Much like any fantasy franchise,Magic: The Gatheringis filled to the brim with fire-breathing Dragons. These cards feature some of the most notable characters in the game’s history, such as Niv-Mizzet, Nicol Bolas, The Ur-Dragon and many others.
When it comes to gameplay, Dragons are hugely powerful, and many Dragon creatures feature game-breaking abilities that swing games in your favor soon after they hit the board. In terms of collecting, Dragon creatures are almost always rares or mythic rares, and, as such, are hugely desirable (and impressively valuable) among fans and collectors of the franchise. Let’s swoop in and check out the most valuable Dragon cards ever.
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).
10Ancient Copper Dragon (Borderless) – Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate
Market Price: $84.87
One of a series of “Ancient Dragons” from 2022’s Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate set, this red Dragon (aka Copper) is the most valuable from those cards, with this version topping out at a median value of nearly $85 for a Near Mint copy.
All of these Dragons feature game-breaking abilities that revolve around rolling a twenty-sided die – the DnD player’s most loyal companion – with Ancient Copper Dragon creating a number of Treasure tokens equal to the number rolled on the die. A nifty pay-off for a powerhouse dragon.
9Dragon Whelp – Alpha
Market Price: $129.25 (viaPriceCharting)
Hailing all the way from MTG’s first-ever set, Alpha, this was the first Dragon card of all time (as it comes alphabetically before the first-ever rare Dragon card), and, as such, holds a fairly impressive price point of nearly $130, despite being an underpowered uncommon.
Despite that, it does have some eminently cute art from Amy Weber, who produced myriad notable artworks during Magic’s early years – including for cards such as Time Walk, Illusionary Mask, Fork, and the original Disenchant.
8Retro Frame Utvara Hellkite (Serial Numbered) – Ravnica Remastered
Market Price: $174.48
The first serialized card on this list showcases a thunderously powerful Dragon that was first printed in 2012’s Return to Ravnica set: Utvara Hellkite. This version was released in the compilation setRavnica Remastered, which reprinted some of the most popular cards from expansions that were set on the plane of Ravnica.
This card’s ability of putting a 6/6 flying Dragon token into play whenever you attack with a Dragon is incredibly strong, and note that the ability triggers once for each Dragon, so if you attack with five Dragons, you get five tokens. Of course, it should be, as this card costs a whopping eight mana to play.
7Retro Frame Hellkite Tyrant (Serial Numbered) – Ravnica Remastered
Market Price: $197.17
Another card from Ravnica Remastered, this Dragon debuted as a mythic rare from 2013’s Gatecrash set but was downgraded to a simple rare in the compilation set – though this serialized version holds tremendous value on the secondary market thanks to its power level and iconic nature.
The “Hellkite” moniker in this card’s name was first introduced way back in 1996’s Mirage set with the nine-mana Crimson Hellkite. Ever since that card released, Hellkite has been used as an indicator of a massively powerful and mana-intensive Dragon creature that was sure to be hugely impactful when it hit the board.
6Niv-Mizzet Reborn (Serial Numbered) – March of the Machine: Multiverse Legends
Market Price: $238.92
Niv-Mizzet is one of the most powerful (and frankly coolest) Dragons in Magic’s history, and, as such, his visage is featured heavily on the rest of this list. This version of Niv-Mizzet is a five-color beauty and hails from 2023’s March of the Machine set as part of the “Multiverse Legends” bonus sheet.
As one of the11 best WUBRG cards of all time, this Niv-Mizzet can net you a bevy of powerful spells from the top ten cards of your library when it enters, and this card’s limited-edition art certainly makes it stand out in your collection – hence its nearly $240 market price.
5Retro Frame Niv-Mizzet, Parun (Serial Numbered) – Ravnica Remastered
Market Price: $385.00
This six-mana Niv-Mizzet inIzzetcolors (blue and red) costs a whopping three blue and three red mana to cast, but you get an eminently powerful Dragon Wizard that pings your foe for one whenever you draw a card and draws you a card when you cast an instant or sorcery spell.
This Parun debuted in 2018’s Guilds of Ravnica set and marked the third-ever Niv-Mizzet card after 2006’s Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and 2012’s Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius. This 2024 Ravnica Remastered version certainly blows all of those cards out of the water in terms of value, as this card is worth $385.
4Zodiac Dragon – Portal Three Kingdoms
Market Price: $512.50
The only white-bordered card on this list is Zodiac Dragon, which has only been printed in Portal Three Kingdoms – one of the rarest and most valuable sets of all time. Unsurprisingly, because this card hails from one of the least-printed and hardest-to-find sets ever, its price point is sky-high.
Zodiac Dragon was part of a series of cards within this set that represented the animals from the Chinese Zodiac. Seeing as Dragon is also among the most popular MTG creature types, it’s a no-brainer that this is the second-most valuable card from Portal Three Kingdoms, after the notable tutor card Imperial Seal.
3Niv-Mizzet, Guildpact (Serial Numbered) – Murders at Karlov Manor
Market Price: $863.11
The most recent (and final) Niv-Mizzet card on this list was printed in 2024’s Murders at Karlov Manor. Of course, any expansion that’s set in the plane of Ravnica has to include everyone’s favorite Parun, and Murders at Karlov Manor is no exception.
This card’s over-$850 price point is likely due to its rare card art and frame as well as the fact that it’s yet another serialized card – which are major collector’s items due to them being extremely scarce by design (this time with only 250 copies printed).
2Shivan Dragon (Serial Numbered) – Secret Lair Drop (Secret Lair 295)
Market Price: $1,649.99
Speaking of serialized cards, this one might be among the rarest of the rare in terms of serialized cards – other than the “one of one” The One Ring card, of course.
This Shivan Dragon was released as part of aSecret Lair Dropthat was tied to MagicCon: Philadelphia in February of 2023. Alongside this striking artwork of the first-ever rare Dragon in Magic’s history, this Secret Lair (Secret Lair 295) also featured some other notable cards from Alpha, including Swords to Plowshares, Giant Growth and others. With a market price of $1,650, this one is pretty much limited to big-time collectors or people that were present at MagicCon Philly.
1Shivan Dragon – Alpha
Market Price: $4,525.88 (viaPriceCharting)
As expected, the most valuable Dragon card of all time hails from Magic’s first set, Alpha, and is the one, the only Shivan Dragon. An iconic and legendary card, this version of the oft-reprinted Shivvy will set you back over $4,500 for an ungraded copy. If you’re looking for a highly graded one, that number can balloon closer to $10k!
Surprisingly, this Dragon card is actually the eighth-most valuable Alpha card of all time per PriceCharting, and it is worth more on average than three Power Nine cards: Mox Jet, Time Walk and Mox Pearl. Not bad for MTG’s first-ever big, bad Dragon creature.
Magic: The Gathering
Created by Richard Garfield in 1993, Magic: The Gathering (MTG) has become one of the biggest tabletop collectible card games in the world. Taking on the role of a Planeswalker, players build decks of cards and do battle with other players. In excess of 100 additional sets have added new cards to the library, while the brand has expanded into video games, comics, and more.
