Pale Beast [1st Edition] #MRD-047

Pale Beast [1st Edition] #MRD-047 collector guide

About Pale Beast

Pale Beast is a Normal Monster, with flavour text instead of an effect, printed as MRD-047 in Metal Raiders (2002) as a Common. It is a Level 4 EARTH Beast monster with 1,500 ATK and 1,200 DEF. Metal Raiders was the second English booster set. It added Summoned Skull, Gate Guardian, Mirror Force and Change of Heart, and many of its cards shaped how the early game was played. Ungraded, this printing ranks 410th of the 508 Metal Raiders cards we track. The top card is Gate Guardian at €301.65.

Character and collecting appeal

Beasts are one of the classic monster Types of the original series. As a Normal Monster it is collected for its artwork and its spot in the set rather than for play.

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 MRD-047. The code MRD-047, without a language letter, marks the original North American printing. European English copies have an E in the code, such as MRD-E047, and are priced separately. It is the Common version. Commons have a plain name and no foil. Metal Raiders has 3 other printings of Pale Beast: MRD-047 (€0.13), MRD-E047 and MRD-E047 1st Edition. Each has its own price, so match the code, edition and rarity exactly. It was also printed in Starter Deck: Kaiba, which we track separately.

Price history

Today an ungraded copy of this printing sells for about €0.83, a PSA 9 for €47.59 and a PSA 10 for €116.36. Our monthly prices for it go back to October 2021. Over the last 12 months ungraded copies are down 53%, and up 12% in the last month. Its highest monthly ungraded value was €1.95 in June 2024, 57% above today. PSA 10 copies have moved up 112% over the same 12 months. Of the 4 printings of Pale Beast we track, this one ranks 2nd by ungraded value. The most valuable is Starter Deck: Kaiba SDK-031 1st Edition at €1.13. 1st Edition copies sell for about 6.4× the Unlimited printing (€0.83 against €0.13).

Grading and population

A PSA 10 sells for 140.2× the ungraded price and 2.4× 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 June 2024 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; an active market (40 recent completed sales), so it is easy to sell. Against it: falling prices, down 53% in a year; reprints in another set, which keep playable copies easy to find. Card prices can fall as well as rise, so this is not financial advice.

Before you buy

Expect to pay around €0.83 for a clean ungraded copy; played copies sell for less, and a PSA 9 costs about €47.59. Ask the seller to show the code MRD-047, the "1st Edition" text and the Common finish clearly in the photos, as listing titles often mix up printings. 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.