Insane Eric Klug Alters on Sale for Over $6,400

Last updated on January 24, 2025

Curse of Opulence | Illustration by Kieran Yanner

Eric Klug is a well-known name in the world of MTG alters. Known for their detailed stylistic approach to painting over Magic cards, Klug is a freelance artist who takes commissions on card alters (though he appears to be closed for commissions at the moment). Recognized for many standout pieces in the alter community, you can track some of Klug's work on Twitter/X @klug_alters, where you'll find some of his individual pieces on display. Dig around a little bit further, and you'll find some truly remarkable pieces on the secondary market, like a pair of altered Guru lands posted by user summittradingco on eBay.

What Makes These Guru Lands Special?

Guru lands are already something of a white whale collectible for Magic players. These are essentially the holy grail of basic lands, the Rolexes of basics, if you will. You're looking at around $400 for a single land, and that's for the cheaper ones. Work your way up to an Island and you're talking over $700 a pop. These were only available through the short-lived Guru program between 1999-2001, so they're as scarce as they are expensive.

Now what happens if you alter a land with this sort of established pedigree? Well, if your name is Eric Klug, it would appear that you put a huge multiplier on the price of that card.

Source: eBay listing

This Mountain and Swamp duo is currently selling for a staggering $6,400 on eBay. Hey, free shipping though! If that sounds absurd, it both is and isn't. On one hand, that's just a huge amount of money for anything, let alone Magic: The Gathering cards, and basic lands of all things. But when you consider that these are top-name alters painted on one of Magic's most expensive rarities, it starts to add up.

Note that these aren't being sold directly by Klug, so they're likely resales from a vendor who purchased them from the original commissioner, or Klug himself at some point.

Does Eric Klug Have Other Cards For Sale?

Source: eBay listing

Klug's personal eBay page features exactly one item at the moment: a Sword of Fire and Ice altered to look like the Master Sword from the Zelda series. It's sitting at a price tag of just over $1,600 with 30 bids and only a day left to bid. Considering this alter was just posted to Klug's X page on January 22, the turnover is remarkable.

Source: eBay listing

User vintagemagicthegathering on eBay also has an Unlimited Eric Klug Black Lotus alter on sale for a cool $88,888 (no free shipping might be a deal-breaker). And as it turns out, Klug's worked on more versions of this Power 9 card in the past; the artist details the 14-hour process of altering a different Unlimited Lotus in this 2012 article from CoolStuffInc. If you need your Power altered, sounds like there's a man for the job.

Source: @klug_alters on X

Not everything Klug posts to social media is up for sale though. Presumably most of his alter posts are commissions paid for by individuals, but he still displays his work for everyone to see. One particular alter of a Wooded Foothills caught quite a bit of attention on X, though it doesn't appear to be up for auction in any capacity right now.

For more insight into Klug's work, follow him on X @klug_alters or Reddit under the name u/klug_alters. His social media accounts note that he is currently closed for commissions at this time.