The Top 100 Most Expensive Magic the Gathering Cards (September 2023)

With all the controversy surrounding Hasbro’s handling of the Magic the Gathering trading card game, plenty of Magic cards still over $1,000 in value in mid-2023. But there isn’t an easy-to-read list of these top cards currently easily available or up to date. So, I decided to start my own list of the most valuable and expensive MTG cards right now.

In this list, the prices are rounded to the nearest hundred dollars for cards over $1,000, and the nearest $50 for cards under $1,000. These market values are as of early September 2023. Each card’s most expensive printing is listed here, while less expensive printings are not, as several cards would show up more than twice on this list.

I decided to use TCGPlayer market price calculations because these numbers are based on actual sales on the platform. While there may be more expensive sales of Magic cards beyond those listed here, these are the cards that sell consistently enough to have sales data for an approximate market value. Simply listing the least expensive current sales price is not a true representation of value, after all.

I plan to update this list every few months to keep it relatively current, but the idea behind this list is to give a general view of what cards, and what types of cards, tend to carry the most value in the long term.

Notably, Black Lotus, which is the most expensive Magic card ever, hasn’t been included on previous versions of this list due to minimal sales over the past several months. However it is on the July update of the list. The least expensive copy of Lotus listed on TCGPlayer as of September 5th, 2023 is $10,789 for an Unlimited Edition Black Lotus. 

Tournament legal Ancestral Recall, several of the Mox mana rocks, and a few other Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited edition cards also do not appear on this list due to insufficient sales data for the TCGPlayer market price calculations.

Without further ado, here are the top 100 most expensive Magic cards in 2023 according to TCGPlayer Market Price for Near-Mint (NM) condition sales. Right now, 25 of the top 50 most valuable Magic cards are worth over $1,000! Note that only tournament-legal cards are on this list; no Magic 30 or Collector’s Edition cards are on this list.

Top 100 Most Expensive MTG Cards (September 2023)

1. Black Lotus (Unlimited Edition) (~$12,000)
2. Underground Sea (Beta Edition) (~$6,000)
3. Mox Jet (Unlimited Edition) (~$3,600)
4. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer (Secret Lair Showdown) (~$3,200)
5. Mox Sapphire (Unlimited Edition) (~$2,800)
6. Bazaar of Baghdad (Arabian Nights) (~$2,800)
7. Juzam Djinn (Arabian Nights) (~$2,800)
8. Gaea’s Cradle (Judge Promos) (~$2,500)
9. Mox Ruby (Unlimited Edition) (~$2,500)
10. Shivan Dragon – Serial Numbered (Secret Lair Drop) (~$2,400)
11. The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale (Legends) (~$2,300)
12. Elesh Norn (Serial Numbered) (March of the Machine) (~$2,300)
13. Library of Alexandria (Arabian Nights) (~$2,300)
14. Mishra’s Workshop (Antiquities) (~$2,200)
15. Plateau (Beta Edition) (~$2,200)
16. Mox Pearl (Unlimited Edition) (~$2,200)
17.  Wheel of Fortune (Judge Promos) (~$1,800)
18. Mind Twist (Beta Edition) (~$1,700)
19. Mana Vault (Beta Edition) (~$1,600)
20. Volcanic Island (Foreign Black Border) (~$1,500)
21. Moat (Legends) (~$1,300)
22. Hidetsugu, Devouring Chaos (Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty – Neon Red) (~$1,200)
23. Gandalf the White (Play Promos) (~$1,200)
24.  Sheoldred, (Serial Numbered) (March of the Machine) (~$1,200)
25. Chains of Mephistopheles (Legends) (~$1,100)
26. Time Vault (Unlimited Edition) (~$1,100)
27.  Urabrask (Serial Numbered) (March of the Machines) (~$1,100)
28.  Armageddon (Alpha Edition) (~$1,000)
29.  Disrupting Scepter (Alpha Edition) (~$1,000)
30. Chaos Orb (Unlimited Edition) (~$1,000)
31. Island (Guru Lands) (~$1,000)
32.  Vorinclex (Serial Numbered) (March of the Machines) (~$1,000)
33. Atraxa, Praetor’s Voice (Serial Numbered) (March of the Machines) (~$1,000)
34.  Granite Gargoyle (Alpha Edition) (~$900)
35.  Intuition (Judge Promos) (~$900)
36.  Wrath of God (Beta Edition) (~$900)
37.  Sol Ring (Kaladesh Inventions) (~$850)
38.  Lightning Bolt (Judge Promos) (~$800)
39.  Candelabra of Tawnos (Antiquities) (~$800)
40.  Mana Crypt (Kaladesh Inventions) (~$800)
41.  Scrubland (Unlimited Edition) (~$800)
42. The Abyss (Legends) (~$800)
43. Mox Diamond (From the Vault: Relics) (~$800)
44. Demonic Tutor (Beta Edition) (~$750)
45.  Wurmcoil Engine (Brothers’ War Schematic / 500) (~$750)
46.  Nether Void (Legends) (~$700)
47.  Guardian Beast (Arabian Nights) (~$700)
48. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite (Serial Numbered) (March of the Machine) (~$700)
49.  Mutavault (Champs Promos) (~$700)
50.  Swords to Plowshares (Alpha Edition) (~$700)
51.  Jin-Gitaxias (March of the Machine) (Serial Numbered) (~$700)
52. Tundra (Unlimited Edition) (~$700)
53. Diamond Valley (Arabian Nights) (~$700)
54.  Hypnotic Specter (Alpha Edition) (~$700)
55. The Wandering Emperor (1st Place Promo) (~$700)
56. Mahamoti Djinn (Beta Edition) (~$650)
57. Gauntlet of Might (Unlimited Edition) (~$650)
58. Tropical Island (Unlimited Edition) (~$650)
59. Narset, Parter of Veils (Japanese Alternate Art) (~$650)
60. Yawgmoth’s Will (Judge Promos) (~$650)
61. Forest (Guru Lands) (~$600)
62. Jeweled Lotus (Textured Foil – Commander Masters) (~$600)
63.  Plains (Guru Lands) (~$600)
64. Braingeyser (Beta Edition) (~$600)
65.  Mana Short (Alpha Edition) (~$600)
66.  Will-o’-the-Wisp (Alpha Edition) (~$600)
67.  Sengir Vampire (Alpha Edition) (~$600)
68.  Eureka (Legends) (~$600)
69.  Bayou (Unlimited Edition) (~$600)
70.  Shahrazad (Arabian Nights) (~$600)
71.  All Hallow’s Eve (Legends) (~$550)
72.  Icy Manipulator (~$550)
73.  Niv-Mizzet Reborn (Serial Numbered) (March of the Machine) (~$550)
74. Swamp (Guru Lands) (~$550)
75. City of Brass (Arabian Nights) (~$550)
76. Lotus Petal (Kaladesh Inventions) (~$550)
77. Jace, the Mind Sculptor (Secret Lair Drop) (~$550)
78. Liliana of the Dark Realms (SDCC 2013 Exclusive) (~$500)
79. Gilded Lotus (Schematic Serial Numbered) (The Brothers War) (~$500)
80.  Seizan, Perverter of Truth (Serial Numbered) (March of the Machine) (~$500)
81.  Counterspell (Beta Edition) (~$500)
82.  Winter Orb (Beta Edition) (~$500)
83.  Savannah Lions (Beta Edition) (~$500)
84.  Goblin King (Beta Edition) (~$500)
85.  Elvish Archers (Beta Edition) (~$500)
86.  Mountain (Guru Lands) (~$500)
87.  Serra Angel (Beta Edition) (~$500)
88. Gifts Given (Special Occasion) (~$500)
89. Nevinyrral’s Disk (Beta Edition) (~$450)
90. Nissa, Who Shakes the World (JP Alternate Art) (~$450)
91. Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur (Serial Numbered) (March of the Machine) (~$450)
92. Lion’s Eye Diamond (Mirage) (~$450)
93.  Warp Artifact (Alpha Edition) (~$450)
94.  Drop of Honey (Arabian Nights) (~$450)
95. Word of Command (Beta Edition) (~$450)
96.  Force of Will (Judge Promos) (~$400)
97.  Forcefield (Unlimited Edition) (~$400)
98. Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon (Serial Numbered) (March of the Machines) (~$400)
99.  Island of Wak-Wak (Arabian Nights) (~$400)
100.  Serendib Efreet (Arabian Nights) (~$400)

Honorable mentions include several Serial Numbered Schematic cards from The Brothers War, such as Ramos, Dragon Engine, Ornithopter, Chromatic Lantern, and Door to Nothingness, all around $400 in market price.

What do you think of this list? Are there any Magic cards you’re surprised to see on it? Note that this list is planned to be updated quarterly – although when serial numbered cards are introduced I’ll check back to find which are charting in the Top 100 MTG cards selling on TCGPlayer.

Updated 9/5/2023