Weekly Winners 2025 - 45

The PlayStation Secret Lair drop is responsible for two of our winners, and the other winner seems to have fallen victim to speculation.

Like every week, just in time for FNM, I'll tell you about the Magic: the Gathering cards that'll be the talk of the town tonight! Come discuss this week's price movements with us on Discord.

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Check out our other great content from this week.

Avatar Cards To Watch for Modern by Corey Williams

Looking Back to Lorwyn by Harvey McGuinness

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Onto the Weekly Winners!

#1 Thieving Varmint $15.99 (+448%)

This little creature from Commander: Outlaws of Thunder Junction has been moving up recently, and it's all thanks to new card-stealing commanders from recent Universes Beyond sets. Thieving Varmint is a two-mana 2/1 with deathtouch and lifelink that can tap and pay one life to produce two mana of any color, but only to cast spells you don't own. At worst it's a blocker that makes opponents think twice about attacking, but in the right deck it becomes an efficient mana dork that helps you cast your opponents' stolen spells.

$0.59 $0.49

The spike is driven by commanders like Nathan Drake, Treasure Hunter from the Uncharted Secret Lair and Black Cat, Cunning Thief from Marvel's Spider-Man. According to EDHREC, Thieving Varmint shows up in 65% of Nathan Drake decks and 53% of Black Cat decks. Both of these commanders want to play someone else's cards. Interestingly, the card didn't spike immediately after these commanders were previewed or released. It spiked a little later, probably because it was mentioned in articles around deck techs from these commanders, because all of the sudden supply drained fast.

In the short term, the price could keep climbing given how low supply has gotten. Long term though, Thieving Varmint feels like an easy reprint if Wizards decides to make a card-stealing precon, which would crash the price immediately.

Thieving Varmint	CardKingdom $3.99	TCGPlayer $14.25
Nathan Drake, Treasure Hunter	CardKingdom	TCGPlayer $69.00
Black Cat, Cunning Thief	CardKingdom $0.49	TCGPlayer $0.59

#2 Dockside Extortionist $36.79 (+150%)

It's time for the bi-yearly spike of the famous Goblin Pirate from Commander 2019, and it's all because of a new reprint announcement in Avatar: The Last Airbender: Eternal-Legal. If you're well-aware about Dockside Extortionist itself, you can skip to the next paragraph, but for the newer played let's quickly glance over the card.

Dockside Extortionist creates Treasure tokens equal to the number of artifacts and enchantments your opponents control when it enters, which made it an absolute powerhouse in Commander, particularly cEDH. Dockside was a format staple with a price tag around eighty dollars before the (now-retired) rules committee banned it on September 23, 2024.

Since then, Dockside's value came down quickly, but this is the third time the card has spiked in 2025. It happened in February when Gavin Verhey teased a banlist update, then again in April right before the banlist article dropped. Both times the card stayed banned, and Verhey specifically said "for this year, the book is closed on these three cards." That means even if this new Dockside reprint does signal a potential unbanning, it won't happen until April 2026 at the earliest. Until then, this spike is pure speculation from players hoping the card comes back.

The card was holding steady around ten dollars for the past six months after getting banned, but it's now selling for up to thirty dollars following the Avatar reveal. The reason for the spike isn't because players think the Avatar version looks good. In fact, it's probably the worst variant of the card ever printed. It's one of those ugly zoomed-in screenshots that pass for Avatar's bonus sheet, depicting a minor unnamed pirate character from the show who definitely isn't a Goblin. But none of that matters because the reprint has fans wondering if Wizards might actually unban Dockside Extortionist from Commander.

Dockside Extortionist	CardKingdom $24.99	TCGPlayer $58.00
Dockside Extortionist	CardKingdom $24.99	TCGPlayer $33.53
Dockside Extortionist (Borderless)	CardKingdom $27.99	TCGPlayer $64.97

#3 Fallen Shinobi $7.80 (+133%)

This Zombie Ninja from Modern Horizons has been steadily climbing in price recently, and it's all thanks to Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima from the Ghost of Tsushima Secret Lair drop. Fallen Shinobi has ninjutsu and exiles the top two cards from an opponent's library whenever it deals combat damage to them, letting you cast those cards for free until end of turn. Jin Sakai can give Fallen Shinobi double strike against an empty board to steal four cards, or make it effectively unblockable when your opponent has blockers up, guaranteeing at least two free spells per turn.

Casting your opponents' spells for free is a massive power swing, especially with three opponents to choose from in Commander. You can target whoever has the best cards to steal. The card also works in Nathan Drake, Treasure Hunter decks, which we also mentioned in our #1 winner, thanks to the card-stealing theme. Fallen Shinobi already saw play in over 60,000 Commander decks before this spike, mainly in decks around Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow.

Silent-Blade Oni is also showing slight price movement thanks to similar Jin Sakai synergies, though it has more reprints keeping prices lower. Looking ahead, card-stealing remains a popular mechanic in Commander, and the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set will likely include new Ninja support that could drive further interest in these cards. That said, both cards could easily be reprinted in TMNT precons or bonus sheets.

Fallen Shinobi	CardKingdom $6.49	TCGPlayer $9.96
Fallen Shinobi	CardKingdom $5.49	TCGPlayer $4.00
Fallen Shinobi	CardKingdom $5.49	TCGPlayer $4.65

#4 Dystopia $13.24 (+56%)

This black enchantment from Alliances has been moving up recently, and it's all thanks to Premodern tournament results. Dystopia has a cumulative upkeep that costs one life per age counter, and forces each player to sacrifice a green or white permanent at the beginning of their upkeep. While the cumulative upkeep means this gets more expensive to maintain over time, the effect is absolutely brutal against the right decks.

In Premodern, green and white enchantments are popular, and Dystopia is the best way black decks have to deal with resolved enchantments, other than Nevinyrral's Disk.

The spike comes from the Spanish Nationals last weekend, which was the second largest Premodern event of the year with about 280 players. Mono-black took down the main event and placed second in the side event, showcasing just how powerful the archetype can be in the current metagame. Dystopia is a must-run sideboard card for black in Premodern, with most lists running three copies to combat the format's enchantment-heavy strategies.

The card is on the Reserved List, meaning it will never be reprinted and supply is limited. For a card that's essential sideboard tech in a growing format, Dystopia has been underpriced for a while.

Blazing Specter is also moving up for similar reasons, seeing play in Premodern decks like BR Machine Head and Draco Explosion. With Premodern continuing to gain popularity and Dystopia being Reserved List, this spike makes sense. Whether it maintains its new price depends on how the metagame evolves, but as long as green and white enchantments remain dominant, Dystopia will be essential. With it being on the Reserved List it's unlikely for people to part with the cards again.

Dystopia	CardKingdom $15.99	TCGPlayer $40.00
Blazing Specter	CardKingdom $4.49	TCGPlayer $2.79

Cheap Pickups

Please note: for our 'record low' we consider the price of the card over the past seven years. Many cards were even cheaper (a) decade(s) ago. Also note: some cards are still going down, and might be even cheaper pickups next week.

Oppression $4.47 - Moving up!

Oppression has been identified by the MTGStocks Premium Penny Stocks feature as a card that has reached its bottom and is starting a consistent uptrend.

Dracogenesis $7.50 - Moving down

Thoughtseize $5.61 - Moving down

Oppression	CardKingdom $3.49	TCGPlayer $4.95
Dracogenesis	CardKingdom $9.49	TCGPlayer $7.40
Thoughtseize	CardKingdom $7.49	TCGPlayer $5.61