Magic Card Prices: How to Check MTG Card Values

• Identify the set. Modern cards carry an expansion symbol and a collector number; compare them with Wizards of the Coast's Card Set Archive. Alpha through Fifth Edition have no set symbol printed on the card (Wikipedia), so for those you check the border and corners instead.
• Check the printing. Alpha, Beta and Unlimited share the same cards at very different prices. Wikipedia notes Alpha cards have steeply rounded corners, Beta's are less rounded, and Unlimited switched to white borders. Foil, showcase, borderless and serial-numbered versions of modern cards are priced separately.
• Judge the condition. Wear on corners and edges and scratches on the surface decide the grade; see the card grading guide.
• Look up sold prices. PriceCharting says it records every eBay sale of Magic cards, assigns it to a card and grade and discards junk listings. Compare with a marketplace price guide before you sell.
• Check for fakes on expensive cards. Wikipedia notes that since 2015 every rare and mythic has a holo-foil stamp to curb counterfeiting; older cards need a close look at the print and the back. See spot a fake card.

PriceCharting ungraded values, retrieved 2026-09-25. Alpha was released on August 5, 1993 and Unlimited on December 1, 1993 (Wikipedia).

• Black Lotus: Alpha $57,469 · Unlimited $10,731.19
• Timetwister: Alpha $8,701.11
• Ancestral Recall: Alpha $6,098.50 · Unlimited $3,333.33
• Mox Emerald: Alpha $6,041.39 · Unlimited $3,045.10
• Underground Sea: Alpha $5,600 · Unlimited $1,705
• Chaos Orb: Alpha $5,189.64 · Unlimited $1,029.37
• Mox Jet: Alpha $5,003.60 · Unlimited $3,039.89
• Time Walk: Alpha $4,203 · Unlimited $3,389.88
• Shivan Dragon: Alpha $3,731.77
• Birds of Paradise: Alpha $3,098.59
• Mox Sapphire: Unlimited $3,800

Wikipedia gives Alpha a print run of 2.6 million cards and Unlimited 40 million, which is most of the reason the same card costs several times more in Alpha.

In a recent set almost every card is worth under a dollar and a few special versions carry the value. PriceCharting ungraded values, 2026-09-25:

• Llanowar Elves [Showcase Fractured] #439: $1,000
• Doubling Season #438: $478.72
• Bloodthirsty Conqueror #436: $428.75
• Muldrotha, the Gravetide #440: $283.47
• Doubling Season [Showcase] #428: $260
• The ten cheapest cards listed: $0.09 (Uncharted Haven) to $0.40 (Claws Out)

Note that the same card name appears at several prices: Llanowar Elves is $225.75 in the plain Showcase version and $1,000 in Showcase Fractured. Always price the exact version and number.

• The Reserved List. Wikipedia says Wizards of the Coast created the list in March 1996, that cards on it will not be reprinted, and that the company said in September 2021 its approach was not going to change. All of the Power Nine are on it.
• Small early print runs. Alpha was 2.6 million cards in total and about 1,100 Black Lotus (Wikipedia).
• Play demand. Wikipedia notes cards can be valuable because of rarity in production and usefulness in play; the Power Nine are among the strongest cards ever printed.
• One-of-a-kind modern cards. Serial-numbered cards such as the single-copy The One Ring sold for $2,000,000 in 2023 (Wikipedia).

PriceCharting values for Foundations sealed product, 2026-09-25:

• Play Booster pack: $6.49; box $177.03
• Collector Booster pack: $69.78; box $767.73
• Bundle: $106

If you want particular cards, buying singles is usually cheaper than opening packs: most cards in the set sell for well under a dollar.

• PriceCharting: free; eBay sales split by ungraded, grade 7 to 9.5 and PSA 10; 400+ sets.
• TCGplayer: a US card marketplace with a set-by-set Magic price guide.
• Card Kingdom: a US card retailer; its prices are shop prices rather than sales records.
• Cardmarket: the European marketplace. Three for One Trading's July 2026 list of the most expensive cards on it is built from current listings in euros, such as a played Alpha Black Lotus at €58,999.

Asking prices and shop prices run above what cards actually sell for. Base a sale or a purchase on recent sold prices for the same version and condition.

Lay the card flat on a dark surface in daylight and photograph it straight on with the whole card in frame, then take a close-up of the lower edge where the set symbol or set code, the card number and any edition mark sit. Tilt holo cards for a second shot so the foil pattern shows, and photograph the back. FoilLens reads the card name, set and number from the photo and shows a market reference; the edition, print and condition checks on this page decide which price line applies to your copy.