Initial share price
$45
Initial offering amount
$90,000
The greatest Magic card of all time
Age29 years, 1993
GradeBGS 9 (MINT)
Rarity1 of 1,100 ever printed
SourcePrivate collector, Copenhagen
Trading is halted in anticipation of some big changes coming to Mythic Markets.Read the announcement
MAGIC: THE GATHERING
Alpha Black Lotus
BGS 9 (MINT) • MTG-ABL90
Recent trades*
Last trade
$0.00
$0
Resources
Historical sales of similar items
Initial offering amount
$90,000
About
When Wizards of the Coast released Magic: The Gathering in 1993, they printed only 1,100 Black Lotuses for their first - edition(Alpha) card set.
It was the world’s first trading card game, where players become dueling wizards who unleash fantastical creatures and spells on each other.
Middle school kids everywhere ate it up
The cards quickly sold out. So did the next set (Beta), and the set after that (Unlimited).
In those early days, the designers were still tweaking the game mechanics. It didn’t take long for them to realize that the Black Lotus gave whoever wielded one an unfair advantage, making it way too easy to squish opponents(and all the fun).
So they stopped printing it...
Fast forward 25 years (and over 20 billion cards printed)
Today, an estimated 20 million people play Magic worldwide.
Most of them started playing after the Black Lotus went out of print. Many have never seen one in person.
But it has become so iconic that even people who’ve never played have heard of it.
You might still be wondering, why the heck is this piece of paper worth so much?!
The short answer is, it’s extremely rare, extremely powerful, and therefore extremely desirable to an engaged and growing fanbase.This video from Rhystic Studies explains it pretty well if you want to dig in .
The landscape looks green
Magic is one of Hasbro’s most profitable brands, with sustained year-over-year growth in popularity and revenue. Wizards of the Coast recently released an open beta of their digital game, Magic: The Gathering Arena, in September 2018. In 2014, 20th Century Fox acquired rights to a Magic movie franchise. The first film is currently in development.
Read more
Asset details
Mythic Markets purchased this Black Lotus from A.J., a private collector in Copenhagen, Denmark. He initially bought this card from another collector, and we’re stoked to be the next in line.
Grade
BGS 9.0 MINT
Serial Number
0010606601
Date graded
June 19, 2018
Resources