As we’ve covered in various lists already, March of the Machine has some seriously expensive cards. Between the main set, Commander reprints, and Multiverse Legends, there are valuable cards for everyone to fawn over. While each of these categories has some truly expensive MTG cards, one March of the Machine promotion reigns supreme: Serialized cards.
Found exclusively within Collector Boosters, these cards have been expected to be tremendously valuable, with prices around the $1000 mark! Now that March of the Machine has been released, unsurprisingly, we can confirm this prediction was accurate. For the most part, at least, as prices for many of the set’s serialized cards are all over the place. Should you find one of these cards, however, you certainly won’t be disappointed.
Perplexing Prices
Within March of the Machine, there are a total of 70 different serialized Multiverse Legends cards for players to hunt for. As you might expect, these cards aren’t created equal, as many have higher rarities and are more desirable, than others. Obviously, this means there is a wide range of prices that serialized MTG cards may sell for.
On one hand, you have cards such as
Rona, Sheoldred’s Faithful
Rona, Sheoldred’s Faithful
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, each opponent loses 1 life.
You may cast this card from your graveyard by discarding two cards in addition to paying its other costs.
. Having only recently been released in Dominaria United, this card is hardly a Commander or Constructed darling. Nevertheless, they made the cut for the Multiverse Legends bonus sheet thanks to fitting the rather restrictive criteria. Subsequently, it has a Serialized variant, albeit one that only sells for $149.99 at the time of writing.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are Multiverse Legends cards such as
Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice
Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice
Flying, vigilance, deathtouch, lifelink
At the beginning of your end step, proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.)
. While obviously more expensive, thanks to its mythic rarity, this card is also the most popular commander of all time. Subsequently, it might not come as a surprise that Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice commands a serious price tag of $1200 on TCGplayer.
Since not every card can be the most popular commander, unsurprisingly, other mythic cards don’t quite match Atraxa in value.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Flying
When Niv-Mizzet enters, reveal the top ten cards of your library. For each color pair, choose a card that's exactly those colors from among them. Put the chosen cards into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
, for instance, has sold for only $600 on eBay. While this price isn’t to be scoffed at, it nevertheless shows that a mythic serialized card doesn’t guarantee value. Not anymore, at least.
Previously, when serialized cards were first launched for The Brothers’ War, mythic cards were a surefire hit.
Wurmcoil Engine
Wurmcoil Engine
Deathtouch, lifelink
When this creature dies, create a 3/3 colorless Phyrexian Wurm artifact creature token with deathtouch and a 3/3 colorless Phyrexian Wurm artifact creature token with lifelink.
, for instance, was initially selling for $1000, as was
Ramos, Dragon Engine
Ramos, Dragon Engine
Flying
Whenever you cast a spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Ramos for each of that spell's colors.
Remove five +1/+1 counters from Ramos: Add {W}{W}{U}{U}{B}{B}{R}{R}{G}{G}. Activate only once each turn.
. More valuable than both of these cards, however, was the rare
Guilded Lotus
Guilded Lotus
Pledge (Join a two-colored guild if you haven't already this game.)
{T}: Add three mana in any combination of your guild's colors
, which sold for around $2000.
Chaotic Costs
Since the release of The Brothers’ War, MTG players have seemingly learned what to expect from serialized MTG cards. As, unlike the frantic sales around The Brothers’ War’s launch, prices are already more reflective of each card’s demand. Saying that, however, there’s still a monumental amount of fluctuation in the prices of these prized collectible cards.
The worst offenders of this chaotic pricing that have been seen so far are March of the Machine’s serialized Praetors. Featuring incredible abilities and gorgeous art, it’s easy to understand why these cards are some of the most desirable in the set. So desirable, in fact, that several MTG players are willing to pay absolutely obscene prices to obtain them.Â
For example, ahead of the set’s release, a copy of
Elesh Norn
Elesh Norn
Vigilance
Whenever a source an opponent controls deals damage to you or a permanent you control, that source's controller loses 2 life unless they pay {1}.
{2}{W}, Sacrifice three other creatures: Exile Elesh Norn, then return it to the battlefield transformed under its owner's control. Activate only as a sorcery.
sold on eBay for $2750. While this is a slightly early copy of, admittedly, the set’s best Praetor, this price nevertheless seems almost insane. After all, it is a hefty premium over the cost of other serialized Praetors cards that are equally as rare. In comparison, serialized copies of
Vorinclex
Vorinclex
Reach, trample
When Vorinclex enters, search your library for up to two Forest cards, reveal them, put them into your hand, then shuffle.
{6}{G}{G}: Exile Vorinclex, then return it to the battlefield transformed under its owner's control. Activate only as a sorcery.
have been selling for as low as $500.
For better or worse, it’s not only similar rarities of cards that have some major price differences. As, across eBay, even copies of the same card have been selling for dramatically different prices. Vorinclex, for instance, doesn’t only sell for $500, as copies have been sold for upwards of $750 at least!
With Niv-Mizzet Reborn similarly seeing $200 price fluctuations, it’s safe to say serialized cards prices are far from stable. Considering the rarity of each serialized card, however, this may not be too much of a surprise. After all, it’s very much a seller’s market since there’s not much competition over these purely collectible cards.
The Numbers Game
While the prices of many serialized MTG cards may be chaotically different, there are some emergent trends. Firstly, as should be expected, cards that see play within Commander, Modern, and Legacy, all command higher prices than their counterparts at the same rarity. Alongside this, serialized cards with more interesting numbers are also significantly more expensive than regular copies.
The 001 copy of
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
Whenever Ragavan deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token and exile the top card of that player's library. Until end of turn, you may cast that card.
Dash {1}{R} (You may cast this spell for its dash cost. If you do, it gains haste, and it's returned from the battlefield to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.)
, is one such example of this. Having been discovered ahead of schedule by Star City Games’ General Manager, Ben Bleiweiss, this card sold over the weekend for, at least, $6500! In comparison, ongoing auction sales for serialized Ragavans sit at between $1900 and $517 at the time of writing.
Ultimately, you may have to hunt for the right deal if you’re in the market for a serialized MTG card but don’t care about the number. As unlike traditional MTG card sales, prices are evidently all over the place. Unfortunately, thanks to most serialized cards being sold by auction, it’s unlikely that prices will stabilize anytime soon. That being said, however, as more cards are found, and excitement dies down, prices may fall in tandem.
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