Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
Conjured Currency: navigating the market for a blue gem from Return to Ravnica
Blue has long been the home of political mind games in Magic: The Gathering, and Conjured Currency leans hard into that flavor. With a mana cost of 5U and a rarity labeled rare, this enchantment from Return to Ravnica isn't flashy in the same way as a hive-miring planeswalker, but it rewards careful planning and clever table talk. Its shiny aura in your mana curve is simple: at the beginning of your upkeep, you may exchange control of this enchantment and a permanent you neither own nor control. In Commander, that’s a mini-levitation spell for the board—one that keeps the table guessing and your opponents honest, or at least hungry to outwit each other 🧙♂️🔥.
For collectors, the card’s blue identity and the regal Steve Argyle illustration give it a certain collector appeal. It’s foil-friendly, too, with foil versions listed alongside non-foil in the market, offering a bit of sparkle for your next deck tech. At price points hovering in the low single digits, Conjured Currency isn’t a budget-breaking staple, but it’s the kind of artifact that finds a niche in casual metas and high-variance political builds alike. The flavor text—“A bargain in Keyhole Downs is always too good to be true.”—reminds us that in any negotiation, trust is a currency all its own 🧭🎲.
Where the best bets live for buying or trading
- TCGPlayer — The big marketplace hub where you can gauge condition, foil status, and price at a glance. Conjured Currency appears in listings across non-foil and foil prints, letting you weigh downgrade or upgrade paths depending on your budget and collection goals. If you’re trying to stay within a Commander budget while keeping a solid blue granular control engine, this is often your first stop. See a direct listing here: TCGPlayer listing for Conjured Currency.
- CardMarket (EU) — For players on the European side of the pond, CardMarket continues to be a reliable venue for both singles and price transparency. The European market often shows slightly different foil dynamics or shipping timeframes, which can influence what you’re willing to pay or trade for. Check the card’s CardMarket page here: CardMarket listing.
- Cardhoarder — If you’re into MTGO or want a digital route to test-drive a blue control plan before you buy physical copies, Cardhoarder is a solid option. The MTGO community values this kind of enchantment for its political spice and remote, non-linear play patterns. Explore the MTGO listing here: Cardhoarder listing.
- EDH and deck-building communities — For real-world values, EDHREC can give you a sense of how often Conjured Currency shows up in blue control shells and political stacks. This isn’t a storefront, but it’s a fantastic imaginative bazaar for trade ideas and synergy checks: EDHREC insights.
When planning your purchase or trade, consider the nuances of condition and edition. A near-mint non-foil can be a sweet entry point, while a shiny foil version remains the dream for a showy Commander table. The current market values in USD hover around a few dimes to less than a dollar for non-foil, with foils nudging higher—yet still quite approachable for a card that rewards table politics more than raw stats 💎. If you’re chasing a bargain, keep an eye on price fluctuations after new printings rotate, or during meta shifts that place blue enchantments in the limelight ⚔️.
What makes this card sing at your table
The synergy of Conjured Currency with other blue staples—counterspells, bounced permanents, and political misdirection—creates a unique tempo that few other enchantments offer. In multiplayer formats, the upkeep exchange mechanic becomes a kind of “board swap roulette,” where the player you help can become your strongest ally or your most inconvenient rival, depending on the day and the dice rolls 🧙♂️🎲. It’s also a social engine piece: it invites negotiation, alliance-building, and occasional double-bluffs that keep a Commander table from turning stale.
“A bargain in Keyhole Downs is always too good to be true.” — flavor text, Conjured Currency
Practical tips for buying, trading, and using the card
- Condition matters: If you’re building a desk-worthy collection, foil cards add gloss and value, but non-foil copies are perfectly serviceable for casual play. Choose according to how often you’ll trade or show off at your LGS.
- Prints and legality: Conjured Currency hails from Return to Ravnica (RTR). It remains a blue-compatible, modern-legal option for Pioneer, Modern, and especially Commander circles that love political intrigue. Its mana cost of 5U makes it a mid-to-late game consideration, but the payoff can swing a board state dramatically when timed well 🧭.
- Trade strategy: If you’re trading away a copy you don’t want to keep, consider pairing it with a high-demand blue staple to improve trade value. Conversely, if you’re acquiring it, look for formats that value niche political cards—Commander players often seek these kinds of spicy interaction tools.
- Budget planning: For the price-conscious, a single copy can slot into a blue control or wheel-heavy deck without blowing your budget. If you’re chasing a foil aesthetic, plan for a small premium but weigh it against the table’s willingness to negotiate trades.
Beyond price tags and market pages, the real value of Conjured Currency lies in the stories it can spark at the table. The moment you reveal that you can exchange control of this enchantment for a shared play on a key permanent? That’s when the table hushes, and you realize you’ve turned a simple card into a live-action negotiation arena 🧙♂️🔥. It’s not just about winning; it’s about shaping the narrative as the game unfolds, one cleverly exchanged aura at a time.
As you curate your collection and refine your trade routes, remember to balance practicality with a dash of theatrical flair. The card’s design—a single enchantment with a single upkeeping opportunity that reshapes ownership—embodies why fans fall for MTG: strategy, lore, and a little bit of mischief all swirling in one small, powerful artifact 💎⚔️.
If you’re exploring complementary items for your desk or play area while you hunt for this card, we’ve got a little something that might catch your eye. The product below is something you can treasure off-table just as much as Conjured Currency treasures on-table — a tasteful, functional desk accessory that pairs nicely with the tactile joy of opening a fresh booster pack or trading with friends.