Aragorn, King of Gondor was printed in three visually distinct versions, and the price gap between the cheapest and the most expensive is much wider than most single-card comparisons in this set.
Market prices shift constantly, so any specific figure here should be read as a snapshot of relative value, not a locked-in quote.
The comparison itself, base versus Extended Art versus the premium Showcase Scrolls treatment, holds up much longer than any individual dollar amount.
Here's what actually separates the three.
The base printing, card number 5, is the standard version found in the Riders of Rohan precon as originally packaged.
An Extended Art version at number 85 and a Showcase Scrolls treatment at number 448 offer alternate visual presentations of the same card, both distributed through narrower product channels than the base copy.
The base number 5 printing is by far the most common and least expensive version, generally trading for well under a dollar on major marketplaces as of this guide.
It's the printing most players end up with simply by opening or buying the Riders of Rohan precon itself.
The Extended Art number 85 printing extends the card's artwork past the usual frame border, a popular cosmetic treatment across recent Magic sets.
It trades at a modest premium over the base printing, generally in the low single digits, reflecting its more limited but still fairly available print run.
The Showcase Scrolls treatment at number 448 uses a distinctive alternate frame themed around the set's Middle-earth scroll motif, and it's the scarcest of the three by a wide margin.
This version has traded well into double digits, reflecting both its rarity and its popularity among collectors specifically chasing a standout version of a widely built commander.
Distribution channel is the biggest driver, since the base printing came packaged directly in a widely sold precon while the premium treatments were distributed more narrowly.
Aragorn's continued relevance as an actively built commander also keeps demand steady across all three printings, rather than letting any of them fade the way an unplayed card's alternate art often does.
A player who just wants to build and play the Riders of Rohan strategy has no functional reason to seek out anything beyond the base printing.
A collector specifically after the Showcase Scrolls version should compare several recent completed sales rather than a single listing, since a chase treatment like this can carry a wider price spread between sellers.
A premium foil treatment like Showcase Scrolls is worth handling with more care than a base copy, since foil printings show wear and scratching more visibly over time.
Getting it into rigid protection immediately after a pull or purchase, even a simple toploader before an upgrade, preserves both its condition and its resale value down the line.
Aragorn, King of Gondor's variant spread follows a similar shape to Aragorn, the Uniter's own four printings, an affordable base version, a modest mid-tier alternate, and a genuinely scarce premium chase treatment at the top.
The dollar figures differ between the two cards, largely because King of Gondor's base printing came through a widely distributed precon while the Uniter's came through main-set boosters, but the overall collecting logic is the same for both.
Anyone building a full set of premium Aragorn variants across both cards should expect the Showcase Scrolls and special foil treatments to carry the bulk of the total cost, not the base or mid-tier printings.
Comparing the two side by side is worth doing before committing a collecting budget to one card over the other.
A collector working with a fixed budget often gets more overall satisfaction spreading it across both cards' base and mid-tier printings than sinking it all into a single premium chase treatment.
Setting a target list of exactly which printings matter most, rather than buying opportunistically whenever something turns up, keeps a two-card collecting project from quietly ballooning past its original budget.
Revisiting that target list every few months as prices shift is a reasonable habit for keeping the whole project on track.
Three: base, Extended Art, and Showcase Scrolls.
The base number 5 printing from the Riders of Rohan precon.
Yes, all three share identical rules text and legality.
It's the scarcest printing, distributed through the narrowest channel.
A chase printing loses value fast if it gets scuffed in a binder, so drop it into EVORETRO's magnetic one-touch holder the moment it's in hand.
!
