Magic the Gathering is one, if not the most popular card game on the market. A player has laid down as much as 3 million dollars for a powerful but rare card. And the card can only be used in a single game mode.
Which card is it? Anyone who has been involved with Magic the Gathering for a while will probably guess: It’s the card Black Lotus
.
The special version being sold here is particularly noteworthy as it was released in 1993 and is one of the rare limited Alpha editions. The grading company Certified Guaranty Company, better known as CGC, certified the card and gave it a Pristine 10
. Among other things, this is due to its rarity, but also because the card is in the best possible condition.
Here you can see which cards in Magic the Gathering have had the highest sales value so far:
Win matches in one move for 3 million dollars
Why is it so important? Black Lotus is a highly sought-after card among Magic the Gathering players. With it, one can win a match in one move.
To do this, the card must be played with a land card Mountain
:
- One sacrifices the Black Lotus for 3 green mana
- For 2 green mana, the card
Blood Tribute
is played - One pays 19 life for 19 colorless mana
- With the 19 colorless, one green, and the red mana from the Mountain, one plays
Fireball
This deals 20 damage to opponents in just one move. In the modern Commander mode of Magic the Gathering, this is indeed a lot, but not necessarily game-ending.
However, Black Lotus can currently only be used in a single game mode: Vintage, the original version of the game. But even in Vintage, the card can only be used once per deck.
In Vintage, each player has exactly 20 life. The perfect use of Black Lotus can thus sweep the opponent off the field in one turn – even in the opening turn.
New record – For trading card games in general
Who bought the card? The name of the buyer is unfortunately not known. The Instagram account of the card game division of CGC only announced that the seller Adam Cai from Pristine Collectibles orchestrated the deal.
Is the purchase price something special? The purchase price of 3 million dollars is definitely something special and also breaks the previous price record for a trading card in general: In 2022, the card #311 Mickey Mantle
from the game Topps, released in 1952, was auctioned for $1,253,185.
In 2023, MeinMMO also reported on the then highest price for Black Lotus: Someone purchased the card with a signature for a total of $540,000. Previously, the record for the card stood at $510,000. Even for the Lord of the Rings collaboration card The One Ring
, only
$100,000 was bid online.
Currently, there are quite a few collaborations with films and video games in Magic the Gathering, not just with Lord of the Rings. Recently, cards for the Vocaloid Hatsune Miku were announced. Last year, you could also enjoy a collaboration with Baldur’s Gate 3.
Players of Baldur’s Gate 3 are still playing the game with gusto. There’s new information about the end of a tragic companion: You always fight against a dire fate in Baldur’s Gate 3, but for one beloved companion, this is the best ending
