MTG · New asset class · about two years
Serialized Cards (Universes Beyond) is one of 75 card types scored in The Card Investor, filed under Magic: The Gathering cards.
Appreciation is 88 but liquidity is only 50, and that combination describes a long project rather than a trade. Something that gains value slowly and takes months to sell ties your money up for the whole ride, which is fine if you planned for it and painful if you didn't.
Accessibility of 8 is the catch. That score tracks whether you can buy near MSRP or you're already paying a premium to someone else, and at 8 you are paying up. A card with real upside bought at double MSRP is a worse purchase than an ordinary one bought at retail.
Set against the 5 Magic: The Gathering card types scored here, its appreciation of 88 ranks 3rd of 5, liquidity 50 ranks 4th, accessibility 8 ranks 4th, and risk 40 is the 5th-lowest. The closest thing to it on the numbers is Power 9 / Alpha/Beta Rares, which scores 97 and 50 on the same two axes — if you're weighing one against the other, the difference is in the reasoning rather than the scores.
Two years gives the situation time to develop past its first impression, which is usually when the price is set by whoever shouted loudest. It also means two years of not touching it, including through the stretch where it looks wrong.
A risk score of 40 means ordinary risk — the failure modes are the boring ones, which is also why they're easy to talk yourself out of worrying about.
You can realistically find Serialized Cards (Universes Beyond) at a card show and online.
A card show is worth the trip for this because you are buying a specific card rather than a sealed product: you can compare several copies side by side, check the centring and corners yourself, and negotiate — none of which a listing photo lets you do.
Every entry gets four separate scores instead of one grade, because a single grade hides the thing you needed. Full explanation in the guide: what Kabooms, Downtowns and Color Blasts are worth.
Or browse all card types · how these scores are built
Leave your email and we'll send you a note when we publish new picks and research. No schedule, no spam, unsubscribe in one click.
We use your address to email you about The Card Investor. We don't sell it or share it. Research and opinion only — not financial advice.