Brain in a Jar Price
3 printings · 3 sets · first printed 2016
Brain in a Jar has been printed 3 times across 3 sets, first in 2016 and most recently in 2023. Right now the cheapest printing is Shadows over Innistrad #252 at $0.25, while the most expensive is Shadows over Innistrad Promos #252s at $1.36 — about 5× more. The median across 2 priced printings is $0.81. Reprint risk: ELEVATED — Reprinted 3x total; appeared once in a dedicated reprint set (Shadows over Innistrad Remastered).
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Every Brain in a Jar Printing, Compared
Cheapest first · unpriced last| Printing | Year | Price | Dealer Buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadows over Innistrad #252 (R) Cheapest | 2016 | $0.25 | $0.03 |
| Shadows over Innistrad Promos #252s (R) Foil | 2016 | $1.36 | $0.65 foil |
| Shadows over Innistrad Remastered #247 (U) | 2023 | — | — |
Prices are the latest nightly market price; a printing with no tracked price shows a dash. Dealer buylist is Card Kingdom's current offer via MTGJSON, shown where one exists.
, 
: Put a charge counter on this artifact, then you may cast an instant or sorcery spell with mana value equal to the number of charge counters on this artifact from your hand without paying its mana cost.
, , Remove X charge counters from this artifact: Scry X.Legality is a property of the card, not the printing, so it is identical for all 3 versions.
Official Judge Precedents
4 PrecedentsWhen resolving the first ability of Brain in a Jar, the newly-placed charge counter will be counted when determining what spells you may cast. No player may take any action between you placing the counter and choosing which spell to cast.
If you cast a card “without paying its mana cost,” you can’t choose to cast it for any alternative costs, such as awaken costs. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, such as that of Lightning Axe, you must pay those to cast the card.
If Brain in a Jar leaves the battlefield before its first ability resolves, use the number of counters on it at the moment it left to determine what spell you may cast. That number won’t change because you can’t put a new counter on Brain in a Jar.
If the card has 
in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X.