Artistry of these cards is just superb. Glad to get this exposure of these artifacts. Really arguably the greatest trading card game of all time. Objectively speaking. I didn’t even play, and I only really engage with Poke/Yugioh. But these just have that quintessential, almost renaissance simplicity and elegance to them.
2 Likes
I love the art of early MtG too. These were all hand drawn paintings by the artists, many (or most?) of which still exist. I also love the original game of MtG. There’s a reason it became so popular. It’s very fun! The original ABU sets offered a lot of variety and deck builds with 300-ish unique cards in total. The game has evolved a lot over the years and while some people love the way it is now with its nearly infinite builds and very complex mechanics, as a casual player I’m a fan of the original, simple format of the early/mid-1990s.
2 Likes
A certain person got a gem mint with signature mox sapphire graded because Dan signed over the print dot 
3 Likes
Sounds like something Daniel Chang would do.
3 Likes
Seems like a smart guy to me:sunglasses:
1 Like
He’s a scrappy guy that’s for sure.
3 Likes
Your scans are fond remembrances of the segment of the game I left behind. I had a massive and at times messy collection. I started divesting after my wife threatened to throw them out if I were to suddenly die. I am old enough that this became a distinct possibility well before the Covid pandemic. I started with my Magic collection, since Pokemon values were so much lower at the time.
While none of my cards were graded (related to PSA incompetence when they started grading baseball cards back in the 1990s), I was a Magic collector almost from the beginning. I sold off a ton of old extras and my mint player’s sets of every early offering except Alpha and Beta (I only had one near set of those). I still have post-94 cards and sets, but unfortunately none of the originals.
2 Likes
Thanks for sharing. I’m sorry to hear that. I had these same cards back from the beginning as well. I also sold all of my original cards back in 1999.
Back in the early days there was no internet or card checklist. There was a sense that certain cards were rare vs others but no way to really know. Opening new packs or going to your friends house and seeing their cards was always exciting because you might see something new. Time walk was obviously a great card from the beginning. I considered it the most powerful card. Other cards like Black Lotus or the Moxes were less obvious. That all changed pretty quickly. These cards are very nostalgic for me and bring me back to that time. I think I’ll post some more today 
1 Like
Ok this post is an ode to iconic Alpha uncommons. I think I mentioned before that there were only 1,100 of each Alpha rare printed. Consensus is that roughly half may be lost, with the vast majority of what’s left being played. “Uncommons” in Alpha are still pretty rare on a relative basis, with only 4,400 of each printed. Here’s some of the classic big hitters from the uncommons. These were all purchased from the same original owner who has probably opened more sealed alpha product than anybody else. These are his “best of the best” copies of each of these cards. There are higher graded copies of each card out there. But he never had his cards re-reviewed by beckett, and it’s my view that a few of these would have room for sub-grade “bumps” should I go down that route, particularly the serra angel.
11 Likes
I’ve never been a MTG guy but that demonic tutor is awesome
Still shocks me how low the original Demonic Tutor art sold for. I can’t think of a more iconic piece of MTG art, except for maybe Serra Angel. Those cards are beautiful, Jon. ABU has so many good uncommons it’s insane. Black Vise, Counterspell, Berserk, Regrowth, Animate Dead, Hypnotic Specter, Basalt Monolith…and then the ones you posted. Amazing how much ABU has stood the test of time.
1 Like
I’ve been thinking about starting a graded MTG card collection for a while, and looking through this thread really makes me want to commit to it. I’m thinking about selling most of my legacy reserved list staples to buy some graded copies of my favorite cards, namely some BGS 9.5 Alpha uncommons and BGS 9.5 Beta rares as well as a few favorites from later sets. Outside of Alpha/Beta, how hard is it to find raw BGS 9.5 candidates? I was looking through the pop reports for Arabian Nights, Antiquities, and Legends and most cards have relatively few graded examples when compared to their print run totals.
1 Like
Very easy to find raw BGS 9.5/10 candidates for sets outside of Alpha/Beta. You just have to find the right vendors. I will say that SCG was an incredible source of mint commons/uncommons for my Unlimited set. Basically all of the cards I received from them were PSA 10 quality. But their stock is pretty bad now, unfortunately. ABUGames gives scans of expensive/condition-sensitive cards and I’ve gotten quite a few very minty cards off them. They have amazing stock (by far the most complete vintage MTG selection in the world) but their prices are pretty high if you’re not trading in cards. Don’t bother with Card Kingdom or T&T for mint cards, of course. And then there are a few TCGPlayer vendors that are great for mint cards, but it takes trial and error to find them.
But overall, pretty damn easy to find mint MTG cards from pretty much any set outside of Alpha/Beta/Arabian Nights.
1 Like
Thanks for the recommendations! Also, do you reckon that there are any sets after Revised that have print runs lower than Legends? I understand that the era I most actively played standard, From Coldsnap to Zendikar block, was a low point for Magic. I wouldn’t be surprised if these sets had lower print runs compared to the sets from the mid to late 90’s, but I could be sorely mistaken.
Post-Revised sets with lower print runs than Legends? My guess is that the only set that almost certainly meets that criterion is English P3k. The other ones that might come close are Starter 1999 and both Portal sets.
MTG print runs started to really increase around the time around Innistrad, and then increased again with RTR. Still, none of the sets pre-Innistrad, post-1999 had print runs remotely close to Legends. Much more mass-produced. But Coldsnap/TSP/Lorwyn/Shadowmoor-era definitely had much lower print runs than post-Scars block sets. But definitely much higher print runs than Legends. Likely lower print run than sets like Fallen Empires/Homelands/Ice Age etc., though.
1 Like
Thanks, yeah so many great uncommons in the set. I think ABU has stood the test of time because it was (generally) so well conceived and fun. And because to this day WOTC has been respectful of the balance of the game and the power level of some of the original cards.
2 Likes
Waiting for the best looking alpha card… disintegrate!!
1 Like
I agree with Zorloth’s responses. Raw, mint Alpha/Beta used to be what you’d get by ordering NM cards online but I can only speak to ~7-8 years ago. I was able to grade a lot of cards I bought back then, and what wasn’t grade-able would still be unplayed. I get the sense that’s changed, particularly for Alpha.
The same went for Arabians, Antiquities and Legends. But it would vary. I remember buying two different raw sets of AN from ebay. Both seemed great online. One arrived and was unplayed but like 8/9 level so I didn’t grade it. The other was immaculate. I graded a BGS 10 Old Man of the Sea from that set and tons of 9.5s. Curious to hear what your experience will be today.
2 Likes
Haha if that’s your card I’ll post it when I get to some commons
If you are looking to build a set on a budget you will need to be a bit ahead of the curve in the set you choose, or think a bit out of the box.
Magic has gone through it’s production ups and down, but almost never back down to the production levels of Legends or Antiquities. Wizards originally gave production figures, but stopped by ~ 1995. The Starter and Portal sets might have the most limited production numbers, as they were “unofficial” learner sets that weren’t legal tournament cards for the longest time, and were never legal in current formats when they were released. And while those sets had some nice cards they still don’t get much player respect. In that regard they may be reasonable in terms of price for building graded sets. Since these sets were learner sets, what I don’t know is how easily you will find high grade cards. For many on-line sellers NrMt can be PSA 6, and for many cards you won’t get to see condition up front.
WOTC overproduced tremendously immediately after 1994-95, after the Revised (core set) and The Dark (expansion sets) releases. The later sets were much less imaginative, and to this day the sets that came shortly after are still inexpensive. Because the excess inventory clogged supply chains, the game got stale as the oldest sets rotated out of play. As a result non-core set offerings from ~ 1998 thru 2000 had reduced production. Key cards for sets like Tempest, Stronghold, the Urza’s Block, and even the 6th Edition core set are getting more difficult to find in top condition. Not impossible, but the prices, after having been stagnant for quite a while, are rising. The production numbers were definitely higher than sets like Legends. But unlike Legends these newer cards had nothing to keep them from being played or carelessly stored.
There are card variations that are possibly as rare, or even rarer, than Alpha and Beta. If you wanted to go for something unusual this might be a place to look.
Many know of an accidental (?) release of a set known as “Summer Magic”. This would not be the set to collect. This was a core set that was supposed to be a “fixed” Revised set, but had problems and was not supposed to be released. Of course some of it was released, in the UK and in Texas, in 1994. It was almost immediately recognized as a variation and since discovered it has been extremely collectible. There may be as few as 10 or 20 of each rare. Prices for individual cards are high, for rares are astronomical, and I don’t know if a full set was ever sold as such, in any condition.
A less known (but possibly almost as rare) variation occurred with the subsequent core set, 4th Edition. This might be worth looking into. WOTC was producing all their cards in Belgium, and ran into massive supply problems. They contracted with a large US card manufacturer (US Playing Card Company) for a trial run of their new core set to get a second source. The trial run was a failure because of minor but noticeable differences in the card design and in how quickly the cards degraded under normal use (a weaker wear coat). The Belgium company eventually set up a print facility in TN to boost capacity. But those trial cards, packaged in starter decks, eventually made it to market via secondary channels (there were claims that WOTC opposed this, but there were never formal attempts to stop it). 4th Edition, coming after great sets, was considered at the time uninspiring. And most players saw no difference between regular 4th edition and this “Alternate 4th” edition.
With it’s stealth introduction, most cards were used in play and disappeared as bulk. But some of the starter decks survived, and became quite valuable after 1999 as collectors discovered the set as a whole. It was estimated that 600 to 1,000 of each rare were produced (with correspondingly higher amounts of uncommon, common and land cards), which would would mean between 2,400 and 4,000 ten-deck boxes of starters were produced. This would have meant a trial run of $200,000 to $360,000 worth of retail product, appropriate for a trial print run at the time. It is estimated that less than 100 of each rare has survived in NrMt or better condition.
I doubt many Alt 4th cards have ever been graded, but I know some have. Sales of full sets claiming even Near Mint condition are rare, with less than 5 over the last decade. The most recent, a few weeks ago on Ebay, went for $6,000+. This price is about 10 times as high as a regular 4th Edition set. But if you want to go after a graded set, understand it may take quite a while. The cards themselves are hard to find, and it may require multiple copies to find one in high grade.
1 Like