Magic: The Gathering Hot/Cold List for the Week of November 24, 2025

Badgermole Cub

We have to start with the creature that is currently breaking the internet. During spoiler season, Badgermole Cub looked like a cute, mid-range mana dork. Fast forward to this weekend’s tournament results, and it is arguably the most important card in Standard.

The price has nearly doubled in a week, surging from a pre-order range of around $35 to a market price sitting comfortably near $68, with some listings hitting as high as $100.

Why the explosion? It comes down to the Earthbend mechanic.

The card reads: “When this creature enters, Earthbend 1. (Target land you control becomes a 0/0 creature with haste that’s still a land. When it dies or is exiled, return it to the battlefield tapped.)”

Players initially underestimated the safety valve on Earthbend. Turning your lands into creatures is historically risky (nobody likes getting Stone Rained by a removal spell), but the text “return it to the battlefield tapped” negates that risk entirely.

You get an aggressive haster that ramps you, and if your opponent kills it, you just get your land back.

Combined with its second ability, “Whenever you tap a creature for mana, add an additional (G).” This bear… er, badger… is an absolute engine.

Appa, Steadfast Guardian

While the competitive spikes are fun, we can’t ignore the Commander crowd. Appa, Steadfast Guardian is proving to be the fan-favorite legend of the set, and his price tag is starting to reflect that must-have energy

.Appa is currently sitting around $22, but what’s interesting is the volume of sales. He is outselling almost every other legend in the set.

The reason is two-fold. First, nostalgia, and second, a very potent Airbend ability. Appa allows you to exile your own nonland permanents and cast them later for just two generic mana.

In Commander, this is a protection spell and a combo piece rolled into one. You can save your board from a board wipe by Airbending your team into exile, then bring them back cheaply to re-trigger all your Enters the Battlefield effects.

It’s a Blink deck’s dream. Unlike Badgermole Cub, which is driven by Standard pros, Appa is being hoarded by casual players who never plan to sell, which usually means a very high price floor. If you want a foil copy, grab it now before the price continues to rise.

Phoenix Fleet Airship

If you cracked a Phoenix Fleet Airship at your prerelease and didn’t trade it away immediately, I have some bad news. This Mythic Rare vehicle has tanked hard, dropping from a hyped $14 pre-order price to under $5 this week.

On paper, it looked like a value engine, “At the beginning of your end step, if you sacrificed a permanent this turn, create a token that’s a copy of this Vehicle.” The dream was to create an army of exponential airships.

The reality? It’s a 4-mana artifact that does nothing the turn it comes down unless you jump through hoops. In a format where Badgermole Cub is generating 6 mana on turn 3, tapping out for a do-nothing vehicle is a death sentence.

Players found out quickly that the setup cost (needing a sacrifice outlet and the mana to cast it) was just too high. It’s a classic case of Win-More.” Great when you’re ahead, terrible when you’re behind. Expect this to settle in the bulk mythic bin shortly.