In Magic: The Gathering, there is a set of cards known as the Power Nine. These are considered to be the most powerful from M:TG's original print run, making them incredibly valuable to collectors. However, none of the Power Nine cards are as valuable as the Black Lotus card. In fact, the card's legendary status has lead to it being banned in almost every form of competitive play.
Despite this ban, though, Black Lotus has become one of the most sought out collector's items Magic: The Gathering has to offer. It's reached near-legendary status among players and even Wizards fo the Coast itself thanks to its immense power and limited run. In fact, a single copy of the card shattered its own record when it sold in an eBay auction early this year. While its hard to gage exactly how many are left decades later, here's why the card has reached mythical status and how many are believes to still exist.
Why Black Lotus Is So Rare
In terms of actual ability, Black Lotus costs no mana to play and allows the user to discard it for three mana. Given that it basically leads to three free mana for cheap, it quickly rose to be one of the most sought out cards in M:TG history, with many competitive players referring to it as the greatest M:TG card ever.
Part of Black Lotus's value and power is due to older versions of Magic not limiting how many of a specific type of card players could have in their decks. This meant players were able to load their decks with Black Lotus cards and certain spell cards to make them extremely powerful. Versions of this strategy appearing in competitive tournaments helped raise the value of Black Lotus.
Additionally, Black Lotus was only printed in the Alpha, Beta and Unlimited sets, which has further increased its value with both fans and collectors alike. But while Wizards of the Coast has never reprinted Black Lotus, it has done limited digital runs of the card and referenced it in others. A 2019 event in Magic: The Gathering Arena saw Black Lotus temporarily return in special decks. Multiple cards either featured or referenced Black Lotus, such as numerous other Lotus cards, Goblin Charbelcher, Old Fogey and even the parody Blacker Lotus, which requires players to physically rip up the card to play it.
How Many Black Lotuses Remain?
Since Black Lotus cards were only available for a short time, fans have wondered how many are left in circulation decades later. This is a difficult number to figure out, though it's possible to estimate by looking at how many there were to start. Based on the total number of cards released in the Alpha, Beta and Unlimited sets, it seems that roughly 22,800 Black Lotus cards were printed.
Reddit users discussing the rarity of the card and the longevity of card stock estimated that there were likely around 5,000 Black Lotuses still in circulation in 2012. Black Lotus is classified as rare, meaning there was only a chance of one Black Lotus appearing in any of the sets that the card was included in. Given the card's status as a collector's item that most people would want to keep in close-to-mint condition, it's safe to assume the 5,000 card estimate is still somewhat accurate nine years later.
However, the exact location of those 5,000 Black Lotus cards is unknown, as people are still finding unopened packs of Magic sets with Black Lotus cards inside. The card continues to sell for wild amounts of money, including one this year that sold for $511,100 in an eBay auction this past January. This particular card was in mint condition and signed by the card's original artist, the late Christopher Rush, which greatly increased its already staggering value. In fact, it's the highest price ever paid for a Black Lotus, breaking the $166,000 record the card set in 2019.