15 Most Valuable Elemental Cards

Elemental Spectacle | Illustrated by Aldo Domínguez

Elementals are a heavily populated creature type across Magic history, and they date back all the way to the game’s first set, Alpha, in which a number of notable Elementals were present.

An intriguing creature type that represents various elements or elemental forces personified, these colorful creatures later received heavy typal support in the original Lorwyn block and in the recent Lorwyn Eclipsed expansion. But what are the most valuable ones across the game’s history? Go ahead and pay the evoke cost and let’s take a look.

15. Fire Elemental – Alpha

Market Price: $122.82

The somewhat suggestive artwork courtesy of Melissa A. Benson undergirds a vanilla 5/4 creature for , though this card’s incredible flavor text still hits hard: “Fire Elementals are ruthless infernos, annihilating and consuming their foes in a frenzied holocaust.”

14. Thunder Spirit – Legends

Market Price: $123.38

A remarkably good rate for a creature this old, this 2/2 flyer with first strike for was originally printed as a rare since it was regarded as such a well-statted creature from the era.

This card has never been reprinted since its inception in 1994’s Legends, though the beloved Time Spiral set gave it a pseudo-reprint as a white mana rock that could technically turn into this creature: Thunder Totem.

13. Moonshadow (Japan Showcase Fracture Foil) – Lorwyn Eclipsed

Market Price: $152.76

This dynamite one-mana black Elemental compares favorably to Modern-format terror Death's Shadow and is currently making waves in Standard in several graveyard- and mill-related strategies.

The most valuable version of the card, not unexpectedly, is the Japan Showcase Fracture Foil rendition, which boasts singular artwork in an anime-esque style finished with the eye-catching fracture foil finish. A gorgeous card.

12. Titania, Protector of Argoth (Future Frame) – Mystery Booster 2

Market Price: $173.42

Mystery Booster 2 released a plethora of legendary creatures in the well-regarded “future frame” with exclusive artworks that had originally only been found on oversized “Vanguard Series” cards.

As you might expect, these singular artworks anchor some of the most valuable cards from 2024’s Mystery Booster 2, with this rendition of Titania being the most valuable Elemental among them. Rebecca Guay artwork never disappoints, and this creature fits the bill.

11. Muldrotha, the Gravetide (Japan Showcase Fracture Foil) – Foundations

Market Price: $234.83

The #37-ranked commander on EDHREC, this Sultai () Elemental Avatar lets you more or less play your graveyard as if it were your hand so long as you want to cast a permanent or play a land therein.

It might surprise you to learn that this card was actually reprinted in Foundations, since it hasn’t made a dent in the Standard format despite being such a popular commander. Either way, if you want to bling out your Muldrotha deck, the best option is this over-$200 Japan Showcase Fracture Foil version.

10. Yarok, the Desecrated (Serialized Multiverse Legends) – March of the Machine

Market Price: $431.14

A surprising early entry herein from a serialized card, another Sultai banger commander follows up Muldrotha with, arguably, a splashier and more interesting text box than that classic Commander option.

This Panharmonicon-on-a-stick actually ups the ante from that four-mana artifact by causing any of your permanents' entering abilities to get doubled. That can range from fun ramp, via lands like Brokers Hideout or Obscura Storefront, or mass casualties, such as forcing foes to sacrifice six creatures with Portal to Phyrexia. Good times!

9. Grief // Anima (Bonus Card) – Various 2025 Final Fantasy Secret Lair Drops

Market Price: $436.81

The Elemental Incarnations from Modern Horizons 2 are widely regarded as some of the best creatures of all time, as they tack legitimate bodies onto some of the most iconic spells of all time.

In black’s case, Grief received a life-loss-free version of Thoughtseize, which is pretty darn bonkers. This Bonus Card from a number of 2025 Secret Lair Drops boasts amazing, thematic artwork of this notable Final Fantasy Summon from Anna Pavleeva.

8. Endurance // Magus Sisters (Bonus Card) – Various 2025 Final Fantasy Secret Lair Drops

Market Price: $477.36

This graveyard hate piece green creature follows in the footsteps of black’s Elemental Incarnation Bonus Card from Final Fantasy Secret Lair Drops, though it has actually shot up in price over the past few months, overtaking Grief // Anima in terms of value.

Where it used to be the least valuable, though still over $300, it is now rapidly approaching a lofty $500 price point on the secondary market. Secret Lair Bonus Cards with unique artwork often equate to big bucks.

7. Lutri, the Spellchaser (Serialized Multiverse Legends) – March of the Machine

Market Price: $483.33

The second of three serialized cards from March of the Machine’s Multiverse Legends bonus sheet, Lutri, the Spellchaser was among the most notable creatures with the companion mechanic from Ikoria: Lair of the Behemoths.

This beloved Elemental Otter was so potent, in fact, that it had to be preemptively banned in Commander due to its companion clause being innate to the structure of the format itself. Of course, with power creep ever rising, this cute little fella was unbanned in 2026.

6. Zirda, the Dawnwaker (Serialized Multiverse Legends) – March of the Machine

Market Price: $512.49

Two straight serialized companion creatures originally found in Ikoria: Lair of the Behemoths just miss out on the top five of this list, with this Boros hybrid () Elemental Fox worth about $30 more than Lutri.

While this card is already potent, and its striking Justine Mara Andersen art doesn’t skimp on eye appeal, this writer wishes activated abilities could be reduced to below one mana with this Elemental’s static effect… though it would probably be too easy to go infinite then.

5. Fury // Ifrit (Bonus Card) – Various 2025 Final Fantasy Secret Lair Drops

Market Price: $522.12

4. Solitude // Yojimbo (Bonus Card) – Various 2025 Final Fantasy Secret Lair Drops

Market Price: $594.85

The Bonus Card Elemental Incarnations from Final Fantasy Secret Lairs continue to see massive gains on the secondary market, with these two tilting the scales as the second- and third-most valuable.

Fury takes Flametongue Kavu’s ability and ratchets it up a notch, and Solitude tacks on the Premodern and Commander favorite Swords to Plowshares to a 3/2 creature with flash and lifelink. Combine that with stunning artwork of two memorable FF Summons, and near-$600 price tags don’t seem that far-fetched.

3. Lumra, Bellow of the Woods (Japanese Raised Foil Anime Card) – Bloomburrow

Market Price: $656.76

While this isn’t the first Magic crossover with the Pokémon TCG (that would be this Mewtwo promo illustrated by longtime Magic contributor Christopher Rush), this Elemental Bear from 2024’s well-received Bloomburrow set is the first Magic card illustrated by one of the icons of PTCG art: Mitsuhiro Arita, who is responsible for the instantly recognizable Base Set Charizard art.

While Arita did receive his own Secret Lair Drop after this card released, this stunning artwork featuring one of the Calamity Beasts retains a certain cachet, seeing as Japanese Raised Foil Anime Cards from Bloomburrow were the top chase cards from that expansion.

2. Subtlety // Shiva (Bonus Card) – Various 2025 Final Fantasy Secret Lair Drops

Market Price: $719.53

The most valuable of Final Fantasy’s Elemental Incarnation Bonus Cards comes courtesy of the Shiva Summon, with tremendous artwork from Luisa J. Preissler, who has only illustrated 11 cards in her Magic career in her strikingly photorealistic style.

This art, in particular, reminds me of when I began playing the game around Sixth Edition, when cards like Ethereal Champion seemed incredibly mysterious and alluring. Despite that allure being present on this Secret Lair Bonus Card, over $700 sounds a bit steep, but that’s simply the going rate for this dynamite Elemental these days.

1. Force of Nature – Alpha

Market Price: $1,111.57

Much like the most valuable Knight cards ever, the priciest Elementals in Magic tend to reward players who appreciate the game’s oldest cardboard. At the top of that list is Force of Nature, one of Alpha’s most memorable green creatures and a card that still looks and feels iconic.

An 8/8 trampler for six mana, Force of Nature was never subtle. The catch was its punishing upkeep cost: unless you paid every turn, it dealt you a whopping eight damage. That combination of raw power, old-school drawback, and Alpha scarcity combined with the immediately recognizable Douglas Shuler artwork all help this card reach a lofty price point above $1,000.

It’s Elementals, My Dear WoTC

And there you have it! Elementals remain an indelible part of Magic, in terms of both lore and gameplay, and the recent return of Elemental Commander classic Ashling in Lorwyn Eclipsed only reiterate that this will be a notable creature type in the game for years to come. Thanks for reading and catch you next time.