CGC Cards Registry Featured Set: Limited Edition Alpha – Reserved List

In 1993, Magic: The Gathering was released with its first core set: Limited Edition Alpha. The set sold quickly as Magic's popularity rose, and MTG soon realized that they needed to put out a new set. The follow-up set was called Limited Edition Beta. Both sets — Alpha and Beta — are distinguishable from their Unlimited counterparts because the cards have no copyright date, expansion symbol or trademark symbol.

Both Limited Edition Alpha and Beta were known for having overpowered cards. MTG's designers initially didn't think much of the overpowered capabilities of cards such as Black Lotus or Ancestral Recall, because they assumed that very few people would use such cards in their decks due to their relative scarcity. Unfortunately, they were wrong — many players ended up getting their hands on these overpowered cards due to the rise of the secondary card market.

Eventually, Wizards of the Coast created the Reserved List: a group of MTG cards that WotC have vowed to never reprint to preserve their value on the secondary market. The Reserved List was first published in 1996 and has since been revised several times.

Collectors enjoy collecting cards from WotC's Reserved List. There is a category for Limited Edition Alpha – Reserved List in the CGC Cards Registry, which consists of Limited Edition Alpha cards that are on the Reserved List, including the iconic Power 9 and Dual Land cards.

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Lakewood Collection's Limited Edition Alpha – Reserved List set is 100% complete and includes several cards graded Gem Mint 10 or higher, including a Pristine 10 Black Lotus! We caught up with Lakewood Collection to talk about this set and the CGC Cards Registry. Check out our Q&A below!

Q&A with the Set Owner

How did you get started collecting Magic: The Gathering cards?

I started when I was a teenager back in the late 90s because I was the president of a high school club that played Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. The first few sets I purchased were Tempest, Stronghold, Ice Age and a few others of that era.

What is your favorite card in this set?

My favorite card, other than the obvious one (Black Lotus) is the "Royal Assassin." It's a black / swamp mana card, and it's just a great one to play with. I can instantly kill any opponent creature that taps, even on their turn!

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What makes this set unique or special to you?

MTG Alpha cards are very rare, only having been printed in limited quantities back in 1993. The fact that this is a complete set — most of which are graded CGC Gem Mint 10 or Pristine 10 — makes it very special and valuable.

What other collecting goals are you working on?

I also collect original comic art, especially Marvel trading card art, and I still collect and play Magic: The Gathering to this day, so I collect newer sets that have come out. I especially like to chase serialized Magic cards.

How has the CGC Cards Registry helped with your collecting goals?

The CGC Cards Registry is great because it has high quality images for all my graded cards, and I can organize my collection into sets for all different genres. It's a fantastic resource that helps me see the population count and see how my cards stack up with others that have been graded.

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