Curse of Dragon [1st Edition] #LOB-066

Curse of Dragon [1st Edition] #LOB-066 collector guide

About Curse of Dragon

Curse of Dragon is a Normal Monster, with flavour text instead of an effect, printed as LOB-066 in Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon (2002) as a Super Rare. It is a Level 5 DARK Dragon monster with 2,000 ATK and 1,500 DEF. At its Level it needs one Tribute to Normal Summon. Its ATK is the 7th highest of the 87 monsters in the set. Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon was the first booster set of the English Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. It brought Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Dark Magician, Red-Eyes Black Dragon and the five pieces of Exodia to English-speaking players, so almost every card in it is a piece of the game's history. Ungraded, this printing ranks 32nd of the 454 Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon cards we track. The top card is Blue-Eyes White Dragon at €968.32.

Character and collecting appeal

Curse of Dragon is one of Yugi's early dragons in the anime and the other half of the Gaia the Dragon Champion Fusion. Normal Monsters like this one are mostly collected for their art and to complete the set. Gaia the Dragon Champion mentions Curse of Dragon in its text, which keeps it relevant.

Version and identification

This guide covers the 1st Edition printing. The words "1st Edition" are printed below the artwork on the left; copies without them are the Unlimited printing and usually sell for less. Check the code printed below the artwork on the right: it should read LOB-066. The code LOB-066, without a language letter, marks the original North American printing. European English copies have an E in the code, such as LOB-E066, and are priced separately. It is the Super Rare version. Super Rares have holographic artwork and a plain name. Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon has 3 other printings of Curse of Dragon: LOB-066 (€5.27), LOB-E053 (€5.78) and LOB-E053 1st Edition (€29.76). Each has its own price, so match the code, edition and rarity exactly. It was also printed in Starter Deck: Yugi, which we track separately.

Price history

Today an ungraded copy of this printing sells for about €50.96, a PSA 9 for €227.37 and a PSA 10 for €1,137. Our monthly prices for it go back to December 2021. Over the last 12 months ungraded copies are down 18%, and up 43% in the last month. Its highest monthly ungraded value was €130.77 in April 2022, 61% above today. PSA 10 copies have moved up 51% over the same 12 months. Of the 8 printings of Curse of Dragon we track, this is the most valuable ungraded. The cheapest is Starter Deck: Yugi SDY-008 at €0.93. 1st Edition copies sell for about 9.7× the Unlimited printing (€50.96 against €5.27).

Grading and population

A PSA 10 sells for 22.3× the ungraded price and 5× a PSA 9. That gap is big enough that grading a sharp, well-centred copy can pay for itself. Early English Yu-Gi-Oh! cards often have off-centre cuts and wear on the dark brown back borders, which is why high grades are hard to reach.

Investment potential

In its favour: a price well below its April 2022 peak, which some collectors see as room to recover; it comes from the 1st Edition run of an early English set, which will never be printed again; lasting fame from the anime or the competitive game; it is the original printing, which reprints rarely replace for collectors; an active market (142 recent completed sales), so it is easy to sell. Against it: falling prices, down 18% in a year. Past prices do not guarantee future ones. This is not financial advice.

Before you buy

Expect to pay around €50.96 for a clean ungraded copy; played copies sell for less, and a PSA 9 costs about €227.37. Ask the seller to show the code LOB-066, the "1st Edition" text and the Super Rare finish clearly in the photos, as listing titles often mix up printings. At this price fakes are worth checking for: genuine cards have a small holographic seal (the Eye of Anubis) in the bottom-right corner, and the font, colours and card back should match a copy you know is genuine. Look up the certificate number of any graded copy on the grading company's website. Cards from 2002 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.