The 15 Most Expensive Magic The Gathering Cards of All-Time (2023)

FAQs

What's the rarest Magic card? ›

1. Black Lotus. Black Lotus has long held a reputation as the most valuable Magic: The Gathering card ever made, dating from MTG's very first set, Limited Edition Alpha, released in 1993.

Not long after the initial release of Black Lotus in 1993, it was swiftly restricted and subsequently banned from all but MTG's Vintage format, making one solitary appearance in the 1994 MTG Championships before never being seen again.

Value: $149,999.99

Everyone knows about the infamous Black Lotus card, even those who don't know much about Magic. Not only is the Black Lotus one of the rarest cards in the game, but it's also one of the most powerful cards in the game. You can build an extraordinarily powerful Magic deck around the Black Lotus.

Magic: The Gathering Black Lotus worth $615,000 breaks yet another sales record, days after the last one. Artist proof signed by creator Christopher Rush outsells Alpha Black Lotus. Another week, another record-breaking sale for Magic: The Gathering's most iconic card, the Black Lotus.

The Shichifukujin Dragon, created to celebrate the opening of the DCI Tournament Center in Tokyo, Japan, is also the only one of its kind in existence. In Japanese mythology, 'Shichifukujin' is the name given to the Seven Deities of Good Fortune.

In 2019, a Black Lotus sold for $166,000 on eBay, followed by another purchase just two years later in 2021 for $511,100 — more than triple the price. Now, with the recent auction held by PWCC Marketplace, the Black Lotus cements its position as the most expensive Magic: The Gathering card ever sold.

Its Alpha and Beta versions in particular are considered to be extremely valuable, due to the more limited print runs and black borders of those sets. The Alpha version of Black Lotus is the rarest and most sought-after, with an estimated 1100 ever printed, followed by the Beta version, with 3300 ever printed.

Of the 295 cards in the Alpha set, the Power Nine cards were considered the most powerful -- and were limited in print to about 1,000 cards each on estimate. While rare, the Power Nine cards were so dominant they remain banned or restricted in most Magic formats today.

Like the card in the present auction, it was given a perfect Gem Mint 10 rating for its condition by the Professional Sports Authenticators, and its case was signed by the card's illustrator Christopher Rush. Only six PSA 10 Black Lotus cards exist.

An alpha Black Lotus card from the very first 1993 printing of Magic the Gathering is by far the most valued card in existence. Well what exactly does a Black Lotus do? The powerful Black Lotus adds three mana of any color to your pool, at no cost. And, it can be used as an interrupt.

Why are old Magic cards so expensive? ›

Basically, it all comes down to supply and demand. Expensive cards are the ones in demand, but as supply becomes more limited, the cost goes up to reflect that. That's why decks get so much more expensive as you go into older formats.

To tell if a card is rare or mythic rare we look at the expansion set symbol. Almost all cards will have an expansion set symbol on it to help you identify it. The colour of this symbol will tell you what rarity the card is; common = black, uncommon = silver, rare = gold, mythic = orange-red / bronze.

Similarly, the number of black cards = 26 and the number of black queens = 2.

This particular card is the crown jewel of any MTG collection, and even included a signed case by deceased illustrator Christopher Rush. According to PWCC Marketplace, roughly 1,000 copies are believed to be printed, with only six getting a perfect 10 grading.

One of Magic: The Gathering's most coveted cards, Black Lotus, has sold at auction for a record-breaking $540,000. Magic: The Gathering's illustrious card, Black Lotus, recently went to auction and sold for a record-breaking $540,000.

1. 1998 Pikachu Illustrator Card. What is this? There's no better place to start than what many consider to be the rarest Pokemon card in existence, the Pikachu Illustrator card.

Secret Rare is the highest category of Pokémon card rarity, and Secret Rare cards differ in several ways from lower-rarity cards. First, they have a collector card number that's higher than the advertised set number — hence the "secret" in their name.

Gold Rares are a bit rarer than Rainbow Rares, making them the rarest cards in the Pokemon TCG.

Some obvious candidates come to mind, with the Power Nine being the first and foremost ones. These cards are considered the strongest ever printed in MTG history. While, in specific contexts, they are the best cards the game has ever seen, our answer to this question actually lies outside of these cards.

Why is Black Lotus so expensive? ›

First off, Alpha and Beta copies of Black Lotus are worth quite a bit more than Unlimited copies. It isn't just the look, either—it's scarcity. We have pretty good intel stating that there were only ever 1,008 copies of every Alpha rare even printed, and only 3,025 copies of each Beta rare.

Additionally, Black Lotus was only printed in the Alpha, Beta and Unlimited sets, which has further increased its value with both fans and collectors alike. But while Wizards of the Coast has never reprinted Black Lotus, it has done limited digital runs of the card and referenced it in others.

The card's sale for $540,000 via auction house PWCC beat the previous record set by another Gem Mint 10 Alpha Black Lotus signed by Rush, sold for just over $511,000 in January 2021. The new price makes this latest card the most expensive Magic: The Gathering card ever sold at public auction, according to PWCC.

Last time we checked, the current owner of that item is the rapper Post Malone, who paid over $800,000 for the privilege. The Black Lotus is part of the MTG Power 9, which are considered some of the most powerful (and rarest) cards in the entire trading card game.

This means that the probability to open at least one Black Lotus in a single pack, 1 - P[No Lotus], is 1.05%, and the probability to open at least one Black Lotus in four packs, 1 - P[No Lotus]^4, is 4.15%.

'” Post Malone is certainly no stranger to showing off his love for Magic: The Gathering. He had previously spent $800,000 on an Alpha Black Lotus Card, the rarest and most valuable MTG card available, signed by Christopher Rush.

So... #ButWhy is Lion's Eye Diamond so expensive? It's a card that has a limited supply and since it's on the dreaded Reserved List, there won't be any new prints anytime soon (or ever!). The card sees moderate play in Eternal formats and has proven its versatility and power multiple times.

Saying yes to that invitation means paying a $7,500 initiation cost and annual fees of $2,500 per card (cardholders can have two cards per account). So qualifying is only one consideration when looking at the black card.

it was a Black Lotus (an artist print, at that) and, yes, it was signed by artist Christopher Rush. But, as he admitted to Howard Stern on his radio show, he also spent $800,000 on it. This was a big deal, but not specifically because a millionaire bought something expensive.

Gift of Orzhova — Johannes Voss

Gift of Orzhova is no doubt the most beautiful card in Magic: The Gathering and was created by Johannes Voss.

What is the most expensive trading card ever sold? ›

While Honus Wagner's card is generally seen as the holy grail for baseball card fans, it's Mantle's rookie that takes the top spot. On August 28 of 2022, a Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps Card sold for $12.6 million to an anonymous buyer.

A red-orange symbol indicates the card is mythic rare. A gold symbol indicates the card is rare. A silver symbol indicates the card is uncommon. A black or white symbol indicates the card is common or is a basic land.

When demand goes up, value goes up. Cards that might have been worthless just a few weeks ago can end up being worth quite a bit once they start seeing play in competitive decks. It's also worth noting that competitive Magic is very much pay-to-play.

Consider The Card's Rarity

The rarity of a Magic card can have a significant impact on its value. Generally, the rarer a card is, the more valuable it is likely to be. There are four levels of rarity in Magic: The Gathering: common, uncommon, rare, and mythic rare. Mythic rare cards are the rarest and most valuable.

You can typically expect around 70% market value in cash for the cards and 10% to 15% more for store credit. If you don't have an LGS or they don't want to buy your cards, you can also sell them directly to sites like Star City Games or Card Kingdom.

Yes, currently in Magic card codes there are seven options for the rarity field: C – common. U – uncommon. R – rare. M – mythic rare.

Check the collector number

Secret rare cards have a collector number that is higher than the total number of cards that were printed in that set. For example, it may appear as 99/98. Secret rare cards can be quite valuable!

∴ The number of red kings present in a standard deck of 52 playing cards would be 2.

There are 2 black aces and 2 red jacks in a deck of 52.

Each suite has 13 cards. And in those 13 cards there are 3 face cards: jack(J), queen(Q) and king(K). Thus there are 12 face cards in total. Thus the probability of getting the face card is \[\dfrac{3}{{13}}\].

What is the most rare PSA 10 card? ›

The most expensive Pokémon card is the Pikachu Illustrator which sold for $5.275 million in July 2021. It's the true Holy Grail of Pokémon card collecting and only one PSA 10 is known to exist.

Manufactured in 1910, this Ty Cobb E98 Red card has remained perfectly preserved since, and is believed to be one of the most scarce and well-conditioned pre-war cards in circulation. Only two Ty Cobb E98 PSA Gem Mint 10's are known to exist in the world.

Signed PSA 10 Alpha Black Lotus sells for $540,000, Breaks Record For Most Expensive Magic Card.

Black Lotus and the rest of the Power Nine were only printed for the early Alpha, Beta and Unlimited sets right at the very beginning of Magic: The Gathering's inception. All in all, it is estimated that only about 1,100 Black Lotus cards were ever printed.

The Alpha version of Black Lotus is the rarest and most sought-after, with an estimated 1100 ever printed, followed by the Beta version, with 3300 ever printed.

Rather, it's it significantly raised the bar on how much rare card can sell for. Before Malone, the most spent on a Black Lotus was only a bit over $160,000. And it was also way over the most ever even for an asking price, which the 1996 World Champion Card had set at $200,000 a few years back.

Stern then asked what the most expensive card he ever purchased was, to which Post said he spent $800,000 on an "artist print, Chris Rush-signed Black Lotus." The Black Lotus is widely considered the single-most expensive and sought-after non-promotional card in Magic The Gathering's history.

Constructed decks must contain a minimum of 60 cards. There is no maximum deck size, however, the player must be able to shuffle their deck unassisted.

Is there an official rule for how many is too much in a standard magic deck? Most formats don't have a maximum card limit, but for most formats the minimum card limit is 60 and most people choose to have 60 card decks unless there is a very good reason not to.

What are the most commonly guessed cards in magic? ›

People chose the Ace of Spades more than other Aces, and Aces and face cards more than number cards. More than half of the people chose one of four cards: the Ace of Spades, Queen of Hearts, Ace of Hearts, and King of Hearts. For number cards, people seemed to name Threes and Sevens the most.

A Black Lotus card from Magic: The Gathering — considered to be the most sought-after card from Magic, and perhaps from any trading card game — has sold at auction for a record $540,000, the highest ever bid for a Magic card.

Last time we checked, the current owner of that item is the rapper Post Malone, who paid over $800,000 for the privilege. The Black Lotus is part of the MTG Power 9, which are considered some of the most powerful (and rarest) cards in the entire trading card game.