Blue-Eyes vs Dark Magician: which Yu-Gi-Oh ace commands the premium?
Yugi is the hero, but in this data his ace isn't the highest priced. We took the median TCGplayer price across the priced printings of four iconic Yu-Gi-Oh monsters. Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon comes out well ahead of the other three.
Typical printing value, by ace monster
Median TCGplayer USD market price across every printing. Median, not average, so one early promo can't inflate it.
The Blue-Eyes premium
How many times more a typical Blue-Eyes costs than a typical…
Blue-Eyes has the highest typical price of the four by a clear multiple. We measured the gap, not its cause: the number and age of each card's printings, and demand from collectors, are factors we did not test.
The chase printing for each
| Ace | Priciest printing | Price | ≥ $50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue-Eyes White Dragon | Retro Pack | $3,000 | 48% |
| Dark Magician Girl | Magician's Force | $530 | 13% |
| Dark Magician | Dark Duel Stories promo | $798 | 21% |
| Red-Eyes Black Dragon | Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon | $920 | 29% |
“Priciest printing” is the highest figure in YGOPRODeck's price field for that card. It does not separate 1st Edition from Unlimited or state condition, so treat these ceilings as rough.
Method & sources
- We pulled every printing of each card and its TCGplayer market price via the open YGOPRODeck API.
- Per card we took the median market price across priced printings, robust to one expensive promo.
- TCGplayer USD market price per printing, via the open YGOPRODeck API. Valued 2026-06-23. Excludes printings with no price on record. Reference estimates, not sold records; prices move.
- TOS-clean aggregate stats. We never scrape marketplaces and never invent a number, reproducible from the open API.
What this data can't tell you
- Edition and condition. One price per set code and rarity means 1st Edition and Unlimited copies are mixed.
- Unpriced printings are dropped: 44 of 77 Blue-Eyes printings have no price on record.
- Graded copies, Japanese and Asian-English printings, tournament prize cards and sealed product are not included.
- A median across printings depends on which printings exist. A card with many cheap reprints will show a lower median even if its oldest copies are expensive.
- Why Blue-Eyes is priced higher. We measured prices, not demand or print runs.
Collect this game for years and see something we missed? Tell us.
FAQ
Is Blue-Eyes White Dragon worth more than Dark Magician?
On a typical-printing basis, yes, in this data. Across all priced printings the median Blue-Eyes White Dragon trades at $45 versus $10 for Dark Magician, about 4.3× more. Even though Dark Magician is the protagonist's ace, Kaiba's Blue-Eyes has the higher typical price. 48% of priced Blue-Eyes printings show $50+, the highest of the four cards we measured. We did not measure why.
How much is a typical Blue-Eyes White Dragon worth?
The median across 33 priced printings (of 77 total) is $45. That's the typical printing, not the ceiling. The highest figure YGOPRODeck shows for any Blue-Eyes printing is about $3,000 (Retro Pack); that field does not say which edition or condition it refers to, so treat it as rough. Note that 44 printings have no price on record and are left out. We use the median so one chase printing can't inflate the figure.
Which of these Yu-Gi-Oh monsters has the highest typical price?
Of the four iconic monsters we measured, Blue-Eyes White Dragon ($45) leads by a wide margin, followed by Dark Magician Girl ($12), Dark Magician ($10) and Red-Eyes Black Dragon ($9.75). Notably Dark Magician Girl edges out Dark Magician itself.
Where does this data come from, and is it reliable?
We pulled every printing of each card and its TCGplayer market price (set_price) via the open YGOPRODeck API, then took the median per card (TCGplayer USD market price per printing, via the open YGOPRODeck API, valued 2026-06-23), excluding printings with no price on record. YGOPRODeck keeps one price per set code and rarity, so 1st Edition and Unlimited copies are not separated and condition is not stated. These are reference estimates, not sold records, and prices move. We never scrape marketplaces and never invent a number, the figures are reproducible from the open API.
Curious what your Yu-Gi-Oh cards are worth?
Foilio values any card across Pokémon, Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece, Lorcana and more, live prices in EUR & USD, your whole collection tracked. Free, no signup.
Cite or embed this study
Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Paste the embed on your site for the chart card + a link back, or grab the plain citation.
<a href="https://foilio.net/studies/ygo-ace-tax?utm_source=share&utm_medium=study_embed&utm_campaign=viral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
<img src="https://foilio.net/studies/og?stat=4.3%C3%97&label=a%20Blue-Eyes%20costs%20vs%20a%20Dark%20Magician%2C%20the%20rival%20beats%20the%20hero&title=Blue-Eyes%20vs%20Dark%20Magician%3A%20which%20Yu-Gi-Oh%20ace%20commands%20the%20premium%3F" alt="Blue-Eyes vs Dark Magician: which Yu-Gi-Oh ace commands the premium?, Foilio" width="600" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:12px" />
</a>
<p style="font:13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#555;margin:6px 0 0">
Source: <a href="https://foilio.net/studies/ygo-ace-tax?utm_source=share&utm_medium=study_embed&utm_campaign=viral">Blue-Eyes vs Dark Magician: which Yu-Gi-Oh ace commands the premium?, Foilio</a> · data CC BY 4.0
</p>Foilio (2026-06-23). Blue-Eyes vs Dark Magician: which Yu-Gi-Oh ace commands the premium?. Retrieved from https://foilio.net/studies/ygo-ace-taxThe big picture, across every game we measure: The Chase Multiple · The Price Census · The Promo Premium · The Foil Premium