“This is not a joke,” reads the first sentence of the ad description. Early on New Year's Day morning, eBay user thelotusvale listed what appears to be one of the most impressive collections of Magic: The Gathering cards ever featured on the online auction site. “What I am offering is a set of first edition APs,” the listing reads. “Some call them AP Beta. This complex took about 20 years to build. Luckily, I started again before they became too hard to find.”
First reported by Wargamer, the set includes 302 “Alpha” cards, early artistic proofs of the first MTG cards without images on the backs. Wizards of the Coast gave a limited number of these to illustrators to sign and resell, meaning they are not playable cards and are instead strictly for collecting purposes. Each of these 302 cards is signed and most of them have the coveted glossy back. The 22 with less matte backs “should be considered placeholders until I find a glossy back AP, if one still exists,” the user posted in the description.
“Additionally, all cards feature recreational art by the original artist, with 11 exceptions,” who have a second unsigned copy of the card featuring recreational art by other artists. “I specifically chose those artists because they were among the original contributors to MTG, they knew [the card’s original designer] personally, and were not artists represented in this first edition set. As part of this effort, I requested that each of them hide a “Q” somewhere in the art, and they all did. Some too well. In fact, you need a black light to see.”
In a brief FAQ at the end of the listing, the seller states that he is not willing to split the set, save for the exception of the coveted (and controversial) Black Lotus card. They are open to going anywhere in the United States to meet someone to complete this multi-million dollar sale and open to a trade for collector's edition games.
The seller described the process of building the set as “very expensive” and an incredible journey. “I met collectors from all over the world and got to work with all these incredible artists. For the connections I have made with these two groups of people, I will be forever grateful.”
If you have $2.2 million left over lying around, you can own this collection right now. Otherwise, you can look forward to seeing where this historic ensemble ends up next.