The same Magic card can exist across dozens of printings. Alpha, a fifth Masters set reprint, a Secret Lair drop, a promo, an anime border, an etched foil, a JPN alternate art. When the Oracle text is the same but the market prices are very different, picking which copy to buy or slot into a deck is a real decision.
Every card page on MTGPrices includes a Printing Comparison table. This article is a short guide to using it. If you want to browse whole sets side by side first, Browse sets gives every set at once with per-set value and top card.
Sorting by what you actually want
The default sort is cheapest first. That is the right choice if you are buying a card because you want to play it and you do not care which printing sits in the sleeve. But the sort dropdown also supports:
- Most expensive first. Useful for collectors and for anyone trying to understand which printings the market treats as premium.
- Newest. The most recent printing. Often the cheapest, sometimes not.
- Oldest. Useful for older frame collectors.
- Set name A to Z. For scanning down a list looking for a specific set.
- Biggest 30D rise. Which printings are moving up right now.
- Biggest 30D fall. Which printings are falling.
- Owned quantity. When you are signed in, this brings printings you already own to the top.
The 30 day change columns are computed on the same TCGplayer USD retail basis as the other numbers on the page, so a printing that shows up as a big riser is a printing that actually moved on that basis, not one that changed provider or currency in our data. To scan risers and fallers across the whole catalogue rather than for a single card, see market movers.
Finish filter
The finish filter on the table (Any / Nonfoil / Foil / Etched) sits next to the sort. A card can be both nonfoil and foil in the same set, and the market often prices them very differently. The finish filter narrows the list to the exact form you want.
The foil premium figure on the top of the card page is computed on the same printing, so it is always a like for like comparison of foil vs nonfoil for that specific set. For slabbed copies the same identity discipline applies to grading: PSA 10 pricing on an Alpha Black Lotus is not the same market as PSA 10 on the Beta or Unlimited printings. The Graded market landing page shows the top values across every tracked printing.
Owning a copy
When you are signed in, the Owned column tells you how many copies of that printing MTGPrices has for you. It sums across conditions and finishes, so if you own two near mint and one lightly played nonfoil you will see three. You can drop a copy into your collection or add it to a deck directly from the row, with the correct printing selected for you.
Every number cites its basis
If in doubt, the small text next to the headline price on the card page tells you which provider, currency, market and price type produced every number in the table. Change your default basis on the Settings page to see the same view priced in a different currency, or on a different provider.
To find alternative printings without leaving the card page, the Card Finder accepts a card-name filter combined with era, rarity, or price cap. Useful when you know the card and are chasing a specific budget.