Most expensive MTG cards: records and the top 20
The most expensive Magic: The Gathering cards: the $3M Black Lotus record, The One Ring, then the top 20 regular cards at market price in USD and CAD.
The most expensive Magic: The Gathering card ever sold is an Alpha Black Lotus graded CGC Pristine 10, sold for $3,000,000 in a private sale by Pristine Collectibles in April 2024, according to Guinness World Records. The highest public auction price is $2.208 million, with buyer's premium, for a PSA 10 Alpha Black Lotus at Goldin's 2026 Summer Goldin 100 auction (ICv2). Among ungraded regular cards on TCGplayer, the Unlimited Timetwister and the Beta Mox Ruby lead at $6,400.00 each on November 6, 2026. This guide ranks them apart: regular cards first, then promos and limited cards, then cards printed in other languages.
The most expensive regular Magic cards
Regular cards come from booster packs and other retail products, in tournament-legal printings. These are the 20 most expensive English cards at ungraded market prices.
| # | Card | Version | Set | November 6 | Lowest listing | In CAD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timetwister 85 | regular | Unlimited Edition | $6,400.00 | $5,999.99 | about $9,032 |
| 2 | Mox Ruby 265 | regular | Beta Edition | $6,400.00 | $4,396.99 | about $9,032 |
| 3 | Time Walk 84 | regular | Unlimited Edition | $5,719.99 | $4,781.00 | about $8,073 |
| 4 | Ancestral Recall 48 | regular | Unlimited Edition | $4,999.95 | $5,000.00 | about $7,056 |
| 5 | Cavern of Souls (0410a) 410a | Borderless, Foil | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan | $4,900.00 | $4,724.99 | about $6,915 |
| 6 | Avatar Aang 363 | Raised Foil | Avatar: The Last Airbender | $4,737.63 | $4,400.00 | about $6,686 |
| 7 | Birds of Paradise 231 | Foil | 7th Edition | $3,980.75 | $4,000.00 | about $5,618 |
| 8 | Mishra's Workshop 81 | regular | Antiquities | $3,925.00 | $5,000.00 | about $5,539 |
| 9 | The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale 307 | regular | Legends | $3,619.50 | $3,299.99 | about $5,108 |
| 10 | Mox Pearl 264 | regular | Unlimited Edition | $3,513.33 | $2,750.99 | about $4,958 |
| 11 | Grim Monolith 126 | Foil | Urza's Legacy | $3,483.66 | $5,999.99 | about $4,916 |
| 12 | Mox Emerald 262 | regular | Unlimited Edition | $3,004.97 | $4,387.50 | about $4,241 |
| 13 | Leonardo, Sewer Samurai 301 | Borderless, Gold-Stamped Signature, Foil | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | $2,986.53 | $3,250.00 | about $4,215 |
| 14 | Time Vault 274 | regular | Alpha Edition | $2,949.99 | $2,500.00 | about $4,163 |
| 15 | Candelabra of Tawnos 43 | regular | Antiquities | $2,749.99 | $2,309.99 | about $3,881 |
| 16 | Mox Ruby 265 | regular | Unlimited Edition | $2,499.99 | $3,862.50 | about $3,528 |
| 17 | Michelangelo, Improviser 304 | Borderless, Gold-Stamped Signature, Foil | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | $2,483.32 | $2,499.00 | about $3,505 |
| 18 | Donatello, Mutant Mechanic 302 | Borderless, Gold-Stamped Signature, Foil | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | $2,233.83 | $2,350.00 | about $3,153 |
| 19 | Sol Ring - Elven (0408) 408 | regular | Commander: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth | $2,223.22 | $5,000.00 | about $3,138 |
| 20 | The One Ring 748 | Borderless Poster, Foil | Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth | $2,180.88 | $2,100.00 | about $3,078 |
How we built this list: English Magic cards, ranked by their TCGplayer market price on November 6, 2026, the average of recent sales of ungraded copies. Each printing is ranked on its own. Serialized cards, promos, Secret Lair and similar limited products are in the next section. CAD amounts use the Bank of Canada rate of November 6, 2026 (1 USD = 1.4113 CAD). The card tiles show today's price; the table shows the November 6 price. We refresh this ranking once a month.
Most Power Nine printings are missing because they did not sell ungraded on TCGplayer. On November 6, 2026, no Black Lotus in any edition had a market price: the Alpha copy was listed from $74,981.00, the Unlimited one from $19,249.99, and no Beta copy was listed. Only 5 of the 9 Alpha Power cards had a listing, such as an Alpha Time Walk from $15,700.00 and an Alpha Ancestral Recall from $9,959.99. The Unlimited Mox Jet and Mox Sapphire and the Beta Timetwister, Mox Sapphire, Ancestral Recall and Time Walk had listings but no market price either. 13 of the 20 cards above had no sale between October 15 and November 6, according to our daily price records, so their market price is the last sale. The full lists are on the Alpha, Beta and Unlimited set pages.
Graded record sales of regular cards
| Card | Grade | Price (USD) | Where | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Lotus (Alpha, 1993) | CGC Pristine 10 | $3,000,000 | private sale | April 2024 | Guinness, grade per CGC |
| Black Lotus (Alpha, 1993) | PSA 10 | $2,208,200 with buyer's premium | Goldin | September 2026 | Star City Games, ICv2 |
| Black Lotus (Alpha, 1993), case signed by Christopher Rush | PSA 10 | $540,000 | PWCC Marketplace | March 2023 | Star City Games |
| Black Lotus (Alpha, 1993), case signed by Christopher Rush | PSA 10 | $511,100 | PWCC, on eBay | January 2021 | Hipsters of the Coast |
| Mox Jet (Alpha, 1993) | not stated | $108,000, per CGC | Fanatics Collect | not stated | CGC |
Alpha was a small print run: "no more than 1,100 copies of each rare card", such as Black Lotus, according to CGC.
What makes a Magic card expensive
- The Reserved List. Wizards of the Coast says "reserved cards will never be printed again in a functionally identical form" (Wizards). Old cards such as Black Lotus and the rest of the Power Nine are on it, which helps explain why 11 of the 20 cards above come from 1993 and 1994 sets.
- Print run. Alpha, Beta and Unlimited (1993) are the scarcest printings of the same cards.
- Modern premium treatments. Recent sets add rare versions of popular cards, like the raised foil Avatar Aang, the gold-stamped signature Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cards and the borderless Cavern of Souls, which sell in the thousands too.
The most expensive Magic promos and limited cards
Limited cards have a fixed or very small print run. They include the most famous Magic card sold this decade.
| Card | How many | How it was obtained | Best documented sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| The One Ring, serialized 001/001 (Tales of Middle-earth, 2023) | one | In a Collector Booster | About $2,000,000, sold to Post Malone in August 2023, graded Mint 9 by PSA. The price comes from the seller's marketing agency, not an auction (Star City Games) |
| Black Lotus, Beta artist proof signed by Christopher Rush | not published | Artist proof | CGC 8.5, $615,000 with buyer's premium, Heritage, March 24-25, 2023 (CGC) |
| Splendid Genesis (1997) | not published | Never sold in products | $72,000, Heritage, June 2022 (CGC) |
| 1996 World Champion | one | Trophy for the 1996 World Champion | Sold privately for $17,500 in 2001; nothing confirmed since, as of 2019, according to Magic Untapped |
| Shichifukujin Dragon | one | Made to celebrate the opening of the DCI Tournament Center in Tokyo | Never sold publicly. Guinness lists it with the 1996 World Champion as the rarest trading cards: "only one specimen of each card exists" (Guinness) |
| Golden Traveling Chocobo (Final Fantasy, 2025) | 77 | Serialized pack card | #41 sold on eBay on June 17, 2025 as a best offer; a third-party tool suggests about $40,000, not confirmed. A reported $78,000 sale of #53 gives no platform or date, so we leave it out (Wargamer) |
| Smaug the Magnificent, gleaming gold headliner (The Hobbit, 2026) | "approximately 500", according to Wizards | Collector Boosters | $24,500.00 market price on TCGplayer on November 6, 2026, listed from $24,000.00 |
| The Brothers' War schematic cards (2022) | 500 serialized versions of each of 63 cards (Wizards) | Collector Boosters | The top one on TCGplayer, Ashnod's Altar, had a $1,199.99 market price on November 6, 2026 |
Serialized cards and promos at market price
Some serialized cards, promos, Secret Lair and 30th Anniversary Edition cards also sell on TCGplayer. The 10 highest market prices on November 6, 2026:
| Card | Set | Market price | Lowest listing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tifa Lockhart (Borderless) | MagicFest Cards | $5,247.49 | $4,500.00 |
| Mana Vault (Rainbow Foil) | Secret Lair Drop Series | $4,500.00 | $4,499.00 |
| Gaea's Cradle | Judge Promos | $3,999.00 | $6,000.00 |
| Aerith Gainsborough | Pro Tour Promos | $3,860.00 | $4,999.99 |
| Black Lotus | 30th Anniversary Edition | $3,299.99 | $5,999.99 |
| Helm's Deep - Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep (Borderless) (Serial Numbered) | Commander: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth | $3,299.99 | $4,500.00 |
| Kozilek's Command | Secret Lair Showdown | $3,200.00 | $2,799.99 |
| Sheoldred (Serial Numbered) | March of the Machine | $3,165.46 | $3,499.99 |
| Gandalf the White | Pro Tour Promos | $2,999.99 | $4,100.00 |
| Emeritus of Ideation (Retro Frame) (Serial Numbered) (Double Rainbow Foil) | Secrets of Strixhaven | $2,900.00 | $4,261.00 |
Magic cards printed in other languages
Magic's record prices are for English cards, and ungraded foreign-language cards sell for less. Japanese alternate-art versions have their own market: the Japanese alternate-art Force of Will (Silver Scroll Foil) from Secrets of Strixhaven: Mystical Archive had a $974.26 market price on November 6, 2026, the Japanese alternate-art Vampiric Tutor (Silver Scroll Foil) $608.75, and the Japanese alternate-art Demonic Tutor from the 2021 Strixhaven Mystical Archive $522.93, on TCGplayer. We found no documented auction record for a Magic card printed only in another language.
How to check what your Magic card is worth
- Check the edition: the same card can come from Alpha, Beta, Unlimited or a later printing, at very different prices.
- Check the version: borderless, foil, serialized and promo cards are listed apart from the regular card.
- Open the card on its Kontora set page: the price is the TCGplayer market price, updated every day, next to the lowest listing. If the market price has not moved for weeks, look at the listings.
FAQ
What is the most expensive Magic card ever sold?
An Alpha Black Lotus graded CGC Pristine 10, sold privately for $3,000,000 in April 2024, according to Guinness World Records. The highest public auction price is $2.208 million for a PSA 10 Alpha Black Lotus at Goldin in September 2026.
How much did The One Ring sell for?
The one-of-one serialized The One Ring sold to Post Malone for about $2,000,000 in August 2023. The price comes from the seller's marketing agency; it was not an auction.
What is the most expensive regular Magic card?
On TCGplayer, the Unlimited Timetwister and the Beta Mox Ruby had the highest market prices among regular cards on November 6, 2026, at $6,400.00 each. The most expensive ungraded card overall was the gleaming gold Smaug the Magnificent, a limited headliner, at $24,500.00. Most Power Nine printings had no recent ungraded sale.
What is the Reserved List?
A list of old cards that Wizards of the Coast says "will never be printed again in a functionally identical form". It includes Black Lotus and the rest of the Power Nine.
How often is this list updated?
Once a month. The card tiles in the table always show today's price.
Questions or tips about this? Talk about it with other collectors on r/KontoraMarket.