Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer — still the monkey that stole Modern

Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer is a one-mana 2/1 that steals the top of your library and makes a Treasure when it connects. In Modern it’s been a format-defining threat since the day it dropped in Modern Horizons 2. In Legacy they banned it. In Commander it’s in tens of thousands of decks. So when Wizards gave it more printings — Multiverse Legends in March of the Dinosaurs, then Timeshifts, then even a Final Fantasy skin — you’d think the market might finally cool off. You’d be wrong.

We’re not here to defend the monkey. We’re here to report. The original MH2 version is still the one most people think of: the card that made “turn one Ragavan” a sentence that wins games. The Multiverse Legends showcase gave us a fancy alternate with different art and a halo treatment. Both have stayed expensive. Below you’ll see both printings and the charts that go with them. Toggle regular vs foil. The story’s in the curves.

Why Ragavan never really got cheap

Demand is simple: the card is absurd in every format where it’s legal. Dash means you’re not just playing a 2/1 — you’re threatening to steal a card and ramp every turn. Modern aggro and tempo decks want it. Commander decks that care about combat or Treasures want it. Supply has gone up with reprints, but the play pattern is so strong that the floor has stayed high. The Legacy ban didn’t kill the card; it just moved demand to Modern and Commander. So even with Multiverse Legends and other printings, “budget Ragavan” is still a relative term.

What the two printings tell you

The MH2 version is the workhorse. It’s the one from draft boosters and the one most players associate with the card. Its price reflects that: it’s the baseline. The Multiverse Legends version is the bling — showcase frame, different art, rarer in the wild. So you get the usual split: the original is the one most people buy to play; the MUL version is the one that holds a premium for collectors and players who want the fancy copy. 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.

What we’re watching

Ragavan has now appeared in MH2, Multiverse Legends, Modern Horizons 2 Timeshifts, and a Final Fantasy Universes Beyond printing. More supply is in the pipeline every time Wizards needs a chase mythic. That said, as long as the card is legal in Modern and Commander, demand will keep a floor under the price. If you’re in the market, the MH2 copy is still the default play copy; the MUL showcase is for flex. Check the charts, compare the timelines, and decide for yourself. The Gazette will keep an eye on the monkey — and on whatever reprint Wizards drops next.