Summary
Magic: The Gatheringhas dabbled in dark, demonic material from the very beginning of its existence with Alpha, the card game’s first set, which released in 1993. That set featured cards such as Unholy Strength, Demonic Tutor, Dark Ritual and others, and ever since, Demons have been a notable creature type within MTG.
While some people decried the inclusion of Demon and demonic imagery in MTG, fans embraced the creature type, and, as such, some Demon cards are worth a hefty sum on the secondary market due to a combination of scarcity and intriguing, devilish designs that are sure to tempt you with power and riches. Let’s dive into the most valuable Demon cards ever; just make sure to hold onto your soul.
The card prices quoted all come fromTCGPlayer’s Market Price History over the past calendar year (unless otherwise noted) and may fluctuate over time. Also, no promo cards are included here (Secret Lair Drops don’t count as promos).
10Hidetsugu, Devouring Chaos (Neon Blue) – Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
Market Price: $31.03
The Demon Hidetsugu was first introduced as a creature in 2005’s Betrayers of Kamigawa expansion, and then he returned in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty from 2022 as Hidetsugu, Devouring Chaos.
While multiple versions of that card exist, Neon Dynasty released four ultra-limited Hidetsugu cards featuring a special foiling method with bright neon colors. The least valuable among them is the Neon Yellow version, but the Neon Blue version kicks off this list with a market value of just over $30.
9Ziatora, the Incinerator (Gilded Foil) – Streets of New Capenna
Market Price: $33.57
Throughout many of the MTG sets released between 2021 and 2023, Wizard of the Coast have experimented with various unusual and intriguing foiling methods (the Neon Hidetsugu included) with varying success.
For 2022’sStreets of New Capenna expansion, the rare foiling treatment was dubbed “Gilded,” and this card featuring Ziatora, a Jund (black/red/green) Demon Dragon, clocks in at a solid price point of $33.57. Ziatora is an impressively strong card, though six mana – including three colored pips – is fairly expensive.
8Ob, Nixilis, Captive Kingpin (Halo Foil) – March of the Machine: The Aftermath
Market Price: $35.76
From one special foiling method to another, this card from thereviled March of the Machine: The Aftermathset features a foiling method called “Halo Foil,” which gives cards a siwrly, oil-slicked look. It also, like Ziatora, uses the guilded frame from Streets of New Capenna, as Ob Nixilis is currently trapped on the plane of Capenna.
This card weighs in with a median value over $35 and is notable for creating an infinite combo alongside All Will Be One – the namesake card from 2023’s Phyrexia: All Will Be One set – as long as you can deal exactly one damage to your foe. A fairly trivial task, which perhaps leads to this card’s strong price point.
7Hidetsugu, Devouring Chaos (Neon Green) – Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
Market Price: $69.68
The second Hidetsugu, Devouring Chaos card on this list features a Neon Green finish that is certainly eye-catching. It also more than doubles the price of the Neon Blue version – and it’s not even the last time a Hidetsugu card will be featured here.
While Hidetsugu’s second ability is a little clunky, it’s still rather powerful and would certainly fit in beautifully in the 99 of aDemon-themed Commander deck.
6Retro Frame Lord Of The Void (Serial Numbered) – Ravnica Remastered
Market Price: $132.50
The “retro frame” addition to recent MTG sets is certainly welcome, as this author started playing the game around Mercadian Masques when the card names were sometimes hard to parse due to an extremely flowery font.
This serialized retro frame card combines that sweet vintage look with an extremely powerful card that debuted originally in 2013’s Gatecrash set, but this version hails from 2024’s Ravnica Remastered. It retains its mythic rarity as a 7/7 flyer for seven mana that can steal the best creature – no strings attached – from the top seven cards from your foe’s library as long as it deals combat damage to them.
5Retro Frame Master of Cruelties (Serial Numbered) – Ravnica Remastered
Market Price: $220.00
Another serialized Ravnica Remastered card kicks off the top five, but this card is a true banger. Originally released in the supremely underpowered Dragon’s Maze expansion in 2013, this card features the dreaded first strike/deathtouch combination and also hosts an immensely strong triggered ability.
If you manage to attack with this Rakdos (black/red) legendary Demon and your foe doesn’t block it, their life total becomes 1. Sadly, this card isn’t a one-card combo, as it can never deal combat damage if it’s unblocked, but the supreme power of this ability combined with the scarcity of a serialized retro frame card means this Demon’s price point is well over $200 on the secondary market.
4Lord Of The Pit – Alpha
Market Price: $656.99 (viaPriceCharting)
Not unexpectedly, the first two Demon creatures released in Magic’s first-ever set tip the scales pretty profoundly when it comes to value – so much so that TCGPlayer does not even have a market value listed for an Alpha Lord of the Pit on the site.
While this card certainly isn’t the massive bomb it was over 30 years ago when Alpha debuted, a 7/7 trampling flyer for seven mana is still – honestly – not awful, though its drawback is hugely detrimental if you get hit by it. Still, any Alpha card is going to be worth a bundle, especially a rare one, and this card’s over-$650 price point bears that out.
3Hidetsugu, Devouring Chaos (Neon Red) – Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
Market Price: $793.99
The final version of Hidetsugu on this list is its most valuable by far, with a median price point just under $800. The neon ink treatments were only featured in 1% of Collector Boosters in the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty set, and the Neon Red version, in particular, was found only ⅛ as many times as the Neon Blue version.
As such, this card was only found in one in every 1,828 Collector Booster packs, and, even then, that pull was not guaranteed. As such, this is among the rarest chase cards ever printed, and its sky-high price point is surely merited.
2Demonic Hordes – Alpha
Market Price: $812.20 (viaPriceCharting)
Surprisingly, the most valuable Alpha Demon is not Lord of the Pit – arguably one of the most iconic Demon cards ever printed – but this far more obscure Demon with stupendously scary Jesper Myrfors artwork that was only reprinted in four base sets and never saw a reprint after Revised edition released… in 1994.
As such, this Alpha card holds absolutely massive value on the secondary market for ungraded copies – a median value of over $800 – and Alpha Demonic Hordes that are graded out with a 9 or greater among grading services will likely cost you over $2,000.
1Lord Of The Pit (Serial Numbered) – Secret Lair Drop (Secret Lair 295)
Market Price: $1,000.54 (viaPriceCharting)
Much like the most valuable Dragon cards of all time, one of the most valuable cards hailed from a supremely limited-release Secret Lair Drop that was only available to the attendees of MagicCon Philadelphia in February of 2023 – unless you’re willing to drop over $1,000 for one on the secondary market.
Only 295 of these cards were printed, and it seems that most people that have a copy of it are hanging onto them, asPriceChartingonly lists a measly five sales per year for ungraded copies. Unsurprisingly, this card’s immense scarcity means that TCGPlayer doesn’t even list it with a market value.
