The 100 Most Expensive and Must-Have Cards in All of Magic

Last updated on April 26, 2024

Time Walk | Illustration by Amy Weber

Magic has some incredibly expensive cards in its portfolio, and not all of these are special edition versions that fetch a premium. Many cards, particularly those on the Reserved List, are worth a tidy sum.

Let’s break the bank and take a look at the top 100 most expensive cards in Magic, shall we?

How Did We Work Out What the Most Expensive Cards Are?

Mox Jet | Illustration by Dan Frazier

There are a lot of ways we could’ve looked at the most expensive cards in Magic, so we needed to set some ground rules. First of all, we’re only looking at base versions of cards, so no special editions, alt-arts, promos, or any of that kind of thing. We’re also looking at the prices of English versions of cards. This means no Post Malone’s The One Ring, no Shichifukujin Dragon or 1996 World Champion, or the likes of Junji Ito Liliana, Dreadhorde Generals.

To keep things simple, I’ve used the price on Scryfall in USD, which pulls from TCGplayer.com. For a few cards where this wasn’t available, I’ve taken the price in Euros from Scryfall and converted to dollars.

Now, let’s take a look at some expensive cardboard!

#100. Zhang He, Wei General ($94)

Personally, I’m quite surprised that we’re starting below the $100 mark. What’s more, the version of Zhang He, Wei General we’re looking at here is the English version, as Chinese and Japanese versions can be found for significantly less, just like most other cards from Portal Three Kingdoms.

#99. Edgar Markov ($95)

The granddaddy of vampires himself, Edgar Markov is without a doubt inflated in price mainly due to scarcity. It’s also a very popular card, but it hasn’t seen a significant reprint since its first printing, back in 2017. When it does get a good reprint, expect the price to see a major dip.

#98. Tetsuo Umezawa ($95)

Tetsuo Umezawa is our first Reserved List card, and we’re still under $100. Yes, it’s not very powerful, but it’s a fan-favorite with a lot of history, even if feels more like it’d be an uncommon if it could be reprinted again!

#97. Khabál Ghoul ($95)

Khabál Ghoul is a 3-mana 1/1 that grows pretty easily. This can get out of hand quickly, especially if you can make it indestructible or protect it. I could see this being printed in a modern-day set. Maybe for 2 mana at rare.

#96. Field of Dreams ($98)

Field of Dreams is another card that’s definitely inflated due to its place on the Reserved List. There are plenty of ways to get similar effects these days, and it’s not that powerful, but it does really bug a certain subset of players to have their cards known!

#95. Null Rod ($98)

Why is this card so expensive if it doesn’t do anything? Well, Null Rod’s expensive because it does nothing! That, and it’s on the Reserved List. It does see some competitive play in fringe Constructed decks, though, as well as some play in Commander decks like Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow.

#94. Ydwen Efreet ($98)

Whilst not on the Reserved List, Ydwen Efreet has not seen a reprint in paper since it’s original printing in Arabian Nights, which was very much under-printed compared to these days’ standards. It’s still a 3-mana 3/6, which at least passes the vanilla test, but it’s still probably not doing anything in modern Magic.

#93. Acid Rain ($99)

We don’t see much mass land destruction anymore, and we also don’t see much hate for particular colors. Acid Rain looks very out of place in modern Magic, but could theoretically see a little play in the right meta. However, with EDH running a lot of non-basic lands without the forest type, you’d have to REALLY hate that mono-green player to fork out the best part of $100 just to annoy them!

#92. Wolf Pack ($99)

Wolf Pack comes in just shy of the $100 mark. Another Portal Three Kingdom card, and not on the Reserved List, I wouldn’t sink much money since Thorn Elemental should be readily available.

#91. Falling Star ($100)

Finally breaking through that $100 barrier, Falling Star is not only a Reserved List card, but a dexterity card, which requires you to flip it over. These cards have gone out of fashion a little since the early days, but they’re a nice look back on a different era of Magic.

#90. Jeweled Lotus ($100)

One of the newer cards on this list, Jeweled Lotus was purposefully printed to be a Commander all-star. Paying homage to another card that may be turning up later in this list, it’s kept a hefty price tag despite a significant reprint in Commander Masters. This is likely to be one of those cards that’ll always be worth a lot, although more reprints are always possible!

#89. Hellfire ($105)

In the days before Plague Wind, all you had was something like Hellfire. Definitely better in 1v1 formats where it’s going to deal less damage to you, it still isn’t too bad if you want to wipe your opponent’s board but leave yours intact.

#88. Time Spiral ($111)

While not the best wheel effect (and not even the only one on this list!), Time Spiral is still a good version and one that’s also on the Reserved List. At its best in the decks that take advantage of wheels, like Nekusar, the Mindrazer, it also sees some fringe play in Legacy/Vintage.

#87. Metalworker ($112)

Metalworker is one of the most powerful ways to ramp in an artifact deck, and that’s saying a lot. Even attached to a weak body, this is a great combo piece that can do silly things, especially if you can give it haste. I can see why this one’s popular, and it’s well-played in the decks that it fits in!

#86. In the Eye of Chaos ($115)

Blue players are hated for their counterspells, and even if In the Eye of Chaos doesn’t just hate on instants, it’s still a bit unusual to see it in blue. These days I’d expect to see it as a white enchantment, but it’s still a cool, if unusual stax piece.

#85. Divine Intervention ($115)

Drawing the game is something that’s not often seen in Magic, and is usually the result of a strange interaction, not, as is the case with Divine Intervention, the whole point of the card! I don’t expect to see something like this outside of an un-set in the future, and being on the Reserved List makes it especially unique.

Interesting note: From this card onwards we’re looking at cards that are literally worth more than their weight in gold at the time of writing!

#84. Two-Headed Giant of Foriys ($119)

Once upon a time, Two-Headed Giant of Foriys was one of the better creatures you could include in your deck. A 5-mana 4/4 trample with upside was well above rate for Alpha, even if it wasn’t as good as Shivan Dragon. These days it’d still be a solid player in Limited, but the reason why it’s money is because it’s a Reserved List card.

#83. Ifh-Bíff Efreet ($122)

Green has always had ways to hate on fliers, and Ifh-Bíff Efreet was one of the originals. An interesting win-con, your opponent could also use it to win if you were too low on life. High risk, high reward. Just pray your opponent isn’t playing green-based aggro!

#82. Tawnos's Coffin ($123)

You might note a few similarities between Tawnos's Coffin and Oubliette, and you’d be right! We don’t have an errata to phasing here, though. While I can’t find anything confirming why this is, it’s likely because it’s on the Reserved List, so Wizards is hesitant to errata something they can’t reprint.

#81. Zhang Fei, Fierce Warrior ($125)

A 4/4 vigilance, horsemanship, Zhang Fei, Fierce Warrior is a good beater, but only expensive because of scarcity. It’s not even on the Reserved List, so you could expect it to get a reprint just like other cards seen in Portal Three Kingdoms.

#80. Rasputin Dreamweaver ($126)

We don’t get many cards based on real people anymore (ignoring the recent celebrity depictions we’ve had in Universes Beyond). Rasputin Dreamweaver does provide a lot of value, and even the limit of seven dream counters still allows you to do some busted things.

#79. Land Equilibrium ($129)

Land Equilibrium is actually quite a balanced way to have a bit of land hate. It seems like a white effect to me, reminding me of Balance, but something you can at least try to play around. If you can cast this with no lands and a bunch of mana rocks, you get a nice lock going, but it’s far away from mass land destruction cards!

#78. Cyclopean Tomb ($133)

Cyclopean Tomb is a card that feels like it’s more complicated than it needs to be. The idea is simple, but the oracle text is pretty long. It’s quite obvious what it was supposed to be, though, as a way to make lands into swamps in the days before Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.

#77. Lady Sun ($137)

Lady Sun is a nicely designed tempo piece. A 3-mana 1/1 is a pretty weak body, but I could certainly imagine control players annoying their opponents with this in 1v1 formats at the time it came out. Another P3K card I wouldn’t want to put my money into, this is in the firing line for a reprint!

#76. Intuition ($138)

The eagle-eyed out there will notice that Intuition doesn’t say three differently named cards. That means if you have three or more of something, this is just an instant-speed tutor effect. Even if you’re playing singleton, you can still put your opponent into a lose-lose situation.

#75. Singing Tree ($150)

Singing Tree is a good defensive card that’s quite versatile. Again, this could be a common by today’s standards, but creatures have come a long way. Have we seen a design similar to this since?

#74. Thunder Spirit ($152)

I’m always amused by how much some design and flavor points have changed over the years. Why is a white card called Thunder Spirit? A 2/2 flying first striker does seem white, though, and this Reserved List card would’ve been a great rate when it was printed.

#73. Yawgmoth's Will ($154)

Not only is Yawgmoth's Will a Reserved List card, but it’s also still a very competitive one. Storm decks based around Tendrils of Agony really maximize this to cast more rituals and storm cards from the graveyard. I’m actually surprised that this is as low as it is.

#72. Serendib Djinn ($159)

I wouldn’t blame you if you thought Serendib Djinn was a 2-mana spell, but that’s just how the print looks. At 2 mana you could imagine playing it, but at four it’s much worse. Another of those big beaters with a downside from back in the day for the early Johnnies.

#71. Dong Zhou, the Tyrant ($160)

We’re back in the world of P3K with Dong Zhou, the Tyrant, and I quite like this one. A Fling effect that uses your opponent’s creature instead? This can really turn the tide by itself. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t deserve to cost this much, but it’s more than some of the other cards we’ve seen from the set so far.

#70. King Suleiman ($174)

King Suleiman was probably quite good when it was first printed, and djinn/efreets were more common to see, but these days it’s just pure nostalgia (and Reserved List, obviously!).

#69. Mana Crypt ($174)

Mana Crypt has seen a few reprints in the last couple of years, and it’s still at a crazy price. It just goes to show how powerful it is. This could likely see more reprints and still sit above the $100 mark comfortably.

#68. Argivian Archaeologist ($181)

The flavor is there with Argivian Archaeologist, but it’s certainly not busted. You could put the artifact onto the battlefield, and it would still just be a strong card. It would’ve been annoying to play against in grindy games from the early years, though.

#67. Pyramids ($182)

How? How is Pyramids expensive? Obviously, the main answer is Reserved List, but there are cheaper Reserved List cards that are actually useful! Sigh….

#66. Survival of the Fittest ($183)

Survival of the Fittest is a really powerful card. It’s a creature tutor to start with, and a way to sculpt your hand, but it gets silly if you make use of your graveyard or discarding creatures. Reserved List, yes, but also playable.

#65. Lich ($188)

Lich is a bit of an iconic card and one that’s been riffed on since. It’s a cool effect, even if it’s super risky. Even with how cool it is, though, most of the price comes from its place on the Reserved List. Sorry to any Lich fans!

#64. Ring of Ma'rûf ($195)

Fairly unique at the time, the wish effect on Ring of Ma'rûf just isn’t worth 10 mana these days, despite being split up and colorless. However, Arabian Nights cards are very popular, as well as cards illustrated by Dan Fraizer.

#63. Hazezon Tamar ($195)

Legends was a unique time in MTG. The first legendary creatures and the first multicolored cards were being explored. Hazezon Tamar still pretty much stands up to modern design principles, although it would likely make the tokens right away now. Cool card, and something that I can see someone wanting to build around in EDH.

#62. Illusionary Mask ($199)

It may not be powerful, but Illusionary Mask is definitely cool! Hiding your creature is great, even if it doesn’t take much to turn it back over. We’ve seen some play in this space since, with morph and disguise type effects, but I’d love to see more exploration.

#61. Gwendlyn Di Corci ($200)

Gwendlyn Di Corci certainly feels like a Grixis legend. It’s not too bad of a rate, either. Your opponent discards a card per turn, or you can have a 3/5 to block with? Difficult casting cost, but I could see this as a signpost uncommon in a 3-color set. Not at $200 though!

#60. Power Artifact ($204)

If you see a card that cares about artifacts on this list, you know it’s busted. Power Artifact isn’t an exception here. It’s easy to make infinite mana with his and either Grim Monolith or Basalt Monolith, and it even works well with newer cards like Dino DNA.

#59. Raging River ($211)

Raging River is one of those cards you pick up to show some crazy top-down designs. To me, one of the strangest things about this card is that it’s red. It’s at least guaranteed to mess with combat math.

#58. Scrubland ($230)

We have our first OG dual land, folks! Scrubland is the Orzhov () dual. These Reserved List lands are still the best dual lands ever printed. This version sees much less play than the rest of the cycle, with being particularly unpopular in formats where this is legal. It’s still something desired by many players, and even the least popular of the cycle is played a lot.

#57. Serra's Sanctum ($237)

It’s not quite Gaea's Cradle, but Serra's Sanctum is still a powerful card in the cycle. It tends to see a spike whenever enchantments are popular, for obvious reasons, and it’s quite interesting that this is as cheap as it is, in comparison with its green cousin.

#56. Angus Mackenzie ($245)

Angus Mackenzie must be an annoying commander to play against. Then again, combat damage isn’t the most important thing for a lot of decks, so maybe not. Bant does seem like the correct home for this repeatable Fog, though.

#55. Grim Monolith ($269)

Grim Monolith is at the heart of many infinite mana combos. If you can find a way to untap it for less than 3 mana, you can make infinite colorless mana. It also works if you can reduce its untap ability to 2 or less! What’s more, you can just use it for a mana boost right away, as it doesn’t enter tapped.

#54. Riding the Dilu Horse ($270)

A sorcery-speed Jump spell? Go home P3K, you’re drunk if you’re making Riding the Dilu Horse over $250! At least it’s fun that the buff from this card sticks around permanently.

#53. Gilded Drake ($270)

Gilded Drake is expensive, but it spikes regularly and has been over $400 in the past. It’s a cool effect and one that doesn’t work quite within modern-day design rules. You see this one at competitive tables, and more casual tables with bigger budgets too.

#52. Ravages of War ($280)

Ravages of War isn’t just a P3K card, it’s a P3K mass land destruction card. Clearly modelled after Armageddon, it’s a powerful effect that doesn’t cost a lot of mana. This one is maybe a little bit more resistant to reprints when compared to other cards from the set, as it’s not an effect Wizards likes to include in modern card design.

#51. Living Plane ($285)

Living Plane can create some annoying situations. Cast this, make your creatures indestructible and board wipe. Then all you need to do is reap the salt from your opponents! There are obviously ways for you to still lose after doing this, but it’s going to be difficult.

#50. Elephant Graveyard ($288)

Elephant and mammoth typal. Obviously an OP mechanic in Magic, which is why Elephant Graveyard is so expensive. No? It’s not a thing? Well, it’s only a matter of time until we get an elephant precon!

#49. Word of Command ($297)

Word of Command is an early attempt at a Mindslaver effect, but attached to more of a Thoughtseize kind of effect. I like it, even if it ends up being quite wordy to work out.

#48. Sliver Queen ($300)

The grand-mammy of Slivers, Sliver Queen is the one that’s included on the Reserved List. Obviously spiking whenever Slivers are reprinted, this has been up to $600 in the past, and is a grail card for lovers of swarms!

#47. Savannah ($300)

The next dual land we have is Savannah. It sees play in a smattering of Legacy decks, such as Lands and Maverick. Obviously, it also sees play in decks running green and white, too.

#46. Mirror Universe ($300)

Mirror Universe is an example of a great difference between the printed text and the oracle text. I love the example that’s given in the original. It’s another card that’s been improved upon since the printing, even if it was unique when it was first designed.

#45. Plateau ($320)

The next dual land on our list. Plateau is much more in line with the rest of the cycle. Red is just more popular, with this fitting in Jeskai decks nicely. Sometimes it’ll overtake other duals, but right now it’s towards the bottom of the pile.

#44. Taiga ($335)

We’re hitting more duals now, with Taiga as the Gruul version. It sees play in a bunch of Legacy decks, although it’s often not quite used in the best of the best decks there.

#43. City of Traitors ($340)

City of Traitors is a version of “fast mana,” that allows early ramp to race out a Blood Moon or other key 3-drop. It can also be used to power out combos, when you hope to win the game before you have to sacrifice it.

#42. Zodiac Dragon ($349)

You’ll notice that the price increases between cards are starting to accelerate now. Coming in around $350 we have Zodiac Dragon. A 9-mana “unkillable” threat, it’s another card that’s a Timmy’s dream. We’re still in P3K terrain, though, so be aware that reprints are possible here!

#41. Forcefield ($360)

Forcefield is a card that can find some use to keep you alive, particularly against big creatures swinging at you. It’s not exactly stellar, though, and I’d probably look to sink my money into something else if I was looking to spend this amount to power up my deck!

#40. Bayou ($373)

Bayou is another middling dual. Of course, calling this middling makes it sound bad, but it’s incredible. It just doesn’t tap for that all-important blue () mana!

#39. Transmute Artifact ($380)

Transmute Artifact goes back to that rule about cards on this list caring about artifacts. It can just tutor up whatever you want, and if you can cheat an expensive artifact into play, like Metalwork Colossus, this can just go grab anything from your library and put it onto the battlefield. It’s whatever you need at that particular time!

#38. Ali from Cairo ($388)

Ali from Cairo is another example of an effect that’s been copied in modern design multiple times. Usually in black or white these days, red just seems to have gotten a little bit of everything in the early days!

#37. Old Man of the Sea ($399)

Control Magic was first printed in Alpha, so maybe Old Man of the Sea is the first example of “spell on a stick?” I think it’s also the first example of “you may choose not to untap” if my Scryfall skills serve me well.

#36. Island of Wak-Wak ($402)

At this point in the list I’ve given up trying to guess why some cards are higher than others. Some of it will be due to condition available on the market, granted, but I can’t explain why Island of Wak-Wak is $400. I guess it has a cool name….

#35. Drop of Honey ($426)

Drop of Honey is a very narrow card (but with some cool flavor!). Its main use is for removal against difficult-to-remove creatures. If your opponent has a True-Name Nemesis as their only creature out, Drop takes it out nicely.

#34. City in a Bottle ($452)

We rarely see color-hate these days in Magic, but we NEVER see set-hate. City in a Bottle is one of the few cards that do that, and although it’s on flavor for the story that inspired it, it’s odd that it hates on its own set!

#33. Lion's Eye Diamond ($465)

Lion's Eye Diamond (also known as LED) was originally seen to be pretty bad, but is now a 4-of in Legacy decks and worth over $450. It’s Black Lotus with upside in decks with dredge that want to fill their graveyard. Now that’s powerful!

#32. Eureka ($508)

Eureka is a Show and Tell effect, but is rarely played in those shells in Legacy. Show being blue just makes it much better. However, Show doesn’t have E=mc² on its art, so that just makes this card better overall in my opinion!

#31. Tropical Island ($515)

We’re entering the upper realms of the dual lands now with Tropical Island. This taps for blue or green, and is used in a plethora of decks in the formats where it’s legal. Simic is particularly powerful in Commander, so if you’re running these colors and playing competitively, it gives you that little bit of an edge.

#30. All Hallow's Eve ($522)

All Hallow's Eve is almost certainly a top-down design, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it inspired designs of later cards like Living End and Rise of the Dark Realms.

#29. Nether Void ($550)

Nether Void is an interesting lock piece, and one that seems strange to see in black. It’s not particularly unique apart from its color, but it was pretty groundbreaking when first printed.

#28. Mox Diamond ($558)

We’re onto our first Mox… kinda. Not classed as one of “The” Moxen, Mox Diamond is still pretty powerful and can be used to ramp out powerful cards before they should be in any fair game of Magic. It also taps for mana of any color, something that the original five Moxen couldn’t do.

#27. Shahrazad ($573)

Shahrazad is pretty iconic for its design but was also one of the first banned cards. Mainly banned because it’s just an absolute pain in tournaments as it lets them drag on forever, but it’s still great to see it show up. It also inspired a fun Un-set card, Enter the Dungeon.

#26. Guardian Beast ($600)

Guardian Beast’s name matches its function well. It guards your artifacts, as long as it’s untapped. Cool design, even if it’s unusual to see in black. One of the last cards at this point in the list that isn’t particularly strong in modern formats.

#25. Gauntlet of Might ($602)

Gauntlet of Might is, unsurprisingly, incredibly powerful in red decks. A favorite of goblin players, it can buff your board while doubling your mana. 4 mana for this effect is way too little in any reasonable format!

#24. Volcanic Island ($623)

One of the top duals on our list, Volcanic Island (or Volc) is not only used in most of the top decks in Legacy/Vintage, but it’s also in popular colors for Commander. Much more expensive than the next most expensive dual, this isn’t going to be overtaken anytime soon.

#23. The Abyss ($671)

The Abyss looks pretty good, but I’m struggling to find anywhere that warrants such a high price. Destroying your opponent’s best thing in their upkeep is good, but it doesn’t do a whole lot for 4 mana. That’s some sweet art from a 1994 set, though.

#22. Underground Sea ($740)

Underground Sea is usually among the top three duals in price. As we’ve used a relatively crude way of pricing the cards, it may just be that lower-condition versions are currently listed on TCGplayer. Notably, it’s a blue dual, which are usually the most sought-after due to their demand in Legacy.

#21. Time Vault ($753)

Time Vault is a powerful combo card in all formats where it’s legal. If you can find a way to repeatedly untap it, you take infinite turns, as simple as that! We’re definitely at the “busted” point of the list now, where all cards have at least some justification for being here (if you can justify $750+ cards at all!).

#20. Gaea's Cradle ($758)

Into the top 20, with a card that’s a number of people’s holy grail card: Gaea's Cradle. Wanted in pretty much any creature deck as a way to create a lot of mana, this shines in elves, but plenty of other EDH and Legacy/Vintage decks can make do with it. Even World Championship deck versions are above $100. An unusual point with this Reserved List card, though, is that it had a reprint… as a $2,000 Judge foil!

#19. Candelabra of Tawnos ($799)

Candelabra of Tawnos is a super powerful card if you have lands you can tap for more than 1 mana. It features in decks like Cloudpost in Legacy, and even a newer player can probably see how this can be broken.

#18. Diamond Valley ($800)

Lands that don’t tap for mana aren’t usually something we see anymore, but Diamond Valley is a nice little defensive card. Block with your creature to prevent damage, then sac your chump blocker to gain life. You can run out of resources, but it’s still not bad.

#17. Chains of Mephistopheles ($960)

Drawing cards is powerful, and Chains of Mephistopheles was one of the first cards to hate on that. These days it sometimes sees some fringe sideboard play in Eternal formats, but other than that it’s just collectability.

#16. Moat ($1,090)

Moat is an enchantment that can also be a lock piece. You can tell the top-down design here, where someone asked: “If I design a card to be a moat, what would it look like?” It might not be the most powerful, especially when decks don’t necessarily need to attack to win, but it’s still cool.

#15. Juzám Djinn ($1,200)

At one time Juzám Djinn was one of the stronger creatures you could play. It still beats the Vanilla Test, but so do many more cards in the modern age. It just isn’t there anymore.

#14. Chaos Orb ($1,660)

An example of a “dexterity card” (a card that requires you to physically do something with it), Chaos Orb might be in shorter supply than other cards from the set, due to the reports of players tearing it into pieces to hit multiple creatures! Whether this happened or not is up for some debate, but it makes for a great story, and likely contributes to its high price!

#13. Library of Alexandria ($1,805)

Another card where we can start by saying “drawing cards is powerful,” Library of Alexandria is some easy card draw, especially if you’re on the draw. Draw your seven, then one for turn. Play this and draw again. Easy value!

#12. Mox Pearl ($1,930)

Our first Power 9 card is Mox Pearl. The Moxen are quite clearly powerful to us these days, but originally people wondered why you’d want this over a land! Fast mana is good, but white is probably the color that it’s least good in. Still, you’d include it if you had it!

#11. Bazaar of Baghdad ($1,995)

A real-world reference on a card that’s also powerful! Bazaar of Baghdad might seem like card disadvantage, but if you want to fill your graveyard, it’s fantastic. You get to sculpt your hand as well as put three cards of your choice in the bin. This is incredible if you’re using your graveyard as a resource.

#10. Mishra's Workshop ($2,350)

A land that can make 3 mana, but it can only be used for one of the most broken card types in Magic? Who isn’t surprised that Mishra's Workshop is this high on the list? We’ve discussed how fast mana is important in some of these eternal formats, and ‘shop is one of the fastest!

#9. Mox Emerald ($2,465)

Next on our Moxen list is Mox Emerald. There’s not much to say about this that doesn’t apply to all of these ramp cards, but it’s an auto-include basically anywhere you can fit it, even if green isn’t the color that needs that bit more ramp!

#8. Time Walk ($2,470)

THE extra turn spell. Time Walk is just an incredibly cheap card (to cast anyway). You rarely see extra turn spells cost less than five mana in modern Magic, and for good reason. This is an example of what happens when you have cheap extra turn spells, and “Time Walking” your opponent (or yourself) is still something referred to in Magic slang.

#7. Mox Sapphire ($2,500)

Blue is, and possibly always has been, the most powerful color in Magic, so it’s no surprise that Mox Sapphire is the most expensive of the cycle. Combo cards are scattered all over blue’s history, as well as disruption to make sure your opponents can’t combo. All of the original Moxen are powerful, but Sapphire is the king.

#6. Mox Jet ($2,997)

Mox Jet is our Moxen with a super relevant color. Storm decks tend to use black mana a lot, so it’s especially good there. Of course, just like the others, you’ll play it wherever you can!

#5. Ancestral Recall ($3,290)

It’s crazy to think that Ancestral Recall was originally part of the same cycle that included Giant Growth and Healing Salve. To be fair, this was a rare, unlike the rest of the cycle of 1-mana ”boons,” but I don’t think Richard Garfield and the rest of the designers of the early set could’ve realized how powerful drawing cards can be. You can’t really blame them, as it’s a mistake that all TCGs seem to make in their early days… Professor Oak, Pot of Greed, anyone?

#4. Mox Ruby ($3,466)

Red mana is only just inferior to blue mana in Magic, which is why Mox Ruby is usually the second most expensive of the Moxen. Red provides so many effects: draw/looting, rituals, removal, and more. It’s also one of the colors that works well with artifacts, making it powerful in formats with the best of all of these.

#3. The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale ($3,600)

The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, or just “Tabernacle” for short, is a creature-hate card that has risen through the ranks of expensive cards in the last decade or so. Used in decks like Legacy Lands, it can hate out any deck that relies on using creatures to get in, and has no downside for you if you’re not running any.

#2. Timetwister ($4,300)

Our penultimate entry is perhaps one of the least well-known of the Power 9: Timetwister. The blue counterpart to Wheel of Fortune, this card not only refills your hand but can shuffle your ‘yard back into your library, giving you access to all of your cards again. Wheel effects can be very powerful, and none more so than this one.

#1. Black Lotus ($14,950)

Most people reading this list probably knew which card tops it. Black Lotus has always been the Magic card, and deservedly finds its place up here. Nearly four times the price of the number two card, it’s an incredible amount. While it may not be the card that’s been sold for the highest amount, you can’t pick up a $40 version of this (that isn’t a proxy/counterfeit), which can’t be said for The One Ring. Black Lotus is iconic in Magic, and has been imitated many times, but, thankfully, has never been bettered.

Wrap Up

Black Lotus | Illustration by Christopher Rush

I hope you enjoyed this trip through some of the most expensive cards in all of Magic. We plan to keep this list up to date as time goes on, and prices can change wildly over time, especially with a reprint for non-Reserved List cards.

Do you own or have you ever owned any of these? Let us know in the comments or talk about it in our official Draftsim Discord. And until next time… may you not sink your life savings into P3K cards!