Here’s How to Get Halo Foil Cards in Magic, Plus Are They Valuable?

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite | Illustration by Flavio Girón

Hello planeswalkers! There’s just something special about something shiny, right? Any advertisement firm, car lot, or TCG company can tell you this. We’re inherently attracted to shiny and beautiful-looking things. So it’s no wonder that foil MTG cards are coveted, collected, and often celebrated.

There are probably more kinds of foil cards than you realize. I found around 18 different kinds of foil cards during my research. These cards can have different production methods, styles of foil, or highlight different parts of a card. Today let’s take a look at a newer kind of foil card: halo foils. What are they, how do you get them, and are they cool?

What Is a Halo Foil in MTG?

Questing Beast | Illustration by Omar Rayyan

Halo foil is a full-card foil that takes its inspiration from the MTG substance halo. Halo was created by the angels of New Capenna and used in the fight against the Phyrexians. The halo foil has swirling foil features that can mimic the halo it’s inspired by. Its defining feature is the swirling, almost liquid-like holographic patterns, giving an angelic essence to the cards. 

How Do You Tell if a Card Is a Halo Foil?

The halo foil technique will be recognizable by the swirling arcs of holographic foiling. Other foils “ripple” and glisten at the right angles, but halo foils will have distinct swirling designs. Halo foils are also only available in one set and its expansions currently: March of the Machine, March of the Machine: The Aftermath, Multiverse Legends, andthe associated Secret Lair Drops. If you have a foil from a different set, it’s not a halo foil.

How Do You Get a Halo Foil?

You can always buy cards on specific selling sites or from fellow collectors. Outside of individual buying and selling, halo foils are exclusive to March of the Machine Collector Booster packs. 

What Sets Have Halo Foils?

So far halo foils are exclusive to one set and its extra non-Standard and micro-set cards. They center around the Phrexian invasion of the Multiverse and all of the heroes/villians involved. As of now, you can only find halo foils in the March of the Machine Collector Booster packs. Don’t fret though, the March of the Machine set has a ton of extra cards with March of the Machine: The Aftermath, Multiverse Legends, and Secret Lair Drop releases. 

What Are the Odds of Opening a Halo Foil?

A rare or mythic rare halo foil card will appear in 10% of March of the Machine Collector Boosters. Uncommon halo foils will be in 24% of the Collector Boosters. There are no common halo foil cards.

Are Halo Foils Valuable

Yes, halo foils are valuable on the secondary market. They’re often the highest or near-highest price for a version of the same card. An example of this is Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. The original New Phyrexia version of the card goes for around $11, while the halo foil version can go for around $30. Halo foils will not make you rich, but the mythic rare ones will get you a fair price. 

Halo Foils vs. Regular Foils

Halo foils and regular foils both have the “rainbow effect” that comes from the different angles of light hitting the holographic material. However, halo foils have a specific design to the holographic area and are created to be more durable. The swirl of holographic paint of halo foils will be quite distinct from the full card laminate of regular foils. Also, according to some posts of r/magicTCG, the foil treatment is upwards of twice as durable (can bend twice as far) as regular foils. These new techniques will hopefully help with the scourge of warping foil cards. 

Halo Foils vs. Etched Foils

Foil-etching was a new technique introduced with the Commanders Legends set. Etched foils have more of a “sparkle shine” when hit by light. They also use a different production technique. Etched foils use metallic paint or varnish instead of a foil laminate. Halo foils use this new etched technique, but just with specific and identifiable designs. Halo foils will only have the swirling holographic designs, whereas etched foils come in all sorts of designs.

Halo Foils vs. Surge Foils

Halo foils and surge foils are very close in nature. They have essentially the same production process and only differ by design. Surge foils are described as a rippling wave or surge of energy streaking across the card. Halo foils will have elegant and angelic swirls dancing around the card. They’re very similar with only some artistic and stylistic differences.

What Cards Can Be Halo Foils?

Halo foils are exclusive to some uncommons, rares, and mythic rares from the March of the Machine Collector Boosters. The foiling process is mostly reserved for the famous characters and cards highlighted in the Multiverse Legends and March of the Machine combination. If this foil style receives enthusiasm we may see it in more future sets, but for now, it’s exclusively in this one expanded set.

Are Halo Foils Tournament Legal?

The short answer is yes they are. Foil cards are legal in official formats as long as they can’t be identified in hidden zones. Any warping, marks, or anything else that unfairly identifies the card in a hidden zone is illegal. As long as your halo foil is not identifiable when it’s not supposed to be, you may use it in a tournament. As a word of caution, I would always check with your local judge before just diving into the tournament.

Conclusion

Olivia Voldaren | Illustration by Samuel Araya

Thank you for taking the time to read about halo foils. Foils aren’t going to change the game or make you a champion, but there is something special about them. I hope when you rip open a booster pack and see that shiny card, you get a feeling like I do. So, hold onto your halo foils or sell them, but whatever you do please enjoy the art and process of how they came to be.

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