Heritage Auctions has announced an MTG Alpha auction of all 295 cards from the original set. First released in 1993, Magic: The Gathering’s debut set features some of the most expensive cards in the game’s history. Each card – including the infamous Black Lotus – will be sold individually.
As part of the first MTG set ever, Alpha cards have a lot of historic value. Their scarcity also pushes the prices up. Only 1,100 copies of the set’s rare cards were produced, as well as 4,500 uncommons, and 15,900 commons. Finding a rare Alpha card at all is tricky enough, and it’s even harder to find ones still in top-quality condition.
Bidding begins on March 14, and a live auction begins at 6pm CT (4pm PT / 7pm ET / 12am GMT). With the most expensive Magic cards of all time among the listings, we’re expecting big bids on the usual suspects. Heritage Auctions’ February newsletter highlights a BGS grade 9 MTG Black Lotus, as well as a grade 9.5 Time Walk.
Other members of the MTG Power 9 will also fetch a pretty penny, and many are signed by their original illustrators, further boosting the value. The grade 9 Mox Sapphire up for auction is signed by artist Dan Frazier and Magic creator Richard Garfield.
In the past, we’ve seen mint Alpha Magic cards sell for anywhere between $10,000 and $500,000. Rapper Post Malone owns the most expensive Black Lotus in the world, which he claims to have paid $800,000 for.
The biggest sale of all time was for a card from a new set, however. Back in 2023, Postie paid an eye-watering $2 million for a one-of-a-kind copy of The One Ring from the Lord of the Rings Universes Beyond set.
You can find listings for the auction on the Heritage Auctions website. Be sure to follow us on Google News for more Magic updates. Or, head straight to our MTG release schedule guides for the latest on upcoming trading card game sets.