Magic’s secondary market has been unusually active this month, driven by three things hitting at once: the Marvel Super Heroes set still working through the system, a genuine Premodern format boom, and early speculation ahead of The Hobbit’s August release. Here’s what’s actually moved, and why.
Lord of the Rings: Still Climbing
Aragorn, the Uniter has been trading in the $150-$200 range, and Dawn of a New Age is currently trading around $90 — a real climb from where it sat earlier this year. Neither of these is new — they’re 2023-set cards getting a second wind, almost certainly pulled along by renewed Tolkien-adjacent attention as The Hobbit’s release approaches in August. When a crossover property gets a sequel set, the original cards tend to ride along.
Aragorn, the Uniter
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The Premodern Boom
Premodern — the format covering cards legal roughly 1995-2003 — is having a genuine moment, and the Reserved List staples are feeling it hardest since they can never be reprinted. Gaea’s Cradle is currently trading around $1,620 in near-mint condition, up noticeably over the past 30 days. Replenish is now trading over $220. Plaguebearer is up over 300% to roughly $40. None of these are Marvel or Hobbit related — this is a separate, older corner of the game seeing real organic demand growth.
Gaea’s Cradle
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The Squirrel Girl Effect
Scurry of Squirrels has become a near-auto-include in The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl decks thanks to its double myriad text — a genuinely strange, specific synergy that’s pulled Ms. Bumbleflower along with it, currently sitting around $5, with steady upward pressure as the deck gains popularity. This is exactly the kind of niche-but-real price movement that happens when a single new commander unlocks an old card nobody was looking at.
Scurry of Squirrels
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Still Moving From the Marvel Release
Green Goblin, Nemesis from the Marvel Super Heroes set has climbed into the $10-15 range in recent weeks — a much bigger move than a typical bulk-box card — a small dollar move, but a 4x jump is still worth flagging if you’ve got copies sitting in a bulk box. His discard-payoff ability has picked up steam as more players build around Goblin tribal and Treasure-generation shells in the format.
Green Goblin, Nemesis
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Ms. Bumbleflower
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What This Means If You’re Buying or Selling
The Premodern and Lord of the Rings movements look like genuine, structural demand — not hype that’s likely to reverse quickly. The Squirrel Girl and Marvel movements are narrower and more speculative — fun to watch, riskier to chase. If you’re holding any of these and the price has already doubled, this is usually closer to a good time to sell into the spike than to buy more.
For more on how Marvel Super Heroes prices specifically have moved since release, see our breakdown of the 10 most valuable MTG Marvel Super Heroes cards right now.
Price data sourced from TCGPlayer market reports as of late June 2026 and changes constantly — always check current listings before buying or selling. As an Amazon Associate and TCGPlayer affiliate, NerdSnack earns from qualifying purchases.
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