By Brian Cooper |
Updated on January 8, 2024What are the 3 Revised MTG Cards priced UNDER $150 that I’m trying to add to my portfolio?
If you follow the Magic card market on eBay as closely as I do, you’ll see that 3rd Edition Revised MTG cards are getting a lot of attention lately. There’s been a slow progression of investment dollars that have been building in the Revised market over the last few months and it’s beginning to increase daily. Investors are looking for vintage MTG bargains and this popular set from 1994 appears to be the next big target.
Here’s what I think are good deals right now.
Contents
1. REVISED COPY ARTIFACT
Copy Artifact is what I consider one of the most iconic early Magic cards ever made. I could go on for pages about how useful of a card it can be in a deck, but I try to stick to the investment angle of the card as much as I can. However, we all know that useful cards that are rare tend to hold their value better than cards that are not powerful in the game or very useful. That’s part of what makes this very useful and very powerful MTG card one of my top targets for investment in 2021.
Copy Artifact was included in the Alpha, Beta, Unlimited, Revised and Masters Edition IV sets, but we’re focused on the Revised (3rd Edition) card here as the number one pick for bargain Revised MTG cards under $150. As prices rise quickly for Alpha, Beta and Unlimited Versions, our thought here is that this Revised version will be the LAST CARD STANDING when it comes to affordable versions being available under $150.
Currently as of March 2021, investment quality versions (which we believe are PSA/BGS 7 and above) of the MTG Alpha version are bringing over $2,000 while Beta and Unlimited versions are hovering around the $500 range (if you can find them.) Because these earlier versions from 1993 are not very plentiful and becoming higher priced by the day, I know where the money will be going next and that’s into the REVISED edition.
Currently Revised 3rd Edition Copy Artifacts in investment condition are selling for around $120-140. Finding one in decent condition on eBay can be a challenge but they are still out there to be had. I’ve been trying to pick up 1-2 per month as I find them for a good price and good condition, but lately the market has been drying up on good condition cards.
Make sure that when you look for Revised MTG cards that you’re paying very special attention to the white borders. Just as much as black bordered MTG cards can have chipping on the borders, white bordered Revised cards can also become scuffed and dirty and lose their eye appeal. I’ve seen MANY Revised cards listed as “NRMT” that ended up having some very obviously dirty edges and to me those are nowhere near being in the NRMT category.
Be very careful about just buying the first Copy Artifact (or any Revised card) that you see that has “NM” or “NRMT” in the title…..YOU MUST VERIFY THE CONDITION. I’ve seen plenty of eBayers who either have no idea how to grade a card or have the worst camera in the world because their pictures look horrible. If you can’t be very confident from the pictures that it’s investment grade, move on and save yourself the hassle. Or try to do what I do and that is buy only the ungraded ones that have really good pictures OR buy only graded copies.
So where do I see Revised Copy Artifacts going to when it comes to price and value? Based on watching this card the past month or so I really think supply is going to dry up on eBay and prices will continue to head north. Trying to find a minimum PSA 7 is getting harder by the day so I think over the next 6-12 months we’ll probably see Revised Copy Artifacts approach the $200 mark and then I expect prices will fluctuate 10-20% up and down as it tries to find it’s place in the Magic investment world. Hard to say what happens after a year, but I think we’ll look back at the current $120-140 price tags and wish we bought more of them.
2. REVISED FORK
The second Revised card I’m going after pretty hard these days is the one and only FORK. It’s a crazy powerful card in that you can duplicate any one sorcery or instant spell for only TWO red mana! Just an amazing card that was always popular, but one that I fully believe will continue to go up in price over the next year.
On the rarity scale, this one hangs right in there with the Copy Artifact in that you can only find it in A/B/U or the Masters Edition. And just as the prices for Copy Artifact A/B/U cards have helped push up the Revised card price, the same will continue to happen with the Revised Fork.
If you can find an Alpha Fork, you’re looking at a minimum of about $1,000 for a decent copy. Any Beta copy that is investment quality is going to cost you at least $500. And for the Unlimited version, a NRMT or Lightly Played (LP) version will run you about $275 on TCGPlayer. And that is why I believe that a nice condition Revised Fork is a super bargain right now at the current price level of $60-80.
As time goes on collectors and investors will want to put their money into good quality, highly powerful old original Revised MTG cards and I think the Revised Fork falls into that category perfectly. I think every investor should at least have one super nice Revised Fork in their portfolio and I think over the next few months we’ll start to see prices creep towards the $100 mark. Remember slow and steady wins the race so don’t expect card prices to balloon overnight. But buying in at the $60+ range will definitely look like a bargain a few years from now.
3. REVISED SHIVAN DRAGON
Ok, let’s do a flash back to 1994. You’re sitting at the table with all of your buddies playing Magic: The Gathering. At the time, most of us only had Revised cards to play with so there weren’t a lot of different cards to choose from for your deck. But we didn’t care…….IT WAS FUN! But, as you’re sitting there playing having a great time, it all comes to a screeching halt! WHY DO YOU ASK? Because your buddy next to you just threw a SHIVAN DRAGON on the table and you know you’re in BIG FREAKING TROUBLE!
How many times did this happen to me? WAY more than I care to remember. The Shivan Dragon at the time was THE card to have in your deck and your collection. Yeah, dual lands were cool to some people and Vesuvan Doppelganger and Royal Assassins were awesome, but that Shivan Dragon was just one of those cards we all wanted to have in our collection.
So why does this mean anything when it comes to investing in MTG cards? It means a TON because people will always revert back to their original playing days and want that one special card that they loved and for a lot of people, it’s the Revised Shivan Dragon.
Now you could argue that the Shivan Dragon (unlike the Copy Artifact and Fork) is not on the Reserved List and you can pick up super cheap 2019 Core Set versions for like 10-15 cents each. So that should make the Revised Shivan Dragon worthless, right? Not so fast my friend!
The rare Revised 3rd Edition Shivan Dragon is an ICONIC card from back in the day and although it has been reprinted to oblivion, there is still a huge market for the older A/B/U and Revised versions. An Alpha BGS 8.5 just sold on eBay the other day (3/3/2021) for $4,850 and it had 30 bids! Just a few months earlier, a BGS 9 sold for over $7,500! Moderately played Beta versions routinely bring in over $1,000 and Unlimited Shivan’s bring $150-200 easily.
That’s why I think the current $25 price tag for a Revised Shivan Dragon is a BARGAIN! What other card that had so much impact on the game back in 1994 can you find for 25-bucks? There are few and the Revised Shivan is at the top of the list.
In my opinion, over time as you see A/B/U prices start to rise, you’ll see them drag up the price of the Revised cards as well. I don’t think this will be along the same lines as Revised Dual Lands when it comes to popularity and price, but I do think that investing in a handful of Revised Shivans is a GREAT idea. I think it’s easily a $50 card in the 6-12 month range and that’s why I’m continuing to pick them up as I find them.
OK, how about ONE more of my FAVORITE Revised MTG Cards…..DEMONIC HORDES!
If you haven’t figured this out already, I’m a humongous fan of the old 1993-1994 cards. I spent so much time playing when Revised first came out and those cards are really important to my collection in more ways than one. I spent a lot of time back in the day building decks around Revised Black cards and one of my favorites was DEMONIC HORDES.
I think Demonic Hordes is one of those overlooked very cool Rare cards. Yeah, I know it’s expensive to get it on the table (3 colorless, 3 black) but when it’s out there it’s a PAIN IN THE A**! Turn by turn you spend 3 black mana and you take out your opponent’s lands one by one. It SUCKS if the other player has this on the table. And when it’s not destroying your lands, it’s coming across as a 5/5 Demon Creature and kicking your butt. Of course the upkeep sucks, but it’s still a great card.
The illustration is awesome. It has that very simplistic feel of an older Magic card. Those crazy demons with their hands in the sky and their red eyes and white fangs running at you is just too cool. I love the card and I think from an investor’s standpoint, this Reserved List card has the potential to rise up in value over time too.
Right now Revised Demonic Hordes are sitting at about $20-25 each for NRMT versions. I think it’s a good deal and I’ll continue to pick them up here and there as I believe they’ll rise up into the $40-50 range over time as well.
SO THERE YOU HAVE IT!
These are the 3 (or really 4) bargain Revised MTG cards under $150 that I’ve been targeting lately. I could probably make a case for just about any Revised Rare card these days but I tend to stick with cards that appear to be trending upwards and that I think have a shot of at least making some big gains in the next year.
I have this strange feeling that 3rd Edition Revised will be hammered hard by collectors and investors in 2021. This will no doubt drive up prices, but hopefully not too fast so we all have a chance to get in at decent prices. Check these out on eBay and see if you can add a few to your collection today!
EXTRA TIP:
Here’s some advice that I tend to follow all the time. If I like a card, I tend to buy multiple copies of it so I can eventually sell off a few to pay for the others. For example, if I buy ten (10) Revised Shivan Dragons for $20 each (total $200), then I’m hoping one day I can sell off 4-5 of them and recoup all of my money back AND keep 5-6 of them free and clear in my portfolio. So you’ll never see me buying just a single copy of a card UNLESS it’s something well over $1,000. I routinely do this with cards priced below $1,000 because it’s usually easier on the wallet. Start small…..grow the portfolio…..buy multiple copies of a card to eventually sell and pay for the others. It works if you’re disciplined and do your homework too. GOOD LUCK!
