Original illustration by Cards Community. Not official artwork.
Magic card
Black Lotus
Black Lotus is an Artifact from the first Magic set. It gives a player a burst of mana of a single color in exchange for being used up. It is the most famous card in the whole game.
- Expansion
- Limited Edition Alpha
- Release year
- 1993
- Rarity (featured print)
- Rare
- Card type
- Artifact
- Details
- Artifact
Why collectors notice it
The card is part of the Reserved List, a Wizards of the Coast promise not to reprint certain cards. That policy is a big reason the card has a unique reputation in the hobby.
It is where the entire genre started. Read more about Limited Edition Alpha.
How it works in play
Its design shows how strong the early game could be when a card broke the normal mana rules.
Rules and wording change between printings and over time. For official rules, check the publisher's own materials.
A closer look
Reading this card
Start with the type line. Black Lotus is an Artifact, and on this site that means a permanent with no color of its own. Most Magic cards carry a color that tells you which part of the game's "color pie" they belong to. This one does not, which is why any deck could, in theory, use it. The featured print is a Rare from Alpha, so look for the rounder corners and the older type-line wording that mark that first set. There is no set symbol on an Alpha card, so do not expect one.
The phrase "one-time mana burst" in the trait chips is worth reading slowly. Mana is the resource every spell costs, and normally you gather it one land at a time. This card is a shortcut around that pace, and it is gone once used.
How it compares
Llanowar Elves is another Alpha card that helps you get mana early, but the two work differently. The Elves is a Common creature that can be used again turn after turn, and it can be removed in combat or by spells. Black Lotus is a Rare artifact that does its job once. Reading them together shows two different ways the first set handled the same problem of going faster than the land limit allows.
The Limited Edition Alpha page puts both cards in the context of the whole set.
Questions readers ask
Why can't I find a new copy in a pack?
It is on the Reserved List, a policy from 1996 in which Wizards of the Coast promised not to reprint certain older cards. Only older printings exist.
Why is Black Lotus so famous?
Because it breaks the normal pace of mana, and because it sits on the Reserved List, so no new paper printing will appear. If you are curious about the card as a piece of game history, the Alpha deep dive in our articles section is a good place to start.
Key traits
- Artifact
- One-time mana burst
- On the Reserved List
- Alpha original
Mechanics on this card
- Mana & the Five Colors The resource system and the color pie behind every deck.
Related cards
Last reviewed October 29, 2026. We list rarity for the featured print only; other printings may differ. No prices are shown on this site.