15 Most Valuable Stronghold Cards

Sliver Queen | Illustrated by Ron Spencer

1998's Stronghold was the second set from Tempest block and introduced a wide variety of intriguing cards and mechanics. This set is where Slivers truly took off, and it also introduced the first-ever WUBRG () card via the first (and arguably best) Sliver lord: Sliver Queen.

Speaking of gold cards, Stronghold was the last set to feature gold cards until the multicolored smorgasbord of Invasion block, meaning Magic did without two-colored cards for two straight blocks (Urza's and Masques). Do any of those gold cards make the list of the 15 most valuable Stronghold cards, though? Let's find out!

Note: All prices come via TCGPlayer's Market Price History over the past calendar year and are subject to change. Foil cards didn't exist until Urza's Legacy, so no cards of that ilk are here.

15. Mogg Infestation

Market Price: $4.53

An interesting, albeit flawed, one-sided board wipe in red for , Mogg Infestation destroys all creatures target player controls... with the caveat that each of those creatures is replaced by two 1/1 Goblin tokens.

Oftentimes, that won't be a problem, but if an opponent has a super-wide board, replacing each one of their creatures with two other ones might not be the best idea. Of course, you can always play it on yourself if you're a Goblin kindred enjoyer!

14. Tortured Existence

Market Price: $4.81

Shockingly printed at common in Stronghold is this powerful recursion machine that only requires a single and discarding a creature card to activate.

With such a low activation cost and no limits to how many times you can activate, Tortured Existence allows you to go infinite in a number of ways, perhaps the spiciest being with poison counters and Syr Konrad, the Grim:

13. Ruination

Market Price: $5.08

Magic as we know it would be far less playable without the influx of nonbasic lands. Sure, basic lands have their place, but it's far more satisfying (and powerful) to play a shock land or fetch land rather than a vanilla Island or Plains. Ruination says “no can do's-ville, baby doll” to any strategies involving nonbasics.

Opponent playing a Landfall deck? Ruination doesn't care. Destroying all lands (even just nonbasic ones), while not as common these days as it used to be in the world of Magic, is still a potent effect, and Ruination does the job extremely well.

12. Mortuary

Market Price: $5.47

So far, there is one notable thing that the Tempest block has done better than any Magic set before or after: reanimation and recursion. This enchantment for furthers that argument. While the deceased creature card only goes back on top of your library, that still means you'll get back any of your threats for no extra cost other than the four-mana investment up front.

11. Awakening

Market Price: $6.47

A dynamite green enchantment that puts everyone on an equal playing field by untapping all creatures during each upkeep. This type of effect got Wilderness Reclamation banned in Standard during its heyday (and still banned in Pioneer and the Arena-only Historic format), so it's no surprise that a similar, symmetrical effect commands an over-$6 price tag on the secondary market today.

10. Hermit Druid

Market Price: $10.85

An incredible combo-enabler due to the fact that it can mill your entire library so long as you don't have any basic lands in there, Hermit Druid remains a potent infinite combo threat in modern Magic alongside various other cards:

This Human Druid for has only been reprinted in non-promo formats two other times: once on The List and once in 2025's Innistrad Remastered. That scarcity combined with a powerful effect makes for the first $10-plus card herein.

9. Ensnaring Bridge

Market Price: $12.66

Cards that ice out players from attacking are far less common than they used to be, and Stronghold boasts two pretty amazing options on that front (back-to-back on this list, no less), with the three-mana artifact Ensnaring Bridge leading the charge.

Denying any player (including yourself) the opportunity to attack depending on the number of cards in your hand can lead to a truly frightening lock. While this card has seen a few notable reprints, most of them are rather hard to find, such as being part of the Kaladesh Inventions bonus sheet or stylized as Bridge of Khazad-dûm in Tales of Middle-earth Commander, leading to this artifact's fairly lofty price point.

8. Constant Mists

Market Price: $17.32

An uncommon worth over $17 is sure to raise some eyebrows, but there's only three other uncommons in Magic history with a free buyback cost (Flowstone Flood, Pegasus Stampede, and Slaughter) and Constant Mists blows all of those out of the water (or mist, in this case).

Being able to negate an opponent's attack repeatedly, at the cost of only and a sacrificed land, is an absolute bargain… and an extremely oppressive playstyle, hence why this card saw its first and only reprint in 2025 as part of a Secret Lair Drop.

7. Horn of Greed

Market Price: $18.00

In case you were wondering, in Magic, it's generally helpful to hit your land drops and draw more cards than your opponents. Why not combine the two for an entire Commander pod, all in a three-mana artifact?

This is exactly what Horn of Greed provides, as it lets all players (not just you) draw cards whenever they play a land. As one can foresee, combining this card with extra land drops is often an express ticket to victoryville. It has also seen scant reprints (just Conspiracy and a Secret Lair Drop), so a near-$20 price tag makes sense.

6. Grave Pact

Market Price: $19.20

A terrific Commander card, especially in Aristocrats decks, this enchantment ensures you are heavily playing black with its casting cost, but the payoff is totally worth it. Forcing all foes to sacrifice a creature whenever one of yours dies is a massive boon, and, as such, it boasts an impressive price point despite seeing quite a few reprints over the years.

The Stronghold version is the only one featuring the intriguing art by Scott Kirschner from the point of view of someone actually in a grave, making it an enticing option for collectors who are willing to spend close to $20 on near-mint copies of it.

5. Dream Halls

Market Price: $23.81

An extremely unusual and powerful card that will surely never see a reprint (despite not featuring on the Reserved List), Dream Halls costs a decent chunk at , but the payoff is being able to cast any of your spells for free by instead discarding a card that shares a color with it.

As you would expect, this can lead to some niche yet nifty infinite combos, the best of which rely on the Eidolon cycle from Dissension combined with “gating” creatures like Sawtooth Loon or Shivan Wurm (one of the most valuable cards from Planeshift).

4. Burgeoning

Market Price: $34.83

Stronghold is home to two amazing Landfall-impacting cards, but the better of the two is Burgeoning, due to its low, low cost (a simple ) as well as the fact that it ramps only you. This enchantment is incredible in Commander, as it lets you ramp like crazy while your foes sit idly by, staring blankly at their one or two measly lands.

Having only been reprinted a few times, Burgeoning's original printing in Stronghold retains a fairly hefty price tag close to $35, and due to its sheer scarcity and power, it's easy to see why.

3. Volrath's Stronghold

Market Price: $101.44

As we've seen time and time again, one-off nonbasic lands from older Magic sets tend to be worth quite a bit, even ones that are relatively pedestrian by today's standards (looking at you, Undiscovered Paradise, one of the most valuable Visions cards).

Volrath's Stronghold, on the other hand, is far from pedestrian. An infinitely activatable recursion machine sure sounds attractive, and the meager activation cost of makes this card one of the best utility recursion lands in Magic history, likely leading to its over-$100 price point.

2. Sliver Queen

Market Price: $285.05

Whew… now that's a price tag! As you might expect, Magic's first ever legendary Sliver creature as well as the first card with a WUBRG () casting cost is worth close to $300 on the secondary market, and it remains a notable chase card for vintage Magic collectors.

Despite other Sliver lords being more powerful, Sliver Queen being the first – as well as boasting truly incredible art from legendary Magic illustrator Ron Spencer – means that this card will always be a hot commodity. Hoping to get it with a PSA 10 grade? Get ready to shell out over $1,500!

1. Mox Diamond

Market Price: $647.46

How can Sliver Queen be bested, at least when it comes to value? When a set also boasts a Mox! That's right, Stronghold is also home to one of the most beloved and sought-after Moxen of all time: Mox Diamond.

While it does come with the drawback of having to discard a land, it nets you one mana of any color, making it arguably better than the original Moxen from the Power Nine. Surprisingly, Mox Diamond is the card in Stronghold's top two that has been reprinted, but that was only in From the Vault: Relics, with that foil-only version actually being more valuable than this one ($837.88). Still, close to $650 is incredible, and makes it a true showpiece among Magic collectors.

You've Really Got a Stronghold On Me

One of the more interesting sets from Magic's past, Stronghold is home to some truly banger cards, as well as far more bizarre ones. While Sliver Queen and Mox Diamond surely nab the headlines, there is value to be found herein, as you never know what new printing will send obscure cards from this set skyrocketing value-wise. Thanks for reading!

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