Price Trends: Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards Climbing in Price - 02/04/2025
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 January 4 and February 2, 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: Crimson Crisis
- Increase: +$11.63
- Current Market Price: $17.65
Planet Pollutant Virus has only been printed once, so it’s primed to spike hard as soon as Aliens become a relevant archetype again. That hasn’t happened yet, but Supreme Darkness (which released January 24) did introduce the new Mitsurugi archetype, which (like Aliens) is also filled with Reptiles. You can pull off Planet Pollutant Virus as a one-sided board wipe in Mitsurugi by searching it up with Cosmic Slicer Zer’oll and tributing Alien Shocktrooper M-Frame.
That’s a pretty niche combo, and didn’t feature in the Mitsurugi deck that took the #2 spot at YCS Orlando this weekend, but even the chance that Planet Pollutant Virus could be relevant was enough to cause its price to double in January.
#4 Evil HERO Adusted Gold (Blue)
- Set: Legendary Duelists: Season 3
- Increase: +$14.49
- Current Market Price: $23.38
The Evil HERO archetype got new support in Supreme Darkness, including the set’s “face” monster Evil HERO Neos Lord and Evil HERO Dead-End Prison. Both of those cards mention Dark Fusion, so they can both be searched up with Evil HERO Adjusted Gold. Naturally, the card spiked when Supreme Darkness released.
Legendary Duelists: Season 3 included rare foils in red, blue, and the usual gold (standing in for yellow) to celebrate the three color-coded dormitories in Yu-Gi-Oh GX. This is the blue member of that trio.
#3 Evil HERO Adusted Gold (Red)
- Set: Legendary Duelists: Season 3
- Increase: +$14.91
- Current Market Price: $22.95
…And this is the red member. These two cards are currently the least expensive versions of Evil HERO Adusted Gold, so they had the most to gain from its price spike.
- Set: Invasion: Vengeance
- Printing: Unlimited
- Increase: +$18.41
- Current Market Price: $26.19
The Water Machine archetype Crystron also got more support in Supreme Darkness. Crystron Citree has only been printed once (back in 2016), so its price has climbed steeply since late December as players have tried to buy the other cards they need to put the new Cystron support cards to use.
Back in August, Crystron Citree was a $0.60 card. As esoteric as Japan’s Yu-Gi-Oh releases seem, they’re worth following so you can anticipate spikes like this.
- Set: Raging Tempest
- Printing: Unlimited
- Increase: +$20.41
- Current Market Price: $28.99
Just like Crystron Citree, Crystron Quariongandrax has only been printed once. So players who want to sleeve up new cards like Crystron Eleskeletus from Supreme Darkness are having a tough time finding copies of this essential eight-year-old card.
Some early buyouts by forward-thinking speculators helped Quariongandrax break into double-digit prices in December, but the release of Supreme Darkness in January brought this card to its current price just under $30.
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 Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
- Set: Quarter Century Bonanza
- Increase: +$34.60
- Current Market Price: $175.22
As usual, all of the top climbers this month 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.
So it’s understandable that the QCSR version of Yu-Gi-Oh’s most iconic monster wound up being the most expensive card in Quarter Century Bonanza, and continues to grow in value as that set’s release date transforms from being “last month” into “last year.”
#4 Crimson Dragon (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
- Set: Duelist Nexus
- Increase: +$37.79
- Current Market Price: $159.77
Since its initial release in 2023 and through to the present, Crimson Dragon has been widely playable, even when there hasn’t been a top-tier competitive deck where it could shine. The normal version of Crimson Dragon dropped in price after it got reprinted in 25th Anniversary Tin: Dueling Mirrors last September, but as the supply of that version has dried up, Crimson Dragon has started riding an updraft again—both the normal version and this QCSR version.
#3 Super Starslayer TY-PHON - Sky Crisis (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
- Set: Age of Overlord
- Increase: +$38.75
- Current Market Price: $178.36
Super Starslayer TY-PHON - Sky Crisis has grown in popularity since December as an easy way to counter 3000 ATK cards like Ryzeal Detonator and Nibiru, the Primal Being. With Ryzeal taking first place at YCS Orlando, Starslayer’s price may continue to rise.
#2 Primite Lordly Lode (Quarter Century Secret Rare)
- Set: Rage of the Abyss
- Increase: +$60.98
- Current Market Price: $163.22
As predicted, Primite Lordly Lode continued to grow this month with the release of Primite Dragon Ether Beryl and Primite Scream in Supreme Darkness.
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.
#1 Ultimate Dragon of Pride and Soul
- Set: Rage of the Abyss
- Increase: +$66.89
- Current Market Price: $129.35
Of all the highly thematic 25th Anniversary Monsters, Ultimate Dragon of Pride and Soul has the best shot at breaking into competitive play someday. This card (only printed once, in Rage of the Abyss) doesn’t appear in tournament decks currently, but it’s rare enough that a small number of sales to collectors and optimistic players has managed to double its price in the past month.
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 January 2025 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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