No amount of faerie trickery can bring these prices down!
Morningtide is a beloved set from the Lorwyn block, dating all the way back to 2008, with a creature type focus that saw classes, rather than races, take center stage. There are quite a few cards from Morningtide that have well and truly stood the test of time, going on to be constructed staples or EDH all-stars, and overall this small, 150-card set has held a good amount of value. But in which cards is that value most strongly concentrated? Read on to find out!
10. Idyllic Tutor
Morningtide
If you’ve been a fan of enchantment-based decks for awhile, you’ll know this card used to be over five times as expensive as it is now. Before its Theros Beyond Death reprint, Idyllic Tutor was well above $30! The reprint, however, immediately brought it below $10, and you can get copies of this Morningtide version for under $7. This price point has remained steady for years, and without further reprints, probably won’t change all that much. This is a niche card, but a highly sought-after one within that niche, so its price floor (barring another big reprint, which feels unlikely) is reasonably high.
9. Cream of the Crop
Morningtide
Market Price: $8.31
Well, here’s a card I had literally never seen before writing this article. It also doesn’t seem all that good, and I’m confused as to why it’s worth as much as it is. It doesn’t feel like much more than a bulk rare to me, to be honest, although I could see EDH decks that play huge creatures wanting it so as to keep drawing business. Mayael the Anima or Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma might benefit from Cream of the Crop, but even so, it doesn’t seem all that great. It does have a relatively unique effect and has never been reprinted, but I still think this card is overvalued at $7, because I just don’t see its use case.
8. Shared Animosity
Morningtide
Market Price: $8.27
Shared Animosity, on the other hand, is an all-star that is well worth including in any red-based creature type-based deck that can play it. With so many creature types that tend to go wide, whether it’s Goblins, Elementals, Minotaurs or of course Knights, there are so many lists that will benefit from the power of this card. You attack with five 1/1s that share a creature type, and all of a sudden that’s 25 damage coming across the table – talk about an anthem effect! A handful of reprints have helped to moderate the price of Shared Animosity a little bit, but it has risen from around $5 to $9 in the last few months, presumably as demand begins to outstrip supply. If your deck is in the market for this card, don’t sleep on it!
7. Kinsbaile Cavalier
Morningtide
Market Price: $25.72
A card that is – rather obviously – very close to my heart, Kinsbaile Cavalier is a very important lord effect for Knight decks. There’s Knight Exemplar and Inspiring Veteran – as well as the new Marshal of Zhalfir – but nothing makes your Knights go off quite like Kinsbaile Cavalier. As far as I’m concerned, this card is a must-play in any self-respecting Knight deck, as it doubles your team’s power on offense and makes opposing attacks into a bunch of first strikers very difficult. Certainly, it’s fragile (that’s why we play Knight Exemplar), but this card has power in spades and with a lack of reprints and high niche demand, it makes sense for Kinsbaile Cavalier to cost $11.
6. Door of Destinies
Morningtide
Market Price: $16.50
Another terrific card, Door of Destinies is both enormously popular and – in my view, at least – still underrated. Despite seeing play in creature type decks from Edgar Markov to The First Sliver, it still isn’t played enough. I hear the argument that it’s “too slow”, but if Edgar Markov decks play this card, your aggressive creature deck can too. As a big fan of creature type-based decks, I believe this card to be criminally underplayed, and, believe it or not, feel that $15 is actually cheap for Door of Destinies. If you play a deck that shares a lot of one creature type, buy this card and put it in your 99, and do it before everyone else does, before the price is jacked up beyond belief.
5. Mutavault
Morningtide
Market Price: $17.58
The first card we’ve come to on this list with real competitive chops, Mutavault sees play in both Modern and Pioneer. Even in decks with no changeling synergies, it’s still a very efficient creature-land that can slot into any deck without super-stringent mana requirements. Despite a reasonable number of reprints and a stint as a GP promo, Mutavault maintains a pretty high price point at $16 or above, reflecting consistent demand in Constructed formats. However, in recent weeks Mutavault has spiked a little, and seems to have some unexpected volatility after years of consistency. Proceed with caution!
4. Thornbite Staff
Morningtide
Market Price: $19.88
Take just one look at this card and you can immediately tell: this is a combo piece, through and though. The Shaman stuff is essentially flavor text – this card is all about its first ability, which is the centerpiece of many, many infinite combos. Thornbite Staff plus Krenko, Mob Boss/Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker plus Skirk Prospector is infinite mana, or Goblin Bombardment instead of the Prospector is infinite damage. Thornbite Staff on Marrow-Gnawer plus two other Rats is infinite tokens – throw in a Zulaport Cutthroat, and that’s the ball game. Kelsien, the Plague, Avatar of Woe, Goblin Welder, Hell’s Caretaker – the list goes on, and Thornbite Staff combos with them all. $18 is absurd for an uncommon like this, but it has never been reprinted! Once it does get the reprint (probably upshifted to rare), this price will come down, but it’s still a popular and widely-played combo piece, so it won’t bottom out completely.
3. Scapeshift
Morningtide
Market Price: $15.09
Oh baby. One of my all-time favorite cards, Scapeshift still sees fringe play in Modern, and I still proudly confuse Modern zoomers with their Elemental Incarnations and their Ragavans by tapping four of my seven lands to kill them on the spot with my old Boomer Scapeshift deck. I’ve seen it crop up in four and five-color Omnath builds here and there, but broadly speaking the best days of Scapeshift are behind it, and once it was reprinted in M19, it forever lost its status as a $50+ card. Price memory is a powerful thing, however, and so this card still costs $23 or so – and at the end of the day, it’s not a bad card to chuck into a Lord Windgrace or The Gitrog Monster EDH deck.
2. Maralen of the Mornsong
Morningtide
Market Price: $20.82
Maralen of the Mornsong isn’t even that popular a commander, and doesn’t see a ton of play in EDH, but even so, this is quite a pricey card – and there’s a good reason for this. Maralen is an absolutely ridiculous lock piece, as you can combine her with Stranglehold to prevent opponents from getting new cards, Nexus of Fate and Clearwater Goblet to take infinite turns, or – best of all – with Opposition Agent to tutor for any card in your opponents’ libraries and play them yourself! Between her very unique effect, the nasty things you can do with it and the fact that she has never been reprinted, Maralen of the Mornsong ends up at a respectable and reasonably steady $26.
1. Bitterblossom
Morningtide
Market Price: $25.43
A classic Magic card, Bitterblossom is beginning to be given a run for its money with some newer iterations on the tokens-every-upkeep theme, such as Dreadhorde Invasion and the brand-new Skrelv’s Hive. Nothing quite beats the original – yet, anyway – and Bitterblossom still sets the standard for this sort of effect. A ton of reprints have seen Bitterblossom come down from above $60 to its current price, a little under $30, and even with his Constructed-playable days over it’s still very popular in EDH, seeing play in everything from Alela, Artful Provocateur to Mishra, Claimed by Gix. Its price has declined steadily for a few years, however, so it might not be long before it loses the top spot as the most expensive card in Morningtide!