Price Trends: Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards Climbing in Price - 01/07/2025
By Peter Day •
We want you to have the best information available when you price cards on the TCGplayer Marketplace. So to help you get the most from your inventory, we’ve put together a downloadable CSV report of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards that have dramatically increased in Market Price in the past 30 days.
(Note: This report only considers Near Mint copies of cards with at least five sales between December 7, 2024 and January 5, 2025.)
Here are ten highlights from that report. First, we have the five cards that gained the most value in the past 30 days after starting with a Market Price of $10 or less.
Top 5 Price Increases—YGO Cards $10 or Less
- Set: Duelist Nexus
- Increase: +$10.35
- Current Market Price: $18.84
Since it first swooped onto the scene in 2023, Crimson Dragon has hovered near or above the $15 mark, reflecting its massive utility and power in a wide range of decks. This version, the lowest-rarity version from its debut set, dropped to under $10 in September of last year when Crimson Dragon was reprinted in 25th Anniversary Tin: Dueling Mirrors. Three months later, low-cost listings of the reprint dried up, causing this card to soar back up to its old price point.
#4 Sky Striker Mecha - Widow Anchor
- Set: Dark Saviors
- Increase: +$10.85
- Current Market Price: $20.01
The Sky Striker theme ended 2024 in a much better place than it began, with Sky Striker Mobilize - Engage! coming off the F&L list in April and a pure Sky Striker deck taking 2nd place at YCS Niagara Falls in October. But the result that caused Sky Striker Mecha - Widow Anchor to spike in December was Gabriel Braithwaite’s run at YCS Anaheim, where they went undefeated in Swiss with a deck combining a select few Sky Striker cards with the new Maliss archetype. Maliss is one of the two best decks in Yu-Gi-Oh right now, so players are eager to combine it with this fan-favorite archetype.
#3 Stardust Sifr Divine Dragon
- Set: Shining Victories
- Increase: +$11.48
- Current Market Price: $17.95
Stardust Sifr Divine Dragon has seen a little competitive success recently, with one copy appearing in a Top 32 deck at Remote Duel YCS North America in November, but this particular spike seems to have been due to speculators. On December 12, the average number of copies per buyer spiked to 10.0, up from 1.0 the previous day and most of the rest of the year.
Stardust Sifr Divine Dragon first released in 2016 and has only been reprinted once (in 2017), so supply is low enough that there could be serious upside if this card ever becomes prevalent again.
- Set: Invasion: Vengeance
- Printing: 1st Edition
- Increase: +$15.72
- Current Market Price: $20.10
The Water Machine archetype Crystron got more support in Supreme Darkness, which dropped in October in Japan and will be arriving in North America later this month on January 24. Crystron Citree is not being reprinted in Supreme Darkness, and since it has only been printed once (back in 2016), Speculators and forward-thinking players were quick to buy out this card when those details were revealed on August 6th. Since then, the formerly $1 card has trended up and up, with the biggest spike coming after a smaller buyout on December 11.
- Set: Raging Tempest
- Increase: +$16.82
- Current Market Price: $19.77
Just like Crystron Citree, Crystron Quariongandrax has only been printed once. When the Crystron archetype receives new cards in Supreme Darkness on January 24th, players who want to play with the archetype will have a tough time finding copies of this essential eight-year-old card. Speculators have taken advantage of the situation with huge buyouts on September 10 and 11, and a smaller buyout on December 27 brought this once-$2 card to its current heights.
Next, these are the five cards that gained the most value in the past 30 days after starting with a Market Price over $10.
Top 5 Price Increases—YGO Cards Over $10
#5 Sky Striker Ace - Raye (Alternate Art) (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
- Set: Battles of Legend: Terminal Revenge
- Increase: +$45.89
- Current Market Price: $301.19
This month, all five of our top climbers belong to the same rarity: Quarter Century Secret Rare (QCSR).
Collectors, speculators, and shiny-appreciative players have all reacted positively to QCSRs, the special rarity that Konami unveiled to celebrate 25 years of the Yu-Gi-Oh OCG. Konami has indirectly promised not to reprint any cards at the QCSR rarity that already have a QCSR version, which has made collectors and other value-conscious fans more willing to invest in these versions of their favorite cards. With the 25th anniversary winding down, the window for getting these cards is closing, so many of them are spiking as the market tries to establish a floor on these uniquely collectible cards.
Given that context, it’s clear why Alternate Art Sky Striker Ace - Raye has been trending steadily upward ever since its release in Terminal Revenge: it’s the rarest, fanciest version of this core monster of a beloved archetype. Among players (if not anime fans), Raye is nearly as iconic as monsters like Dark Magician Girl and Harpy Lady, and her card’s price reflects that.
#4 Primite Lordly Lode (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
- Set: Rage of the Abyss
- Increase: +$47.18
- Current Market Price: $105.84
Primitive Lordly Lode (both this version and the base version) has naturally trended up ever since it released in October. The Primite archetype essentially acts as support for every Normal Monster ever printed, and even decks that aren’t all-in on avoiding Effect Monsters can use Primite Lordly Lode with Primite Roar to Special Summon the odd Normal Monster from the deck for free. Two more Primite cards will be coming in Supreme Darkness on January 24th, so it’s likely that the existing Primite cards will keep on rising through the month.
#3 Fiendsmith's Tract (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
- Set: The Infinite Forbidden
- Increase: +$47.99
- Current Market Price: $87.01
Fiendsmith has been dominating tournaments ever since the archetype was introduced in July, and the banning of Fiendsmith’s Lacrima has done little to slow it down. For evidence, you need only look at YCS Anaheim, where Steven Trifunoski triumphed over more than 1400 other players using a deck that ran a full playset of Fiendsmith’s Tract. We’ll be getting even more Fiendsmith cards in Supreme Darkness, so don’t waste your sympathy on any of these devils.
#2 Fiendsmith Engraver (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
- Set: The Infinite Forbidden
- Increase: +$49.75
- Current Market Price: $200.69
The Fiendsmith Ryzeal deck that won YCS Anaheim also ran three copies of Fiendsmith Engraver, the key Main Deck monster of the archetype that pairs with Fiendsmith’s Tract to summon Fiendsmith’s Desirae. Starting later this month, players will also have the option to go into Fiendsmith's Rextremendae for even more shenanigans.
#1 Maliss P White Rabbit (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
- Set: Crossover Breakers
- Increase: +$79.15
- Current Market Price: $259.89
Finally, the biggest gainer of the month simply had the good fortune to be undervalued when it released on December 6th. The Maliss archetype has proven to be not only fun but also seriously competitive, which has helped this bunny girl become the most valuable card of the set.
By selling these cards online, you can reach a broad audience of customers who are willing to pay what these cards are truly worth. Download the December 2024 Price Trends Report to review every Yu-Gi-Oh! card that went up in value this month. Then list those cards on TCGplayer so your inventory can do more for your business.
Download the Yu-Gi-Oh! Price Trends Report
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