Comments on: Most Expensive Magic: The Gathering Card

By: Wong

Wong — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 06:08:31 +0000

This article is just wrong. First there isnt 1.1 Million Alphas and second Black Lotus doesn't exist in only 2 limited sets. Only 1 100 copies were made for Alpha rares compared to 3200 copies of Beta and 16 500 copies of unlimited, then you add the 9000 (sets) copies of Collector's edition and 5000 copies (sets) for intl edition. If you are going to write something, make sure your info is correct first. Don't confuse people with missleading information, the print run of alpha only comes to (millions) if you count the WHOLE set, meaning commons, uncommons and rares and we all know there is alot more copies made for commons, do the math ! 1100 copies of each 116 rares = 127 600 cards + 4500 copies of all 95 uncos = 427 500 cards + 16 000 copies of all 74 commons = 1.184 Million cards and last 85 500 copies of all 1- basic lands = 855 000 cards made for a grand total of 2.5941 Million Alpha cards in existance. Dont forget that since 1993, alot of those cards were either thorn, burnt, destroyed in whatever way meaning there probably isnt even 1000 copies of Alpha black lotuses around and the same with all the other cards.

By: jps

jps — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 06:37:55 +0000

1996 World Champion card probably is the most expensive card last i herd the man was offerd around 60,000 and turned it down.

By: funnymtg

funnymtg — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 16:52:16 +0000

I think that blue hurricane and alpha black lotus are the most valuable cards in Mtg. for very collector only!

By: Thomas

Thomas — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:13:14 +0000

I'm curious about the value of some other cards.

I have a signed iff-biff efreet from GENCON 96 with that date as part of the signature, a pheldagrif (sp) signed and illustrated on by richard garfield during worlds 90-something, misprints for example half one card half another, and a pile of pro-tour stamped cards from the first pro tours sealed events. also like for example a tabernacle black bordered in some foriegn language, i can't tell which.

who should i have look at all this stuff?

By: Tony

Tony — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 05:12:46 +0000

$2.3Mil US was the auction price for a Black Lotus, original still in a case to keep the mint condition. The value of the card did not come from the card itself, rather the signatures on the card. This one of a kind Black Lotus had Richard Garfield, all 8 "Wizards of the Coast" (the first guys to start Wizards) as they liked to call themselves, the illustrator, and the owner of the card production company. This was sold at a Christy's auction in 1996 for $2.3 Mil US. It was sold to an Oil Magnate from the middle east, for his son. The son was an avid fan of Magic the Gathering, and basically had to have it. These details were not made public, because the winner of the auction did not want to have these facts presented to the public. What the public also does not know, is that this Oil Magnate's money came from supporting certain clandestine operations from around the world in addition to owning oil fields. He did not want the truth to come out about his existence for fear of his life or livelihood. This is the most expensive Magic: The Gathering trading card ever sold.

By: ground

ground — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 21:57:49 +0000

i once owned every magic card ever made sans one mox. I had a complete set of alphas sans the mox, complete set of betas, complete set of unlimited, revised, arabian knights? (wow its been a while); legends, fallen empires etc all the way up to ice age. i also had some cards signed by artists, models, and a few from someones collector set (gold border). plus some foreign (loved wildwuchs)

then i stopped playing and sold them all for about $3000

none of them were mint mind you since i played with my cards but i do miss my vesuvian dopplegangers. great game lots of fun! ^_^

(I wonder if Hatter ever got 1% of all the quorum trench gnomes)

By: Daniel Chang

Daniel Chang — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 23:07:17 +0000

@jon dimaya – GMTG: Graded Magic Cards (www.gradedmagiccards.com) recommends BGS or PSA for grading your Magic Cards. Both companies have had extensive experience with grading Magic Cards.

I met with Beckett last year (2010) to discuss grading elements of Magic Cards.

If you have any other questions, please contact us directly!

Daniel @ GMTG: Graded Magic Cards

By: jon dimaya

jon dimaya — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:52:52 +0000

I have an alpha black lotus from when I used to play. My question is which grading company is everybody using and are any of these grading and preservation companies better than others. I read on how they grade the cards but I want to know which one is the best and most coveted to get a perfect grading from. Do these guys know what they are really looking at? Or are they a bunch of baseball and football card guys tht don’t know what they are looking at!

By: Some guy

Some guy — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 13:27:17 +0000

Black Lotus is overpowered card that’s why it so expensive. I wonder why it’s not banned but only restricted.

By: John

John — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 22:29:29 +0000

"Golly"? "Holy heck"? What the fuck is wrong with you? Seriously? But still. Very cool.

By: Rich

Rich — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:50:23 +0000

Anybody know what 5th edition cards might be worth in mint condition? Have a collection of a few hundred and was going to get rid of them. Any help would be great.

Thanks

By: christian

christian — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:49:10 +0000

i have a 1998 world championship deck and a nother 1998 world championship deck email for more info (CHRISTIAN.PHELPS98@gmail.com)

By: Daniel Chang

Daniel Chang — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 02:54:02 +0000

@Crymson77 – Revised was printed in larger quantities, and because the lack of use in game play over the years the value has decreased. I believe in the longer term the set will be worth more, but it will be hard for the cards to be increasing in higher value at the rate Alpha/Beta did because of the print run.

@long – Depends on the quality, around $450 to $700. It is hard to find an unsearched Alpha Booster pack because of the wrapper was transparent enough to search the Rare. I would buy them from a trusted dealer whenever possible.

Hope this helps,

Daniel Chang from MTGStores.com & GMTG: Graded Magic Cards

By: long

long — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 02:39:27 +0000

question. how much would an unopened alpha pack go for?

By: Crymson77

Crymson77 — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:15:36 +0000

I have question about the revised edition. I understand its nothing compared to alpha beta or unlimited, but i'm wondering why most of the cards are worth practically nothing?

Except for a few cards that I specifically paid top dollar for, most of my collection is from revised or an expansion set from that time period. I haven't played in quite a while until recently, but Ive periodically check prices through out the years and most of my rare cards had maintained their value. But more recently they have dropped quite a bit. Or at least they have on my most recent check.

My Shivan Dragon for example was always worth 20 to 25 bucks and now its worth 5 at best. Even my fork has drop to under $10. They only thing that hasn't dropped are my duel lands. My badlands and bayou are both worth $60 and thats nice but whats with the huge decrease for all other revised cards? maybe i'm looking in the wrong place or at least I hope I am.

Like I said I understand why older sets are worth so much more and I'm not looking for these prices to jump of the chart, but I'd hope they could at least maintain some of their value. Scrye said my Shivan Dragon was worth 25 in 1996 and I'd not part with it for less than that for sure. Maybe I'm just sentimental or unwilling to see the truth one or the other…

By: Real MTG Gamer

Real MTG Gamer — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 13:37:02 +0000

After all those years playing MTG i still laugh about people stating this "The Black Lotus is not only the most powerful & intrinsically valuable magic card (highest utility in any deck)" because that card is only famous for its "rareness" and price.
Its actually a pretty decent card, but geez, not worth as much in a deck as some people think it is. Pretty funny tho….

By: Anony

Anony — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 10:00:50 +0000

Read online, Tyler didn't die.

By: Patone

Patone — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 04:32:42 +0000

Screw all these cards, I'm getting ten M11 booster boxes.

By: Tristan

Tristan — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 04:30:58 +0000

i sold the black lotus for 25k

By: Schmeegle

Schmeegle — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:51:52 +0000

So what would an uncut sheet of the Collectors Edition be worth?

By: ananoymous

ananoymous — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 11:26:12 +0000

lightning bolt is a good card

By: catz

catz — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 03:15:37 +0000

you guys are fighting over a card…..

By: chris

chris — Sun, 09 May 2010 21:39:34 +0000

First: MtG cards are only worth what somebody else will pay you for one.
Second: The 1996 World Champion card could be disregarded as the most expensive Magic: the Gathering (MtG) card because it isn’t a production card. The “Summer” set that hit Europe and the Portal: Three Kingdoms set, like Alpha, were very rare production sets that contained some eventually expensive cards.
Third: For anyone who plays MtG, the top format of the game is Vintage (aka Type 1). And for those competetive players in this format, the Black Lotus is the most prized of the Power 9 cards, all of which are rare, OutOfPrint, expensive and welcome in almost any deck design.
Finally, about the white borders. The main sets from Unlimited to/including 9th Edition had white borders. Starting with 10th Edition, the white borders were dropped, presumably for marketing considerations. There were many black border reprints of cards in expansion sets, Counterspell and Disenchant being prime examples. Foreign reprints were all black border as well. Shoots down the reprint theory…

By: chris

chris — Sun, 09 May 2010 16:51:51 +0000

Oh, Hey, Studd? Your big Black Lotus is a "real" MtG card, real in that it was printed by Wizards of the Coast. Many oversized cards were made by WotC, Chaos Orb being one of the most exciting…;-). I have an oversized collection that includes a Black Lotus. It isn't tournament legal though and probably worth 30 to 90 bucks, depending on who wants one and condition it's in.

By: mike

mike — Thu, 06 May 2010 06:29:05 +0000

1996 World Champion card is the most expensive..its is literally ONE of a kind

By: Reed

Reed — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 07:39:12 +0000

my fairlady-z worth more =)

By: Studd

Studd — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:55:53 +0000

Is my big black lotus card real cause i was at a house and i was cleaning it and i found all this cards i found 2 big cards and at least a thousand little ones the one i am most concerned about is the black lotus big is it real or is it just a fake pls answer my qustion

By: Tempest

Tempest — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:42:57 +0000

Actually you are all wrong. The most expensive card in magic is called the 1996 world champion which there is only one in existence. Also I am pretty sure the foil urza’s saga lightning bolt is pretty big. Also the metallic fork card is worth quite a bit.

By: STUDD

STUDD — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:06:33 +0000

I have a big black lotus card is it real.

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:45:16 +0000

Beta is worth more because you can play it in tournaments. Alpha cards are bigger then beta forward and such to use alpha in a tourny you have to either use no alpha or all alpha.