Standard Rotation is upon us once again. On Friday, August 1 2025, Standard will lose five sets. Rotation can be a great time to pick up cards before prices go up. Let’s check out what’s rotating in 2025.
STANDARD ROTATION 2025
If you want to check what’s in Standard, you can use a handy little site called… “What’s in Standard?”. Neat, right?
As it stands, we’re looking to say goodbye to:
- Dominaria United
- The Brothers’ War
- Phyrexia: All Will Be One
- March of the Machine
- March of the Machine: The Aftermath
While this will have an impact on Standard, today’s article is more about the cards that might see prices fluctuate because of Commander demand as time goes on.
DOMINARIA UNITED
The first section of cards from each set, starting with Dominaria United, are cards that could go either way.
CARDS TO KEEP WATCH ON
First up: Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. Sheoldred had her time in Standard, and has enjoyed a very brief resurgence after the recent bannings. She is, however, seeing some play in Pioneer, and is popular enough in Commander that her price hasn’t really dropped at all yet.
While rotation is a great time to watch Standard cards drop in price, Sheoldred is unlikely to, as her popularity in Commander before rotation means she has stayed steady.
Keep an eye on her, as a small injection of supply after Rotation might see her bottom out before she crawls back up higher until getting a reprint.
Silverback Elder is a weird one. It could go down, as green are spoiled for choice when it comes to engine cards. At the same time, it can handily keep the most popular archetypes of Sagas and Equipment in check, while helping you hit lands, so it could well creep up a little. Time will tell.
CARDS THAT MIGHT GO UP
First up for cards I can see trending up is Serra Paragon. While Sun Titan remains a white staple for a reason, getting to drop Serra Paragon and follow it up immediately with playing a fetchland from the yard – or a removal body – remains a very strong play. She’s been a great way to recover after wraths in many decks, and helps you get cast triggers. Coupled with flicker, you don’t even lose your creatures.
The defiler cycle are pretty cheap, but the Green one is the one I am regularly terrified to see across a Commander table. It gets out of hand really quickly in counter strategies, and paying life is rarely an issue when so many of those decks are in GW and gaining life anyways. I could see Defiler of Vigor creeping up.
CARDS YOU PROBABLY FORGOT ABOUT
There are a few cards in each set that are punching above their weight, and get lost in the shuffle of endless previews.
Tear Asunder is one. GB is spoiled for removal choices, but it’s the cheap exile on this one that makes it so good. With Sagas continuing to see support, this nixes them from ever coming back and eventually nukes creatures too.
Combat Research is one I’ve been impressed by. It’s cheap card draw and that Ward {1} is better than it looks – especially if you can copy it and combine it with the likes of Sheltered by Ghosts.
POPULAR PLAINS
While full art lands aren’t special anymore, there’s one from DMU to get excited about: the Magali Villeneuve stained glass Plains. This is a fave for Angels decks, and if you were on the fence about blinging out an Angels deck, that window is closing.
DOMINARIA UNITED COMMANDER
Sivitri continues to show increasing popularity. She makes for an interesting build puzzle as a Commander, but it’s in her utility in Dragons decks (which remain popular as ever) that is prompting increased interest. The next time we get an obvious Planeswalker Commander, she’s likely to go up a bit more thanks to her {+1}.
Greensleeves is from the Jumpstart packs for DMU, and is a real haymaker. As a Commander it excels, but in the 99 its equally potent. Hopefully it sees a reprint.
More than those two, though, I’d grab a copy of Historian’s Boon while it’s cheaper. Sagas are constantly in vogue these days.
THE BROTHERS’ WAR
CARDS TO KEEP WATCH ON
Cityscape Leveler is a tad over-costed for most builds – and is less exciting than the other main Mythic artifact in the set – but that said, it’s still a monster of a play in Colorless decks. It fits well into the new Eldrazi decks that help double triggers, and it also comes down cheaply with Sami, Wildcat Captain from Edge of Eternities. Could go either way, so if you see a cheap one, it might be a good buy.
Gix has already seen reprints in TDC and the Final Fantasy bonus sheet, but despite that, he’s still commanding a solid price. And for good reason: he’s a great draw engine that redirects aggro elsewhere, with a powerful late game ability. He’s probably at his lowest right now.
Myrel, Shield of Argive is destined to go down, in my opinion. Yes, she’s a white mythic and is strong, but outside of Soldier-typal, the extra Grand Abolisher effect is a little pricey at four mana. Especially as we just got Voice of Victory in Tarkir: Dragonstorm, I feel like Myrel is gonna trend down and be nuked by her first reprint.
CARDS THAT MIGHT GO UP
Portal to Phyrexia is a monster of a card, and it can be cheated into play in a variety of decks than can reduce colorless costs of cards – case in point, and the second time today – Sami, Wildcat Captain, anyone?
This card is very popular as a removal engine in Colorless decks and Artifact decks, so the sky’s the limit. Supply isn’t exactly increasing any time soon.
Fauna Shaman dropped in price after this reprint in 2022, but it’s been a little volatile lately and is slowly rising. Now’s a good a time as any to pick up this tutor engine for your Bracket 3-5 Commander decks.
CARDS YOU PROBABLY FORGOT ABOUT
Brotherhood’s End is probably my favorite cheap board wipe right now, and it gets better as time goes on. I don’t suppose it’ll go up in price much, but I’m mostly writing about it here to get more people on board.
RETRO ARTIFACTS BONUS SHEET
Brothers’ War had a bonus sheet full of Retro Artifacts (and Transformers cards, but ehhhh).
For the most part these can be pretty pricey (especially for cards like Mox Amber), but now’s a good a time as any to grab blueprint versions if that’s your jam.
BROTHERS’ WAR COMMANDER
There’s one absolutely huge card in BRC in Rootpath Purifier. Giving all lands in your library basic typing is gonna synergize really nicely with EoE’s Lander tokens, and it’s going to continue to be a big card for all Landfall decks.
PHYREXIA ALL WILL BE ONE
CARDS TO KEEP WATCH ON
The cheapest copy of Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines is a little cheaper than the next “fancier” version, and significantly cheaper than the more sought after ones. While the rarer treatments are likely to hold their price (or even increase a little) I could see the bog-standard copy dropping off a little more in the short term.
The Dominus cycle are all cards that are worth a look, but currently I feel the green in the cycle – Zopandrel – is one to keep an eye on. I think it could drop further in price, and I think it’s an underrated effect.
CARDS THAT MIGHT GO UP
Mondrak is destined to keep climbing the longer it takes to see a reprint, but that said, if Wizards keep those token doubler effects coming, it might not move much at all.
Sword of Forge and Frontier, as it stands, is a little underrated. You can grab this right now for less than $10, and I think it’s worth more.
The “Microsoft Gardens” as I like to call it is a vastly underplayed land that is viable in many decks, and only needs one busted card to be printed to have people buying it out.
CARDS YOU PROBABLY FORGOT ABOUT
Vat of Rebirth is great if you’re doing treasures, clues, foods, or aristocrats. It’s a fine engine card that it’s a good time to grab in foil if you haven’t by now.
POPULAR ART
This set has some really nice art treatments, with some of the chase cards in the set receiving classic and timeless renditions. These are only going to go up in the short term – especially if Atraxa keeps seeing play in 1v1 formats – and won’t be likely to cool off for a while.
If you look at the trajectory of the showcase The Wandering Emperor from Neon Dynasty, it took about three years for it to drop in price by a significant amount. Atraxa is more playable, and Elesh Norn arguably more iconic for long-time Magic fans, especially with the Junji Ito art.
If you want to grab one of the best arts in the set with long lasting appeal, at a reasonable price, then Vraska, Betrayal’s Sting is probably the one for you.
ALL WILL BE ONE: COMMANDER
Equipment synergies abound in Casual Commander, and so Hexplate Wallbreaker continues to creep slowly upwards. It’s one that’ll likely be reprinted in the next equipment precon, but I’m not sure when that’ll be.
Norn’s Choirmaster is a hot pickup at the moment, with the synergy with FIN Summon Sagas like Joshua, Phoenix Dominant.
Skyhunter Strike Force is an underrated anthem effect, offering up to +3/+3 at just three mana (plus your Commander). In my eyes, that’s hella efficient.
Evolution Sage saw a reprint here, but you can’t keep it down. Might be one to grab.
MARCH OF THE MACHINE: AFTERMATH
CARDS TO KEEP WATCH ON
The first card from MOM to keep a weather eye on is Tribute to the World Tree. It’s quite hard to cast on curve, and I think that’s whats keeping the price soft. It could easily rocket up with the right Commander though – something that makes small tokens in mono green and cares about counters would LOVE this.
Faerie Mastermind and Ledger Shredder are two staples in blue decks that want to sculpt hands, and right now, I think Mastermind is at a good price. It could easily go higher with no reprints, but I could also just see it printed in the right precon eventually.
Kami of Whispered Hopes is pretty high for an uncommon, and a reprint one at that – hailing from Neon Dynasty. This one makes oodles of mana, so it’s one to grab when its bottomed out.
CARDS THAT MIGHT GO UP
Etali, Primal Conquerer is a pretty broken Magic card. It’s a staple in Dinos decks and decks like Henzie, and as a Commander. There’s every chance this creeps up to become one of the main selling points of a future reprint set, particularly as the Ixalan “coin” showcase treatment is widely panned, making supply a little lower.
Sheoldred is a powerful edict that flips into a powerful saga. Her condition to flip isn’t so hard, and she’s commanding a strong price right now. I can only see her going up as time goes on, as it’s hard to reprint flip cards, especially ones tied to a plane and story, without some kind of revisit.
Breach the Multiverse is awesome. It’s fun to play and really strong, and currently, not a bad price. That price will definitely only go up, though. It’s a shoe-in for reprinting in a Commander focused set, though, so it’ll come back down again some day.
CARDS YOU PROBABLY FORGOT ABOUT
RW Counters isn’t the most popular deck, but both Dusk Legion Duelist and Axgard Artisan make for sweet little engine cards. The latter was a Jumpstart card for the set.
Goro-Goro and Satoru is a popular Grixis aggro Commander, and you could only find it in… Prerelease kits? Yeah. Wild.
MULTIVERSE LEGENDS
Most the multiverse legends in the set have settled quite comfortably after getting much needed reprints. Still, it’s a nice time to grab a Yarok or similar if you fancy a new build.
Halo foils are quite divisive, but the cards that seem to be holding well and potentially might go up in future are the Kaladesh Masterpiece border cards. Even if Sram and Baral aren’t as pushed as Ragavan, they seem to hold a good price. Fond memories of this frame treatment should help them go up in future.
MARCH OF THE MACHINE COMMANDER
Equipment decks stay winning in 2025, and one that decks like Gilgamesh and Nahiri love is equipment that brings a body. Bitterthorn slots in nicely alongside Sword of the Animist.
White card draw is always highly appreciated, and Chivalric Alliance and Firemane Commando are two of the best options we’ve had in years.
Uncivil Unrest is one I really like, even if it does feel a little rough at five mana in some builds.
For super-cheap pickups, check out Path of the Pyromancer, Vodalian Wave-Knight and Conjurer’s Mantle. Path of the Pyromancer is steadily seeing more play; the Knight/Merfolk its a sweet card for either type; Conjurer’s Mantle is the type of cheap card advantage white typal decks love to succeed.
MARCH OF THE MACHINE: AFTERMATH
CARDS TO KEEP WATCH ON
Nissa has softened a little this year so far, and that’s thanks to the Modern metagame shifting a little away from decks where Nissa excels. She’s bottomed out, but all it takes is one strong Commander or Modern staple to increase demand by a lot.
Training Grounds has similarly bottomed out, and similarly is likely to stay lower unless we see something crazy printed that wants it for a Commander deck.
CARDS THAT MIGHT GO UP
Narset and Nahiri are amongst the most popular Commanders from this release, and I can’t see them dropping off in popularity any time soon. They’re both hugely popular characters in their own right. Narset here provides a “fairer” option than the OG, and Nahiri is one of the best Boros Equipment Commanders that supports a more niche archetype in Living Weapon/Job Select etc.
Calix is a doubler of enchantments at a low cost on the curve. That’s all he needs to be a card that could increase as time goes on. He already experienced a surge in popularity shortly after release.
CARDS YOU PROBABLY FORGOT ABOUT
Dinosaurs aren’t all huge, and sometimes they want cheaper bodies that do useful things. Tranquil Frillback is one such role player.
Jirina, Dauntless General has two hugle relevant abilities, and aside from in the new Squall, SeeD Mercenary, she’s a useful interaction piece in plenty of builds from Dihada to Jirina Kudro to Kenrith, Returned King.
END STEP
Rotation is a great time to pick up cards that could change in price in the future.
My top five picks from this article are:
1. Breach the Multiverse
2. Historian’s Boon
3. Portal to Phyrexia
4. Faerie Mastermind
5. Sheoldred
Kristen is Card Kingdom’s Head Writer and a member of the Commander Format Panel. Formerly a competitive Pokémon TCG grinder, she has been playing Magic since Shadows Over Innistrad, which in her opinion, was a great set to start with. When she’s not taking names with Equipment and Aggro strategies in Commander, she loves to play any form of Limited.