La revue
MAGIC THE GATHERING,
WHEN CARDBOARD TURNS INTO GOLD

In 1991, Richard Garfield, a math teacher with a passion for games, met Peter Adkinson, who ran a small board game company, Wizards of the Coast. He presented him with a puzzle board game in which players compete to find the best solution to a random puzzle. Peter Adkinson enjoyed the idea, but was looking to produce a small, easy-to-carry card game that could be played in a few minutes whenever there was a break.

Magic The Gathering was born in 1993, with its first edition named "Alpha". The principle is quite simple: each player takes on the role of a magician, armed with a deck of cards representing spells. Each player starts with twenty life points: the first to reach zero loses the game. Success is immediate and beyond comprehension. The cards are sold only in stores specializing in role-playing games and board games, and starters (packs of sixty cards) and boosters (with fifteen cards) are snapped up. Wizards of the coast printed almost 2.5 million cards, yet the game quickly sold out.

Card decks are not only of interest to players, but also to early investors. The cards in the packs are randomly distributed according to three levels of rarity. As the rarest cards are produced in very small quantities, they are highly sought-after and their value soars. A second market is rapidly developing. To obtain a specific card, you either have to trade it for others from a player, or buy new packs in the hope of getting lucky.

As a consequence of the exponential success of the game, Wizards of the Coast is reissuing cards galore in collaboration with Belgian printers Carta Mundi, the benchmark for playing cards. The Beta edition (7.8 million cards) sold out in the blink of an eye. Unlimited's 40 million cards last only slightly longer. The cards have already invaded the USA, Europe and Japan, less than a year after its release. Since then, Magic the Gathering has been a game without limits: with three to four expansions of 120 to 300 cards released every year for the past twenty years, the game now boasts some 50,000 different cards...


MAGIC THE GATHERING©
Unlimited Edition printing plate
Unlimited Edition (1993)
Condition: perfect state of preservation.
Estimate: 3500 - 5000 €

Collector's cards auction 
October 18, 2023
Click here to discover the sale

For any further information, please contact:
François Thierry
thierry.consultant@aguttes.com
01 84 20 04 14