Magic: the Gathering

Review

10 of the Most Expensive Magic: The Gathering Cards!

, Comment regular icon0 comments

As a successful TCG with more than 30 years since its release, Magic: The Gathering released a few cards throughout its history that went down in history because of their power, rarity, and play rates. Check out the 10 of the Most Expensive Magic: The Gathering Cards in this article!

Writer image

translated by Joey Sticks

Writer image

revised by Tabata Marques

Edit Article

Introduction

Just like several other TCG's, Magic: The Gathering has awakened players' curiosity and passion across the world throughout its more than 30 years of existence. This passion has moved players to search for the hardest cards they can find, even if they have to spend millions of dollars for a single card! In this article, we'll explore this fascinating lucrative world and go over the most coveted cards in MTG's universe.

Image content of the Website

Ad

10 of the Most Expensive Magic: The Gathering Cards!

Time Walk (Alpha)

Straight from the Alpha set and one of the famous Power Nines cards, Time Walk is at the bottom of our list, with only 4 copies available in almost perfect condition according to PWCC (the organization which manages card trades and other collectible trades all over the world).

Besides the fact that there are only a few copies of this card around, its power is absurd: it gives its player an extra turn for the unassuming cost of only 2 mana.

Image content of the Website

Volcanic Island (Beta)

As one of the first dual lands in the game, Volcanic Island comes in our list giving its player the option to create Red or Blue mana. A combination of this card with Underground Sea can be interesting for Nichol Bolas fans.

Image content of the Website

Ancestral Recall (Alpha)

Another card that is part of the Power Nine cards, Ancestral Recall allows you to draw 3 cards or force your opponent to draw 3 cards for the extremely low cost of only 1 mana. Due to its effect, it is restricted in Vintage and banned in other formats, such as Legacy, Oathbreaker, Commander 1x1 (MOL).

Image content of the Website

Mox Ruby

Out of all Mox cards that have ever been created, this is the most expensive one. Practically as a sort of toned down version of Black Lotus, even though it creates only one red mana, it remains powerful as it has no cost.

Image content of the Website

Copy Artifact (Beta)

For a cost of just 2 mana, this powerful card creates a copy of any other artifact, and even if the original artifact is destroyed, the copy remains in play. This card, besides powerful, has a high market value, always floating around $100.000.

Image content of the Website

Vesuvan Doppelganger

Far from being one of the most powerful cards in the TCG and with many reprints in different sets (you can acquire a version of it for only $6), the fact it is on this list is because of an auction that happened recently, early 2023.

This card reached the value of $63.000. Its exorbitant value is due to a 9,5 grading by Beckett: no other version of this card had a grading as high or higher.

Image content of the Website

Timetwister

Another one of the Power Nine cards stands its ground. Even though this card had previously reached values between $23.000 and $25.000, the version presented here was sold for $84.000. Its value and rarity are this high because of its extremely preserved condition, getting a GEM-MT 10 grade by PSA, which is the highest grading.

Image content of the Website

Ad

Lord of the Pit (Alpha)

Even though this card isn't as powerful as the Power Nine, and it has been reprinted in several past sets, which means you can get a copy of it for only $0.16, there is a reason it is on our list.

Ranked by Beckett as a Pristine 10, this card is on a level of its own, and was even auctioned early 2023 for around *$105.000. What was considered an unassuming card became one of the most expensive and rare cards in the game.

Image content of the Website

Black Lotus (Beta)

Anyone who has played Magic has heard of this legendary card: the Black Lotus. For no cost, you can add 3 mana of any color to your mana pool.

Thanks to its effect, it is still, to this day, one of the best cards that have ever existed. In an interview with Howard Stern in 2022, Post Malone, the famous American rapper, discussed how his passion for the game moved him to buy a Black Lotus copy signed by Chris Rush (the artist responsible for the card's artwork) for the value of $800.000, making this version of the card its most expensive version.

Image content of the Website

The One Ring

One of the most recent cards released by Magic: The Gathering has also become its most expensive and rarest card. This card exclusively belongs to The Lord of the Rings set, and it is a 001/001 card, which means, it is unique. Initially thought to cost one million dollars, it rose to $2.198.650 after it was finally found. Its current owner is once again the rapper Post Malone, which bought it for $2.000.000.

Image content of the Website

Final Words

Just like various other types of collections, Magic: The Gathering has extremely valuable and rare items which awaken the interest of its fans, players and collectors.

Did you know all cards on this list? Which cards should be mentioned in a possible part 2 of this article? Don't forget to check out "The One Ring" acquisition by Post Malone!link outside website