CGC Trading Cards Grades Stunning Magic: The Gathering Cards from Early Sets

Every so often, CGC Trading Cards® sees a truly immaculate submission come through the grading room. These submissions have perfect centering, no manufacturing or handling defects, and perfect subgrades, which means they receive the ultimate grade of CGC Perfect 10 — the best a card can be on the CGC Trading Cards Grading Scale.

Recently, CGC Trading Cards received a submission of three early Magic: The Gathering cards, all in incredible condition. One of them earned a grade of CGC Pristine 10: an Ancestral Recall (1993) Limited Edition Alpha with near-perfect subgrades. The other two cards — a Juzam Djinn (1993) Arabian Nights and a Shivan Dragon (1993) Limited Edition Alpha — earned the coveted CGC Perfect 10 grade!

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“These cards are as nice as they were on the day they were printed,” said Matt Quinn, Vice President of CGC Trading Cards. “Each one of them is in immaculate condition and some of the best examples we’ve graded so far.”

Juzam Djinn is the first card from the Arabian Nights set to receive a Perfect 10 grade in the CGC Trading Cards Population Report. The genie-like creature was iconic during MTG’s early days for its stunning artwork and deceptive mana cost — the (2) on the card’s top-right corner indicates that a player must tap two colorless mana along with two Swamps to put Juzam Djinn on the field, but the (2) is hard to see. Many players simply ignored the (2) and played Juzam Djinn by only tapping the required Swamps.

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Shivan Dragon is from the Limited Edition Alpha set, which is the first MTG set ever released. It is also the first card from the Limited Edition Alpha set to receive a Perfect 10 grade. Shivan Dragon is extremely elusive, even ungraded, so having a Perfect 10 example is nearly unheard of.

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Meanwhile, this Ancestral Recall from the Limited Edition Alpha set is one of the Power Nine: A group of early Magic: The Gathering cards that gave players such an advantage in early stages of play that all nine cards were later banned. Though it was just short of receiving a grade of CGC Perfect 10, this example of Ancestral Recall is still the best example in the CGC Trading Cards Population Report with a grade of CGC Pristine 10 and sub-grades of 10 for Centering, 9.5 for Surface and 10 for Corners and Edges.

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Are you ready to submit your Magic: The Gathering cards to CGC Trading Cards? It’s easy! Learn how to submit by clicking here.