Aetherdrift is here. The set went live on <a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/mtg-arena/announcements-february-10-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MTG Arena on February 11</a> — Sealed, Premier Draft, Traditional Draft, and Traditional Sealed all fired up the same day — and paper release is today, February 14. So if you've been idling at the starting line, the race has started. Meanwhile, Commander players on Magic Online got something else: a new Commander Brackets system that aims to match decks by power level. Two big pieces of news in one week. Let's run through them.

Aetherdrift — what it is and what's live

Aetherdrift is the 103rd Standard expansion: a racing set built around the "Ghirapur Grand Prix," a multi-planar death race across Avishkar (the plane formerly known as Kaladesh), Amonkhet, and Muraganda. Ten two-color teams compete for the Aetherspark prize; Chandra's in the mix, and the set ties into her story with Nissa. Wizards packed in 371 cards, vehicles, and a clear draft theme. On Arena you've got <a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/midweek-magic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Midweek Magic: Jump into Aetherdrift</a> (February 11–13), plus the usual ranked season rewards in Aetherdrift packs. Coming up: Arena Direct: Aetherdrift (February 21–23), where you can win a Collector Booster box in Sealed Best-of-One — 12 Collector Boosters plus a first-place Box Topper pack. Not bad for a weekend on the client.

Arena also clarified Special Guests rarity for crafting. Some of the bonus-sheet reprints in Aetherdrift have their wildcard rarity adjusted so you can craft them at a different tier than they appear in packs. Chrome Mox, Skysovereign, Consul Flagship, and Cavalier of Dawn are at mythic for crafting; Bone Miser, Whir of Invention, Pathbreaker Ibex, and a few others at rare; Galvanic Blast and Thoughtcast at common. So if you're chasing a specific Special Guest and don't want to crack packs, you know what wildcards to save.

One card to watch — Brightglass Gearhulk

We're not reviewing the whole set. We're pointing at one mythic that's been turning up in discussion and in early lists: Brightglass Gearhulk. A 4/4 artifact creature for {G}{G}{W}{W} with first strike and trample. When it enters, you may search your library for up to two artifact, creature, and/or enchantment cards with mana value 1 or less, reveal them, put them into your hand, then shuffle. So it's a body that refills your hand with cheap pieces — dorks, mana rocks, one-drops. In Standard and beyond it's the kind of card that can enable synergies or just grind value. We're not calling a top or a bottom. We're showing you the card and, below, a price chart for the Aetherdrift printing so you can see where the market is in the first days of release.

<figure style="margin: 24px 0; display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center; text-align: center;">
 <img src="https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/d/3dea5b45-925c-4732-8e9d-fa8232792736.jpg?1738356581" alt="Brightglass Gearhulk — Aetherdrift" style="max-width: 320px; height: auto; border-radius: 8px;" />
 <figcaption style="font-size: 0.9rem; color: #e7d79c; margin-top: 12px; opacity: 0.95;">Brightglass Gearhulk — Aetherdrift mythic. First strike, trample, and an ETB that tutors two low-cost permanents.</figcaption>
</figure>

Commander Brackets on MTGO

On February 11, Wizards and the Commander Format Panel announced the Commander Brackets system for <a href="https://www.mtgo.com/news/commander-brackets-02112025" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Magic Online</a>. The idea: give players objective guidance on deck power level so that when you sit down with strangers online, you're not stomping or getting stomped. The system uses four bracket tiers and allows deck validation in some areas (e.g. deckbuilding restrictions). Intent-based distinctions — "is this a 7?" — remain honor-system. So it's not a hard algorithm that reads your list and spits out a number; it's a framework to self-report and match more fairly. For a format that's famously fuzzy on power level, that's a step. If you play Commander on MTGO, it's worth a look.

Bottom line

Aetherdrift is in the wild on Arena and in paper. Events are live, Arena Direct is around the corner with a Collector Box on the line, and Special Guests have clear crafting rarities. Commander on MTGO has a new bracket system to help games feel a bit more even. We're not telling you to buy or sell. We're telling you what dropped this week. Scroll down for the Brightglass Gearhulk chart. Until next time — may your races be fast and your brackets be fair.

Aetherdrift hits Arena and paper, Commander Brackets land on MTGO

Dockside Extortionist had it coming. For years it was the card every Commander player loved to hate: drop it, count your opponents' artifacts and enchantments, make that many Treasures, and suddenly you're so far ahead the table might as well pack up. The Rules Committee finally pulled the trigger. Dockside is <a href="https://mtgcommander.net/index.php/2025/01/13/january-2025-update/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">banned in Commander</a>. So what happens to the price of a format-defining staple when the format says "no thanks"?

We're not here to cry for the goblin. We're here to report. The card is still legal in Legacy, Oathbreaker, and a few other places — and it just got a brand-new printing in Avatar: The Last Airbender Eternal. So you've got the original Commander 2019 version, the Double Masters 2022 reprint that was supposed to cool the market (it didn't), and now a Universes Beyond full-art that dropped months after the ban. Three printings. Three charts. Let's look at the numbers.

<figure style="margin: 24px 0;">
 <div style="display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 16px; justify-content: center;">
 <img src="https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/7/571bc9eb-8d13-4008-86b5-2e348a326d58.jpg?1615499802" alt="Dockside Extortionist — Commander 2019" style="max-width: 260px; height: auto; border-radius: 8px;" />
 <img src="https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/e/9e2e3efb-75cb-430f-b9f4-cb58f3aeb91b.jpg?1727093692" alt="Dockside Extortionist — Double Masters 2022" style="max-width: 260px; height: auto; border-radius: 8px;" />
 <img src="https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/7/c75ee954-9a94-4be2-965d-58979a560827.jpg?1764117953" alt="Dockside Extortionist — Avatar: The Last Airbender Eternal" style="max-width: 260px; height: auto; border-radius: 8px;" />
 </div>
 <figcaption style="font-size: 0.9rem; color: #e7d79c; margin-top: 12px; opacity: 0.95;">Left to right: C19 (original), 2X2, Avatar TLE. Same extortion, three flavors.</figcaption>
</figure>

Why Dockside mattered — and why the ban stung

When Dockside hit the battlefield in a typical Commander game, you were often making three, four, or more Treasures. That's ramp and fixing in one card, and it scaled with the table. In cEDH it was a combo piece. In casual it was still backbreaking. <a href="https://edhrec.com/cards/dockside-extortionist" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">EDHREC</a> had it in tens of thousands of decks. So when the RC banned it, a huge chunk of demand vanished overnight. In theory. In practice, the card had already been expensive for years — and a lot of copies had already found binders, trade piles, and Legacy sideboards.

The three printings — and what they tell you

Commander 2019 is the original. One copy per precon, and those decks were cracked for other hits too. Supply was never huge. After the 2X2 reprint, the C19 version stayed relevant for people who wanted the "first printing" or the classic art. Post-ban, it's the one that had the most to lose from Commander demand drying up — but it's also the one collectors and Legacy players still want. The chart tells the story.

Double Masters 2022 was supposed to be the "finally, we can afford it" moment. Mythic in a premium set. It did add supply, but the card was so in-demand that prices stayed high. Now that Commander's out of the equation, the 2X2 version is the workhorse for anyone still playing the card elsewhere. Expect it to be the most liquid of the three.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Eternal gave us a full-art, borderless Dockside with a brand that has nothing to do with goblins or pirates. It's the newest printing — and it landed after the ban. So Wizards was already committed to the product; the ban just made the timing awkward. If you want the fancy version and you're not playing Commander with it, this is the one. Price-wise it's been finding its level. Check the chart.

What we're watching

Bans don't always crater a card. Dockside still has a home in Legacy and Oathbreaker, and there are plenty of players who'll keep a copy for other formats or "just in case." The market has had time to digest the RC's decision. We're not calling a bottom or a top — we're saying: look at the three curves below. Compare C19 to 2X2 to TLE. Toggle regular vs foil. The ban happened; the cardboard is still out there, and the numbers don't lie.

Until next time — keep those Treasures counted. Just not in Commander.

Dockside Extortionist — banned in Commander, but the market hasn't forgotten

Ledger Shredder is one of those cards that looked good on spoiler season and then actually delivered. A 1/3 flyer for one blue and one generic that connives whenever any player casts their second spell each turn — so it draws you a card, lets you pitch a nonland to grow it, and punishes slow, one-spell-per-turn games. In Modern and Pioneer it slotted into tempo and spell-heavy shells almost immediately. In Commander it’s a solid value piece in <a href="https://edhrec.com/route/?cc=Ledger+Shredder" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tens of thousands of decks</a>. So when we talk about price, we’re talking about a card that never really “failed” — it just got more expensive until Wizards gave us another version.

That version was Special Guests in 2024: borderless, full-art, Volkan Bağa art. Same card, different packaging. The original from Streets of New Capenna (2022) is still the one most people crack or buy for play. The Special Guests copy is the one you get when you want the bird to look as good as it plays. Below we’ll show you both — and the charts that go with them.

<figure style="margin: 24px 0;">
 <div style="display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 16px; justify-content: center;">
 <img src="https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/e/7ea4b5bc-18a4-45db-a56a-ab3f8bd2fb0d.jpg?1664410287" alt="Ledger Shredder — Streets of New Capenna" style="max-width: 260px; height: auto; border-radius: 8px;" />
 <img src="https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/0/c0564116-24c1-4b5d-bb9e-a0828fe164b7.jpg?1722644534" alt="Ledger Shredder — Special Guests" style="max-width: 260px; height: auto; border-radius: 8px;" />
 </div>
 <figcaption style="font-size: 0.9rem; color: #e7d79c; margin-top: 12px; opacity: 0.95;">Left: SNC (Mila Pesic). Right: Special Guests (Volkan Bağa). Same bird, two very different price tags.</figcaption>
</figure>

Why the Shredder took off

Connive is a deceptively strong mechanic. You’re not just drawing — you’re filtering. In formats where the second spell per turn is normal (cantrips, cheap interaction, multiple threats), the Shredder grows and refills your hand. In Commander, it’s a cheap evasive body that rewards the table for doing what they were going to do anyway. So demand was real from day one. Streets of New Capenna was opened a lot, but the card was a rare in a set that had a lot of other hits. Over time, as it became a format staple, the price crept up. No standard-set reprint since then — just the Special Guests treatment, which is a premium product. So the “play” copy is still the SNC one; the “flex” copy is the borderless Bağa.

What the two printings tell you

The New Capenna version is the workhorse. It’s the one you see in most lists and the one that moves in volume. Its price reflects that: it’s come down from the early hype but it’s still a real card with a real price. The Special Guests version is rarer and prettier. It’s mythic in that slot, and it was never going to flood the market. So you get the usual split: the standard printing is the one most people buy to play; the premium printing is the one that holds a higher price and appeals to collectors and “bling” builders. We’re not telling you to buy or sell — we’re telling you to look at the charts below and see how each printing has behaved. Toggle regular vs foil on both. The story’s in the curves.

What we’re watching

Ledger Shredder has not yet been dropped into a standard booster set or a Commander precon. If and when that happens, you’d expect the SNC copy to feel it first — more supply of “the same card” usually softens the most common version. The Special Guests copy might hold up better because it’s a distinct product. Until then, the bird is still a format staple and the two printings are the two data points that matter. Check the charts, compare the timelines, and decide for yourself. The Gazette will keep an eye on the shredder — and on whatever ledger Wizards decides to open next.

Ledger Shredder — from New Capenna to Special Guests, the bird that connives

Orcish Bowmasters does one thing and does it brutally: flash in, punish anyone who draws extra cards, amass Orcs. In Modern it’s a format staple. In Commander it’s in <a href="https://edhrec.com/cards/orcish-bowmasters" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tens of thousands of decks</a> and sits around <a href="https://edhrec.com/cards/orcish-bowmasters" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">EDHREC rank 244</a> — not “every deck” territory, but “every deck that wants to punish draw” territory. And there’s still only one paper printing: the original from Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. No reprint, no special guests, no “Lorwyn Eclipsed” moment. So the price has had nowhere to go but up and sideways.

<figure style="margin: 24px 0; display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center; text-align: center;">
 <img src="https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/c/7c024bae-5631-4e20-ac69-df392ac9e109.jpg?1745319944" alt="Orcish Bowmasters — LTR" style="max-width: 320px; height: auto; border-radius: 8px;" />
 <figcaption style="font-size: 0.9rem; color: #e7d79c; margin-top: 12px; opacity: 0.95;">The only paper printing. Still doing the work.</figcaption>
</figure>

We’re not here to tell you to buy or sell. We’re here to point out the obvious: when a card is this good and this scarce, the chart tells a story. Check the graph below — regular vs foil — and see where it’s been. If Wizards ever reprints it in a standard set or a Commander product, that’s when the floor might shift. Until then, the orcs are still at the gate.

So: one card, one chart. No fancy “three printings” breakdown this time. Just the boogeyman and the numbers.

Orcish Bowmasters — still the boogeyman

Remember when The One Ring dropped and the world lost its mind? Four mana, indestructible, protection from everything for a turn, then draw a card per burden counter. Modern folded around it. The price went to the moon. Then Wizards banned it in Modern. The rest of the world kept playing it in Commander, Legacy, and anywhere else it was legal. A year on, the Ring’s still one of the most talked-about cards in the game — and the market’s had time to settle. Sort of.

We’re not here to relitigate the ban. We’re here to report where the cardboard landed. The main-set printing from Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is the one most people cracked from draft boosters. The Holiday / Poster version (Justine Jones art, borderless, the one that looked like it belonged in a frame) became the chase. Two different price stories. Below you’ll see both — toggle regular vs foil and see how they’ve moved since the hype (and the ban).

<figure style="margin: 24px 0;">
 <div style="display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 16px; justify-content: center;">
 <img src="https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/5/d5806e68-1054-458e-866d-1f2470f682b2.jpg?1763472900" alt="The One Ring — LTR main set" style="max-width: 260px; height: auto; border-radius: 8px;" />
 <img src="https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/0/10a4e202-b564-4ac8-8bdf-a2a563662563.jpg?1695503941" alt="The One Ring — Holiday Poster" style="max-width: 260px; height: auto; border-radius: 8px;" />
 </div>
 <figcaption style="font-size: 0.9rem; color: #e7d79c; margin-top: 12px; opacity: 0.95;">Left: LTR main set (Veli Nyström). Right: Holiday / Poster (Justine Jones). Same ring, very different price tags.</figcaption>
</figure>

What actually happened

At launch, the main-set Ring was scarce and expensive. Then supply caught up. The Modern ban took some heat off demand — but Commander and other formats kept it relevant. So the “normal” printing came down from the stratosphere and found a floor. It’s still not cheap. It’s just not “sell your car” anymore.

The Holiday / Poster version was always the premium. Limited distribution, unique art, the one collectors wanted. That one never really crashed. It’s the Ring for people who want the Ring and don’t care what it costs. We’ve seen this before: the playable version normalizes, the pretty version stays stupid. The charts below show both. Draw your own conclusions.

Why it still matters

The card is legitimately powerful. Protection from everything for a turn is absurd. Drawing a pile of cards and paying life over time is exactly what combo and control decks want. So even with the Modern ban, the Ring isn’t going away. If you’re in the market for a copy — for Commander, say — the main-set printing is the one most people buy. The Poster version is for flex. We’re not telling you to buy or sell. We’re telling you to look at the data.

Conclusion

One year in, The One Ring is still heavy — on the table and on the wallet. Supply and the ban did what they do: the main version settled, the premium version stayed premium. Check the charts, toggle foil, and see where your printing sits. The Gazette will keep watching. One ring to rule them all? More like one ring to make us all check the price again.

The HoardGate Gazette

Magic: The Gathering — Latest

Aetherdrift hits Arena and paper, Commander Brackets land on MTGO

Dockside Extortionist — banned in Commander, but the market hasn't forgotten

Ledger Shredder — from New Capenna to Special Guests, the bird that connives

Orcish Bowmasters — still the boogeyman

The One Ring — one year later, still heavy