As a major Universes Beyond product, there has been a huge amount of interest in the Doctor Who Commander decks. Providing MTG players with awesome new cards, and delighting series fans with oodles of flavor, this set had it all. The Doctor Who decks even had something for the avid MTG collector, as Serialized cards have returned once again.
While they might not hold a candle to the One-of-One Ring, these cards are still incredibly rare and expensive. Limited to just over 500 printings each and appearing exclusively in Collector Boosters, these foils are most definitely fancy. Despite their rarity, however, the new serialized cards aren’t quite as good as expected.
$600+ Doctor Who MTG Cards!
To dive right into the big spicy headline, yes, a select few Doctor Who MTG cards are already selling for over $600. Unsurprisingly, given we mentioned them mere moments ago, these are the serialized Doctor cards from the set. As impressive as this sales record is, ultimately, it isn’t anything too new for serialized cards in MTG.
Currently, the card topping the pricing charts is The Tenth Doctor and it’s not even close. Having sold for $649.69 most recently on TCGplayer, this card is obviously incredibly expensive thanks to its rarity. This card appears to be so rare, in fact, that it’s one of few Serialized Doctors that have even sold on TCGplayer!
While TCGplayer may have rather slim pickings for the serialized Doctor Who cards, eBay is a completely different story. Searching for serialized and serial-numbered cards there, the marketplace appears to be almost flooded with the supposedly rare cards. Considering there are 6591 serialized Doctor Who cards in existence, however, this shouldn’t really be such a surprise.
Across eBay, the serialized Doctor Who cards that have been found are going for all manner of prices. Some are listed for as much as $10,000, while others are more sensibly in the $200 – $300 range. Miraculously, while there are many bids placed on the currently cheaper auctions, one eager player has bid $5000 on one serialized Doctor Who card!
Looking at the completed sales for the serialized cards, unfortunately, there’s not much of a clearer picture. With sales ranging from between $265 and $600, MTG players can’t make up their minds about what these cards are worth. As varied as the prices are already, however, this is likely only the start of a wavering pricing trend.
Prices Will Plummet
While the new Doctor Who Serialized cards are obviously very expensive at the moment, for better or worse, it’s unlikely these prices will last. Looking back at previous sets, Serialized cards have a history of plummeting hard following release. This can be seen clearly by taking a gander at March of the Machine.
When the set first launched, March of the Machine’s serialized cards were, unsurprisingly, incredibly expensive. This was especially true for Commander and competitive staples like Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer. With the first, and most exciting 001/500 print, selling for $6500, it seemed demand for these collectible cards was alive and well.
While the set may have started with a bang, shortly after release, the value of serialized cards nosedived. With supply flooding the limited market, the prices of the once-popular cards haven’t recovered at all. Now, on eBay, you can easily get a serialized Multiverse Legends card for under $100! Most rare cards, however, will set you back more around $200.
For better or worse, there is an exception to this pricing trend in the serialized Lord of the Rings MTG cards. Of course, the One-of-One Ring is in a league of its own, however, the set also contained serialized Sol Rings. With 1900 copies available, in three different flavors, these cards are technically less rare than normal serialized cards!
Despite the numbers, the serialized Sol Ring cards are still fantastically expensive. On eBay, players are paying between $1000 and $5000 depending on the variant. While they don’t sell all too often, it nevertheless shows these cards are incredibly valuable. Unsurprisingly, this price tag comes from the card’s appeal in Commander, being used in almost every deck.
Not Quite Commander Favorites
While Sol Ring may be an iconic and immensely prevalent game piece, there’s nevertheless an obvious trend. The more powerful and popular a serialized card is, the more demand there will be for the card. This then begs the question, which Doctor is going to be the most popular, powerful, and ultimately expensive?
Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, that’s a very difficult question to answer. That isn’t, however, because all of the new Doctor cards are so good. In fact, the opposite is almost true, as none of the thirteen serialized Doctor cards are that amazing in Commander. Sure, each of them has interesting abilities that will be fun to play with, but they’re no Atraxa, Praetor’s Voice[/toltips].
Due to this lack of casual and competitive strength, it’s highly likely that the high prices are only a temporary fad. After all, only a smidgen of the possible 6591 serialized Doctor Who cards have been found thus far. Once more supply appears on the market and demand is satiated, prices will drop, or sales will become shockingly infrequent.
From the looks of things at the moment, while prices may fall, [tooltips]The Eleventh Doctor is still the most popular card. For how much longer this will continue to be true, however, remains to be seen.
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