“This is not a joke,” is how the listing starts, immediately grabbing attention. On New Year’s Day, an eBay user known as thelotusvale posted what might just be one of the most astonishing collections of Magic: The Gathering cards to ever grace the platform. “I’m offering a set of first edition APs,” the description continues. “Some people refer to them as Beta APs. This collection took around 20 years to assemble. Fortunately, I began building it before they became incredibly scarce.”
First highlighted by Wargamer, this extraordinary set features 302 “Alpha” cards. These are early art proofs of the original MTG cards and are devoid of any back imagery. These proofs were selectively handed out to illustrators by Wizards of the Coast for the purpose of signing and reselling, making them non-playable and strictly collector’s items. Each of the 302 cards bears a signature, most of which boast the rarer glossy back. The 22 cards that feature the matte back are noted as “placeholders until you find a glossy back AP, if any are still floating around,” according to the seller’s description.
Moreover, “all cards come with recreated artwork by the original artist, except for 11,” which have an additional, unsigned version with art done by other artists. The seller picked these artists because they were among the pioneering MTG contributors, had personal ties with the card’s original designer, and were not present in the initial edition set. As an interesting twist, the seller asked each artist to subtly include a “Q” within the artwork, which they did. Some did so a little too cleverly—one even requires a black light to spot.
In an FAQ section at the listing’s end, the seller mentions they are not interested in breaking up the set. The lone exception is for the sought-after and often-debated Black Lotus card. The seller is willing to travel anywhere in the U.S. to finalize this multimillion-dollar transaction and is open to trades for collector’s edition sets.
Describing the journey of assembling the collection as both “very expensive” and utterly fascinating, the seller shared, “I met collectors from all over the globe and collaborated with amazing artists. The relationships I’ve built with these groups have enriched my life immeasurably.”
Should you have a spare $2.2 million at your disposal, this collection could be yours. If not, you can watch from the sidelines, curious to see where this remarkable set finds its new home.
