Cave Dragon #LOD-040

Cave Dragon #LOD-040 collector guide

About Cave Dragon

Cave Dragon is an Effect Monster, printed as LOD-040 in Legacy of Darkness (2003) as a Short Print. It is a Level 4 WIND Dragon monster with 2,000 ATK and 100 DEF. Its ATK is the 8th highest of the 56 monsters in the set. Legacy of Darkness was a smaller 2003 set with a wave of Spirit monsters, including Yata-Garasu, alongside Injection Fairy Lily and Airknight Parshath. Ungraded, this printing ranks 87th of the 206 Legacy of Darkness cards we track. The top card is Yata-Garasu at €78.25.

Character and collecting appeal

Dragons are the most collected monster Type in Yu-Gi-Oh!, largely thanks to Blue-Eyes and Red-Eyes. In play, it is a card for stopping attacks. It cannot be Normal Summoned, so it has to be brought out by its own conditions. Fiend Skull Dragon mentions Cave Dragon in its text, which keeps it relevant.

Version and identification

This guide covers the Unlimited printing, without the "1st Edition" text below the artwork. 1st Edition copies of the same card have their own, usually higher, prices. Check the code printed below the artwork on the right: it should read LOD-040. The code LOD-040, without a language letter, marks the original North American printing. European English copies have an E in the code, such as LOD-E040, and are priced separately. It is the Short Print version. Short Prints look like Commons but were printed in smaller numbers. Legacy of Darkness has one other printing of Cave Dragon: LOD-040 1st Edition (€1.12). Each has its own price, so match the code, edition and rarity exactly.

Price history

Today an ungraded copy of this printing sells for about €0.88, a PSA 9 for €7.13 and a PSA 10 for €67.99. Our monthly prices for it go back to November 2021. Over the last 12 months ungraded copies are down 34%, and down 12% in the last month. Its highest monthly ungraded value was €2.30 in March 2022, 62% above today. PSA 10 copies have moved down 19% over the same 12 months. 1st Edition copies sell for about 1.3× the Unlimited printing (€1.12 against €0.88).

Grading and population

A PSA 10 sells for 77.3× the ungraded price and 9.5× a PSA 9. That gap is big enough that grading a sharp, well-centred copy can pay for itself. On cards from the early 2000s, the dark brown backs show every scuff and white edge, so top grades are scarce.

Investment potential

In its favour: a price well below its March 2022 peak, which some collectors see as room to recover; it comes from the first years of the English game, which are no longer printed; an active market (25 recent completed sales), so it is easy to sell. Against it: falling prices, down 34% in a year. Past prices do not guarantee future ones. This is not financial advice.

Before you buy

Expect to pay around €0.88 for a clean ungraded copy; played copies sell for less, and a PSA 9 costs about €7.13. Ask the seller to show the code LOD-040, the missing "1st Edition" text and the Short Print finish clearly in the photos, as listing titles often mix up printings. Cards from 2003 often show white wear on the back edges and corners, so ask for photos of the back before you buy.

Card details and image from YGOPRODeck. Yu-Gi-Oh! is a trademark of Konami; Search Cards is not affiliated with Konami.