Alpha is the oldest Magic: the Gathering set in existence. No one back then knew what the game would eventually grow to be. Thanks to Magic turning into a billion dollar industry, combined with the Reserved List preventing some cards from being reprinted, Alpha cards are now absurdly expensive. Despite this, some individuals are still hunting the world for unopened Alpha starter decks, hoping to score a near mint Black Lotus. The last one sold for a record-breaking $3 million dollars!
With the top prize being life changing, these lottery tickets obviously aren’t cheap. Monolithic content creator Moistcr1tikal recently opened one of these on his channel. While his hits were… less than ideal, it still got a lot of people wondering just how expensive these Alpha Starter decks are.
What is an MTG Alpha Starter Deck?
As its name suggests, an Alpha Starter deck is basically the first attempt at a starter deck for Magic: the Gathering. While the sixty cards you open are randomly assorted, the idea was to play them like a deck. For that reason, there are a lot of lands in these decks. As far as playability goes, this obviously leads to some complications. That said, because there is a chance that players can open one of the absurdly expensive Power Nine cards in this set, there is a chance of, essentially, winning the MTG lottery.
The Power Nine include the following cards, which are considered the most powerful in all of Magic:
- Black Lotus
Black Lotus{T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add three mana of any one color. - Time Walk
Time WalkTake an extra turn after this one. - Mox Opal
Mox OpalMetalcraft — {T}: Add one mana of any color. Activate only if you control three or more artifacts. - Mox Emerald
Mox Emerald{T}: Add {G}. - Mox Jet
- Mox Ruby
Mox Ruby{T}: Add {R}. - Mox Sapphire
- Timetwister
- Ancestral Recall
Ancestral RecallTarget player draws three cards.
These are also the most expensive cards you can open in an MTG Alpha Starter Deck.
Inside an Alpha Starter deck, players can expect to find the following contents:
- 60 Total Cards
- 45 Commons
- 13 Uncommons
- 2 Rares
Almost all of the value in these starter decks are entirely in the two rare slots, but there are some pricy commons and uncommons that you can open. Demonic Tutor
Demonic TutorSearch your library for a card, put that card into your hand, then shuffle. and Lightning Bolt
Lightning BoltLightning Bolt deals 3 damage to any target. are some fantastic hits that aren’t included in the rare slots. Even though Moistcr1tikal opened both of these cards, he still lost an absurd amount of value on his Starter Deck, which is expected.
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MTG Alpha Starter Deck Price
As we suggested earlier in this article, while the potential three million dollar prize of Black Lotus is enticing, you need to pay big bucks to get a try at it.
At the time of writing, there are currently two listings for this product on TCGplayer. The MTG Alpha Starter Deck costs between $100,000 and $200,000 according to these listings. For reference, the recent Alpha Starter deck opened by Moistcr1tikal only had contents worth about $8026 according to his YouTube video. He did hit the worst rare in the entire set, but this details just how poorly an Alpha Starter deck opening can go if you don’t get the right cards.
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MTG Alpha Booster Box
If you want to open some Alpha Power Nine for yourself, this is the best way to go. Do know that it will cost a ton.
MTG Alpha Booster Boxes are basically unavailable on the market nowadays, and will likely go for north of a million dollars. If any of these still exist intact, they will be in private collections and sealed away in vaults. Every once in a while, they do appear on the market, but the opportunities are far and few between. This kind of event is something that would appear on MTGRocks as news. We will be sure to let you know when these next appear.
MTG Alpha Booster Boxes contain 36 packs of Alpha.
