Power Nine#Black Lotus

Although the modern term for these cards is Power Nine, other terms existed in the early days of the game. A tournament in New York advertised a grand prize of either "The Big 10" cards or $1000; the cards in The Big 10 were the Power Nine cards and Chaos Orb.{{cite book|title=Warlocks and Warpdrive: Contemporary fantasy entertainments with interactive and virtual environments|last=Lancaster|first=Kurt|publisher=McFarland & Company|date=1999|isbn=0786406348}}{{rp|53}}

During playtesting before the release of the Alpha edition, the Power Nine were deemed to be powerful cards whose scarcity would ensure the cards would not overpower games, but as print runs increased for each set the design team ultimately decided to remove the cards for the Revised Edition release.{{cite book|title=Generation Decks: the unofficial history of gaming phenomenon Magic: The Gathering|last=Chalk|first=Titus|publisher=Solaris Books|date=2017|isbn=978-1-78618-067-4}}{{rp|60}}

{{main|Black Lotus (Magic: The Gathering card)}}

The "Black Lotus" card can be played at zero cost, and it grants three mana (the game's primary resource) when sacrificed (discarded from play). In Magic a player can have up to four cards of the same name in a deck. As such, playing this card gave a considerable advantage in the early stages of the game. It has since been banned from all official tournament formats except for Vintage, where it is limited to one copy per deck instead of four.{{cite news |url=http://www.avclub.com/article/rare-magic-the-gathering-card-sells-for-more-than-105885 |title=Rare Magic: The Gathering card sells for more than $27,000 |work=The A.V. Club |first=Matt |last=Gerardi |date=November 21, 2013 |access-date=November 21, 2013}} An artist proof card has a white back and are likely more scarce than released versions.{{cite web|url=https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/53728/heritage-auctions-registers-record-sale-magic-the-gathering-black-lotus|title=Heritage Auctions registers record sale for 'Magic: The Gathering' Black Lotus|last=Dohm-Sanchez|first=Jeffrey|website=ICv2|date=30 March 2023|access-date=19 November 2023}}

Black Lotus is usually considered by collectors to be the most valuable non-promotional Magic card due to its limited print and limited distribution. There were 22,800 copies of the card printed overall,{{rp|125}} about 1,100 in the Alpha edition, and about 3,300 in the Beta edition. In 2013, one version of the card sold for $27,302. In 2021, one version of the card sold for $511,100.{{cite web |last=Oloman |first=Jordan |date=2021-01-28 |title=The World's Most Expensive Magic: The Gathering Card Has Smashed Its Own Price Record |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/the-worlds-most-expensive-magic-the-gathering-card-has-smashed-its-own-price-record |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204131012/https://www.ign.com/articles/the-worlds-most-expensive-magic-the-gathering-card-has-smashed-its-own-price-record |archive-date=2021-02-04 |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=IGN |language=en}} In 2022, Post Malone paid $800,000 for an artist's proof signed by artist Christopher Rush.{{cite web|url=https://www.thegamer.com/post-malone-black-lotus/|title=Post Malone Just Spent $800,000 On Magic: The Gathering's Most Expensive Card|last=Foster|first=George|website=TheGamer|date=15 June 2022|access-date=18 November 2023}}

The card's standing in the Magic: the Gathering community is evinced by the creation of the Magic: The Gathering Players Tour, which was originally established as the Black Lotus Pro Tour and first contested in February 1996 in New York City.{{cite book|title=Pro Magic: the art of professional deck construction|last1=Baxter|first1=George H.|last2=Wolfe|first2=Charles|publisher=Wordware Publishing|date=1998|isbn=1-55622-524-5}}{{rp|26}}

The art for the card was created by Christopher Rush.{{cite magazine|magazine=Inquest|title=Magic: The Gathering|publisher=Wizard Entertainment|issue=2|pages=48–71|date=June 1995}}{{rp|48}}

The five original Mox cards are:

• Mox Emerald
• Mox Jet
• Mox Pearl
• Mox Ruby
• Mox Sapphire

They are colloquially known as "Moxen" or "Moxes", and each represents one of the Magic: The Gathering colors.{{rp|28}} These cards are similar to the five basic lands (the cards that provide the primary resource to play most cards) in that they cost nothing to play and can add one mana of a specific color to their owner's resource pool. Unlike lands, however, more than one can be played per turn.{{cite web|access-date=2019-07-19|title=10 Magic: The Gathering Cards So Powerful They Were Banned (And 10 That Should Be)|url=https://screenrant.com/magic-the-gathering-cards-powerful-banned-should-be/|date=11 January 2019|website=ScreenRant}}{{cite web |url=https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/power-nine-mtg-2240902/|title=What is the Power Nine? The strongest cards in MTG|last=Bye|first=Jack|website=Dexerto|date=2023-08-08|access-date=2023-11-14}} When tournaments were officially organized, a list of banned and restricted cards was created for the various formats; the Moxen were restricted to one copy each per deck.{{rp|106}}

In March 2022, a mint condition Alpha edition Mox Emerald sold for $29,999. An independent European Magic: The Gathering annual tournament is named Bazaar of Moxen.{{rp|249}}

The art for all cards was created by Dan Frazier.{{rp|48}}

Ancestral Recall allows the player to either draw three cards or force the opponent to draw three cards, at an extremely low cost. This allows a player to circumvent one of the game's basic rules: that a player may draw one card on their turn.{{rp|108}} This enables the player to accelerate their resource development, specifically the cards in their hand.{{rp|108}}

During the Gamma design phase of Magic: The Gathering, both Ancestral Recall and Time Walk were common cards; Richard Garfield stated that blue "was easily the most powerful magic, having two extremely insidious common spells", so each was made a rare card before publication.{{cite book|title=Game Design Workshop: A playcentric approach to creating innovative games|last=Fullerton|first=Tracy|edition=4th|publisher=CRC Press|date=2019}}{{rp|222–223}} Ancestral Recall was deemed "vastly too powerful"; the functionally similar card Inspiration that was included in the core Sixth Edition allows a player to draw two cards instead of three, at a cost of one blue and three other mana, instead of one blue mana.{{Cite book|title=Players making decisions|last=Hiwiller|first=Zack|publisher=New Riders Press|date=2016|isbn=978-0-134-39675-0}}{{rp|172}} The release of the Alliances expansion set included the card Library of Lat-Nam, intended as a substitute for Ancestral Recall with a higher in-game cost.{{cite magazine|title=Alliances: best expansion set ever?|issue=15|magazine=InQuest|page=80|date=July 1996}}

The art for the card was created by Mark Poole.{{rp|49}}

{{redirect|Time Walk|the tourist attraction in Dorset|Timewalk|the 1982 film|Time Walker}}

Time Walk allows the player to take an extra turn for two mana. One copy is permitted in the Vintage competitive format. During playtesting before release of the Alpha edition, a player told Richard Garfield during a game that Garfield would lose the game in the next turn; the "Time Walk" he had in his deck had the ambiguous text "opponent loses next turn", which was meant for the opposing player to skip his next turn, but interpreted to mean that the opponent would lose the game.{{rp|65}}

The card is banned in all play formats except Vintage.{{cite web|url=https://www.thegamer.com/rare-magic-gathering-cards-worth/|title=The Most Valuable Cards In MTG|last=Murray|first=Sean|website=TheGamer|date=September 5, 2018 |access-date=18 November 2023}}

The art for the card was created by Amy Weber.{{rp|50}}

{{redirect|Timetwister|other uses|Time Twister (disambiguation)}}

Timetwister forces all players to shuffle their hand, library (draw pile) and graveyard (discard pile) together. Then, the players draw seven cards.

The card is banned in Legacy and other formats. It is restricted to one copy per deck in Vintage, and it is legal in Commander. The release of the Alliances expansion set included the card Diminishing Returns, intended as a substitute for Timetwister with a higher in-game cost.

The art for the card was created by Mark Tedin.{{rp|50}}

The Power Nine represent the rarest and most expensive collectible Magic: The Gathering cards. {{As of|2022}} Beckett Media has graded 263 copies of the Alpha edition of Black Lotus, and Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) has graded 110. The low supply of genuine cards and the high demand result in high prices, and "every sale comes with the possibility of a new record". In addition, the cards will not be reprinted.{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-power-nine-magic-the-gathering-cards-costs-so-much-trading-game-2018-5|title=These 9 Magic: The Gathering cards are worth a staggering $27,000 — here's why|last=Ibekwe|first=David|website=Business Insider|date=11 May 2018|access-date=16 November 2023}} Despite not being playable in most Magic: The Gathering formats, they are "highly sought-after collectors' items".{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/uk-auction-rare-magic-gathering-cards-bid-expecting-fetch-200k|title=UK auction: Rare 'Magic: The Gathering' cards will be up for bid, expected to fetch almost $200K|last=Rousselle|first=Christine|date=20 April 2023|access-date=16 November 2023}}

From January to August 2022, there were 122 Power Nine cards sold at auction, of which 21 were from Alpha, 30 were from Beta, and 71 were from Unlimited. A Black Lotus card signed by Richard Garfield with a grade of 6 from Beckett was sold for $72,000.

{{As of|March 2023}} there are six alpha Black Lotus cards graded as PSA 10.{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/23644519/magic-the-gathering-black-lotus-auction-price-2023|title=Magic: The Gathering Black Lotus card sells for a record $540,000|last=Welsh|first=Oli|website=Polygon|date=17 March 2023|access-date=16 November 2023}} {{As of|October 2014}}, there were 34 Beta Black Lotus cards rated PSA 10,{{cite web|url=https://icv2.com/articles/games/view/29950/beta-black-lotus-100-000|title='Beta Black Lotus' for $100,000?|website=ICv2|date=16 October 2014|access-date=19 November 2023}} and {{as of|December 2020}} four rated BGS 10 and 57 rated BGS 9.5.{{cite web|url=https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/47253/high-grade-magic-the-gathering-beta-edition-black-lotus-card-up-for-auction-january|title=High-grade 'Magic: The Gathering Beta Edition' Black Lotus card up for auction in January|last=Dohm-Sanchez|first=Jeffrey|date=30 December 2020|access-date=19 November 2023}}

The tournament system had by 1995 become dominated by decks using the Power Nine, all of which had increased in price on the secondary market to such an extent that they were unaffordable by most players.{{rp|129}} The organized play department within Wizards of the Coast began to worry that a "two-tier field of haves and have-nots was emerging", and that the latter may stop playing the game.{{rp|129}} The solution was to establish the Pro Tour using "cards everyone had access to" as a competitive system analogous to competitions in bridge, chess, and poker, or even sports such as basketball.{{rp|131}}

The expansion set Chronicles released in August 1995 reprinted numerous powerful cards from the first four expansion sets (Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, and The Dark).{{rp|202}} This disappointed collectors, who believed the value of their collection would decrease, and many players, who had wanted even more cards from earlier sets reprinted instead of only the 166 in Chronicles.{{rp|202}} As a result of the complaints, Wizards of the Coast established the Reserved List in March 1996, a "significant and ill-thought-out concession" listing cards that would never be reprinted, among them the Power Nine.{{rp|202}} Players have generally opposed the Reserve List, while collectors and card sellers have supported it, as it tends to result in prices for cards on the list to increase over time.{{cite web|url=https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/49398/its-confirmed-magic-reserved-list-here-stay|title=It's confirmed: 'Magic' Reserved List is here to stay|last=Dohm-Sanchez|first=Jeffrey|website=ICv2|date=29 September 2021|access-date=19 November 2023}} In a Tumblr post in September 2021, Mark Rosewater stated that the company's approach to the Reserve List was "not going to change".

{{reflist|2}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081218103358/http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/arcana/432 "The Power Nine"]—Images of all Power Nine cards
• [https://www.magiclibrarities.net/468-rarities-vintagelegacy-championship-oversized-unique-cards-english-cards-index.html "Magic Rarities]—Images of the alternate art versions

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Category:Magic: The Gathering