Optimus Prime, Hero Price and Data

• The selected printing is Transformers collector-number 13, released November 18, 2022.
• Our exact BOT 13 record reached $2.74 on July 7, 2026 after trading near $4.03 on June 20, a 32% decline.
• Our exact-product TCGTracking series reached $8.97 on August 30, 2026, then $15.10 on September 13, 2026, a further 68% rise.
• The selected-printing chart above uses the same BOT 13 product, but its live window is shorter than our retained June to September 2026 history. The older June and July observations are broader history, not points claimed as visible above.
• BOT 27 borderless foil and other Optimus products have different prices; their premium cannot be assigned to regular BOT 13.

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• The largest documented move began after Optimus Prime voice actor Peter Cullen died on August 26, 2026. Hasbro honored him the next day.
• Our exact BOT 13 TCGTracking series rose from $3.86 on August 26, 2026 to $4.22 on August 27, $4.70 on August 28, and $8.97 on August 30: a 132% market-price jump in four days.
• It reached $15.12 on September 2, 2026, up 292% from August 26. The timing and contemporaneous market recap point to tribute-led buying rather than a newly documented competitive deck.
• Contemporaneous TCGplayer sales reporting counted about 315 near-mint nonfoil copies sold in three days after the news, more than in the prior three months. Rapid inventory removal gives this event a specific demand-and-supply mechanism.
• The same report measured the cheapest near-mint nonfoil offer moving from $2.90 to $9 by August 31, 2026, a 210% asking-price jump. That listing measure is separate from our all-conditions market-price chart.
• The same chart source was $15.52 on September 8, 2026 and $15.10 on September 13, 2026, a 3% retrace from September 8 that still left BOT 13 291% above August 26.

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• Commander is the strongest evidenced format in the reviewed MTGGoldfish and Archidekt public lists.
• Optimus is the named Jeskai commander, so the front face's bolster trigger places a +1/+1 counter at every end step.
• The Vehicle face bolsters again when attacking and gives the chosen creature trample for the turn.
• The Ozolith and Arcbound Ravager show how sourced counters builds preserve or move value from artifact creatures.
• Death returns Optimus converted, supporting a recurring combat plan rather than a one-turn Vehicle gimmick.

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• Build around creatures that keep +1/+1 counters, because Optimus bolsters the least-tough creature at every end step.
• Attack with the Vehicle face to bolster again and push trample damage through blockers.
• The Ozolith can retain counters after a creature leaves, while Arcbound Ravager offers a different artifact-counter engine.
• Removal that exiles Optimus stops the converted return, so protection matters when the commander anchors the deck.

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• Use the More Than Meets the Eye cost when getting the Vehicle face onto the battlefield early matters more than casting the creature face normally.
• Sequence attacks around the bolster trigger. The chosen creature must have the least toughness, so board order and counters can change the best attack.
• The transformed return protects against ordinary destruction but not exile or a countered spell. Treat conversion as resilience, not immunity.