There are a few constants in this chaotic life: death, taxes, and… Magic the meeting‘s Black Lotus card is being sold for increasingly absurd amounts of money.
An Alpha Black Lotus card fetched $3 million at auction last week, grading company CGC Cards announced in a Instagram post. This particular card is not only super rare, but also in pristine condition.
“The transaction took place in a private sale between Adam Cai of Pristine Collectibles and a mystery buyer, shattering previous records,” the post said.
In 2021, a signed Black Lotus card sold at auction for a record $511,100 – a record that was broken not once, but twice in 2023, with a top price of $615,000. By comparison, just five years ago the rare card cost $166,000. However, this latest $3 million deal not only represents the highest retail price of a Black Lotus card, but also the highest Magic: the meeting ticket sales ever.
The previous record was set in 2023 by rapper Post Malone, when he bought a rare Lord of the Rings-themed card for $2 million.
The Black Lotus card dates back to the first Alpha printing of Magic: The Gathering in 1993. Not only is it a rare card (only about 1,100 were printed), but it’s also a powerful one. It costs no mana to play, but adds 3 mana of any color to your pool, so it’s a great way to cast powerful spells early in the game. It is one of the ‘Power Nine’, a set of cards that have been banned from most competitive gaming formats due to their overwhelming power.