A 2012 Magic: The Gathering rare card has spiked in price by over 2835% in the past month thanks to a new, devastating combo. 2026 was one of the busiest years in the history of Wizards of the Coast’s historic card game, with a whopping total of seven brand-new sets coming out. The latest was Reality Fracture in October, possibly one of the most unique sets in recent Magic: The Gathering history, and it also features a major story twist.
In fact, Reality Fracture marked the end of an era for Magic: The Gathering after almost 20 years, as WotC killed off the face of the game, Blue Planeswalker Jace Beleren. The character was among the first five Planeswalker cards ever released, coming out in 2017, and has since been loved by fans. The game is preparing to launch the Star Trek set later this month, but Reality Fracture’s impact on MTG lore and the game’s current state remains very tangible. A new Reality Fracture card creates a powerful combo with a Return to Ravnica card, making it spike massively in value.
Magic: The Gathering’s Sphinx of the Chimes Spikes 2751% After Reality Fracture
A card called Sphinx of the Chimes from Return to Ravnica went from $0.27 to $7.43 on TCGPlayer after the release of Reality Fracture, with the values referring to a foil version of the card, now costing almost 3000% more than it did in September. Reality Fracture introduced a card named Sphinx’s Approach, which costs 1 generic and 2 Blue for an instant spell that draws two cards, but the kicker is that players can have any number of cards with this same name in their decks, and by exiling four copies of Sphinx’s Approach from the graveyard when casting it, players can put a Sphinx creature into play from their decks. In Commander, cards are limited to one copy each, but Sphinx’s Approach changes that, and it also lets one play Sphinx of the Chimes for free. Then, one can use Sphinx of the Chimes’ ability to discard two cards with the same name to draw four cards, which quickly draws the whole deck thanks to many copies of Sphinx’s Approach. Finally, MTG‘s Thassa’s Oracle can win the game on the spot.
Build your perfect top ten one reveal at a time.
Swap two picks?
Pick two spots to swap before locking in your final ranking.
Thassa’s Oracle is one of the most renowned cards in the game because it allows for several combos that win on the spot, as its ability lets players win if they have only a few cards left in their deck (or none). An alternative condition for this instant-win combo in Magic: The Gathering is to use Laboratory Maniac, another Blue creature that costs three mana for a 2/2 body that has the ability to win the game if one draws a card, but there are no more cards in their deck. With Sphinx of the Chimes and several copies of Sphinx’s Approach, all this can easily happen in one turn.
As such, those looking for a copy of Sphinx of the Chimes to build a deck around it will now have to pay much more for it. The card does come in a non-foil version, and it went from less than $0.10 to $0.60 or more. While not one of the most expensive Magic: The Gathering cards ever sold, it’s a pretty big spike for a forgotten rare.
In under two weeks, MTG will add a new type of card in Star Trek, and those headliners may end up becoming some of the most expensive in the game’s history. Only time will tell, but they may easily be worth thousands of dollars in some cases.
