By Brian Cooper |
Updated on December 19, 2023
Magic’s Foil Etched cards are the newest and most popular ‘chase’ cards to find in boosters and they’re super tough to find. Depending on the set, foil etched cards are sometimes exclusive to Collector booster packs while in other sets you can find them in set and draft booster packs as well. They are much different from traditional foil cards and, in my opinion, they have changed the Magic landscape and made booster packs ten times more fun to open!
Foil etched cards arrived on the scene with Commander Legends and WOTC ended up making a great set even better with this unique foil effect. The Foil Etched cards are different from traditional foil cards as they have more of a metallic look to them with less glare (not as shiny.) Basically they have more of a matte finish which dulls down the shininess but looks more like textured metal. They’re unique and I really think collectors finally have something new and cool to chase after in Magic booster packs that has been lacking, well, pretty much forever!
Read about the best one, the Imperial Seal, and four other trending Magic Double Masters 2022 foil etched cards in this week’s Top 5 Hottest Magic Cards!
5. Dockside Extortionist
Originally printed and released in the preconstructed Commander 2019 decks (deck name was ‘Mystic Intellect’), Dockside Extortionist made its return in Double Masters 2022 and is number 5 on our list. It’s certainly a popular and explosive card for deck builders as it has the ability to produce tons of mana and can literally win you the game a high percentage of the time. That alone has made Dockside Extortionist a highly sought after card from the Commander deck and now something to search for in Double Masters 2022 (DM2) packs.
Prices for Dockside Extortionist Foil Etched cards have remained strong. When DM2 first hit the shelves, those very smart Magic investors were snapping them up as low as $50-60. Over the last month, prices have increased nearly 50%, going from $120 to now closer to $180! Demand is still super high for this tough version of a popular card among players and I expect prices will remain strong going forward.
4. Cavern of Souls
Cavern of Souls was originally released in the Avacyn Restored set back in 2012 and then later in nine other variations including Modern Masters 2017, Ultimate Masters and Zendikar Rising Expeditions to name a few. It’s a powerful and unique land card that can be used in a variety of different decks. And as always, players and collectors continue to go crazy over dominant land cards that can change games.
So let’s talk about price. No matter how often Wizards reprints the card, prices fluctuate a bit but still rise back up and maintain high levels. It’s a potent card and there always will be a market for this type of land. So even with multiple variations, including this really cool Cavern of Souls Foil Etched version in Double Masters 2022 (which is arguably the best version), I don’t expect prices to drop much.
So what will it set you back to pick up the Double Masters 2022 Foil Etched Cavern of Souls? There are recent sales of around $100 and most listings are asking upwards of $125. It’s a highly sought after card in DM2022 and my guess is there are not many out there to go around. There are TWO (yes 2!) active listings on eBay for the English version. That should tell you quite a bit about how many are floating around. Not many.
3. Mana Vault
Mana Vault is an iconic card that has been given new life multiple times throughout the history of Magic. The community loved this card so much, Wizards decided to keep reprinting it in different sets throughout the years. And to date, we’ve seen Mana Vault pop up in Magic releases no less than 10-times since 1993.
Mana Vault is one of those original Alpha cards that was super powerful back then and continues to be now with its reappearance in Double Masters 2022. But this time, we have this awesome foil etched version which is tough to find in packs and highly sought after by players and collectors alike.
Currently on eBay there are 7 active listings for the Mana Vault Foil Etched English version with prices hovering around $110-120. In the last month there have been 22 sales of this card that I can count on eBay which tells me that as fast as they’re being listed, they’re selling. It’s a great card by itself and the foil etched version makes it that much better.
2. Wrenn and Six
Wrenn and Six, which was originally released in Modern Horizons and then later added to The List, hit again recently with its inclusion into Double Masters 2022 and no one is complaining! It’s tough to say anything bad about a 2-mana Planeswalker that comes into play with 3 loyalty right off the bat, right?
If you’re a red/green deck kinda person, then Wrenn and Six is a card to consider. But it will set you back a pretty penny if you want one. The regular Modern Horizons or Double Masters 2022 version will start off around $60 and foil versions will be well over $100.
But the Wrenn and Six Foil Etched version is the one to get if you’re a collector/investor. Asking prices are in the $120-140 range and sales are coming in pretty solid at $100-120. If you need one for your deck, then the regular versions are the way to go. But if you want one to grade or put away, I think foil etched might be the long term play here.
1. Imperial Seal
Imperial Seal is definitely the big dog when it comes to the Double Masters 2022 foil etched scene. If you want to hit a foil etched card in your booster pack, this is the one you want.
Imperial Seal is not a card you saw too often over the last 20+ years. It was originally released back in 1999 in the Portal Three Kingdoms set and then it was gone, forever locked away in the Magic vault somewhere in Wizard’s headquarters.
If you’ve never heard of Portal Three Kingdoms and you’re living in the US, that’s because it was never issued in North America. The set was mainly geared towards the Asian market, but there was an English version that they released in Australia and New Zealand. But for the most part, most US based players and collectors never caught a whiff of this card.
Back then, you wanted the Imperial Seal, you had no choice but to hunt down the Portal Three Kingdoms boosters and that was not an easy job because of the overseas only distribution. Then in 2008, you had your second chance to get the Imperial Seal when WOTC included it in Masters Edition II…..but that set was released ONLY ONLINE! UGH!
Finally, just a month ago in July 2022, WOTC released the highly anticipated Double Masters 2022 and finally a legit second chance at the Imperial Seal. For two decades, this elusive card was forgotten due to scarcity, geographics and one other reason. The Vampiric Tutor, which basically has the same abilities, was the card most players and collectors went after. It was the INSTANT version of the Imperial Seal which was a Sorcery. So in essence, Imperial is just a slow Tutor, but everyone still wants it for sure.
The Imperial Seal Foil Etched version is the king of Double Masters 2022. It would be great to pull a foil etched Wrenn and Six or Mana Vault, but it would be FREAKING AMAZING if you pulled the Imperial Seal. And the price definitely justifies the demand and the utility of this card.
eBay sold prices are averaging around $250-300 and most listings are asking anywhere from $270-$400. It’s the best card you’ll find in Double Masters 2022 and the most sought after foil etched card, hands down.
As always, if you have any questions or would like some more advice about Magic: The Gathering, I’m here to help. Just hit me up on the contact page or over at Twitter or Instagram. Best of luck and if you haven’t already, start investing in Magic (and other TCG’s) today!
