10 Most Valuable Prophecy Cards

Widely panned as one of the worst Magic: The Gathering sets of all time, the Prophecy expansion released on June 5, 2000, inauspiciously closing out the mostly forgotten Masques block with a whimper. Due to the warp-speed power level of its predecessor, Urza’s block, Wizards of the Coast was forced into a corner and made some poor design decisions brought on by the non-competitive landscape that was created due to some of the utterly broken cards found in that preceding block.

Of the three sets from Masques block, Prophecy is surely the weakest in both power level and design. Featuring extremely watered down cards and ill-formed, unnamed mechanics (the only real, semi-named mechanic in the set being the utterly despised “Rhystic” cycle), it’s no surprise that Prophecy has been more or less wiped away from Magic fans’ collective memories - and that longtime Magic designer Mark Rosewater claimed that the set was the second-worst designed set in the game’s history, behind only the putrid Homelands.

Despite all of that negativity, there are a select few cards - believe me, even 10 cards is a stretch - that hold some value in the modern market, and even one showcase card that’s worth a massive sum. Let’s take a look. My prophecy? This list will feature the lowest overall value of any set ever.

Note: All prices come via TCGPlayer’s Market Price History over the past calendar year and are subject to change.

10. Dual Nature

Market Price: $2.13, Foil: $26.40

Kicking off the list is a watered down version of cards such as Doubling Season, Primal Vigor, and Parallel Lives. Costing more than those cards at , and seeing that the card forces you to lose the tokens when the original creature leaves play, means this should never be your first choice when looking for a creature duplicating effect.

Beyond that, this card is also symmetrical, so it affects all players - again making it a weaker choice than far better options that debuted later on in Magic’s history. Still, if you’re strapped for cash and looking for a creature doubler, you could do worse (though not by all that much).

9. Squirrel Wrangler

Market Price: $2.30, Foil: $35.40

The third-ever card in Magic’s history that dealt with the Squirrel creature type - after Liege of the Hollows from Weatherlight and Deranged Hermit from Urza’s Legacy (the second-most valuable card from that set) - this 2/2 Human Druid for asks quite a bit of you.

One subtheme of Prophecy is sacrificing lands and general land shenanigans (shelandigans?), which is something that players generally don’t want to do - another reason why this set is so reviled. Squirrel Wrangler’s two activated abilities each cost and a sacrificed land. For your troubles, you can either produce two Squirrel tokens or give all Squirrels (not just yours) +1/+1 until end of turn.

Clearly power creep has made this card fairly obsolete, but Squirrel deck completionists and collectors will still want it for the novelty factor or the memes.

8. Infernal Genesis

Market Price: $2.65, Foil: $39.16

Featuring disturbing artwork from notable Magic artist Ron Spencer of a bear and tiger mutating into disturbing-looking Minions (no, not that kind), this card is an interesting, if overcosted, milling-focused enchantment that gifts 1/1 Minion tokens.

Of course, this effect is symmetrical, so your foes will also “benefit” from this milling methodology. Ultimately, this card is far too mana-intensive () to ever be used in any meaningful game of Magic. Despite that, it’s the eighth-most valuable Prophecy card. Yikes.

7. Plague Wind

Market Price: $3.18, Foil: $46.63

Finally, a reasonably “good” card. While the mana cost of this is absolutely titanic (a staggering ), this is indeed a strong effect. Destroying all creatures you don’t control is a brilliant effect, and one that is actually quite rare across Magic’s history, with only one other card being printed with that text: the “strictly better” In Garruk’s Wake from Magic 2015.

Plague Wind was part of a cycle of “Wind” cards that had prohibitively high mana requirements (all were nine mana) but boasted game-breaking - at the time - effects that altered the fabric of the game. Plague Wind is the only one of those “Winds” that has vaguely stood the test of time.

6. Citadel of Pain

Market Price: $4.03, Foil: $16.14

At long last, the cards are actually getting pretty good. Citadel of Pain is a nifty hate piece for control decks, and it can actually dole out hefty amounts of damage relatively quickly - especially in Commander. Of course, this card was significantly better when “mana burn” was still a mechanic (also great if Yurlok of Scorch Thrash is your commander).

Speaking of Commander, the Citadel is a notable commodity in Group Slug shells that focus on dealing as much damage to all players (as opposed to Group Hug decks) and generally playing annoying cards that will make everyone mad at you. It has never been reprinted, hence its value.

5. Avatar of Woe

Market Price: $5.65, Foil: $150.00

This card was part of another cycle from Prophecy of extremely powerful (again, for the time) creatures that could be cast for a mere two colored mana if you met certain requirements. For the black Avatar, it was if there were 10 creatures in all graveyards.

When that condition is met, you get a 6/5 with fear with an activated ability that taps to kill any creature outright. A quite strong creature, this card has actually not been reprinted all that often (only six times including the Amonkhet Invocations bonus sheet) - likely upping its value.

4. Foil

Market Price: $6.52, Foil: $137.99

This card holds a special place in my heart, as it played a pivotal role in an “Oops, All Counterspells” Draw-Go casual deck I made as a young lad, which gained me no friends. Still, I loved being able to attempt to counter a foe’s spell with Daze (one of the most valuable cards in Nemesis) by returning a tapped Island to my hand, seeing them smugly pay the they left open, but then pitching that Island and another card to pay the alternate casting for Foil, then watching their face fall - all while being fully tapped out!

Sure, that’s not an amazing or efficient use of resources, but this was the turn of the millennium. Anything was possible! It was a new world! Either way, this card still holds a fairly high price point, likely because it’s the only printing with a retro frame -reprints can be had for 70 cents.

3. Overburden

Market Price: $7.33, Foil: $53.52

A niche enchantment with a rather potent effect, Overburden forces any creature-based strategy to rethink their options when it’s on the battlefield as whenever a creature enters the battlefield, its owner must return a land to their hand. Oof.

This is indeed a miserable card to play against, and due to its unique effect, it's the third-most valuable card from Prophecy. Want to be truly evil while losing friends and goodwill along the way? Plop this down on turn two and then follow that up with Warped Devotion on turn three. Huzzah!

2. Rhystic Tutor

Market Price: $8.18, Foil: $49.98

Any card that can rifle through your library and grab any card you want is going to be worth a decent amount, hence why this 25-year-old three-mana black tutor is worth over $8 on the secondary market. But Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Imperial Seal or even Diabolic Tutor it ain’t.

The first instance from the hated “Rhystic” cycle on this list, Rhystic cards could be fully negated if any player paid a certain amount of colorless mana. In this case, if you confidently cast Rhystic Tutor to try and nab an important combo piece and your foe had an open , they could simply pay that and negate your card - no questions asked. Unexpectedly, these cards were panned upon release and remain a target of scorn across Magic’s history. Except for…

1. Rhystic Study

Market Price: $57.35, Foil: $305.73

That’s right, the most valuable card from Prophecy released as a lowly common back when it came out. What Wizards of the Coast was thinking with that rarity, we’ll never know. Since its release 25 years ago, players have come to realize that getting to draw a card whenever any player casts a spell unless the caster “pays the ” if you control this enchantment is pretty sweet.

Since its release, this card has been reprinted a few times (most recently as part of Wilds of Eldraine’s Enchanting Tales bonus sheet) and always as a rare or mythic rare - as WotC attempts to right the wrong of making it a common all those years ago. As the 25^th-most played card across the entire Commander format, Rhystic Study is always in high demand, and the least expensive copy you can find is the Jumpstart 2022 one… for a cool $54. Not bad for a common.

Prophetic Bolt Me Out of Here

As one of the weakest sets Magic has ever released, the cards found within Prophecy will likely feature the lowest median value of any sets ever featured in this series… though the presence of the eminently valuable Rhystic Study might be enough to boost it. Rising tides lift all boats and all that.

Join us next time for the next set in this series. We’ll either keep going chronologically or switch it up and go back in time. Either way, stay tuned! Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to pay the .

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