By Brian Cooper |
Updated on February 14, 2024
I wanted to do a flashback post to a time when the world was in pretty good shape, we didn’t know about pandemics, life was basically good and new Magic The Gathering products were all doing EXTREMELY well in the market.
It was May of 2019, we all were in a trading card bull market and WAR OF THE SPARK made its appearance on store shelves. All was good…actually REALLY good in the world of Magic.
Today I’m going to revisit a set that was all the hype back in 2019. I’m going to share the TOP 9 MOST VALUABLE CARDS in WAR OF THE SPARK!
Now, the biggest issue is this….there are not that many super valuable cards in this set. Actually there are only 24 cards out of the entire 264 card set that are valued over $2.00. And of those 24, there are only 9 cards priced over $5.00!
It’s that sweet spot of super amazing fantastic War of the Spark cards that I’m going to focus on today. And you’re going to LOVE it….because I’m telling you that you should! Well, I hope you do at the very least.
So here’s my disclaimer.
When it comes to determining the most valuable cards in a set, we all know that things can change over time. What is valuable right now might not be worth as much later down the road and vice versa. A simple Magic The Gathering rule change can make one card normally worth pennies skyrocket and make other cards drop like a sack of potatoes.
That’s why studying the data is so important when evaluating Magic cards for investment purposes or just adding great cards to your collection.
For this exercise in finding the 9 most valuable cards in War of the Spark, I’ll be using multiple data sources to gather the numbers, including some of the most popular websites. Those sites include MTGPrice.com, the TCGPlayer price guide, Dawnglare and MTGGoldfish to name a few.
The data housed on these sites is always kept up to date and accurate when compared to how the market is reacting to the cards so they’re super reliable.
The cards chosen for this top 9 list do not have anything to do with my personal opinion. Rather they are chosen based on a study of each card across multiple data sources. So without further ado, here we go!
Top 9 Best Cards in War of the Spark
#9 – God-Eternal Oketra
MTG WAR God-Eternal Oketra – Average Price: $6.00
Legendary Creature — Zombie God
Double strike
Whenever you cast a creature spell, create a 4/4 black Zombie Warrior creature token with vigilance.
When God-Eternal Oketra dies or is put into exile from the battlefield, you may put it into its owner’s library third from the top.
Magic Card Investor Investment Outlook:
In general, white is not the most popular color in Magic The Gatheirng and I’m not big on this card as a long term investment. It’s a pretty cool Legendary Creature (Zombie God actually) but the market for this card has definitely soured over the last 6-12 months. It’s nice for the collection, not so much for the investment vault.
#8 – Spark Double
MTG WAR Spark Double – Average Price: $7.00
Creature — Illusion
You may have Spark Double enter the battlefield as a copy of a creature or planeswalker you control, except it enters with an additional +1/+1 counter on it if it’s a creature, it enters with an additional loyalty counter on it if it’s a planeswalker, and it isn’t legendary if that permanent is legendary.
Magic Card Investor Rating:
Back in October 2022, this card was HOT. Values for Spark Double were more than double today’s prices and both collectors and players really wanted the card. And then POOF! Prices tumbled and here we are looking at a $7 price tag. It’s still selling in the $5-7 range and the foil version brings a few extra bucks, but it’s just meh for now. Not a rare card that I’m scrambling to add to the vault right now.
#7 – Bolas’s Citadel
MTG WAR Bolas’s Citadel – Average Price: $7.00
Legendary Artifact
You may look at the top card of your library any time.
You may play the top card of your library. If you cast a spell this way, pay life equal to its converted mana cost rather than pay its mana cost.
Sacrifice ten nonland permanents: Each opponent loses 10 life.
Magic Card Investor Rating: 
Now this is a card I can get behind. I really like cards that have crazy Superman-like abilities so when you read it you go “WHOA! That’s insane!” Ok, great you get to look at the top card of the library and cast it using your life. Big deal. WHOA! Tap, sacrifice a bunch of stuff and knock someone down by 10-life? Definitely a game changer card and one that has long term potential. Prices have been pretty stable on this card even during down times. That tells me a lot. It’s worth adding a few to the vault for sure
#6 – Narset’s Reversal
MTG WAR Narset’s Reversal – Average Price: $7.00
Instant
Copy target instant or sorcery spell, then return it to its owner’s hand. You may choose new targets for the copy
Magic Card Investor Rating: 
I also like cards that really slap your opponent in the face when you play them. Hmmm…I’ll just copy your Exsanguinate (from Scars of Mirrodin – Each opponent loses X life. You gain life equal to the life lost this way) and win the game! It’s a great card and there are so many epic ways to change a game and swing the win to your side.Those are the kinds of cards that maintain and often grow in value over time. Just a great card and for $7.00, yep I’ll take a few and throw them in the vault.
#5 – Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God
MTG WAR Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God – Average Price: $8.00
Legendary Planeswalker — Bolas
Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God has all loyalty abilities of all other planeswalkers on the battlefield.
[+1]: You draw a card. Each opponent exiles a card from their hand or a permanent they control.
[-3]: Destroy target creature or planeswalker.
[-8]: Each opponent who doesn’t control a legendary creature or planeswalker loses the game.
Magic Card Investor Rating:
Nicol Bolas was a popular card back when War of the Spark was released and I believe it’s every bit as popular today. It’s a really powerful card and that is one of the first things to look at when looking for cards to put in your vault. If you can draw cards, kill your opponents’ creatures and ultimately win the game with one single card, you can’t go wrong. Awesome card for less than 10-bucks. Vault it.
#4 – Teferi, Time Raveler
MTG WAR Teferi, Time Raveler – Average Price: $12.00
Legendary Planeswalker — Teferi
Each opponent can cast spells only any time they could cast a sorcery.
[+1]: Until your next turn, you may cast sorcery spells as though they had flash.
[-3]: Return up to one target artifact, creature, or enchantment to its owner’s hand. Draw a card.
Magic Card Investor Rating: 
Teferi Time Raveler is just one of those cards that as soon as someone plays it, you just roll your eyes and sigh knowing the end is near. Prices were as high as $15-16 just a year ago but have rolled back a bit like everything else. However it’s still a strong card on the market and for some reason, recently it has really lit up on eBay. I believe I counted 18 sales of this card in just the last week alone! Something is up, but not sure what. For now, this is a great card and continues to do well in the market.
#3 – Karn, the Great Creator
MTG WAR Karn, the Great Creator – Average Price: $17.00
Legendary Planeswalker — Karn
Activated abilities of artifacts your opponents control can’t be activated.
[+1]: Until your next turn, up to one target noncreature artifact becomes an artifact creature with power and toughness equal to its converted mana cost.
[-2]: You may choose an artifact card you own from outside the game or in exile, reveal that card, and put it into your hand.
Magic Card Investor Rating:
For those artifact heavy decks, Karn the Great Creator is a must have. That being said, this card only works consistently in certain artifact-centric decks so that limits the card’s appeal to many players. From a collector’s point of view, it’s a cool card with awesome artwork and the foil version is even more expensive and appealing. Although this card is priced more than Teferi, Time Raveler in the #3 spot, I think Teferi is a better ‘investment’ or card worth adding to your collection or vault. Unless you’re an artifact player or collector, this one might be a hard pass unless you just gotta have it.
#2 – Liliana, Dreadhorde General
MTG WAR Liliana, Dreadhorde General – Average Price: $18.00
Legendary Planeswalker — Liliana
Whenever a creature you control dies, draw a card.
[+1]: Create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
[-4]: Each player sacrifices two creatures.
[-9]: Each opponent chooses a permanent they control of each permanent type and sacrifices the rest.
Magic Card Investor Rating:
So I definitely care what the card does from a players standpoint as that affects value, but I also rely heavily on trends, price fluctuations and what the market is telling me when it comes to cards, values and investments.
So what does the market tell me about Liliana, Dreadhorde General? So for one, we’re definitely off the highs of $30-35 back at the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022. Prices across the board on many singles have tailed back and Liliana is no different. Just in the last year alone, prices are down nearly 15%, but I don’t think that’s an indictment on Liliana so much as the overall market.
Is this card worth the current price tag of $15-18? So the first thing Liliana has going for it is it’s a Mythic Rare so there are fewer out there. The current inventory on TCGPlayer is definitely high at over 200 available though so it’s not like it’s super rare by any means. I’m by no means going overboard on this card, but adding a few to the collection or vault if you can get them priced low enough ($15 and under to me is a great deal) won’t hurt anyone.
One thing for sure. If I had a list of the Best War of the Spark Planeswalkers, Liliana, Dreadhorde General would be top of the list.
One final note: Something to consider is the artist of this card Chris Rallis has a decent following so sometimes it’s things like that which draw people into buying certain cards. Something to think about.
#1 – Finale of Devastation
MTG WAR Finale of Devastation – Average Price: $26.00
Sorcery
Search your library and/or graveyard for a creature card with converted mana cost X or less and put it onto the battlefield. If you search your library this way, shuffle it. If X is 10 or more, creatures you control get +X/+X and gain haste until end of turn.
Magic Card Investor Rating:
The number one card on the list is Finale of Devastation, a crazy powerful sorcery card where the flavor text says it all: “Some spells sing a quiet tune. Others roar.” This card definitely roars!
Finale of Devastation is great in gameplay as it can fetch any creature whether in your library or your graveyard. It’s like a Demonic Tutor on T-Rex Steroids since you can pull from the library or revive a creature from your graveyard. And although you need to put mana into casting this one, it can be a devastating (no pun intended) card since you get the added effect of giving all of your creatures +X/+X and haste until the end of the turn. Just crazy.
Prices on this card are definitely off the highs from back in August 2021. This was an easy $50 card back then, but prices have dropped quite a bit heading back into the $20’s and $30’s lately.
So why has this card lost nearly 10% of its value just in the Summer of 2023 alone? Two words – COMMANDER MASTERS. Although the original War of the Spark card is still in demand, the release of a reprint of this card in the recently released Commander Masters set has taken values down a bit. This is not totally unexpected since most cards when reprinted tend to drop in price a bit.
So all things being equal on the War of the Spark and Commander Masters versions, which of these would I prefer to own or put in the vault? That’s a tough question but I always tend to go with the original. Now I don’t know how many War of the Spark Mythic Rares were printed as compared to Commander Masters Mythic Rares, but I think time will tell which is tougher to find.
For now, I still would go with the original War of the Spark version if I were just going with buying a regular version card. However, if I wanted something funky and more scarce, I would lean towards the Borderless Foil or Etched Foil versions from Commander Masters. Both are priced about 20% more than the regular versions but there are fewer of these to be found which I like.
