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 jumped from roughly $75 to nearly $200, and Dawn of a New Age climbed from around $30 to $90 just in the past few months. 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
Check current pricing on Aragorn, the Uniter before it moves further.
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 climbed $75 in just 30 days and is now trading around $1,800 in near-mint condition. Replenish is pushing toward $175. 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
Check current pricing on Gaea’s Cradle before it moves further.
The Squirrel Girl Effect
Scurry of Squirrels has become a near-auto-include in Squirrel Girl decks thanks to its double myriad text — a genuinely strange, specific synergy that’s pulled Ms. Bumbleflower along with it, climbing from $5 to $12. 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
Check current pricing on Scurry of Squirrels before it moves further.
Still Moving From the Marvel Release
Miku, Divine Diva passed $70 after a leaked Secret Lair Commander deck reportedly featuring it — worth noting this is leak-based, not officially confirmed, so treat the leak itself with some caution even though the price reaction is real. On the cheaper end, Green Goblin, Nemesis from the Spider-Man: Eternal Legal pool climbed from $1 to $4 — a small move, but a 4x jump is still worth flagging if you’ve got copies sitting in a bulk box.
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-leak 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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