CardliftNotify me at launch →How Cardlift works
Cardlift answers one question: are the cards inside this sealed product worth more than the product costs? The answer is an expected value, EV for short: what the cards inside are worth on average, at today's prices.
EV in three steps
Odds per rarity
Every booster pack has fixed slots, and each rarity turns up at a known rate: an Illustration Rare in about 1 of 9 packs, a Special Illustration Rare in about 1 of 90. We keep those odds for every English set, Base Set to the newest release.
Price per card, today
Each card carries its current Near Mint market price, refreshed every few days. Multiply each rarity's odds by the average price of its cards, add the rarities up, and you have what one pack is worth. For Chaos Rising:
| Rarity | Cards | Odds | Avg price | Per pack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 38 | 4/pack | $0.12 | $0.47 |
| Special Illustration Rare | 6 | 1 in 90 | $41.50 | $0.46 |
| Illustration Rare | 11 | 1 in 9 | $3.02 | $0.34 |
| Uncommon | 26 | 3/pack | $0.11 | $0.33 |
| Common (reverse) | 38 | 1 in 1.1 | $0.25 | $0.23 |
| Ultra Rare | 18 | 1 in 12 | $2.45 | $0.20 |
| Everything else (6 rarities) | 65 | various | $0.59 | |
| One pack | $2.63 |
Example. The app shows every rarity with its current figures.
Everything inside, against the price
A booster box is 36 of those packs. A collection box is its packs plus its promo cards, each priced as the exact card it is. That total is the EV of the product. It goes against the cheapest listing you can actually buy right now, never an average.
What EV is not
EV is an average over many packs. One box can beat it or miss it; that is the gamble. EV tells you whether the gamble is priced fairly, not what your box will hold.
Exact or nothing
A verdict is shown only when every part of the value is pinned down: the contents, the exact promo cards, the pack sets. When something is random or unknown, the app says what is missing instead of guessing. Cards with no recent sale are priced at their last sale, and the app says how old that sale is.
Where the figures come from
- Card prices: public marketplace sales and listings, Near Mint, per exact print. The app shows when they were refreshed.
- Sealed prices: the cheapest standard listing on the marketplace you choose (US or EU), with a link to it.
- Contents: the official product description, checked against published references. Every promo card lists its set, number and print.
- Pull rates: market research and web research per set. They don't change once a set is out.
Common questions
Which products?
Every English sealed product we can pin down, from Base Set (1999) to the newest set: booster boxes, bundles, Elite Trainer Boxes, tins, collections, blisters, Build & Battle boxes and theme decks. Japanese products later.
What does it cost?
The newest era is free. Cardlift Pro opens every era back to Base Set and adds watches. Prices are set in the App Store at launch.
When?
iPhone first. Leave your email on the front page and you get one message when it's live.
Notify me at launch