What it costs to complete a Magic set (as singles)
“Just collect the whole set” sounds cheap until you add it up. We took one of every card in 31 modern Magic sets and summed the reference price. The median set costs about $260 to complete as singles, and the money is not spread evenly, it is piled onto a handful of chase cards.
The cost is front-loaded
A modern set has 250 to 300 cards, but you do not pay for them evenly. A median of 55.4% of the entire completion cost lives in just the top 10 cards, and the single priciest card alone is a median 12.8% of the whole thing. In the extreme, one card carries the set:
That is the collector's real lesson: completing a set is a game of knowing which ten cards matter, which is exactly what Foilio sums for you, and what a most-valuable view surfaces instantly.
Every set, most expensive first
Reference cost to buy one of every card as singles, with the single priciest card in each set and its share of the total.
| Set | Complete | Cards | Priciest card (share) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final Fantasy 2025 | $418 | 309 | Buster Sword ($41.69, 10%) |
| The Lost Caverns of Ixalan 2023 | $394 | 289 | Cavern of Souls ($50.49, 12.8%) |
| Marvel Super Heroes 2026 | $343 | 281 | The Mind Stone ($70.45, 20.6%) |
| Kaldheim 2021 | $341 | 304 | Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider ($34.6, 10.1%) |
| Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths 2020 | $310 | 264 | The Ozolith ($63.27, 20.4%) |
| Core Set 2021 2020 | $301 | 280 | Chromatic Orrery ($35.7, 11.8%) |
| Zendikar Rising 2020 | $300 | 268 | Sea Gate Restoration // Sea Gate, Reborn ($37.68, 12.6%) |
| March of the Machine 2023 | $292 | 296 | Etali, Primal Conqueror // Etali, Primal Sickness ($29.05, 9.9%) |
| Duskmourn: House of Horror 2024 | $292 | 276 | Overlord of the Balemurk ($21.51, 7.4%) |
| Edge of Eternities 2025 | $282 | 264 | Quantum Riddler ($31.3, 11.1%) |
| Theros Beyond Death 2020 | $281 | 273 | Thassa, Deep-Dwelling ($30.27, 10.8%) |
| Bloomburrow 2024 | $279 | 277 | Three Tree City ($25.43, 9.1%) |
| Phyrexia: All Will Be One 2023 | $278 | 269 | Mondrak, Glory Dominus ($41.72, 15%) |
| Tarkir: Dragonstorm 2025 | $274 | 274 | Ugin, Eye of the Storms ($40.42, 14.7%) |
| Avatar: The Last Airbender 2025 | $272 | 285 | Badgermole Cub ($51.75, 19%) |
| Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty 2022 | $260 | 287 | Boseiju, Who Endures ($47.78, 18.4%) |
| Adventures in the Forgotten Realms 2021 | $254 | 265 | Old Gnawbone ($54.12, 21.3%) |
| Marvel's Spider-Man 2025 | $248 | 190 | The Soul Stone ($115.62, 46.6%) |
| Lorwyn Eclipsed 2026 | $236 | 271 | Chronicle of Victory ($19.8, 8.4%) |
| The Brothers' War 2022 | $235 | 277 | Portal to Phyrexia ($34.71, 14.8%) |
| Murders at Karlov Manor 2024 | $225 | 276 | Delney, Streetwise Lookout ($33.19, 14.8%) |
| Outlaws of Thunder Junction 2024 | $224 | 274 | Bristly Bill, Spine Sower ($42.31, 18.8%) |
| Dominaria United 2022 | $210 | 269 | Sheoldred, the Apocalypse ($79.45, 37.8%) |
| Wilds of Eldraine 2023 | $210 | 280 | Agatha's Soul Cauldron ($38.7, 18.4%) |
| Streets of New Capenna 2022 | $195 | 264 | Jetmir's Garden ($16.08, 8.3%) |
| Aetherdrift 2025 | $192 | 274 | The Aetherspark ($20.05, 10.5%) |
| Secrets of Strixhaven 2026 | $169 | 271 | Emeritus of Woe // Demonic Tutor ($12.82, 7.6%) |
| Innistrad: Crimson Vow 2021 | $163 | 271 | Toxrill, the Corrosive ($14.1, 8.6%) |
| Strixhaven: School of Mages 2021 | $146 | 279 | Blex, Vexing Pest // Search for Blex ($12.35, 8.5%) |
| Innistrad: Midnight Hunt 2021 | $144 | 271 | The Meathook Massacre ($26.29, 18.3%) |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2026 | $127 | 195 | Krang, Utrom Warlord ($18.99, 15%) |
Method & sources
- Every 2020+ paper expansion and core set on the open Scryfall API. For each set we took one reference USD price per distinct card and summed them.
- Sub-100-card micro-sets (such as March of the Machine: The Aftermath) are excluded so every row is a full-size set. 31 sets remain.
- These are reference prices, not sale records or appraisals, and cards with no listed price (near-zero bulk) are left out, so each completion figure is a conservative floor for buying the set as singles. Alternate-art and special variants are collapsed to one card each. Valued 2026-07-13.
FAQ
How much does it cost to complete a Magic set?
For a modern set (2020 onward), a median of about $260 to buy one of every card as singles, based on 31 full-size expansion and core sets priced with open Scryfall data. It ranges from roughly $127 to $418. The priciest to complete is Final Fantasy at about $418. This counts one of each distinct card and excludes near-zero bulk commons with no listed price, so treat it as a clean floor.
Why is completing a set so front-loaded?
Because value is extremely concentrated in the chase cards. Across these sets a median of 55.4% of the whole completion cost lives in just the top 10 cards, and the single most expensive card alone is a median 12.8% of the total. In the most concentrated case, Marvel's Spider-Man, one card (The Soul Stone, about $115.62) is 46.6% of the entire set. The other few hundred cards are mostly bulk.
Which modern set is cheapest or most expensive to complete?
Of the full-size sets measured, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the cheapest to complete at about $127, and Final Fantasy is the most expensive at about $418. Crossover and licensed sets tend to skew higher because their chase cards command a premium.
How was this measured?
For every 2020+ paper expansion and core set on Scryfall, we took one reference USD price per distinct card and summed them (valued 2026-07-13). Sub-100-card micro-sets were excluded so the comparison is between full-size sets. These are reference prices from the open Scryfall API, not sale records or appraisals, and cards with no listed price (near-zero bulk) are left out, so each figure is a conservative floor for buying the set as singles.
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</p>Foilio (2026-07-13). What it costs to complete a Magic set (as singles). Retrieved from https://foilio.net/studies/mtg-set-completionThe big picture, across every game we measure: The Chase Multiple · The Price Census · The Promo Premium · The Foil Premium