based Commander archetypes with very few
Market Price: $44.17
Market Price: $14.90
In Modern, you run Minamo, School at Water’s Edge in anticipation of Choke or Boil since this land does not come with the Island typing, so it sticks around after either spell resolves. Minamo does fall to a Blood Moon, but you often see the card feature in Modern Merfolk, or Mono-Blue Tron despite not making the most of the untap ability.
1# Seizan, Perverter of Truth
Champions Of Kamigawa
Market Price: $31.93
Seeing a recent reprint in Jumpstart 2022, Seizan, Perverter of Truth is also the most expensive card from Champions of Kamigawa. As part of a cycle, Seizen is another one of those endearing Legendary cards to come from the polarizing release. Incorporating a symmetrical Night’s Whisper on a Legendary creature may seem unexciting, however, combined with other obnoxious passive draw effects such as Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, and Nekusar, the Mindrazer, you have a gross way to close out Commander games. While you don’t see Seizan lead a Commander deck, the Demon Spirit slots in these strategies where you force the opponent to draw cards to whittle their life totals. As on form for most Kamigawa Legendary cards, the effect is extremely unique, and with only one other recent printing in Jumpstart 2022, Seizan is an expensive card from the first Kamigawa release.