16 Most Valuable Invasion Cards
Chris Guest • June 24, 2025
Collective Restraint | Illustrated by Alan Rabinowitz
Invasion was Magic: The Gathering's 21st set, and it released in October of 2000. The entire Invasion block represented the conclusion to the long-running Weatherlight Saga in Magic lore, and the cards found within this set boast an impressively high median value.
Multiple Commander staples can be found herein, alongside notable legendary creatures and unusual, scarce effects throughout Magic's history. Read on to invade this list of the most valuable cards from a classic Magic set, and, as always, watch out for the Phyrexians.
Note: All prices come via TCGPlayer's Market Price History over the past calendar year and are subject to change.
16. Tangle
Market Price: $6.51, Foil: $81.00
Normally, these lists have 15 cards, but my love of Fog-style effects trumps that normalcy, I'm afraid. This card is simply brilliant, from its “green Time Walk” impact to its hauntingly beautiful John Avon art. Never reprinted except for on The List, it's no wonder that the original printing of this uncommon “turbo fog” enabler retains a high price point 25 years after it released.
15. Dueling Grounds
Market Price: $7.34, Foil: $40.02
An exceedingly flavorful card that turns the combat step into a simple one-on-one arena, this effect can be found on only two other cards across Magic's vast history (one of which is only situational).
Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist (one of the best Cats for Commander) delivers this effect only if she's attacking and/or tapped, and the four-mana 1/5 Construct artifact creature Silent Arbiter is a straight-up reprint of Dueling Grounds in creature form. Either way, the effect that the Grounds has on a game of Magic cannot be overstated; hence its hefty price point.
14. Mages' Contest
Market Price: $7.53, Foil: $26.73
You ever wanted to counter a spell for but wanted to make it more interesting? Enter Mages' Contest! This wacky spell, the likes of which you're unlikely to ever see again in a mainline Magic release (especially at rare), can counter a spell, but it makes you bid life for the benefit.
The fun and strategic part of this card is the fact that you can lose the “auction,” but if you do, the spell's caster loses life equal to the amount of life that they bid. A truly bonkers card, and an immensely fun one if you want to add a little trickery or a gambling element to your Magic deck.
13. Teferi's Response
Market Price: $8.17, Foil: $27.93
Rishadan Port, the most valuable card from Mercadian Masques, was a scourge across Magic's competitive scene during its heyday, so much so that Wizards of the Coast had to ban it in the now-defunct Block Constructed format.
As such, numerous cards in Invasion were direct reactions to the omnipresence of Rishadan Port in the competitive sphere. One such card was Teferi's Response, which countered either a spell or ability your foe controlled that targeted a land you control. If a permanent's ability was countered, the permanent was destroyed. Either way, for your trouble and the low, low cost of you also got to draw two cards! Now that's what I call a cantrip.
12. Empress Galina
Market Price: $8.62, Foil: $72.49
As has been mentioned many, many times by now, Magic has seen a notable uptick in the number of legendary creatures that are printed, and it makes sense. As Commander became the most common way to introduce people to the game, providing more variety in their choices made sense.
Back in 2000, after Invasion released, there were a total of 151 legendary creatures printed from Legends (the first set in which legendary creatures appeared) to Invasion. Let's call them the “original 151.” Empress Galina, a legendary Merfolk Noble for can steal any legendary permanent for the supremely low price of and tapping. Seeing as Commander games are chock-full of legendary cards (both commanders and within the 99), it makes sense that the Empress remains a potent threat and quite valuable even today.
11. Do or Die
Market Price: $9.08, Foil: $32.09
The unnamed “divvy” mechanic in Invasion caused players to separate various cards into two stacks. One effect happened to one stack, and another effect occurred for the other stack.
Do or Die is among the most potent of these “divvy” cards, and it retains the highest price point among any of them on today's market, though Fact or Fiction was the competitive darling of a variety of decks during its heyday, including Domain and Psychatog.
10. Elvish Champion
Market Price: $9.77, Foil: $89.75
While not the actual first “lord” for Elf creatures – that honor goes to the big daddy himself, Eladamri, Lord of Leaves from Tempest – this three-mana 2/2 Elf creature from Invasion was the first Elf lord that actually boosted the power and toughness of Elves in addition to bestowing a keyword.
Of course, like all “lords” from this era of Magic, it boosts the power and toughness of all Elves, not just the ones you control, but it's still a potent boost and it retains a certain cachet as the first nonlegendary Elf lord in Magic's history. As such, a near-$10 price sounds right (despite not being a top Elf card for Commander).
9. Crystal Spray
Market Price: $11.06, Foil: $59.87
An interesting and fun effect that has not been seen in Magic since 2013's Dragon's Maze (Trait Doctoring), this three-mana cantrip instant can change both a “color word or basic land type” mentioned on a spell or permanent to another one.
Clearly, Magic's designers are not overly interested in these finicky and niche effects, but players still clamor for them, as this card marks the first on our list that reaches the double-digit price tag threshold. Also, it's part of a fun infinite combo with Teysa, Orzhov Scion:
8. Tsabo's Web
Market Price: $11.20, Foil: $57.72
Another card that was designed to hose the domineering Rishadan Port, this two-mana artifact nets you a card upon entering (sweet) and also locks down any land with a non-mana-producing activated ability. Port? Gone. Maze's End? Nah. Even the hallowed halls of Library of Alexandria are not safe from getting wrapped up in the Web.
Combine this with another oppressive web – Mana Web from Weatherlight (one of that set's most valuable cards) – and you can create a nearly impenetrable lock in which no one will be able to do anything. Sounds fun, right? Ah, the joys of Magic truly are limitless.
7. Vile Consumption
Market Price: $11.61, Foil: $31.91
A nearly forgotten card, this rare enchantment for could be obtained for roughly $1.25 in early May, but that was a pre-Final Fantasy universe. After the reveal of Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, this card spiked dramatically and rocketed into the top 10 of Invasion's most valuable.
Giving a static clause that can ping your foe for one life for each creature they control each turn is a solid boon in general, and when paired with Y'shtola, you're in a good position to be drawing an extra card on each player's end step. Not bad gains for an obscure 25-year-old enchantment.
6. Collective Restraint
Market Price: $12.09, Foil: $70.99
A dominant card in the hugely successful and popular competitive Domain deck from Invasion block, this card was a situational Propaganda that could actually reach even loftier heights as long as you had at least three basic land types in play.
In Invasion block's Domain deck, you almost always had all five land types in play, so it was trivial for this card to act as a brick wall against your opponents' attacks. Even if they could pay for one creature or perhaps a staggering for two, it likely wouldn't be worth it, as you could just Repulse one of them back to hand and block the other. A bulwark protector for Domain.
5. Spreading Plague
Market Price: $12.58, Foil: $120.75
An extremely oppressive card, Spreading Plague destroys ALL creatures that share a color with any creature that enters play (though not the creature itself). The other demon of Masques block was Rebels, and this card was designed explicitly to deal with that scourge.
While clunky, this card does pair well with other annoyingly oppressive black enchantments, like Attrition, Grave Pact, No Mercy, and Call to the Grave, to create a board state in which it is nearly impossible for any creature to survive longer than one second, let alone a whole turn.
4. Coalition Victory
Market Price: $16.42, Foil: $119.25
The recently unbanned-in-Commander Coalition Victory is a fun and relatively easy way to win the game on the spot, though its immense mana value can be somewhat prohibitive.
Before being unbanned, this card could be had for a relative pittance. After its unbanning, its price skyrocketed – as one would expect – due to the relative ease with which it is to attain this board state. Just plop down a Cromat and throw a Nylea's Presence on one of your basics, then cast this for the win. Better yet, have Leyline of the Guildpact in your opening hand!
3. Captain Sisay
Market Price: $17.47, Foil: $103.11
Much like Empress Galina, Captain Sisay was designed and printed before legendary creatures numbered well into the thousands. As such, this card's activated ability costing no mana would likely not be seen again in modern Magic.
Though a 2/2 for is a little steep, being able to seek out any legendary card from your deck for free is pretty sweet. Do note that it's legendary “card” not “permanent,” so the Captain can even go find legendary sorceries, like Karn's Temporal Sundering or Yawgmoth's Vile Offering.
2. Aura Shards
Market Price: $19.64, Foil: $90.43
The second-most valuable card from Invasion was, surprisingly, printed at uncommon and has seen extremely scarce reprints over the years, only appearing in Commander 2011, on The List and as part of a fairly unpopular 2024 Secret Lair Drop.
Being able to nuke any artifact or enchantment whenever a creature you control enters is a massive gain, especially if you're playing any number of notable commanders who enjoy tons of tokens entering the battlefield, like Jetmir, Nexus of Revels (one of the best Cat cards for Commander).
1. Phyrexian Altar
Market Price: $48.92, Foil: $215.08
The top spot on the list goes to this iconic three-mana artifact that features an effect similar to another altar: Ashnod's Altar. Instead of sacrificing a creature and getting , for the Invasion version, you get the more fitting “one mana of any color.”
While the reduction in amount of mana received might sound like a drawback, colored mana often goes a long way further than colorless. Just look at the simple Zombie-focused combo below with the Altar and Gravecrawler (one of the best Zombie cards for Commander). In fact, the Altar is so efficient and effective that it is featured in a staggering 2,585 combos on Commander Spellbook!
The Invasion Has Begun…
And that concludes Invasion's most valuable cards. This was a fun tromp down memory lane, as when I was a youth, I had full-blown Magic fever by the time this set released. Up next, Invasion's intriguing, enjoyable follow-up set: 2001's Planeshift. Thanks for joining us, and catch you next time!
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