Even if you are not in trading card game circles, you will sometimes hear of MTG cards selling for massive bucks. Some have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. This may leave you wondering whether old MTG cards are valuable. That is what we are going to talk about on this page.
So, are old Magic cards valuable? Some Old Magic the Gathering cards are very valuable and can likely be worth thousands of dollars, while some are not going to be worth a single cent It is all dependent on the card that you have. Rarer cards that have value in a game are likely to be worth a lot more.
Let’s expand on this a little bit. This way, you are going to have more of an idea of which cards have value and which ones don’t.
Are Older Magic Cards Worth More?
Sometimes.
Not all older Magic cards are worth money. Most are not worth anything. You do have the odd old Magic card that does have a bit of value behind it, though.
If older magic cards are playable in modern, pauper, commander, or vintage decks then they are going to be worth money.
If the card is especially rare, then it may also be worth money.
This does not necessarily mean that older cards are worth more than the most recent ones, though. For example, if a card is playable in standard but it isn’t playable in modern, then it will be worth less the older it gets.
As you start to play more of the game, you will get a feel for which older cards are worth more money.
How Do I Know if My Magic Cards Are Worth Money?
The simplest way is to check on trading card websites that sell singles. This should give you a rough idea of which cards have a bit of value and which ones don’t. eBay is also going to be a great option here.
To check the current price of Magic the Gathering Single, check out MTGPrice.com.
The one thing that we recommend against doing is going to your local trading card shop and asking to sell the cards. If you do this, there is a chance that you will be paid just a fraction of the value of your cards. You may even be paid less if the trader knows that you don’t really know the value of what you have.
The best way to start learning Magic the Gathering is to just jump in and immerse yourself into the game. We recommend picking up a starter kit like this one if you are new to Magic the Gathering. It comes with 2 starter decks, 2 dice, and 2 play guides.
What Magic Cards Are Worth the Most?
As we said before, any card that is currently playable is going to have some value to it. However, there are still going to be cards that are worth a lot more than others.
Most cards on what is known as the ‘reserved list’ will be worth the most. These are cards that Wizards of the Coast have pledged never to reprint. If a card is not getting reprints, then the value goes up to collectors. That being said, not all cards on the reserved list are good cards. There are some quite frankly terrible cards there.
The cards that hold the most value are those classed as the Power Nine. These are some of the most powerful cards in the game, and some of the rarest. A lot of them see play in vintage games too, albeit not that often as most players can’t afford them.
The value of cards does change on a regular basis. However, the most expensive cards at the time of writing are:
- Black Lotus. This will always remain the rarest card in the game. Some copies have sold in excess of $250,000. It is not uncommon for this card to sell for about $10k to $30k in bad condition.
- Ancestral Recall is a blue card that is incredibly powerful. For one land, you can draw 3-cards. This card can be between $3,000 and $6,000.
- Mox Sapphire is a Power Nine card, the same as Black Lotus. This acts as a Blue land, but it can also interrupt spells. Expect between $3,000 and $6,000 for this one too.
- Mox Jet is also a Power Nine card and functions the same way as the Mox Sapphire, only you get black land here. This card is a bit cheaper at $1,500 to $3,000.
Of course, there are plenty of other cards out there that are worth this amount. Although, you probably aren’t just going to stumble across one yourself. Well, not unless you had the earliest Magic: The Gathering expansions.
*Please note that these prices are all based on the time this article was written. Prices can fluctuate daily depending on the supply and demand, especially with rare and vintage cards.
Click here to check out the current price and availability of Magic the Gathering Booster Boxes on Amazon.
Do MTG Cards Increase in Value?
Some cards i.e. the reserved list cards, Power Nine cards, etc. are always going to increase in value. This is because no more cards of those are going to be reprinted. This means that they are always going to be rarer cards. If a card from the reserved list is going to be usable in a game, then it is going to command even more money. Unless the bottom crashed out of the Magic: The Gathering market, and it almost certainly won’t, then these cards will increase in value.
The other MTG cards are not on the reserved list. This means that they could be reprinted in any set. Wizards of the Coast actually try to keep an eye out on cards that are increasing too much in value. They don’t acknowledge the secondary market, but you can bet your bottom dollar that they use it to determine whether a card needs a reprint. It is not uncommon for a card to be worth $100 one day and $5 the next when a reprint has been announced.
If you insist on speculating on the MTG market, then reserved list cards are the way to go. Every other option is going to be a complete gamble.
Is There a Market for Old Magic Cards?
We can assure you that there probably is not going to be a market for your ‘Feasting Troll King’ card, but you may be able to find a market for your ‘Rain of Fitlh’ card.
If a card is being used in any format of the game, then there will be people that are willing to buy that card from you. There are plenty of marketplaces online that have been designed especially for people to sell their Magic the Gathering trading cards to other people. Most of them should give you a decent chart of how the price for a particular card has changed over time too.
In most cases, any card that is marked as a common card probably is not going to have a market for it. However, since the pauper format has started to gain more and more popularity in recent years, we have actually started to see some common cards climb rapidly in value.
This is actually a massive shame, since the whole idea of pauper was to make it a bit easier for people to be able to put together thier own Magic: The Gathering deck with a few common cards.
Your best bet to see whether there is a market for your old Magic cards is to have a browse through some of the largest MTG marketplaces and see how often your cards are being sold and for what price.
If you have cards that don’t have any value, don’t bother selling them. Nobody is going to buy them, no matter how low you price them.
Final Thoughts
Some old Magic: The Gathering cards will have value. Not all of them. Some are not worth the paper that they are printed on. However, if a card could potentially see play in one of the official game formats, you may be able to sell it.
Perhaps the best way to tell whether a Magic: The Gathering card has value is to check out some of the top MTG marketplaces.
Remember, all Magic: The Gathering cards other than those in the reserved list can be reprinted. So, while you may have a card that is worth a lot of money today, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be worth a lot a few months from now.