A complete set (302 types) of the beta version of the popular trading card game "Magic: The Gathering" appeared on the June 10th broadcast of "Kaiun! Nandemo Kanteidan" (TV Tokyo, Tuesdays 8:54 pm), where it was sold for an astonishingly high price, creating a buzz.
"Magic: The Gathering" was created in the United States in 1993 and is still popular today as the world's first trading card game. Early cards in particular are traded at premium prices, and the first alpha version card, "Black Lotus," was put up for auction last year in mint condition and sold for $3 million, which also made it a hot seller.
The latest version is a beta version that fixes the flaws in the first alpha version and adds seven new cards. A man from Osaka who appeared as the owner revealed that he bought the cards for about 1 million yen, including the 100,000 yen "Black Lotus," and put his personal valuation at 20 million yen.
However, the appraisal value was far higher, at 38 million yen. As the atmosphere in the studio changed, Hioma Ishiwata, manager of the MINT GAMES MTG store, who was in charge of the appraisal, commented, "I don't think all 302 types have ever been traded in Japan before. The fact that this is all there (in complete condition) is a miracle in itself."
He paid 8 million yen for a single "Black Lotus," 1.8 million yen for "Mox Sapphire" among the other "Power 9" (9 powerful out-of-print cards), and 20.1 million yen for the nine cards in the "Power 9" that include "Black Lotus" and "Mox Sapphire." He also paid 1.8 million yen for Volcanic Island, which was added in the beta version, 250,000 yen for the popular "Shivan Dragon," and 50,000 yen for "Serra Angel."
