Trading card games gained immense popularity during the coronavirus pandemic. Cards from Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering reached record prices. However, the market does not seem to have cooled down yet, as the famous ‘Black Lotus’ went under the auction hammer – and was able to increase its value further.
Which card is it? It is the card ‘Black Lotus’ with a signature from the illustrator Christopher Rush on the protective sleeve.
Almost identical card last sold at the beginning of 2021 – at that time, it went for about 510,000 US Dollars on eBay. In the latest auction, this value could be topped. Through the digital auction house PWCC, the card changed hands for 540,000 US Dollars. That is almost 510,000 Euros.
What makes the card so valuable? The Black Lotus is already quite valuable and sought after. Apparently, even a reprint with the ‘Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary Edition’ could not change that.
However, this special lotus card is something really special. Similar to the 510,000-Dollar card from 2021, the new 540,000-lotus has a signature from the illustrator of the card on the front.
But it goes even further.
The card received the quality seal ‘PSA 10’ from the Professional Sports Authenticators. This is the highest grade for a trading card. It is essentially a perfect card. According to the US site polygon.com, there are only six ‘PSA 10’ cards of the Black Lotus (via polygon.com).
The original card’s print run was already small, and it only appeared in 3 sets: Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited. The cards from the Alpha set are considered the most expensive – the priciest Lotus also comes from Alpha.
The card’s gameplay strength also plays a role. The Black Lotus allows for a tactic to eliminate the opponent in the first round (via cardmarket.com). The lotus costs no mana, but provides 3 universal mana when sacrificed.
In practice, a real Black Lotus is rarely used. It is banned in almost every official tournament format because it is simply too powerful. It is truly a collector’s card in the truest sense.
The most expensive Magic cards already fetch respectable prices. However, other trading card games, such as Pokémon cards, sometimes command millions.
Magic: The Gathering likely wants to achieve similar prices for its cards. A potential attempt could be the new crossover cards with ‘The Lord of the Rings.’
For the one ring was indeed printed only once: A new card in Magic: The Gathering will only be printed once – Will always be a unique piece
