We're back one last time to talk about some sweet cards needing reprints for the Pauper format!

After several weeks discussing numerous cards for this topic, we're finally coming to a close. This one represents the last in this small miniseries of articles I've been putting out lately on the topic. If you'd like to read the previous articles in this series, you can find each of them here:

• Ten Old Pauper Cards That Need Reprints
• Ten More Old Pauper Cards That Need Reprints
• Ten Old Pauper Roleplayers That Need Accessibility Reprints
• Ten Modern Era Pauper Cards That Need Reprints
• Ten Pauper Cards That Need More Reprints
• Ten Pauper Cards that Need Reprints for Magic Online

While these hardly cover every card and arguments can - and have been - made that others need reprints more, I'd like to think these provide a solid overview. Additionally, it helps newer players understand why cards are expensive, difficult to access, or both. Who knows, maybe someone at Wizards take notice and makes an effort to make these cards more available!

Nevertheless, I'm closing out this series by once again covering an additional handful of cards that need a meaningful reprint on Magic Online. Many of these are extremely difficult to acquire and - in some cases - haven't seen quite the degree of printings and availability afforded to paper players. With some of the cards, they aren't even on the client in the first place, making them that much more important to be made available.

There's plenty of cards to go through this time around, so let's not waste any time and get straight to it!

Honorable Mention: Soldevi Adnate

Last time I covered a card for the honorable mention slot that wasn't on MTGO but had some fans. This time I'm mentioning another card not on the client but could have some solid utility. Soldevi Adnate represents an interesting take on a Black mana dork, requiring you to sacrifice a creature to generate mana. This has always felt like it could have some interesting applications - both for Pauper and Commander - and that's even more true now with Mono-Black Sacrifice being a major deck in the format. Even if it doesn't go anywhere, it would be great for it to be available and give players the option to try it out.

10. The Mercadian Masques Depletion Lands (Remote Farm, Saprazzan Skerry, Peat Bog, Sandstone Needle, Hickory Woodlot)

I spoke about these cards previously in an earlier article about how they needed some fresh accessibility reprints in paper. Online, though, the need for reprints is far more significant. These cards once again succumb to the plague of Mercadian Masques having an extremely short run on Magic Online. As a result, these lands command high prices - particularly ones like Sandstone Needle and Hickory Woodlot. These cards only show up here and there, but can be critical pieces of combo decks in the right metagame.

9. All the other Battle for Baldur's Gate Cards (Guildsworn Prowler, Kenku Artificer, Basilisk Gate, Arms of Hadar)

In my last article, I covered three different cards that originated in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate. Each of these had very limited printings, with them mostly showing up in treasure chests. As the set was never properly released on the client, many cards have been relegated to this status. This has caused several commons from the set to have lower accessibility. A wider run of these cards - perhaps a proper draft release of the set one day - could go a long way for availability of these cards going forward.

8. Ninja of the Deep Hours

Ninja of the Deep Hours is a classic staple of Pauper arguably since its inception thanks to the card's usage in Faeries decks. Couple this with the general popularity of ninjas and you've got a stone cold staple. This card ends up being a bit pricier because it only ever had two real printings on the client: once in Betrayers of Kamigawa and again in Time Spiral Remastered (plus Planechase 2012 for the five people that bought that online). One of those is a really old product and the other is another limited release, making this essential card hold a strong price tag as a result. Some more reprints could be great, and hopefully we'll see one somewhere alongside Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

7. Benevolent Blessing

Of all the cards that I was surprised to see be as expensive as they are on Magic Online, this was the one that shocked me the most. Mono-White Heroic decks are the only place the card has usually seen play in the past, and that's usually a niche lower tier deck.

The reason this card is so pricey is two-fold. First off, it once again suffers from Commander Legends being a low drafted release during the COVID years. Second, the addition of Duel Commander to the client has raised the need for acquiring the card, as it fuels Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice decks. More printings could be hugely beneficial for both formats, even with just a strong treasure chest printing.

6. Embiggen

Regardless of the format, Embiggen ultimately serves one real purpose: fueling Infect decks. This isn't just in Pauper, but rather for all formats. In the case of Pauper, though, it's the glue that makes the deck even function at all. Thanks to how easy the deck is to interact with, it still remains a fringe list. However, Embiggen is yet another case where it only was released in treasure chests, thus keeping it at a lower supply with an inflated valuation.

5. Ashnod's Altar

For quite some time, Ashnod's Altar wasn't a terribly pricey card on MTGO. Moreover, it actually had a somewhat recent reprint when The Brothers' War was printed onto the client a few years back. However, Altar Tron has grown to be a fan favorite on the client. This has increased demand for the card quite substantially with a whole slew of players needing playsets. Given this, another reprint could do wonders for this roleplayer's availability.

4. Foil

This one took me by surprise a little when I saw just how much it was going for. It's not even played that much in Pauper, mainly some Familiars lists and a few fringe inclusions elsewhere. From what I can tell, it's not even a big Legacy, Vintage, Duel Commander, or regular Commander inclusion. Additionally, it was a common in a Masters set - something that's often heavily drafted online when those come out. Nevertheless, it remains a pretty pricey card that could certainly use some more copies put into the ecosystem.

3. The Mirrodin Artifact Lands (Ancient Den, Seat of the Synod, Vault of Whispers, Great Furnace, and Tree of Tales)

In my "Pauper Cards That Need More Reprints," I noted how these lands all had tremendous amounts of Commander printings. While I usually avoid including those releases in these kinds of lists, the number of decks they showed up in was staggering and made them more available than you may think. That's not so much the case for Magic Online, though. Many Commander decks never reach the client and the ones that do are rarely opened, if at all. Because of this, these lands continuously command strong prices online and are very due for a serious reprint.

2. Lotus Petal

In one of my first articles for this series, I covered Lotus Petal and noted how much of a staple it is for a variety of formats despite the lower number of printings. That remains true with MTGO, with the card only ever being printed in a couple of small releases and then having a trickle through in treasure chests. Still, it remains one of the priciest Pauper cards on the client, and a major reprint in a Masters set (or similar) could be huge in making it that much more accessible.

1. Rust

Much like Soldevi Adnate (and Equinox from my last article), Rust is not available on Magic Online. Unlike those cards, though, Rust has a proven utility that makes it standout quite a bit that it's not on the client. The use in question is for Spy Combo decks to have a way of countering graveyard exile abilities of cards like Nihil Spellbomb, Relic of Progenitus, and Tormod's Crypt.

Much like Soldevi Adnate and Equinox, Rust is unable to be just stuck into the client via treasure chests due to royalty issues with the art. If you're wondering the reasoning for this, it's simple: early Magic art was royalty-based. A few years into the game's life, Wizards switched to a flat-rate fee and the company owning the rights to the art. Because the artists owned the rights to the art of early sets, it's hard for those arts to be reprinted directly. A full reprint would solve this issue, bring the card to MTGO proper, and even make accessibility better in paper as well.

Paige Smith

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