These Commander unbans are the gift that keeps on giving, here’s why:
Can I interest you in some Commander unbans?
The last few months of Magic have been really fun. Ever since the Nadu, Winged Wisdom banning, Modern has had some fun (Underworld Breach notwithstanding), where the new sets have been fun and exciting with a very enjoyable Limited environment (this is important for me). Magic Foundations helped usher in a mini-boom of 60-card Constructed players, and Tarkir: Dragonstorm has literally been selling out across stores worldwide.
Part of what has refreshed Modern has been the slate of unbans, headlined initially by the ultimate meme in Splinter Twin, which did exactly nothing upon its unbanning (but it was fun to try). Mox Opal, of course, has been a hit again and holds an astounding price tag of $150.
So why not some Commander unbans?
That’s what was announced earlier this week, and the market responded instantly.
Gifts Ungiven
Champions of Kamigawa, Rare
Let’s start with the most open-ended of the five unbans. Gifts Ungiven is a famous Magic card historically that has really fallen out of the spotlight over the last five years or so (Rest in peace, Gifts Storm). It’s been banned in Commander for basically as long as I can remember, and to give you an idea of how long I’ve been playing, my first Commander deck was Teneb, the Harvester before Karador, Ghost Chieftain was even printed. In other words, the idea of Gifts Ungiven in Commander is a largely unexplored topic.
My favorite pile has to be Life from the Loam and three lands, but the possibilities are endless, and players will begin exploring all of them now. Pricewise, Gifts Ungiven has exploded from what was bulk rare status before, thanks to seven or eight total printings, to a (settling) price today of about $15.
Like all of the cards on this list, Gifts spiked wildly upon the announcement, but as of writing, the prices have started to settle, and I’ll be using live prices here on TCGplayer to reference.
Braids, Cabal Minion
Odyssey, Rare
At one point, this was widely feared among casual tables. I don’t remember when exactly it hit the Commander banlist originally, but I know that for as long as I have played, people have talked in hushed tones about the damage an unchecked Braids decks in format could produce.
But Braids, Cabal Minion in 2025 Magic? Not exactly as terrifying. Four mana for a card that doesn’t make you sacrifice anything until what is sometimes the fifth upkeep? Some Commander games don’t even last that long! And in the ones that do — and don’t feature a removal spell for Braids — sacrificing one thing is really not that huge of a price to pay.
It was time for Braids to come off the list, and the price has stayed reasonable. Like Gifts, Braids was a bulk rare before the announcement, but with printings in Eternal Masters and Modern Horizons 2, the price has remained very reasonable. You can find an Eternal Masters or Modern Horizons 2 copy for about $5-7 right now, while an original Near Mint printing from Odyssey and its beautiful frame is running about $15.
Sway of the Stars
Betrayers of Kamigawa, Rare
I can’t blame you if you’ve never read this card before, but I read it for the first time this week and was floored by what it did. This is a wild effect and, as Gavin Verhey put it, not exactly powerful — the player who casts this isn’t really advantaged in any way. The reasoning Gavin provided for the unban was that “players who like to play cards like this will have another card like this to play”.
Fair enough. And enough to send Sway of the Stars — printed just once in Betrayers of Kamigawa — from $3 up to about $16 today.
Panoptic Mirror
Darksteel, Rare
This is an incredibly powerful card from Darksteel, and it bottomed out at around $3 last year before beginning to climb at the beginning of 2025. It rose to $10 before this announcement and has obviously gone bonkers since.
Panoptic Mirror has spiked the hardest of any of the unbanned cards. Darksteel is practically an ancient set — released in 2004 — and if you’re familiar with your Magic (meta)lore, the big story back then was Affinity, the deck, and the mechanic. It broke several formats in a time when there were only several formats to break. Skullclamp and Cranial Plating were running rampant, and player participation plummeted. That meant that there wasn’t much Darksteel opened compared to other sets at that time, and since Panoptic Mirror has no reprints, it predictably exploded in price.
You’re looking at a minimum of $50 for a Mirror today. And while I do expect this one to come down over time, this will remain pricey until a reprint comes down the line.
Coalition Victory
Invasion, Rare
Finally, the originally five-color win condition. Coalition Victory premiered in Invasion 25(!) years ago and during the earliest days of Commander, was singled out by the format’s creators as uniquely problematic. It entered the ban list and was lost to history after that.
That changes now, and now the always-popular alternate win condition is back. Eight mana is a lot in modern Commander, so it’s unlikely this ever ends up back on the banlist. Likewise, the price will never return to the $5 it was for the original Invasion printing before this. Today you’re looking at around $20 for a copy, and if you want the less-expensive Timeshifted version, you can have it for $15.
Will there be any second-order effects on the secondary market from these unbans? Maybe. Panoptic Mirror combos with a lot of cards, and there’s plenty of exploration with the rest, so there’s no telling where things go.
The Best of the Rest
Deadpool, Trading Card continues to move markets. The full-art version of Elturel Survivors spiked this week from 50 cents to $3 due to how strong it is as a Myriad creature for Deadpool to steal. The normal printing is still available for a dollar, so pick one up if you’re thinking of building the Merc with a Mouth. It’s not the only one. Flameshadow Conjuring has gone from a dollar to $3, Heat Shimmer has gone from $5 to almost $10, and Delina, Wild Mage from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms tripled in price from $5 up to $15.
Lost Monarch of Ifnir
Commander: Aetherdrift, Rare
This is looking like a big winner from Commander: Aetherdrift. Lost Monarch of Ifnir has benefitted from the same Zombie Commander that has spiked a bunch of Zombie cards over the last few months: Hashaton, Scarab’s Fist.
Lost Monarch of Ifnir actually bottomed out at just $1 six weeks ago. But it’s been on a tear since, and over the last seven days has really moved, jumping from $3 up to $10 in that time. This is a really powerful Zombie kindred option, so it’s no surprise to see it move up, even if the speed at which it’s done so has come as a surprise!
Tyrant Guard
Universes Beyond: Warhammer 40,000, Rare
Another week, another Universes Beyond: Warhammer 40,000 spike. Tyrant Guard explodes this week, spiking from $2 to $7 as the latest example of a Warhammer card topping the charts.
The culprit is Tidus, Yuna’s Guardian, a Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY preview that works very well with Tyrant Guard, with a shoutout to Betor, Ancestor’s Voice also driving some demand. Honestly, the Guard was always going to spike eventually; a Heroic Intervention on a body for creatures with any kind of counters is extremely powerful and scales very well.
I’m sure there will be more Commander developments to come next week – see you then!