A Magic collection isn't worth a fixed number — it's worth whatever the market says today, and that moves every week as cards get reprinted, banned, or spike from a new deck. Here's how to know your real total without becoming a full-time spreadsheet jockey.
Why a static value goes stale fast
The moment you write down "this card is worth $12," you've created a number that starts drifting. Reprints push prices down; Standard rotations and Commander hype push them up; bans crater them overnight. A value you typed last month is fiction. To track value meaningfully you need prices that refresh on their own.
What "live value" actually requires
Three things have to line up:
- Each card matched to a real printing. A card's value depends on its exact set and collector number — a card can be $0.50 in one set and $40 in another. Matching by name alone gives you garbage totals.
- A price source that updates. Prices should sync from a live market feed, not a one-time import, so your total reflects this week, not the week you started.
- Foil awareness. A foil printing often carries a very different price; your total should use the foil price for foil copies.
The fastest way to get there
If your collection is already digital and each card is matched to a printing, the total is just arithmetic the app does for you — quantity times current price, summed up. The hard part isn't the math; it's getting an accurate, printing-matched library in the first place. (If you're not there yet, start with digitizing your collection.)
Once that's done, a good app shows value at every level: per card, per box or binder, and a grand total across everything you own — and it updates as prices move, with no manual re-pricing.
Price alerts: watch the cards that matter
Total value is the big picture; price alerts are the tactical layer. Set a target on a specific card — "tell me if this drops below $5" or "alert me if it crosses $30" — and get a notification when the market hits it. That's how you buy in on a dip or sell into a spike without checking prices manually every day.
See your collection's live value with Archivist
Archivist prices every card against a live feed and shows value per card, per location, and overall. Plus adds per-card price alerts. iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Get Archivist on the App StoreA note on what value means
Market price is a reference, not a guaranteed sale. Buylist (what a shop pays you) is lower than retail, and condition matters. Treat the live total as an honest estimate of replacement value — great for insurance, trades, and knowing where your money actually is — not as a cash-out figure.