8 of the Most Valuable ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Cards

Created in 1993 by mathematician and game designer Richard Garfield, Magic: The Gathering (MTG) has become one of the most popular trading card games of all time.

Millions upon millions of MTG players still flock to tabletops and tournaments around the world to role-play as dueling wizards. As of 2022, the fantasy card game generated more than $1 billion annually for publishers Wizards of the Coast and distributors Hasbro. In fact, revenue is still growing, and MTG is now regarded as one of Hasbro’s most successful and lucrative intellectual properties.

As you might expect, over the last three decades, certain cards have become increasingly rare. Some players and collectors will pay top dollar to get their hands on MTG’s most powerful spells, counter-spells, and attacks to beef up their own decks.

These cards are also big business at popular auction houses, with hard-to-find items selling for upwards of $615,000. If you have any old MTG cards in your basement, attic, or garage, they could be worth thousands to the right collector. Ahead, you’ll find the most valuable Magic: The Gathering cards, according to Heritage Auctions.

1. Black Lotus (1993) // $615,000
2. Magic the Gathering & Pokémon: Uncut Test Print Sheet (1998) // $375,000
3. Magic the Gathering: Starter Deck (1993) // $312,500
4. Arabian Nights Sealed Booster Box (1993) // $212,500
5. City of Traitors: Uncut Test Print Sheet (1998) // $162,500
6. Ancestral Recall (1993) // $36,000
7. Splendid Genesis (1997) // $33,750
8. Timetwister (1993) // $21,600

Black Lotus (1993) // $615,000

The Black Lotus trading card was released back in 1993 as part of the earliest edition of Magic: The Gathering. It’s widely considered the most valuable of all of the cards, but it’s also one of the most powerful: It belongs to the “Power Nine” club in MTG, meaning it is one of only nine cards found in the Alpha (first-print run), Beta (second-print run), and Unlimited Editions (second edition) of MTG.

If played, the Black Lotus allows players to generate spells quickly. We found a mint-condition beta version signed by Christopher Rush (the card’s illustrator) that sold for $615,000 on Heritage Auctions back in 2023. On eBay, the card commands considerably less—but you could still earn up to $20,000 on the site, depending on your card’s condition.

Magic the Gathering & Pokémon: Uncut Test Print Sheet (1998) // $375,000

Wizards of the Coast not only published MTG, but the company was also the first to publish the Pokémon: Trading Card Game in North America. This rare uncut test print sheet actually includes both MTG (Lightning Dragon and Drifting Meadow) and Pokémon: Trading Card Game (Blastoise) cards, which adds to its cachet among collectors. This uncut card sheet included hand-written notes about the production from Wizards of the Coast, which is likely why it ended up selling for $375,000 at Heritage Auctions in 2024.  

Magic the Gathering: Starter Deck (1993) // $312,500

With the success of the Alpha Edition in August 1993, Wizards of the Coast was quick to follow it up just two months later with the release of the Beta Edition of MTG. This sealed display set was released under the Beta cycle, and it features 10 starter packs with 600 cards in total, all from the original run of cards. It may even contain rare cards, like the Black Lotus, Timetwister, Mox, and others. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who is one of the fantasy card game’s biggest fans and collectors, even signed a set that netted $312,500 at Heritage Auctions in 2024.

Arabian Nights Sealed Booster Box (1993) // $212,500

This limited-run release hit stores in December 1993 and was the very first expansion pack for MTG. The Arabian Nights set features a number of settings and characters based on Middle Eastern fairy tales from One Thousand and One Nights.

Back in 2024, Heritage Auctions sold an incredibly rare and sealed booster box, which contained 60 booster packs with eight cards per pack (480 cards in total), for $212,500. (That’s nearly $443 per card!) And while it’s tough to find for-sale versions of this booster box on eBay, single booster packs routinely go for over $1000 on the site.

City of Traitors: Uncut Test Print Sheet (1998) // $162,500

Heritage Auctions set up a lot in December 2023 that featured an 18-card foil test print of MTG’s City of Traitors card. The card is from the Exodus expansion pack—which was created in 1998—and was the first foil card that Wizards of the Coast ever made. Because there are no reprints available, it’s highly coveted by collectors, and this uncut test print sheet alone earned $162,500. Typically, however, the City of Traitors card only collects a few hundred bucks on eBay.

Ancestral Recall (1993) // $36,000

As another one of the original “Power Nine” cards, the Ancestral Recall card is a mighty and formidable card that allows players to draw three cards without any drawbacks or force opponents to draw three cards themselves.

Heritage Auctions sold a mint-condition Alpha Edition version of the card back in 2022 for $36,000. Only 1100 were printed in 1993, so the Ancestral Recall card is definitely a big draw for MTG players if they can get their hands on one. On eBay, you can find other versions of it for $3000 or less.

Splendid Genesis (1997) // $33,750

MTG creator Richard Garfield designed this card, which was illustrated by Monique Thirifay, in honor of his newborn daughter Terry in 1997.

Splendid Genesis was commissioned for family, friends, and colleagues, and only 110 versions of it were ever produced. Still, the card is playable in MTG—and as such, it fetches a very handsome price among collectors. In 2023, Heritage Auctions sold a Splendid Genesis card—which features a baby’s hand grasping at a father’s finger—in near-mint condition for $33,750. Given its extreme rarity, you’d be hard-pressed to find any versions of it on eBay, though.

Timetwister (1993) // $21,600

The Timetwister card is another member of the “Power Nine” and was first released with the Alpha Edition in 1993. A mint-condition card from the Beta Edition sold for over $21,000 at Heritage Auctions in 2019. (On eBay, versions of it can fetch upwards of $5000.)

If played, it makes all players re-shuffle the cards in their hands—as well as what is in the graveyard—back into their library (the pile of cards players use in a game) to form a whole new library (deck). The card creates an opportunity to change the game and aids with come-from-behind victories.

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