Best Budget Reprints of 2024
Assassin's Trophy | Art by Zezhou Chen
Best Budget Reprints of 2024
Magic: The Gathering has experienced an exhilarating 2024, filled with incredible set releases. Outlaws of Thunder Junction (OTJ), Bloomborrow (BLB), and Modern Horizons 3 (MH3) are just three of MTG's hallmark sets released this year. Foundations (FDN), MTG's final set release in 2024, reinvigorates Standard by injecting new cards and reprints.
While Standard sets predominately include new cards for MTG, they can incorporate reprints like Foundations. For instance, players may recall seeing Duskmourn: House of Horror's (DSK) Ethereal Armor in Return to Ravnica (RTR). Moreover, Commander Precon Decks aligned to Standard set releases also contain reprints. Sakura-Tribe Elder, Fellwar Stone, and Exotic Orchard have become commonplace reprints included in Commander Precon Decks.
One benefit to a card's reprinting is it tends to lower its average market price on the secondary market. A reprinted card's price drop is often due to an increased supply of copies made available to players. 2024's MTG Standard sets and related Commander Precon Decks have embraced reprints, which has led to many playable cards becoming more affordable. Let's discuss some of the best budget reprints of 2024 that are worth your attention.
Assassin's Trophy
Assassin's Trophy is a instant printed initially in Guilds of Ravnica (GRN). Casting Assassin's Trophy enables you to destroy a permanent an opponent controls. However, doing so allows its controller to search their library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield, and then shuffle. Assassin's Trophy is a multicolor Commander staple played in over 300,000 decks, according to EDHREC. The versatility of destroying any permanent card, including a nonbasic land, is enticing. Practically any Commander deck can find a reason to run Assassin's Creed, especially those led by The Gitrog Monster, Carth the Lion, and Meren of Clan Nel Toth.
In 2024, Wizards of the Coast decided to reprint Assassin's Trophy in Murders at Karlov Manor Commander (MKC) and Universes Beyond: Assassin's Creed (ACR). Two reprints in six months probably led to the average market price drop of Assassin's Trophy by over 50% to under $3 per copy. Also, players can choose between several artwork options for Assassin's Trophy at budget prices.
Cover of Darkness
Cover of Darkness is another two-mana card reprinted in ACR. First printed in Onslaught (ONS), Cover of Darkness is a black enchantment granting fear to creatures of a chosen creature type. Fear is an older mechanic allowing creatures to be blocked only by artifact creatures and black creatures.
Kindred decks for Ninjas, Rats, Pirates, and Assassins can utilize Cover of Darkness to provide creatures with an evasive ability. While one or more of your opponents may have artifact and/or black creatures in their 99, it is not always a given. Moreover, Cover of Darkness is incredibly synergistic with commanders who care about dealing combat damage to opponents, like Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow, and Admiral Beckett Brass.
Before ACR, scarcity drove Cover of Darkness' average market price to over $40 per copy. Since ACR's release, the average market price of Cover of Darkness has fallen tremendously. Players can pick up ACR versions of Cover of Darkness for about $5, a considerable discount from prices before 2024. If your Commander deck has black creatures possessing freerunning or ninjutsu abilities, you should consider adding a copy of Cover of Darkness.
Three Visits
Three Visits is a green sorcery for first printed in Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK). Casting Three Visits enables you to search your library for a Forest card, put it onto the battlefield, and shuffle it. Three Visits is also a functional alternative to Nature's Lore, which means you can slot both cards in the same deck.
Putting any Forest card from your library onto the battlefield untapped is terrific in green decks. You may search for Breeding Pool, Ketria Triome, Underground Mortuary, and other compelling nonbasic lands with the Forest subtype. Three Visits achieving over 500,000 deck inclusions on EDHREC is a testament to its playability as a Commander staple.
Three Visits received three reprintings in 2024 between MKC, Universes Beyond: Doctor Who (WHO), and Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander (OTC). Even after several reprints in a calendar year, Three Visits maintains an average market price of around $5. If a copy of Three Visits is not part of your collection, it may be a great time to add it.
Seedborn Muse
A surprising 2024 reprint in MKC was Seedborn Muse. Previously reprinted in Commander Collection: Green, Seedborn Muse is a five-mana green Spirit that lets you untap all the permanents you control during each other player's untap step. Untapping all your lands every turn enables you to progress your board state and hold up removal or counterspells during opponents' turns. Additionally, you can repeatedly activate mana-sinking abilities on cards like Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy, Thrasios, Triton Hero, and Zacama, Primal Calamity.
Commanders with exciting activated abilities synergize well with Seedborn Muse. For instance, Mayael the Anima and Vorel of the Hull Clade possess activated abilities worth activating each turn. Furthermore, opening up a plethora of mana each turn can propel your gameplan and wreak havoc on your opponents' strategies.
Seedborn Muse's current average market price of around $8 for MKC copies is excellent. At the beginning of 2024, copies of Seedborn Muse from various sets sold for nearly $20. Don't overlook Seedborn Muse in green decks wanting to generate tons of mana or resolve spells and abilities during opponents' turns.
Rootbound Crag, Glacial Fortress, and Sunpetal Grove
Magic 2010's (M10) check lands are reasonable choices for the mana base of multicolor Commander decks. Each check land can produce two different colors of mana and enter untapped if you control another land card with specific typing. Since their initial printing, check lands have appeared in many sets, including Commander 2016 (C16) and Ixalan (XLN).
Recently, some check lands saw their average market prices fall substantially after receiving reprintings. Universes: Beyond Fallout (PIP) and WHO gave players reprints with new artwork for Rootbound Crag and Glacial Fortress. Sunpetal Grove also has updated artwork seen in PIP. If you prefer the original artwork for Rootbound Crag, Glacial Fortress, and Sunpetal Grove, Bloomburrow Commander (BLC) has them.
Academy Manufactor
Academy Manufactor is a 1/3 Assembly-Worker artifact creature for . Although Academy Manufactor's power and toughness seem underwhelming, its triggered ability is excellent. Whenever you create a Clue, Food, or Treasure token, Academy Manufactor produces one of each instead. Spending no extra mana to receive three valuable artifact tokens by making one of them is astounding.
Clue, Food, or Treasure-centric Commander decks may want a copy of Academy Manufactor in the 99. Commanders such as Rashmi and Ragavan, Morska, Undersea Sleuth, and Gyome, Master Chef can maximize Academy Manufactor's ability. Pairing Academy Manufactor with Tireless Provisioner, Xorn, or Mirkwood Bats can be troublesome for your opponents too.
Reprintings of Academy Manufactor in MKC, OTC, and BLC plummeted its average market price to under $4. These reprintings were probably necessary to increase the supply of Academy Manufactor as more synergistic commanders get released. Academy Manufactor's demand and deck inclusions should increase for each new MTG card that is capable of creating Clue, Food, and Treasure tokens over time.
Farewell
Introduced in 2022's Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO), Farewell quickly became a top 10 most played white card on EDHREC. Farewell is a six-mana sorcery that lets you exile all artifacts, creatures, enchantments, and/or graveyards. Exiling is potent, especially when you can do it for one or more card types on the battlefield.
Farewell is an incredible board wipe that can go in almost any white Commander deck. Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines, Satya, Aetherflux Genius, and Shorikai, Genesis Engine are just a few commander choices to pair with Farewell. Before Farewell's 2024 reprintings in Modern Horizons 3 Commander (M3C), MKC, WHO, and PIP, its average market price hovered around $8. Currently, copies of Farewell are available for about $5, a bargain compared to the beginning of the year.
Pongify
What if you could pay to destroy a creature at instant speed? You can with Pongify, although someone will receive a 3/3 green Ape creature token in return. Pongify's ability to eliminate the most significant threat on the battlefield for one mana (and a drawback) is outstanding for blue decks interested in targeted removal. Blue is well-known for bouncing and flickering creatures, not necessarily destroying or exiling them.
Pongify is a consideration for decks led by mono-blue commanders like Alandra, Sky Dreamer, Eluge, the Shoreless Sea, and Bruvac the Grandiloquent. You may also want to play Pongify in two-color decks with more limiting creature removal options such as and . If you want added redundancy, you can put Pongify and Rapid Hybridization in the same 99.
Pongify's average market price dropped to below $3 a copy in 2024 after 2024 reprintings in M3C and OTC. Two reprintings in M3C and OTC within 60 days of each other led to Pongify's average market price drop. Players missing a copy of Pongify in their collection can benefit from the lower price point.
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Please note: card prices listed in this article are accurate at the time of writing, but prices can vary over time and between locations.
