This card actually is probably the best card ever...
Chimzar
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(16 votes)
Kind of stupid that they ever made this card...
Hambot
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(19 votes)
This is probably the only card ever printed that can go into 99.9% of all decklists ever created, and make them better decks.
Peaceout734
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.9/5.0)(17 votes)
Not the best card ever...that's ancestral vision...but amazing nonetheless!
darthwingnut
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(25 votes)
One of the worst cards ever printed.... The point of the game is to be able to interact with your opponent, cards that enable first turn kills are by definition bad for the game as they make it so you have little-no interaction with your opponent.
stygimoloch
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(12 votes)
One of the most powerful cards ever obviously, possibly THE most powerful. But as with Dark Ritual, it's how the rest of the deck is geared up to take advantage of it that makes the difference between 'just' extremely powerful and actively, unfairly broken...
Judgement-Day
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(8 votes)
If it was the worst card ever printed it wouldn't be banned. It's just amazingly broken.
steamedrice
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(15 votes)
Not the best card ever...that's ancestral vision...but amazing nonetheless! Posted By: Peaceout734 (11/16/2008 3:03:11 PM)
...Ancestral Vision, not Ancestral Recall? anyway i'd still rather have four black lotuses in any deck than four recalls
apocalypsecq
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(14 votes)
Some of you guys are nuts. This is and always will be the best card. Who doesn't want three mana for free? It goes in every deck. Besides, every collectible needs a holy grail. Otherwise we'd be playing a CG, not a CCG...
macic666
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(7 votes)
I am sure this is the BEST and perhaps the most USEFUL card ever...
I heard it costs 200 dollars...
vampsengir1
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
if it is the most powerful why vote 2/5?
energeticpenguin
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(3 votes)
it doesn't cost 200 dollars more like 1000.
TheMonadNomad
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(7 votes)
Exceptionally strong card, but for an ability that can be close to replicated by Dark Ritual for only one more mana, I stick by Ancestral Recall as the true gem of the power eight (give Time Twister the boot already...).
ratchet1215
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(18 votes)
I give this card a zero. Zero, as in the number of Magic players who wouldn't sell their own dog for a set of four.
Treima
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Beautiful card, and worthy of the crown of "best card ever created." There's a reason it's banned, obscenely rare, and prohibitively expensive. I have yet to lay eyes on one in my six years of playing Magic.
spoonish
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(2 votes)
the best card in magic ever printed... ancestral recall/vision is alright, but works in only 1/5th of all decks (it needs blue mana)... this thing fits in ALL decks, no matter if u play sleigh, control or even millstone, this rocks...
B1indFremen
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(4 votes)
As one poster said, the "holy grail" of magic. Easily top 3 best card ever printed (other two being ancestral recall and time walk)
Th3_Dark_On3
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.7/5.0)(10 votes)
Its cool and all, but there are better cards out there. This is rather broken though... very broken for that matter. The thing is, mana ramping is good, but only in a deck that can take advantage of it. After all, it is basically just a free, any-colored dark ritual.
Its power is showed not only by what it does but also by its limitation in Vintage (T1): you can play 1 of it in your deck and only in T1.
It's really one of the best cards which can be played and its cost (if it's in good condition) is around 750-1000 Dollars/Euros (or more if it's Alpha or Beta), really the only one which costs so much (besides cards like the 1996 champion...which are unique...but it's another story and they're not so much good as Black Lotus...).
Guest1065687906
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(10 votes)
Like it or not, Magic is fundamentally a race to win; the Black Lotus gives you a 3 turn head start on your opponent in this race. Furthermore, it is not restricted to any particular color of deck. Anyone who doesn't like the Lotus has probably never had the chance to play with one.
True_Mumin
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(13 votes)
Who is this idiot who didn't give Lotus a 5? This card deserves a 10 for crying out loud...
silentbobus
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(5 votes)
I really wish the designers of the original game had realized that rarity alone could not balance this card. I think this and the rest of the power 9 should have had their casting costs increased by 1 each. That way they would have been powerful, but not so powerful they had to be included in every serious Vintage deck.
jigglefloyd
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(5 votes)
When this as well as other obscenely powerful cards such as ancestral knowledge and time walk were introduced the Magic developers did not have the foresight nor the experience to understand what they were doing. The developers of Magic now have a long history of experience and have learned from their mistakes, and therefore understand how to balance the game better than they did in the early days.
GangrenousKhan
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(5 votes)
What can be said about this card that hasn't been said before....
Magic was young, this card was just part of its growing process, before magic could understand its full potential.
heardroundtheworld
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
To all that say this card isn't more powerful than the rares that have been printed in recent years. You are wrong. No other card could be the source of so many combos and engine of so many T1 Vintage decks. Born from magics infancy before the rules we have now ever came to be this card along with the rest of the P9 will always be the best of the best.
MetalCrisis
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(13 votes)
IT'S CARD DISADVANTAGE, IT SUCKS
Lurk3r
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(7 votes)
Such an insane card...after 10 years of playing I actually got the rare opportunity to actually see and touch one (owner was a 15-year player). I swear, it was a religious experience...so rare, so broken.
wgillespie
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(8 votes)
This comment is a quote about this card from another site, is there any truth to this?
the black lotus is a good way to add mana, we get it, but has anyone paid attention to its other affect? it has the ability to interrupt or stop a certain spell, that is the reason this card is so expensive and hard to get, all a player has to do is tap the card and it can stop one spell per turn and then just wait for his/her turn and stop another one. the card doesnt go away for the interrupt to take affect, the black lotus stays on the field even after that effect and the only reason it leaves the field is if u use the only ability that everyone else knows and use it for pointless mana, why havent any of u figured that out already
If this statement is true then the black lotus serves as a permanent counterspell right?
Mode
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
I like the fact that they tried to create a more balanced version of this. I think Lotus Bloom is a useful card actually, although the delay will make it rather useless if you don't draw it early. Therefore Black Lotus still overshadows this one by far - and it should, since any card getting near the awesomeness of it is quite broken.
greendestiny
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(10 votes)
It's okay that this card is considered so absurdly good by some and thus expensive... if only there weren't cards like Meltdown, Builder's Bane, Detonate and many, many more that counter it outright (for 1 mana!). Since interrupt rules are now obsolete, you just disregard the second line of the 'Black Lotus' text. If you don't think I'm right about this, take a search on Gatherer for 'Black Lotus' and you'll get: "Tap, Sacrifice Black Lotus: Add three mana of any one color to your mana pool." No mention of interrupts. This means that this card is not - I'll say that twice for just in case - IS NOT a (sic!) 'permanent counterspell'. So this card is just a nice way of getting three mana per game for 0 cost. Is it worth 1000 €? I don't think so.
Rainyday2012
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(4 votes)
@greendestiny: Targeting Black Lotus with artifact destruction usually causes your opponent to crack it for mana. Not even Krosan Grip works because the ability doesn't use the stack.
@wgillespie: No, the Lotus doesn't counter anything. The old wording with "interrupt" meant the ability was quicker than instants, now mana abilities don't use the stack, and thus are quicker than instants. No need for redundant text.
sir_dwar
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(4 votes)
At first, I didn't understand what the big deal about this card was- Then I saw the 0 mana cost. Now I get it.
N84M09
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(10 votes)
I don't see why it would be the best card ever...it's 0 mana for three permanent mana right? four of them would be good in a legendary deck I suppose...not the most powerful card ever though...just mana producing...I suppose that they then came out with man producing cards that you have to tap AND tap mana and then sacrifice it but only for one mana or two...never three...
shinkokagai
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
true evil best card ever
Owls_and_More_Owls
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(39 votes)
When I was first learning how to play the game, I asked my friends, who were already hardcore players, "what is the best card ever?" They looked at each other "Black Lotus," they said. They told me what it did, and I was like, "Okay whatever." Then I thought about it. I thought about it hard. I blacked out, and awoke in a forest with my face covered in blood, and ever since then, wolves seemed to bow at my feet.
Suffice to say, This is a pretty good card.
inmypants22
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.9/5.0)(10 votes)
why do ppl think this card is good. all you do is mana burn for 3, who would want that unless you can get puberty on the firtst tirst
Guest556768325
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(17 votes)
had one. sold it for 20 bucks back in the 90's. not a day goes by that i dont kick myself. =)
Mooby
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(10 votes)
It may not be the most degenerate card ever printed (Academy), and it may not cause the opponent to scoop if resolved (Yawgmoth's Will), but there's something to be said about a card whose weaker versions are still overpowered.
If you're skilled enough to build the almost non-existent deck that's not improved by adding Black Lotus, you already know why it's the best card in Magic.
PaladinOfSunhome
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.7/5.0)(7 votes)
An over-powered card which gets you what you want. What more can I say?
4.5
Spideredd
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(6 votes)
The card for every deck.
Now, where to get $8000 for a full playset.
SwordSkill
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(2 votes)
I think is the best card cause it let's the caster use high level magic at at the beggining of the game, plus you can play it at anytime you are in need of mana since it gives you 3 mana of ANY color.. just perfect, imagine what combos can be made...
Adren
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
everything's good about this card... there is no drawback...
InfernoTowel
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
What were they thinking?
Brokentastic, but awesome.
Plantboy81
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(12 votes)
People that find a fault with the playability of this card don't have a full grasp of the game. Even if you don't draw it until mid-game it's a big mana boost. When you DO draw it in your first hand it can't kill your opponent by itself, but it is THE KEY to many first turn kills. When judging this card put it in the context in which it was created. Look at the Alpha, Beta, or Unlimited lists and see the limited # of cards that actually existed then. Magic is really just a death race and this baby is the king of speed.
kroen
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(8 votes)
only 3 mana? if needs to add AT LEAST 10 mana to be of any use
Infinis-Nocturnus
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Amazing card!!! what shall I say about that?? A powerful mana-boost that can be played in ervery deck easiely... TOP
Kurhan
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Best card in the game. For those who don't agree, consider a starting hand in a black deck. 4 of these, 2 dark rituals, and 1 Consume Spirit. 4x3(lotus) = 12 + 2x2(rituals) = 16 mana - 2 for casting cost = 14 as the X in consume spirit = You gain 14 life, opponent lose 14 life. Turn one. If you went first its not even counterable.
And I am sure there are better uses for it, but for someone who fails to see the use of this card, its a perfect example. If you dont understand 3 mana, maybe you will understand 14 damage and 14 life gain on turn 1.
mtgplayer1995
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(10 votes)
All of you guys talking abot black lotus as dark ritual and coming up with these goofy combos are missing the (previously) obvious one that a lot of people used 14 years ago to repeatedly demolish opponents. Granted, the proper hand doesn't come up all that often as this card was restricted even back then, but the combo is a simple one: black lotus, mountain, channel, fireball/disintigrate. The lotus dumps for 3 green, cast channel - pop the fireball with the mountain and pump in your remaining 1 green from the lotus + 19 life from channel and the other sucker doesn't even get a chance to play. Channel and Lotus were both restricted even back then, so the combo didn't come up on the first turn too often, but it was still an instant kill when it did so a lot of people used it.
True_Smog
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(5 votes)
What can be said about Black Lotus other than "I want it !" ?
Dark_Raider
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(13 votes)
I dream about the day I'll be able to see one for real... *sigh*
Guest882324448
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(2 votes)
What is an 'interrupt'?
Fire_Master
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(4 votes)
Best card ever printed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a set of 4 in your deck, get a lucky first draw with lets say 2 of them and a big creature and 1 or 2 lands and there you have it, a big creature on your 1st turn. Your opponent won't even notice what hit them.
Llandner
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(7 votes)
This card is for lack of a better term Mtgs proverbial Philosophers stone it can make any deck better just by being in it i have only seen this card once and it was used on me and i was about to kill the guy and take it (or my friends we're about to lol)
BalonyPony
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.9/5.0)(10 votes)
This is a pretty good card, but its not worth the hype. Worse than Dark Ritual because it dies to shatter.
efresh831
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Defintately the best card yet.
nicko7495
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Black Lotus+ Channel+ Fire Ball= AMAZINGNESS!!!1
Zoah
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(8 votes)
Not bad... Not bad at all... To my knowledge, this little sucker could improve almost any deck. Its only problem is that it's not game ending in any way. It will set you up, absolutely. If, however, its not in your first hand, it's likely to be of little use.
Usually empty my hand relatively fast and I need very little manna to function, so if I drew it latter in the game I doubt I would use it. Then, even if it is in the first hand, you need something big enough to use with it, but not so big that you can't...
The problem with this is actually quite the opposite problem that many cards have. A lot of cards I have seen need an entire deck structured around them to function... This one on the other hand cant combo with anything, at all. Its just a matter of you drawing it at the right time: early.
base rating: ***
easiest manna to get in the game: +** In possible to structure around: -*
A pity... and supposedly the best magic card ever, and defiantly the most valuable... it dose have a rather simple elegance to it though...
Perhaps someday, when I blow my nose into 100$ bills, I will play with one of these in a deck... just to say that I did. (Most expensive version I have found was 10,000$, the cheapest: 875$)
ClockworkSwordfish
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(21 votes)
This was before Wizards had invented fairness and balance. 5/5 and if you think ANY card (other than Storm Crow) is better, you will get Doom Bladed in real life.
Beekhead
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(7 votes)
To everyone who doesn't understand the value of this card, either grow a brainstem or stop playing Magic.
And to everyone who can agree that this is the greatest Magic card ever printed, so what... I started playing Magic too late to ever see one of these in physical form, and I doubt I ever will. All of this hooping and hollering about combo this and combo that, in my opinion, needs to stop unless you've got a couple grand to drop on one of these. You can dream, but keep it to yourself, please.
And to all of the middle-grounders, what are you on? This is quite obviously the greatest card ever printed on a piece of cardstock since your mother was born.
capitalR
★☆☆☆☆ (1.4/5.0)(11 votes)
dies to removal.
Gaussgoat
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Still trying to figure out how this card is not in the top 10 artifacts on this site. ???? Clearly one of the most powerful items in the game. Why is it banned? Hmmm... with 4 in hand, you could cast virtually any spell in the game on turn 1. Yep.
5/5
car2n
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(8 votes)
Yeah, as soon as you play it from your hand, you have 1 less card in hand than opponent. In hyper-competitive play, that is very bad card advantage. Now it's more of a rite of passage to own for those who are willing to sacrifice more for a card game. Combines well with atog.
JL_Weber
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(13 votes)
I absolutely love this card, but not for what it does in games of magic. I love it for the comedy it provides the experienced magic community, and for their entertainment (and mine) here are some of the best quotes MTG newbies have to offer,
"dies to removal." - CapitalR (Although he seems to like Ur-Golem's Eye)
"only 3 mana? if needs to add AT LEAST 10 mana to be of any use" - Kroen
"IT'S CARD DISADVANTAGE, IT SUCKS" - MetalCrisis
"Best Card Ever Next To BaneWasp Affliction" - MasterOfEtherium
"Not the best card ever...that's ancestral vision...but amazing nonetheless!" - Peaceout734
"O_o The thought of being able to get my Akroma out on turn one blows my mind 5/5 For a card that opens doors to victory" - Eved (little closed minded...)
And the best quote... "This is a pretty good card, but its not worth the hype. Worse than Dark Ritual because it dies to shatter." BalonyPony Oh and Dark Ritual dies to Negate :P
thezanet
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(4 votes)
It dies to Shatter?? Are you kidding me? Do you even play Magic? Get a clue man.
mrbgddy
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(10 votes)
There are only two reasons why anyone would not give this card a 5/5... 1) you've never had the privilege of owning or playing one in a live game situation, or 2) you are completely brain dead. For your sake, I hope it's number 1... :)
SlackWareWolf
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(11 votes)
You guys know this started selling for 5 dollars in Beta right? *Giggle*
Back then there wasn't any of this sissy restricted list either. I know of one guy who had like 10 Betas in his deck. The game was still fun. You could do the same, and more.
Thank you whoever pasted the dumb stuff people have said... I literally laughed out loud at how someone said "You can shatter it".... Yea, right... Lol. I'm so glad no one in my city is that damn stupid where they think on turn 0 they can magically cast shatter on this before it's used to power out whatever you're using it for.
I've never countered this, and no one has ever countered mine. Why would you, you counter what they use it for. Don't ever counter or kill a Mana source that you have to sac to use, you counter what they try casting with it.
spectermonger
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
This has a lower rating than dark ritual??? Haha wow. Let me explain this with a race analogy: you play this card and you're automatically right in front of the finish line. Play a yawgmoth's will with this card in a competent deck and you'll have crossed the finish line, freshened up, gotten dinner at a busy restaurant, and have come back just in time to kick your opponent in the groin--and they still haven't crossed the finish-line yet.
all i can say is.... exile target permanent..... what u gonna do now, ha?
Ajani_is_da_man
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(5 votes)
why would someone give this more then .5 stars? It's far too broken.
lukemol
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(5 votes)
@ClockworkSwordfish: They still haven't invented fairness. However, Balance was around at the same time and was anything but balanced.
RealMorridin
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(4 votes)
This card is really an indicator of how well you understand magic, if you don't see what the hype is with this card, you are generally a really basic player, if you get it and this card blows your mind, then your a midrange player or better. (there are false positives and negatives obviously, just like an aids test)
getz19
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(7 votes)
I started playing magic in early 1995. By that time, I've heard of Black Lotus every now & then from my friends. I wanted to buy one but, of course, it's too late to get one already. To think that it came out just more than a year and a half before i started buying & playing MTG.
I don't think I'll live to see this card getting reprinted. Even a Lotus Petal is hard to find nowadays. Well, at least i got four petals in my collection. Damn, where did i put that time machine of mine. :)
LTJZamboni
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(2 votes)
3 free mana? What if I draw this late game? This card blows!
5/5
Biollante
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(11 votes)
Cards bad, all it does is add 3 mana of one colour once
that's it
so you can do one thing once faster
woo
basic lands are better
.5 out of 5
Do you guys realise, Sliver Queen is rated higher than this epic card... I still give it a 5/5 because it's just cool to be able to brag that you have one(I still don't but still)
TolarianAcademic
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Black Lotus = 5/5 no questions asked. Exile target permanent, tjwil22? Huh? Do you mean exile target nonland permanent? Unless you're thinking of exiling Black Lotus? But that won't stop your opponent from sacing it and producing mana...
Jacer
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
If nothin' else is handy...5/5
statiefreez
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
Worst card ever. I can't see any reason that anyone would play this card. Worse than Channel and Banefire combined. 6/5
Greyson97
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(14 votes)
I just wonder if my noob 15 year old self back in 1995 traded this or any mox anything away from some stupid B fatty
Coillingclover
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(11 votes)
Did you guys know that this card in mint condition sells for $15,ooo >.<
Cute-Hydra
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(7 votes)
This card got much better now mana burn has gone out, now we don't have to worry about spending all three mana. I mean all three of one colour means it can be hard to use all of it.
high_tide_niv
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
power 9
kowrip
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
This is definitely a card that should never have been printed. There are other cards that are more broken (as in broken more often at any point of gameplay) than Black Lotus. However, none of them have the potential for first turn abuse like this card. As it's been mentioned before, EVERY deck gets better simply by having this card in it. 5/5
markarmor
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(16 votes)
This should probably just be an auto 5/5. The only people voting it down probably aren't qualified to vote or they enjoy voting down the number 1 no matter what it would be. 2 "weaker" versions of this eventually got restricted themselves (Lion's Eye Diamond and Lotus Petal), at least for a while.
hid@n
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(17 votes)
Who didn't rate 5! This card's rating should be a perfect 5!
Lateralis0ne
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(6 votes)
I would say that half the people on this thread, are either trolling, stupid to the point of brain damage, or simply like to feel superior and thus will badmouth anything they have no chance of either obtaining or understanding.
Sad, really. But hey, it means amusement for the rest of us.
Black Lotus is a utility card. Plain and simple. It provides you three mana of any one color as early as turn one, and there are what must be, like, dozens of ways to win that first turn, if you have this utility card in a deck worth its salt. Yes, some people say "you need a good deck to use it though!!1eleven! But the point is, THAT'S HOW ANY DECK WORKS. God, people. There is no such thing as an invincible card. Even in the B.L.'s case, you need it turn one or two, and you need to be competent to not only build a deck that can utilize it, but also to have the brains to comprehend what you're trying to do. I admit, not a lot of people can really do that, and I don't know if that's good or bad for the game. But, I'm happy to know that some people, like a few on this thread, know what the hell they're doing when considering this card for their deck.
So yeah. Utility and damn good utility at that. If you don't like it, fine. I'll try not to laugh at you when you finally come across this card, say "oh yeah, 3 mana for 0 is stupid I'll kill it with Shatter", and then proceed to die on turn 0 to a card you thought was crap, or didn't like because the price on its head was too much, or because you're a sniveling idiot with more cardboard than brain matter.
/Rant
rillaan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(7 votes)
Why oh why would they ever print such a card. The black lotus along with the Moxen are the most broken cards I have every seen. I take that back, they are the most broken thing I have ever seen in any game. They all get a rating of .5/5 because they are all so stupidly powerful. Whoever had the idea for these cards is a brain dead monkey. I have never played with these cards, and I consider myself lucky not to have played such an unbalanced game.
JK-117
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
This is a great card. It belongs in every deck. It's sad that it's illegal in tournys, and I don't think that any version of it is worth $89,000, but if they dropped the price by... oh... 99.99%, I'd have a bunch of them. If I got a three mana cost card with haste and a black lotus, I could deal up to four damage on turn one!
dberry02
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
At the moment, you could probably trade a playset of foil Jace 2.0 for an unlimited black lotus! ;)
DeathDark
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.6/5.0)(9 votes)
Whoever says that this is the best card in Magic is wrong.
This card is nothing by itself. It produces mana, and sits there. Those are the only two things it can really do. Neither of those will kill your opponent. It's what you can use the mana for that is powerful. Those are the great cards of Magic. This is simply a tool. A nice tool, don't get me wrong, but a tool nonetheless.
Kirbster
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(13 votes)
I remember when $11 for this card was considered highway robbery.
TheMoustacheCame
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.9/5.0)(9 votes)
magic should be done in a way that no game ever could end before turn 4-5
OpeeFomenom
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
I don't understand how anyone can vote this card down. This is the one card I expected to see a 5/5 on no matter what. I started playing in 2003 or so and still looked at this card and realized how amazing it was. I got to see it in person back then during FNM. One of the best days in my magic playing life.
freedomman
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(9 votes)
two storm crows on the first turn. TWO STORM CROWS. i made an extremely legal deck consisting of 30 black lotuses and 30 storm crows. i win everytime. my friends say its because i cheated, but they know that im just a much better, smarter, and just an overall awesome magic player.
XTwistedsoulX
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
I vote they reprint this. Just for the lol's. Then immediatly ban it. For additional lol's. It would be nice to see the price drop like a bomb. Honestly for the cost of one of these, you can get a used car. One of the two will get you laid alot more. Guess which one. As far as the card goes, freaking awesome of course. But so is 2 grand.
God_Of_The_Smurfs
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(13 votes)
There is no way this could be anything lower than a 5/5. It's the best card ever, hands down. Anyone else wondering why this is rated lower than Sol Ring?
wtf is not rating 5/5. you can only have one of them and only in one turny. not to mention it cost several 10k's a pop. but anyone who is obtuse enough to not see this cards potential has no right on this web page and bad-talking what you obviously don't understand.
@biollante,: say that when your opponint has a time vault and a volatic key out on turn one, and still has the mana to activate them. @BlackLotusIsTerrible: guilded lotus doesn't come out fast enough, and it was a remake of THIS, not the other way around
Pinsir52
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I did this at a local vintage tournament: T1: Black Lotus, Island, dropped TWO storm crows. My opponent scooped. Was SOOO cash!
greyhour
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(4 votes)
The release of Prototype Prototype Portal is going to make this very interesting. One Black Lotus a turn.
JanusAurelius
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(6 votes)
I don't get people who say this sucks because 'all it does' is give you mana... By that reasoning Basic Lands suck, good luck making a full 0 CMC deck that doesn't suck.
Kitty_the_Kat
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Mana Drain is much better because you can get a bunch of free mana, and on top of that it counters a target spell for just UU. Black Lotus is decent, but not the best. It's only expensive because of it's rarity and symbolic nature of Wizards. I understand what makes this card good, but I still don't believe it's the best card in Magic.
Bandswithother
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I read a comment in the Reverberate discussion on how it was a cheesy way around the reprint list and that Black Lotus might get the same treatment. I didn't want to go off topic in there so I'll do it here.
They will likely never directly reprint lotus in a cheesy way out of fear from underground Black Lotus Market mobsters. If we see a new lotus in Besieged or Action then It will likely work around metal craft and Imprint.
It would look like:
Metal Lotus {0}
Legendary Artifact
Imprint - Exile a basic land from your hand.
Metalcraft - {T}: Sacrifice Metal Lotus to add 3 mana of same kind the exiled card could produce. Activate this ability only if you control three or more Artifacts.
A deck may only have one Metal lotus.
Playing with other 0 costed artifacts means getting this out on the first turn kills the hand to 3. It could always be made colorless non artifact to kill your hand to two. Which may need to be necessary for peeps playing with Mox Opal and Black lotus.
For anyone else who doesn't notice: BlackLotusisTerrible is just trolling. As with most others that say such seemingly stupid things as "dies to shatter" and "mana drain is better."
FugimSky
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Such a crap card. Shouldn't even be banned. Its card disadvantage and its just like a super land that you use once. Over hyped. should be two cents at most. ;p (sarcasm)
tantallum99
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(7 votes)
there is a very simple reason why this card is not (collectively) rated higher. it is the same reason super powerful cards like BSA and Jace 2.0 aren't rated near the top even though they are excellent cards. the reason is because angry people low-rate these good cards because they are envious that they cannot afford to play with them. They think that every card good card should be accessible to all players...nevermind that completely contradicts the 'collectible' part of this collectible card game.
for the record, I do not have $2K to spend on a piece of cardboard, but I still give it a 5/5 because that is what it deserves :)
Orza
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
rhcjrtoon, you don't counter this using Force of Will - ever... you could, but it would be stupid. Counter what your opponent plays using the Lotus. He'll be (at least) two cards down.
ManuelDelio
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(8 votes)
When I tought a friend to play and he asked me what card I considered the best and I told him Black Lotus. We were at school and I showed him the card on my netbook at break. He said that it was very strange that a flower was the most valued and the best card. It is also strange that a flower is an aftifact. It is alive. 5/5
Demonic_Math_Tutor
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(7 votes)
Turn one win Mountain, Ornithopter, Black Lotus Sac Black Lotus for Tinker Sac Ornithopter Search library for Blightsteel colossus Tap mountain for Burst of Speed You win
AvatarOfHOE
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(8 votes)
Really only helpful if you need mana to play other cards. And how often does that happen?
vigo17
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
how come it is not 5 star?????????
stringsbatman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
help the police coming straight from the underground young chaps got it good cause im brown not the other color some police think they have the authority to carry out inquires
Youlose20life
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(5 votes)
My buddy played this. I thought it was over. then richard garfield smiled over me and I drew Untaidake, the Cloud Keeper. He surrendered unconditionally, ripped up his lotus, and ate the bits.
J_Lennon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(6 votes)
The worst card in the game by miles not worth the cardboard it's printed on.
fanofmagic
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Turn 1: Forest, Black lotus: Sacrifice to play Garruk Wildspeaker: -1; 3/3 Beast Turn 2: Forest, tap both, then untap using Garruk, and tap again for the wilt-leaf liege, attack with 4/4 beast, probably blocked, but through: 16 life Turn 3: Forest, tap all, untap two: +1, cast Ant Queen (or whatsoever), attack with 4/4 and 4/4: 8 life Turn 4: Garruk's -4, attack with 25: -17 life
I know that this can be more efficient, garruk during turn one is just fun
angelheartvial
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.7/5.0)(3 votes)
Oh to be legal again for one block...or set, even.
Tobolococo
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Insanely broken. but i would want one :P if only it wasnt so expensive :(
i dont know what happened to wizards when they printed this and the mox cards, i mean, they just went crazy, the game could have ended up so broken it would be trash, you cant make a card that works in evry single deck, and that every single deck will use, if you do, its broken.
10Fold
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Currently £599.99 on MagicMadHouse ... WHY!?! So much for a single card ... idgi
rhcjrtoon
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(4 votes)
Sac Black lotus for any combo then get it back with yawgmoth's will for a later combo. There's ways to get black lotus in an early game, you have to think!
Pontiac
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(4 votes)
I had a friend who collected Lotus' he had over 200 the last time I saw him. I remember random people opening his binder at conventions "HOLY S%#!"
desolation_masticore
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Overly broken doesn't warrant a 5 out of 5, it warrants a ban, and a rethink by the R & D team.
Marcl91
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(6 votes)
Really, why do people care about this dying to Shatter? It even dies to Crush! :D :D :D
By the way, for anyone still not understanding: If you play it on your first turn, your opponent won't have mana for playing an artifact removal. And, more important, you usually play and then immediately sacrifice this one, so your opponent can't cast anything between resolving and sacrificing...
dragonking987
★☆☆☆☆ (1.3/5.0)(11 votes)
dies to Force of Will 0.5/5 Marcl91 even if you go first they can still Force of Will it so it gets 0.5/5 ratting in my book.
Concerned_Bystander
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(5 votes)
This cards power, certainly in the early game cannot be denied but the simple fact of the matter is that this card is no longer relevant, it can't be used in standard or extended, isn't going to crop up in limited, is banned in legacy, restricted in vintage and just too damned expensive for casual.
Great card, but really, there's no point in arguing about it because it's more of a collectors item than a viable addition to any deck.
luxma
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(11 votes)
Wizards of the Coast went completely mad!
Flowers are not artifacts!!!
XAtma
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
This is and probably always will be the best card in magic, people think oh there are lot's of things better then this til they actually see it played. My friends passed this to me in a cube draft got it 3rd pick and then showed them why it is so good when we played.
Zoltantf
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
Hail to the one and only King of all collectable and playable cards. I hope mine will appreciate enough to compensate all the money I spent on mtg throughout my years of playing.
AAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!!! PEOPLE ARE BAD MOUTHING THE LOTUS!!!!!!!!! IDIOTS!!!!!!!!! Ever think that maybe, just MAYBE...there is a reason black lotus is a $5000.00 card? (and the 5k is just when i last saw it a year ago, ive heard it has all but doubled in price since then.) As people have said before me, its restricted so you can only have 1 in your deck, but droping turn 1 for 0 mana to gain 3 of any color is a hell of a deal all its own, not counting the many devestating combos one can come up with for this holy grail of mtg. i forget the exact combo, but using the Power 9 (black lotus is obviously one of them), one would be able to swing for 20+ with a Shivan Dragon before an oponent even had a chance to play ther first land. BAck when the power 9 was widely obtainable and used by everyone, tournament games were often decided by whoever went first.
I BOW TO THEE ALL POWERFUL LOTUS!!!!!!!!!
Clavat99's Hall of Newbie Shame (Black Lotus Edition):
My buddy played this. I thought it was over. then richard garfield smiled over me and I drew Untaidake, the Cloud Keeper. He surrendered unconditionally, ripped up his lotus, and ate the bits. -- Youlose20life
(My response: "Moron, black lotus dosnt cost life. And once again, most of the time a deck with black lotus will have won before you even have a chance to play that land")
dies to Force of Will 0.5/5
Marcl91 even if you go first they can still Force of Will it so it gets 0.5/5 ratting in my book. -- dragonking987
(My Response: "YOU as a player get a 0.5/5 in my book. Sure you can counter it, but get the damn counter in your opening hand, then talk to me about it. And any deck worth a crap will not rely on just one card, so you still have to worry about the other 59+ cards in the deck. stop dissing the lotus just because you are jealous that you dont have one.")
What can be said about this card that hasn't been said before....
Magic was young, this card was just part of its growing process, before magic could understand its full potential -- GangrenousKhan
(My Response: "uuuuh...You mean other than the fact that Black Lotus represents all things magic? That it has been and always will be, the Icon of all magic players? Even today, many years after magic debuted, BL is still the most desired card for all collections and makes any deck better just by having it included. Dont diss it just because you dont have it and are to damn stupid to see the symbolism that BL stands for.")
This cards power, certainly in the early game cannot be denied but the simple fact of the matter is that this card is no longer relevant, it can't be used in standard or extended, isn't going to crop up in limited, is banned in legacy, restricted in vintage and just too damned expensive for casual.
Great card, but really, there's no point in arguing about it because it's more of a collectors item than a viable addition to any deck. -- Concerned_Bystander
(My Response: "You arent a total n00b, for saying its an awesome card. Because it is. However, the idea of magic is to get mana out to play your stuff, and the more mana you have, the more stuff you can do and the more dangerous you become to your opponent. a total of 4 mana on your first turn is increadible, and combining it with a couple of dark rituals or any other card like that, and youc an effectively play an eldrazi or bigger before your opponent even gets their first turn. And there ar emore reasons for it being worth thousands of dollars other than having a pretty flower on it. And there is a reason its banned in most tourneys and vintage restricted.")
PhyrexianFryCook
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(9 votes)
Whoever rated this below 5 is trolling.
gasimakos1
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
@dragonking987, if they're using force of will to counter your black lotus before you cast another spell, they should be fired from magic.
@concerned_bystander, you're kidding, right? when was the last time you looked at the top 8 decklists in any vintage tournament between 1994 and now? there isn't a single deck in vintage that doesn't use black lotus. even if it's restricted/banned/old/etc, that doesn't change the fact that it's one of the most powerful cards ever printed. whether or not it's relevant to standard and extended is, well, irrelevant.
Beastlygreen
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
Some people just don't seem to get it. This card is THREE MANA TURN ONE. Plus your land. Dark ritual is good, and it's two free mana. THIS IS THREE. There's no "symbolic value", there's EXTREME FREAKING BROKENNESS. Not to mention it's really old. If you think this is bad, you should learn how to play Magic the Gathering my friend.
jtwhat87
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(11 votes)
Oh for crying out loud whoever rated this below 5 should give this a little more thought...
99% of all decks in the history of magic would play at least one copy of this card if given the chance (regardless of color, style of play, format, etc.)
If there is a single 5/5 card in the game. This is it. Bar none. No contest.
SgtSwaggr
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Best Magic card of all time.
Period.
Risenguy
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
@dragonking987 I don't know if trolling or just stupid
Dr.Pingas
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Honestly, not a big fan of it. I understand completely why it's absolutely broken, but that's why I don't like it. First Turn Kills aren't fun, and should only ever be used in hyper-competitive money-situations. This card provides little more than a one-turn mega-boost, which at only three mana, can do little to actually progress the game early on UNLESS being used in some raunchy FTK combo; unless you use it to play like, mana flare or something. Good card, I'd definitely like to own one, but there are a huge list of cards I'd rather own and get much more enjoyment out of.
Probably just the Spike-hating Johnny in me though, so feel free to eat me alive; I just don't find it amusing or worth my time when a whole game is just "shuffle your deck, reveal your opening hand, explain why you already won and neither person should have wasted their time or money to play glorified Rock-Paper-Scissors"
stille_nacht
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(7 votes)
strictly worse than storm crow
landboysteve
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(10 votes)
As a long time player and owner of one of these, I think I'm qualified to comment regarding those on both sides of this issue, those who think this is the greatest card in all of magic and those who think it's terribly overrated or even flat out bad.
The truth of this lies somewhere in the middle if you're going to be objective about this.
Versatility wise, this is one of the few cards, that can be utilized by just about any deck...provided the person constructing the deck understands the synergy between this and his other cards and how to use it. I could easily throw this card into a deck where it would be close to useless or of minimum assistance.
You still have to know how to play this game...something a lot of people don't.
So this card, by itself, is not the be all and end all. It still needs other cards to win. Can it get you to where you want to go faster than any other card? Depends on the deck. I have one in one deck, with my other Power 9 cards (I have the whole set) that was specifically made to make the most use of this card.
I do NOT have it in my red burn deck where this card would be a mild boost on turn 1 (lightning bolt and incinerate for 0) and not much else. It just doesn't fit in that deck. If it can't get something out that gets to stay out and actually change the complexion of the match, it's power is limited. In that deck, I'd rather have an Ancestral Recall in my hand to fill it up faster after using my burn spells. But even that doesn't fit if I'm playing mono red.
Point is, the deck you put together is what wins...not this card and for that matter, not any one card.
My Voltaic Key/Time Vault deck. It isn't Voltaic Key and Time Vault by themselves that win the game. It's all the artifact tutors that allow me to grab those cards quickly that win me the game unless I'm lucky enough to draw them in my opening hand.
And therein lies the problem with the "best card in the game" crowd, especially for cards that are restricted. As a former math major, given a deck of 60 cards and only one of a given card in it, drawing 7 cards your first turn and going first, you roughly have a little better than 10% chance of getting that card in your opening hand. If you're depending on that ONE card to win the game for you or give you that edge where you have a better chance of winning down the road, you are playing a fool's deck.
I see so many people talking about all these great combos for 1 and 2 turn kills. Too bad the odds of getting those combos, especially the 3 and 4 card ones, are slim to none.
My Black Lotus is a bonus for me if I pull it in my opening hand. It allows me to play a 6/6 flier by turn 2 and sometimes even turn 1 depending on how many moxen I draw.
But if I relied on that draw to win, I'd be dead.
So the deck is loaded with counterspells.
In fact, here is my deck construction.
4 Force Of Will 4 Counterspell 4 Mana Drain 4 Arcane Denial 4 Control Magic 3 Man-o-War 2 Sphinx of Magosi 1 Stormtide Leviathan 1 Jin-Gitaxias Core Auger 1 Time Walk 1 Timetwister 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Mystical Tutor 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Emerald 1 Black Lotus 1 Panoptic Mirror 1 Isochron Scepter 1 Traumatize 20 Island
There isn't one card in this deck that I absolutely depend on to win. In fact, I have so many win conditions in this deck it's sick. If I can counter all your spells long enough to drop a Magosi or Leviathan it's game over in a few turns after. If a creature gets by me, I'll Control Magic it or pop it back in your hand with a Man-o-War. If I can pop a Panoptic Mirror and a Time Walk, I'll take infinite turns.
I used to have a Jace in this deck but took him out because I didn't really need him to win.
This deck wins 70% of it's games.
I can count on one hand the number of those games decided because I popped a Lotus.
Folks, it's not a one card game. It never was. Having said that, not understanding how important cards like Black Lotus are shows how little you really understand this game.
It takes 60 cards to win...not one, not two...60
Those of you propping this up on a royal throne need to understand that.
I'll take a Shrine Of Burning Rage (actually 4 of them) in my burn deck over a Black Lotus any day of the week.
Conversely, in the deck I listed above, Shrine Of Burning Rage is a waste of deck space.
It's all about deck construction.
And Black Lotus is just one great card out of a deck of maybe 12 great cards if you've put a deck together worth its salt.
And even great decks can have crappy draws. That's why on any given day, one good deck can beat a great deck.
That's why you still have to play the game.
As it should be.
Black Lotus?
5/5 or 1/5 depending on where you put it
Gaffy00
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Strictly costs more money than every other card ever printed.
JFM2796
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
What I love about this card is how it works as a test. If your a noob (and we have all been there) you think it sucks. If your good or experienced, you think it is completely broken. Black Lotus is hands down the best card in the game. It is a crime that this thing is not 5 stars. It is (as someone else said) the Holy Grail of Magic.
Some may argue that other members of the Power 9 and other good cards are the best. Mainly, Ancestral Recall and Time Walk. While these cards break the game in half as well, they can't be put into any deck the way that the Black Lotus can. Technically, you can but they wont be good if your playing non-blue. Black Lotus improves any deck.
Some of the people who rate this down are upset about the massive price tag and how the they can't be competitive in Vintage without it. If you don't want to pay thousands of dollars on cards, go play Legacy. Its banned there, I believe (I'm not a tournament player) so just have fun there. Don't get mad at cards like these. Don't be mad at the original creators either, the game was in its infancy. Its different nowadays where Wizards already knows how to balance the game but still print cards like Baneslayer Angel or Jace, the Mind Sculptor. If you don't like those cards go ahead and rate them down. Be my guest. But don't be mad at this little flower, it didn't know better.
Progle
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I wish I had one!
JaxsonBateman
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Well it is fantastic, and a 5/5 for sure, but the three blue P9s (Timetwister, Time Walk and Ancestral Recall) *are* better. The argument about not playing blue is fairly moot; if you're not playing blue in vintage you're severely hamstringing yourself. ^^
sincleanser
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I went to a local tourney in St. Louis and there was a casual trader there with a few duffel bags full of 3inch binders - low and behold; he had a playset of Black Lotus and two of each Mox ... people took pictures with their phones and ofcourse jokenly offered their entire binders to the guy just for one ... no trades were made that day but it's one I will never forget.
why the hell is this card not a 5/5? this card is SO much better than jank like yawgmoth's will, tolarian academy, and time twister. this card is ALWAYS good.
I hate rate a lot of cards, but not black lotus...
In one of my first games of Magic with my partner (on an early date), I demonstrated the Black Lotus + Fastbond + Taiga + Fireball kill. I've had two tournament-playable Lotuses since forever; my partner gave me a third for our one-year-dating anniversary (the awesomely gigantic oversized cardboard one) -- along with a Fastbond print which she found goodness knows where -- and along with a note that read, "A single spark of passion can ignite love's lasting flame -- you had me at turn one." Easily the best awwwww moment of my life. Better even than any engagement ring I could have received (though I want my wedding ring to resemble that awesome-looking new Sol Ring they just printed for EDH/Commander). In fact, we'll be printing the first part on our wedding invitations, with a picture of a black lotus flower included as decoration -- a perfectly concealed inside joke.
I still kinda wonder why a black lotus would be an artifact, though. Maybe it's a fake plastic flower?
Hanksingle
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
I have no regrets about trading this for one of those legendary dragons. None at all.
Facial tic and a sleep disorder, but nooooo regrets.
Thats crazy... never thought in my life, i'd be holding a $15,000 dollar card in my hands... it just makes me wonder... (how much is a blacker lotus worth ...) lol
Jekkum
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Strictly better than everything else ever printed.
Shadoflaam
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Pfft. Big deal. It doesn't even HAVE a fourth loyalty ability! And it's not even mythic...
Joking aside, I would likely eat a live squid for a mint version of one of these or Shichi***ujin Dragon.
drpvfx
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I bought one of these for $100 in 1995. My friends and family thought I was crazy.
Now my investment has increased in value 1000%... not too shabby.
Yeah, it basically lets you win games before your opponent can response. Also of use in various silly combos.
Zinn11
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
No duh this is a good card. But lets face it, I'd rather sell it and make a grand, then put it into my deck to be played casually against some of my friends. Lotus petal is a much weaker, less-broken alternative.
No, but really, this is a pretty insane card. I don't see why Vampire Nocturnus is rated higher than it.
Ipsilont
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
What to say about Black Lotus that hasn't already been said?
It just has that majestic aura of being the one card everyone (even those who know nothing about M:TG) knows and knows well.
I'm sure all of us have stared at it in awe through the glass at our local game store or checked auctions for it on eBay, just hoping that one day we can hold one in our hands and call it our own.
One day...
sk00kes
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
i used to own 2 of these during my time collecting years ago. Amazed the collectability has increased that this card is supposedly valued that much. Coming back to playing again just recent with some old friends i suppose it's no surprise, as it seems that the game is still thriving. Anyways about the card, it used to be the staple of all our decks, unless we were playing in a fun group deck you really used it for every deck you wanted to be competitive with. It was most effective for quick starts. It wasn't too far fetched to draw a Lotus, a Mox, a Sol Ring, and a strip mine on the first turn, giving you 6 mana and just use the Strip Mine to scrub your opponents first land. Even when buried within your library, the three free mana of any color most always provided utility, usually on multi-colored decks. i read how people would love to have one, and i understand. They were fun, but even back in the day when they were still obtainable, people understood they were sort of ridiculous in terms of it's power. And it's probably best that they are so expensive now it would be ridiculous to use on in play.
cioskookycards
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
HEY ,GUYS !!! GUESS WHAT ?!?!?!?!!! For ONLY $100,000 dollars you can buy a PSA 10 Black Lotus beta edition on ebay ! http://www.ebay.com/itm/MTG-MAGICTHE-GATHERING-BETA-BLACK-LOTUS-BGS-10-HIGHEST-GRADED-/310327005845?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4840ee5295#ht_2158wt_1163
Happy bidding :)
CaptainNinJoe
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Combos with Magic: The Gathering.
Does not combo with your wallet.
This Gatherer page is the closest I've come to seeing an actual copy.
KokoshoForPresident
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
There are a ton of ways to win on turn one with this card, assuming you had the absolute most perfect hand. (We also came up with a couple of ways to kill yourself. :D)
Also, we have phage the untouchable. Black lotus, dark ritual x 3, and then lightning greaves and phage. This one also works with a swamp and four dark rituals.
Then, ways to kill yourself. You can play black lotus, dark ritual, buried alive, bury phage and reanimate it.
You can also do black lotus, seething song, memnite, blazing salvo x 4 on your memnite, take five each time.
You can do another one with blazing salvos. Black lotus, seething song x 2, fire servant, blazing salvo it twice and take it.
OmegaReborn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So, to all the people who have never seen one, just a few weeks ago I was able to lay a finger upon one. An experience that rivals my first FNM win, at least.
It's really pretty breathtaking to think that one day there could be a card turning up in our collections worth more than five thousand dollars apiece.
agentvirgo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's probably rated low sometimes because for all intents and purposes, for most people, it might as well not even exist.
chrismus
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(3 votes)
Combos with Darksteel Forge quite nicely. t1: land, Black Lotus x3, Darksteel forge. t2: plains, Black Lotus, Frantic Salvage. Then just go crazy with 9 mana your next turn, 13 the turn after that, and 17 the next. At minimum it's a $12-15,000 deck, but whatever. We can dream.
Oh, look! Some people aren't giving it a 5/5! After all, it's only three mana, which could trigger a turn one win.
*sigh*
JimmyCricket2
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
You could take a pair of scissors to this card and slice this into three pieces. Each one of those pieces would still be restricted/banned.
Drewsel
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You might as well be cheating if you're using this card.
I imagine there's a little voice in every MTG player that tells them to not use this card.
atemu1234
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ Purple_Shrimp that's because people hate how insanely powerful it is. @jimmycricket2 they already have. Lotus Petal.
StyrofoamKing
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
pfff. Dies to Doomblade. Oh wait....
Degeh
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I do not own this card but i know someone who does and he also has a phage the untouchable and like tons of other cards. So when he said Phage the Untouchable was a shit card i went on and convinced him to lend it to me so we could play a game of Magic. We went on to play 3 games and he used a deck that consists of poison counters. On the second game after losing the first one i draw my hand and i got Black Lotus, Phage the Untouchable, A Swamp, Cabal Ritual x2, Deathgrip and Execute. I remember this hand perfectly because i won the game in 2 turns. He has these really old and nasty cards like tolarian academy and yawgmoth’s will. I never even thought of that combination till i pulled this hand it really takes four cards and extreme luck to win the game!
TamiYamiyo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I feel it necessary to post on this card as a rite of initiation.
Subtle_Kay
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I'd hate to take away from this card's brilliance, but, in a black deck at least, Dark Ritual is almost as good. To anyone wondering, I wasn't one of the people who didn't give it 5/5. Also, Blacker Lotus is better.
Celerus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
How is this not rated 5/5?
RedAtrocitus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A 4.7/5? I feel bad for the people completely unable to enjoy Magic because no card measures up to their standards.
"Oh, 3 free mana of any color. Well, it'd be nicer if they could be of different colors. Or maybe if it gave 4 or 5. Now that'd be an awesome card. This one's ok I guess. 4/5."
Genericcardcollector
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's a Game breaker.
kiseki
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Somewhere, sometime, someone once used this to cast celestial prism and forever shattered their opponent's faith in the game.
kynken
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I am fortunate enough to own one that I played for 15 years. Retired it now, but it is a beauty to have. Don't hate.
Xineombine
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I summon phyrexian obiterator on turn 1!!
Cygore
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
My little brother bought this card for $5 at a yard sale today. Little did the person know that this card is of extreme value. With this card alone they could have made more profit than their entire yard sale I bet.
creativecombo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
why, oh why isn't this 5/5 stars. i bet it went something like this "dies to mana l.... countersp... uh... Force of will! yeah that works"
Justin133Nivmizzet1
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Guys why rate this under 5? a few cards that are rated higher than this are Time walk, hymn to tourach , mox emerald, rubY, and sapphire, toaren academy, Gaea's cradle and vampire nocturnes by .003 (I just made it.001 higher by rating it 5 stars )c'mon let's get black lotus' rating higher or at least the same. If they were the same that would be funny.
twiddleman12
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(4 votes)
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MassiveMassive
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Easily the best artifact in this game. And it speaks for itself. 5/5
Blackworm_Bloodworm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
One of those cards that simply never should have been printed.
I didn't rate the card, I simply can't. It's obviously a legend, an infamous card. And rightly should be, because it's so powerful. But it's too powerful. I can't in good conscience give it a 5/5 knowing that this card breaks the game so much, but I cannot rate it anything less for fear of its mighty powers.
DarthParallax
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
People are either rating this 5 Stars for sheer broken power, or they're rating it much lower for 'badly Designed- ergo not fun- ergo not "good" as I define good which includes more than win-probability increase power"
Actually, after looking a lot at Vintage lists, there are some cards that I would expect to see WAY more often in decklists, and yet don't have the ubiquity their reputation suggests they should. Black Lotus is just such one of these cards, and while it's *potential* is simply screamingly powerful, it *looks* like the Vintage players of today don't just slam it in lists because they own it- Oh they DO run it, a lot, but also, I've seen WINNING decklists for Vintage that use mana and do not use Black Lotus- why not then?
Chalice of the Void is an Anti-0 cost Hate Tech in Vintage. I don't think it's the explanation, but I mention that card more as a question than a statement- do that, Null Rod and other hate really account for anything less than 100% of Vintage decks that aren't manaless playing Black Lotus and Moxen?
I think it just might have to do with the fact that it's not *really* a permanent- it's 0-cost and its only use is to sacrifice itself, so firstly it's more like a "Paradise Ritual", and secondly...well, I don't have a secondly, except that maybe it's so rare that not everyone is using it because not everyone has one. Yeah, ok that makes sense too. I know there's that wierd manaless deck out there, but theoretically every deck that plays mana should play this.
Really, REALLY notably, I see that Goblin Decks practically NEVER use either Black Lotus OR Mox Ruby. It might be that rarity of the card is an issue, but somehow this seems less likely when I KNOW Goblin Decks have actually won really major tournaments- which would give the winner the money to get a Black Lotus or at least a Mox Ruby.
Can anyone tell me why some Vintage Decks do not use the on-color Power Nine? Especially why Mox Ruby is not played in Goblins?
Until then, I'm going to suggest that Black Lotus is actually a 4.85-4.9 card, because if it were a 5 card, every deck in Vintage piloted by a person with funds would have one. (Except Manaless decks, of course)
Something tells me that most (not all) of the people who think Black Lotus is 5/5 don't understand something about Vintage and wouldn't be able to win a Vintage game even if someone gave them a free deck that recently placed under a knowledgeable pilot. Of the people that both really know about Vintage *and* would put Black Lotus as 5/5, could someone talk about the Pro's opinion of it and shed some light on this?
kazenpaus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is the first time I notice it, but... It's actually dark purple.
carl990454
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
i have 1 hooray im the most popular at my local tournament
Kurraga
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is pretty good.
HellkatOverlord
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
They made of one single color so it wouldn't be overpowered...Ha!
ICManipulator
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Hail to the chief.
jontagion
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
What do you need when you're on the draw and he naturally drops Time Vault, Voltaic Key? Rip the lotus off the top, to drop the Helm of Obedience, with the Leyline of the Void in play. Pfft for playing anything but care-bears without power....
MithosFall
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have actually seen one of these in real life. It was an awe inspiring moment. Then even more awe inspiring when I beat the guy who was using this and multiple moxen. :D
pedrodyl
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Card of the Day, December 17th, 2012 Black Lotus is coming to MTGO for those of you who play that. Having this card in your hand usually means that you are able to play a card that you usually wouldn't be able to play for a long time. That means it gives you some virtual card advantage, although that is negated by the fact that you lose the lotus in the process, so the net card advantage is 0 (sort of). What Black Lotus really gives you is incredible tempo. With just this one little piece of cardboard, you can be turns ahead of your opponent(s). And that is why it is so good. Would I first pick it in MTGO Online Cube? Maybe, maybe not, depending on what else I were to choose from.
tut07
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
It's just a stupid lotus, Chimmney Imp could just walk over it and destroy it.
Combos well with any card that requires mana to cast.
talcumpowder0046
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
How come this wasn't reprinted in the Urza block?
ParishInquisitor
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Best card ever printed. 5/5 on a bad day.
MattLynn
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
To balance this out, you would have to pay half of your life to activate it, or something that delayed you from using it too soon (suspend, return lands, etc) like the "fixed lotus" versions out there. Of course, cost would help, as would lowering the mana it gives to CMC 1. At that point, you could just have this come into play tapped, and it's suitable to not require sacrifice of it.
Modern-era Lotus: Legendary Artifact "M.E. Lotus" can not cost less than , for any reason. Comes into play tapped. T: Add any color of mana to your mana pool, play this ability only ONCE each turn.
Someone must be hate-rating this card. It is definitely five stars but lets all try to vote this thing up. No one who plays magic would ever rate this card less than 5 stars.
Lets make this happen people!
Blubicles
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I believe that this is an AMAZING card, but the onl;y thing that is bad about it is it's selling cost. Nobody is going to pay thousands for this. I absolutely know how powerful this is, but i hope sombody agrees with me that it is not worth the money.
- i dont always play black lotus , but when i do, i win - Every'day im wiiinnniinn!! - this is a story all about how i played a black lotus upsidedown, so i like to take a minute and just sit right there, im gunna sacrifice this thing and WIN right here. - Stop! look, where are you? , yes thats right, ur in front of a black lotus, stop, look right! stop where are u now? u lost and i win - turn 1 b lotus , turn 2.. wait, i won on turn 1
mr8658
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I HAVE A PROXY OF THIS CARD AND NOW I KNOW WHY EVERY DECK WINS 3 TURNS SOONER WITH IT IN THE DECK. SO BROKEN I CAN'T EVEN BELIVE IT GOT PRINTED IN ALPHA. OR REPRINTED IN BETA AND UNLIMITED. 5/5 ALWAYS AND FOREVER.
Hunter06
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Second best card ever, right behind 'Ancestral Recall' Cards > Mana
5/5 Stars
Ibn_Shisha
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
In contrast to a German car (see Alpha or Beta), a bgs9 Unlimited BL on ebay is going for a paltry $2750, or slightly more than a Sharp 70" Full HD 1080p 240Hz AQUOS® 3D LED Smart TV at the store down the street.
Over a thousand dollars!?!?!?! This is malarky. Wizards should reprint this so I can play vintage... It's not even that good. It gets sacced and used in only one turn. You expect me to pay a rediculous amount for something that goes to the graveyard every game? Zombie Goliath is way better than this card. ITS A 4/3!!!! YOU GET IT ON BOARD AND WIN IN 5 TURNS!!!! ALL THIS THOUSAND DOLLAR PIECE OF CARDBOARD DOES IS PRODUCE MANA!!! AND IT ALL HAS TO BE THE SAME COLOUR! PFFFFT!!
High_Tech
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I actually have an unplayed unlimited edition plastic sleeved out of the box black lotus, I'm thinking I might sell it.
Lifegainwithbite
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Blubicles: You'd be surprised. Plenty of people gunning for competitive vintage do along with another ten thousand or so for each mox and vintage chase card. And if they want to spend that much on a hobby, it's like someone buying football season tickets every year. It's their choice and their money.
@Ultrofrost: I hope you're trolling... If that's really your understanding of cards, then forget about playing competitive vintage or competitive anything. Find another game that might not confuse you like Uno or Solitaire.
J.RobertOppenheimer
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Back in the day, you'd use this for a turn 1 Storm Crow and take the mana burn.
Tzenmoroth
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Garfield decided from the start that the power of cards would be based on rarity-Long before they even began supporting drafts-and this was the hardest card to find in packs. I guess some things never change.
Arachnos
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Kicks the ass of Dark Ritual, and that's saying something.
Anybody who dares doubt the power of this card, just think about it.
3 mana boost of any color on turn 1. With a land, that's 4 mana, turn 1. With Moxen, potentially 5 or even more mana.
Phyrexian Obliterator, turn 1. Grand Arbiter Augustin, turn 1. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth turn 1 (NOTE: only works if you somehow happen to have 4 Lotuses and Kozilek in your opening hand). I could go on, but I've made my point.
me: it's a black lotus any questions? novice magic player: ok why is this card any good? it only puts 3 mana of any one color in your mana pool and is gone when your turn is over. me: well lets see. how much mana does it cost? novice magic player: 0 mana but still it's only 3 mana of any one color used once me: ok well you play a land your first turn don't you? novice magic player: umm yeah me: so that means you can use 4 mana your first turn 3 of which is any color of your choice. how do we cast spells? novice magic player: with mana me : THERE YOU HAVE IT!!! that is why it is the most flexible card in the game!!! novice magic player: OHHHH!!!!
Wirox
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Wow! With that I can cast two Storm Crows on first turn!
Ninjay
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Still strictly worse than your mom last night.
Mindbend
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
combos with magic cards with casting costs
GordonFreechmen
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Okay seriously how does the tempest version of Lotus Petal have a higher rating than any version of Black Lotus? Why are people rating this below 5? I know others have said the same thing, but come on why rate it below a 5? I don't have to go into reasons why this is good if you play competitive magic at all you would know why this card is so good. Hell even if you don't play magic competitively you should still be able to see the reasons for this is good.
anytwofactors
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Jitteryowl: "Combos well." In other news: water wet, sky up.
@Ultofrost: Bad troll is bad.
And a general post to everyone who comments "this, some other card and bam! Emrakul" Yes, we know. It's Black Lotus. It can do anything.
Lord_of_phyrexia
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
wowowowowowowowowowowowowowow. 4 of in your opening hand and a blightsteel colossus= game win t2
Lotus x2 gets you 6 blue mana, get mantle on your grimoire thief, then freed from the real. Tap him for one blue, and mill 3, then pay that blue to untap, and tap again...
Instant victory against any number of opponents on turn one, with a counterspell to spare.
All thanks to the magical powers of the black lotus. Thank you black lotus.
troll_berserker
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Seves The problem with that combo is that there isn't a single format that more than one copy of Black Lotus is legal in. You might as well say that the best opening hand is Chancellor of the Dross x7.
konokono
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
To people who say this is a 2 for 1 (admittedly only a handful): stop being so silly.
Syrtees
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
To be fair jtwhat87, Time Walk seems like a pretty strong arguement.
SirLibraryEater
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think the best thing about this card is that someday, somewhere, somebody participated in this conversation: "Island, Sol Ring, go." "Adorable. Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Mox Jet, Mox Emerald, Mox Ruby, Emrakul, the Eons Torn." "..." "Oh wait, did I play a land yet?"
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Just what I need for my mono blue deck. When will this see a reprint?
Dayvuni
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Combos well with EVERY CARD THAT USES MANA IN THE GAME...EVER
TheDragonPlainswalkr
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
#1 of the power 9 cards. works in any deck and is way OP. just think of what you could cast on turn 1! (i saw some one cast jace, the mind sculptor on turn 1) (also saw lotus, four dark rituals a land and a twelve drop!)
O0oze
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
STOP POSTING COMBOS THAT ReQUIRE 2 BLACK LOTUSES. YOU CAN HAVE ONLY ONE IN YOUR DECK.
Rowick
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wow what an awesome card!! now if only there was a format it was legal in.
AffinityILY
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I've used this thing to wipe my ass. There are such better mana enablers such as myrs and elves. Guess I just have to keep using this because it costs 10cents when a elvish archdruid costs 1.50 ):
goldwing8
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Can anyone tell me why this thing is worth so much?
FarisV
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@SirLibraryEater One word: mulligan. I think that perhaps that someday, somewhere, somebody part of your imaginary T2 hasn't nor ever will happen as long as you have to have two mana. So I'm nitpicky and busted apart your "wow" factor comment. Sue me.
@goldwing8 First of all, this is a great place to learn about cards' strengths and weaknesses, and with that type of community comes a popular (not always varied) or several popular opinions as to the pros and cons of a particular card. In this case, you might have some difficulty finding someone who will tell you "Eh, Black Lotus sucks," or the ever incredible reply of "I don't get it. All it does is give you mana?" Well, if you don't know or took a long time to learn like I did, let me tell you now: In Magic, mana is king. The King. I'm sure multiple, more experienced long-time players could show me multiple cards that say something like "No mana, win the game!" or who knows what else. After all, cards this good exist (but this is arguably one of the best - if not the very best - cards in the game). Why? Essentially free mana. No, you can't play the Lotus as an instant by itself, it doesn't work like the Chromatic Lantern, is very similar to Gilded Lotus which also gives you three, but isn't sacrificed. Just think of it as a free mana bomb. For nothing, you can on your turn play a card which lets you at any time get three additional mana for whatever. Someone tries to kill your artifact? If you have an instant, play it anyway so they waste their mana. Want to be able to play a counterspell during your opponent's turn but already tapped all your mana? Black Lotus. Anyway, if you read this, I'm sure you get the point by now. Either that or I'm terrible at anything and everything and will cry myself to sleep this Christmas outside my local magic store.
BagOfBags
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Black lotus is great because it can be used in any deck well, and allows fourth-turn plays on turn one(or fifth turn plays on turn two, ect.). 5/5
Xlo51
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I want to kill everyone who hates this card.
Fightohydra
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's meh.
amberbock
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wizards should remove voting for this card and make it a default 5/5. The most recent watered down versions require 5 mana or 3 turns. Other watered down versions have errata or restricted because there were still too powerful.
since_gatecrash771
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
We are not worthy, we are not worthy...5/5
Lord-Feldon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This card is cool i admit but... its no where near as good as Gilded Lotus. This card is a one trick pony, its required to be sacrificed. The Gilded Lotus is cheaper and you can keep using over and over. Yes this is a cool card and yes id love to have one because of its rarity but i can honestly say i wouldn't use it.
Dashneyman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Don't worry guys. It's only 5 or 6 thousand dollars
lkjlkj
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Only legal in vintage which hardly anyone plays? Weighed against the cost, 1 out of 5.
Sexysexman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
meh its an alright card. i mean im trying to sell it because its not worth that much to me. im not giving it a full stars coz its not a creature or a spell, its really lame actualy
tom12000
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
would be funny if you combo this with Isochron Scepter
sweetgab
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think the rationale they had when they created this card in Alpha was that a basic land provides mana every turn, whereas this provides three times as much mana but only does so once. Before the concept of tempo became so deeply entrenched in every player's mind, when the game was newly designed, the above actually seems pretty reasonable. There are many board games and video games in which something that generates you some resource every turn is worth a lot more than something that provides resource just once. If you have 500 gold, you can recruit a calvary or two; if you have a gold silo that gives you 100 gold every minute, it can fuel your whole army during the entire game. Of course, in those real time strategy games, you can't use that 500 gold to perform some sequence of actions that kills all your opponents within a minute, or get to a vastly superior position where coming back is nigh impossible. Turns out in Magic you can.
raginglittepycho
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
That moment when you realize that this piece of paper is more expensive than your car.
MechaKraken
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is so good, people are willing to murder for it. Like this guy who is now serving life in prison for doing exactly that -
When they're willing to risk a life-time sentence, becoming a target of daily prison beatings and rape, as well as the loss of the rest of their youth and freedom forever, just to get hold of one of these, you KNOW that card is good!
JarieSuicune
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@amberlock: Wizards should remove voting for this card and give it a default 0.5/5. It's virtually worthless to the game (as in NEVER EVER USED, unless as a stupid PROXY), being worth nothing BUT money.
Really, you can go on and on about how it "combos with everything", yet that's all moot since NO ONE gets one without basically spending their car or stealing it. And even then, they won't even use it, except maybe a few times at first before locking it away until they sell it to get back the money they wasted.
If Wizards would abandon their pointless Reprint Policy (see http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=magic/products/reprintpolicy to see that it basically exists to keep collectors happy and punish players who are too late to get those cards), then they could make some over-easy cash AND make several thousands of MtG players SUPER happy.
syntheticbiology232
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
okay okay think of it like this you know all those dark ritual combos yeah now they don't need turn 1 swamp just go ahead if you have 2 of these to play a CMC 6 card on turn 1
legendary_orp
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is pretty much the most broken card ever printed. It has pretty much no drawback; it's always useful in some way. Ancestral Recall isn't fantastic if you already have a full hand. Time Walk isn't great if you have nothing significant to do with your extra turn. If you play this card and then play Jace, the Mind Sculptor on turn one, you're more likely to win than if you played Ancestral on turn one. 5/5, no if's, and's, or but's.
OlvynChuru
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Right now the Odyssey printing for Entomb is rated higher...
Comments (283)
Posted By: Peaceout734 (11/16/2008 3:03:11 PM)
...Ancestral Vision, not Ancestral Recall? anyway i'd still rather have four black lotuses in any deck than four recalls
I heard it costs 200 dollars...
It's really one of the best cards which can be played and its cost (if it's in good condition) is around 750-1000 Dollars/Euros (or more if it's Alpha or Beta), really the only one which costs so much (besides cards like the 1996 champion...which are unique...but it's another story and they're not so much good as Black Lotus...).
Magic was young, this card was just part of its growing process, before magic could understand its full potential.
the black lotus is a good way to add mana, we get it, but has anyone paid attention to its other affect? it has the ability to interrupt or stop a certain spell, that is the reason this card is so expensive and hard to get, all a player has to do is tap the card and it can stop one spell per turn and then just wait for his/her turn and stop another one. the card doesnt go away for the interrupt to take affect, the black lotus stays on the field even after that effect and the only reason it leaves the field is if u use the only ability that everyone else knows and use it for pointless mana, why havent any of u figured that out already
If this statement is true then the black lotus serves as a permanent counterspell right?
Therefore Black Lotus still overshadows this one by far - and it should, since any card getting near the awesomeness of it is quite broken.
Since interrupt rules are now obsolete, you just disregard the second line of the 'Black Lotus' text. If you don't think I'm right about this, take a search on Gatherer for 'Black Lotus' and you'll get:
"Tap, Sacrifice Black Lotus: Add three mana of any one color to your mana pool." No mention of interrupts. This means that this card is not - I'll say that twice for just in case - IS NOT a (sic!) 'permanent counterspell'.
So this card is just a nice way of getting three mana per game for 0 cost.
Is it worth 1000 €? I don't think so.
@wgillespie: No, the Lotus doesn't counter anything. The old wording with "interrupt" meant the ability was quicker than instants, now mana abilities don't use the stack, and thus are quicker than instants. No need for redundant text.
Suffice to say, This is a pretty good card.
If you're skilled enough to build the almost non-existent deck that's not improved by adding Black Lotus, you already know why it's the best card in Magic.
4.5
Now, where to get $8000 for a full playset.
Brokentastic, but awesome.
And I am sure there are better uses for it, but for someone who fails to see the use of this card, its a perfect example. If you dont understand 3 mana, maybe you will understand 14 damage and 14 life gain on turn 1.
Have a set of 4 in your deck, get a lucky first draw with lets say 2 of them and a big creature and 1 or 2 lands and there you have it, a big creature on your 1st turn. Your opponent won't even notice what hit them.
Usually empty my hand relatively fast and I need very little manna to function, so if I drew it latter in the game I doubt I would use it. Then, even if it is in the first hand, you need something big enough to use with it, but not so big that you can't...
The problem with this is actually quite the opposite problem that many cards have. A lot of cards I have seen need an entire deck structured around them to function... This one on the other hand cant combo with anything, at all. Its just a matter of you drawing it at the right time: early.
base rating: ***
easiest manna to get in the game: +**
In possible to structure around: -*
A pity... and supposedly the best magic card ever, and defiantly the most valuable... it dose have a rather simple elegance to it though...
Perhaps someday, when I blow my nose into 100$ bills, I will play with one of these in a deck... just to say that I did. (Most expensive version I have found was 10,000$, the cheapest: 875$)
And to everyone who can agree that this is the greatest Magic card ever printed, so what...
I started playing Magic too late to ever see one of these in physical form, and I doubt I ever will. All of this hooping and hollering about combo this and combo that, in my opinion, needs to stop unless you've got a couple grand to drop on one of these. You can dream, but keep it to yourself, please.
And to all of the middle-grounders, what are you on? This is quite obviously the greatest card ever printed on a piece of cardstock since your mother was born.
5/5
Now it's more of a rite of passage to own for those who are willing to sacrifice more for a card game.
Combines well with atog.
"dies to removal." - CapitalR (Although he seems to like Ur-Golem's Eye)
"only 3 mana? if needs to add AT LEAST 10 mana to be of any use" - Kroen
"IT'S CARD DISADVANTAGE, IT SUCKS" - MetalCrisis
"Best Card Ever Next To BaneWasp Affliction" - MasterOfEtherium
"Not the best card ever...that's ancestral vision...but amazing nonetheless!" - Peaceout734
"O_o The thought of being able to get my Akroma out on turn one blows my mind
5/5
For a card that opens doors to victory" - Eved (little closed minded...)
And the best quote...
"This is a pretty good card, but its not worth the hype. Worse than Dark Ritual because it dies to shatter." BalonyPony
Oh and Dark Ritual dies to Negate :P
Back then there wasn't any of this sissy restricted list either. I know of one guy who had like 10 Betas in his deck. The game was still fun. You could do the same, and more.
Thank you whoever pasted the dumb stuff people have said... I literally laughed out loud at how someone said "You can shatter it".... Yea, right... Lol. I'm so glad no one in my city is that damn stupid where they think on turn 0 they can magically cast shatter on this before it's used to power out whatever you're using it for.
I've never countered this, and no one has ever countered mine. Why would you, you counter what they use it for. Don't ever counter or kill a Mana source that you have to sac to use, you counter what they try casting with it.
(there are false positives and negatives obviously, just like an aids test)
I wanted to buy one but, of course, it's too late to get one already. To think that it came out just more than a year and a half before i started buying & playing MTG.
I don't think I'll live to see this card getting reprinted. Even a Lotus Petal is hard to find nowadays. Well, at least i got four petals in my collection. Damn, where did i put that time machine of mine. :)
5/5
that's it
so you can do one thing once faster
woo
basic lands are better
.5 out of 5
Turn 2) swamp + Black Lotus + Chimney Imp.
Turn 3) Attack FTW.
This card got much better now mana burn has gone out, now we don't have to worry about spending all three mana. I mean all three of one colour means it can be hard to use all of it.
Sad, really. But hey, it means amusement for the rest of us.
Black Lotus is a utility card. Plain and simple. It provides you three mana of any one color as early as turn one, and there are what must be, like, dozens of ways to win that first turn, if you have this utility card in a deck worth its salt. Yes, some people say "you need a good deck to use it though!!1eleven! But the point is, THAT'S HOW ANY DECK WORKS. God, people. There is no such thing as an invincible card. Even in the B.L.'s case, you need it turn one or two, and you need to be competent to not only build a deck that can utilize it, but also to have the brains to comprehend what you're trying to do. I admit, not a lot of people can really do that, and I don't know if that's good or bad for the game. But, I'm happy to know that some people, like a few on this thread, know what the hell they're doing when considering this card for their deck.
So yeah. Utility and damn good utility at that. If you don't like it, fine. I'll try not to laugh at you when you finally come across this card, say "oh yeah, 3 mana for 0 is stupid I'll kill it with Shatter", and then proceed to die on turn 0 to a card you thought was crap, or didn't like because the price on its head was too much, or because you're a sniveling idiot with more cardboard than brain matter.
/Rant
This card is nothing by itself. It produces mana, and sits there. Those are the only two things it can really do. Neither of those will kill your opponent. It's what you can use the mana for that is powerful. Those are the great cards of Magic. This is simply a tool. A nice tool, don't get me wrong, but a tool nonetheless.
Anyone else wondering why this is rated lower than Sol Ring?
What a bad remake of gilded lotus.
Over the course of 4 turns a basic land gives more mana.
@biollante,: say that when your opponint has a time vault and a volatic key out on turn one, and still has the mana to activate them.
@BlackLotusIsTerrible: guilded lotus doesn't come out fast enough, and it was a remake of THIS, not the other way around
T1: Black Lotus, Island, dropped TWO storm crows. My opponent scooped. Was SOOO cash!
They will likely never directly reprint lotus in a cheesy way out of fear from underground Black Lotus Market mobsters. If we see a new lotus in Besieged or Action then It will likely work around metal craft and Imprint.
It would look like:
Metal Lotus {0}
Legendary Artifact
Imprint - Exile a basic land from your hand.
Metalcraft - {T}: Sacrifice Metal Lotus to add 3 mana of same kind the exiled card could produce. Activate this ability only if you control three or more Artifacts.
A deck may only have one Metal lotus.
Playing with other 0 costed artifacts means getting this out on the first turn kills the hand to 3. It could always be made colorless non artifact to kill your hand to two. Which may need to be necessary for peeps playing with Mox Opal and Black lotus.
For anyone else who doesn't notice: BlackLotusisTerrible is just trolling. As with most others that say such seemingly stupid things as "dies to shatter" and "mana drain is better."
for the record, I do not have $2K to spend on a piece of cardboard, but I still give it a 5/5 because that is what it deserves :)
Counter what your opponent plays using the Lotus. He'll be (at least) two cards down.
It is also strange that a flower is an aftifact. It is alive.
5/5
Mountain, Ornithopter, Black Lotus
Sac Black Lotus for Tinker
Sac Ornithopter
Search library for Blightsteel colossus
Tap mountain for Burst of Speed
You win
Forest, Black lotus: Sacrifice to play Garruk Wildspeaker: -1; 3/3 Beast
Turn 2:
Forest, tap both, then untap using Garruk, and tap again for the wilt-leaf liege, attack with 4/4 beast, probably blocked, but through: 16 life
Turn 3:
Forest, tap all, untap two: +1, cast Ant Queen (or whatsoever), attack with 4/4 and 4/4: 8 life
Turn 4:
Garruk's -4, attack with 25: -17 life
I know that this can be more efficient, garruk during turn one is just fun
i dont know what happened to wizards when they printed this and the mox cards, i mean, they just went crazy, the game could have ended up so broken it would be trash, you cant make a card that works in evry single deck, and that every single deck will use, if you do, its broken.
So much for a single card ... idgi
By the way, for anyone still not understanding: If you play it on your first turn, your opponent won't have mana for playing an artifact removal. And, more important, you usually play and then immediately sacrifice this one, so your opponent can't cast anything between resolving and sacrificing...
Marcl91 even if you go first they can still Force of Will it so it gets 0.5/5 ratting in my book.
Great card, but really, there's no point in arguing about it because it's more of a collectors item than a viable addition to any deck.
Flowers are not artifacts!!!
I BOW TO THEE ALL POWERFUL LOTUS!!!!!!!!!
Clavat99's Hall of Newbie Shame (Black Lotus Edition):
My buddy played this. I thought it was over. then richard garfield smiled over me and I drew Untaidake, the Cloud Keeper. He surrendered unconditionally, ripped up his lotus, and ate the bits. -- Youlose20life
(My response: "Moron, black lotus dosnt cost life. And once again, most of the time a deck with black lotus will have won before you even have a chance to play that land")
dies to Force of Will 0.5/5
Marcl91 even if you go first they can still Force of Will it so it gets 0.5/5 ratting in my book. -- dragonking987
(My Response: "YOU as a player get a 0.5/5 in my book. Sure you can counter it, but get the damn counter in your opening hand, then talk to me about it. And any deck worth a crap will not rely on just one card, so you still have to worry about the other 59+ cards in the deck. stop dissing the lotus just because you are jealous that you dont have one.")
What can be said about this card that hasn't been said before....
Magic was young, this card was just part of its growing process, before magic could understand its full potential -- GangrenousKhan
(My Response: "uuuuh...You mean other than the fact that Black Lotus represents all things magic? That it has been and always will be, the Icon of all magic players? Even today, many years after magic debuted, BL is still the most desired card for all collections and makes any deck better just by having it included. Dont diss it just because you dont have it and are to damn stupid to see the symbolism that BL stands for.")
This cards power, certainly in the early game cannot be denied but the simple fact of the matter is that this card is no longer relevant, it can't be used in standard or extended, isn't going to crop up in limited, is banned in legacy, restricted in vintage and just too damned expensive for casual.
Great card, but really, there's no point in arguing about it because it's more of a collectors item than a viable addition to any deck. -- Concerned_Bystander
(My Response: "You arent a total n00b, for saying its an awesome card. Because it is. However, the idea of magic is to get mana out to play your stuff, and the more mana you have, the more stuff you can do and the more dangerous you become to your opponent. a total of 4 mana on your first turn is increadible, and combining it with a couple of dark rituals or any other card like that, and youc an effectively play an eldrazi or bigger before your opponent even gets their first turn. And there ar emore reasons for it being worth thousands of dollars other than having a pretty flower on it. And there is a reason its banned in most tourneys and vintage restricted.")
@concerned_bystander, you're kidding, right? when was the last time you looked at the top 8 decklists in any vintage tournament between 1994 and now? there isn't a single deck in vintage that doesn't use black lotus. even if it's restricted/banned/old/etc, that doesn't change the fact that it's one of the most powerful cards ever printed. whether or not it's relevant to standard and extended is, well, irrelevant.
99% of all decks in the history of magic would play at least one copy of this card if given the chance (regardless of color, style of play, format, etc.)
If there is a single 5/5 card in the game. This is it. Bar none. No contest.
Period.
Probably just the Spike-hating Johnny in me though, so feel free to eat me alive; I just don't find it amusing or worth my time when a whole game is just "shuffle your deck, reveal your opening hand, explain why you already won and neither person should have wasted their time or money to play glorified Rock-Paper-Scissors"
As a long time player and owner of one of these, I think I'm qualified to comment regarding those on both sides of this issue, those who think this is the greatest card in all of magic and those who think it's terribly overrated or even flat out bad.
The truth of this lies somewhere in the middle if you're going to be objective about this.
Versatility wise, this is one of the few cards, that can be utilized by just about any deck...provided the person constructing the deck understands the synergy between this and his other cards and how to use it. I could easily throw this card into a deck where it would be close to useless or of minimum assistance.
You still have to know how to play this game...something a lot of people don't.
So this card, by itself, is not the be all and end all. It still needs other cards to win. Can it get you to where you want to go faster than any other card? Depends on the deck. I have one in one deck, with my other Power 9 cards (I have the whole set) that was specifically made to make the most use of this card.
I do NOT have it in my red burn deck where this card would be a mild boost on turn 1 (lightning bolt and incinerate for 0) and not much else. It just doesn't fit in that deck. If it can't get something out that gets to stay out and actually change the complexion of the match, it's power is limited. In that deck, I'd rather have an Ancestral Recall in my hand to fill it up faster after using my burn spells. But even that doesn't fit if I'm playing mono red.
Point is, the deck you put together is what wins...not this card and for that matter, not any one card.
My Voltaic Key/Time Vault deck. It isn't Voltaic Key and Time Vault by themselves that win the game. It's all the artifact tutors that allow me to grab those cards quickly that win me the game unless I'm lucky enough to draw them in my opening hand.
And therein lies the problem with the "best card in the game" crowd, especially for cards that are restricted. As a former math major, given a deck of 60 cards and only one of a given card in it, drawing 7 cards your first turn and going first, you roughly have a little better than 10% chance of getting that card in your opening hand. If you're depending on that ONE card to win the game for you or give you that edge where you have a better chance of winning down the road, you are playing a fool's deck.
I see so many people talking about all these great combos for 1 and 2 turn kills. Too bad the odds of getting those combos, especially the 3 and 4 card ones, are slim to none.
My Black Lotus is a bonus for me if I pull it in my opening hand. It allows me to play a 6/6 flier by turn 2 and sometimes even turn 1 depending on how many moxen I draw.
But if I relied on that draw to win, I'd be dead.
So the deck is loaded with counterspells.
In fact, here is my deck construction.
4 Force Of Will
4 Counterspell
4 Mana Drain
4 Arcane Denial
4 Control Magic
3 Man-o-War
2 Sphinx of Magosi
1 Stormtide Leviathan
1 Jin-Gitaxias Core Auger
1 Time Walk
1 Timetwister
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus
1 Panoptic Mirror
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Traumatize
20 Island
There isn't one card in this deck that I absolutely depend on to win. In fact, I have so many win conditions in this deck it's sick. If I can counter all your spells long enough to drop a Magosi or Leviathan it's game over in a few turns after. If a creature gets by me, I'll Control Magic it or pop it back in your hand with a Man-o-War. If I can pop a Panoptic Mirror and a Time Walk, I'll take infinite turns.
I used to have a Jace in this deck but took him out because I didn't really need him to win.
This deck wins 70% of it's games.
I can count on one hand the number of those games decided because I popped a Lotus.
Folks, it's not a one card game. It never was. Having said that, not understanding how important cards like Black Lotus are shows how little you really understand this game.
It takes 60 cards to win...not one, not two...60
Those of you propping this up on a royal throne need to understand that.
I'll take a Shrine Of Burning Rage (actually 4 of them) in my burn deck over a Black Lotus any day of the week.
Conversely, in the deck I listed above, Shrine Of Burning Rage is a waste of deck space.
It's all about deck construction.
And Black Lotus is just one great card out of a deck of maybe 12 great cards if you've put a deck together worth its salt.
And even great decks can have crappy draws. That's why on any given day, one good deck can beat a great deck.
That's why you still have to play the game.
As it should be.
Black Lotus?
5/5 or 1/5 depending on where you put it
Some may argue that other members of the Power 9 and other good cards are the best. Mainly, Ancestral Recall and Time Walk. While these cards break the game in half as well, they can't be put into any deck the way that the Black Lotus can. Technically, you can but they wont be good if your playing non-blue. Black Lotus improves any deck.
Some of the people who rate this down are upset about the massive price tag and how the they can't be competitive in Vintage without it. If you don't want to pay thousands of dollars on cards, go play Legacy. Its banned there, I believe (I'm not a tournament player) so just have fun there. Don't get mad at cards like these. Don't be mad at the original creators either, the game was in its infancy. Its different nowadays where Wizards already knows how to balance the game but still print cards like Baneslayer Angel or Jace, the Mind Sculptor. If you don't like those cards go ahead and rate them down. Be my guest. But don't be mad at this little flower, it didn't know better.
I hate rate a lot of cards, but not black lotus...
In one of my first games of Magic with my partner (on an early date), I demonstrated the Black Lotus + Fastbond + Taiga + Fireball kill. I've had two tournament-playable Lotuses since forever; my partner gave me a third for our one-year-dating anniversary (the awesomely gigantic oversized cardboard one) -- along with a Fastbond print which she found goodness knows where -- and along with a note that read, "A single spark of passion can ignite love's lasting flame -- you had me at turn one." Easily the best awwwww moment of my life. Better even than any engagement ring I could have received (though I want my wedding ring to resemble that awesome-looking new Sol Ring they just printed for EDH/Commander). In fact, we'll be printing the first part on our wedding invitations, with a picture of a black lotus flower included as decoration -- a perfectly concealed inside joke.
I still kinda wonder why a black lotus would be an artifact, though. Maybe it's a fake plastic flower?
Facial tic and a sleep disorder, but nooooo regrets.
Joking aside, I would likely eat a live squid for a mint version of one of these or Shichi***ujin Dragon.
My friends and family thought I was crazy.
Now my investment has increased in value 1000%... not too shabby.
Yes, this card really is *that* useful.
Hail to the King, baby!
Sadly, it's the closest I'll probably ever come to holding a Black Lotus.
5/5.
No, but really, this is a pretty insane card. I don't see why Vampire Nocturnus is rated higher than it.
It just has that majestic aura of being the one card everyone (even those who know nothing about M:TG) knows and knows well.
I'm sure all of us have stared at it in awe through the glass at our local game store or checked auctions for it on eBay, just hoping that one day we can hold one in our hands and call it our own.
One day...
i read how people would love to have one, and i understand. They were fun, but even back in the day when they were still obtainable, people understood they were sort of ridiculous in terms of it's power. And it's probably best that they are so expensive now it would be ridiculous to use on in play.
Happy bidding :)
Does not combo with your wallet.
This Gatherer page is the closest I've come to seeing an actual copy.
First off, here's one for all you dragon players. Black lotus, lotus petal, seething song x 4, dragonstorm, grab four kokushos and win.
Then, you can go with artifacts. Black lotus, lightning greaves, sol ring, Tolarian Academy, tinker. Sacrifice your sol ring, go for a blightsteel colossus, lightning greaves it and swing for the kill. (This can be done without the black lotus if you replace it with a lotus petal and a memnite.)
Also, we have phage the untouchable. Black lotus, dark ritual x 3, and then lightning greaves and phage. This one also works with a swamp and four dark rituals.
The last one must be done on the draw. Forest, fastbond, plateau, underground sea, black lotus, sneak attack, sneak attack a maelstrom archangel, cast a coalition victory.
Then, ways to kill yourself. You can play black lotus, dark ritual, buried alive, bury phage and reanimate it.
You can also do black lotus, seething song, memnite, blazing salvo x 4 on your memnite, take five each time.
You can do another one with blazing salvos. Black lotus, seething song x 2, fire servant, blazing salvo it twice and take it.
It's really pretty breathtaking to think that one day there could be a card turning up in our collections worth more than five thousand dollars apiece.
*sigh*
I imagine there's a little voice in every MTG player that tells them to not use this card.
@jimmycricket2 they already have. Lotus Petal.
Also, Blacker Lotus is better.
"Oh, 3 free mana of any color. Well, it'd be nicer if they could be of different colors. Or maybe if it gave 4 or 5. Now that'd be an awesome card. This one's ok I guess. 4/5."
i bet it went something like this
"dies to mana l....
countersp...
uh...
Force of will! yeah that works"
5/5
@thepillow:
Because Vampire Nocturnus isn't broken.
Actually, after looking a lot at Vintage lists, there are some cards that I would expect to see WAY more often in decklists, and yet don't have the ubiquity their reputation suggests they should. Black Lotus is just such one of these cards, and while it's *potential* is simply screamingly powerful, it *looks* like the Vintage players of today don't just slam it in lists because they own it- Oh they DO run it, a lot, but also, I've seen WINNING decklists for Vintage that use mana and do not use Black Lotus- why not then?
Chalice of the Void is an Anti-0 cost Hate Tech in Vintage. I don't think it's the explanation, but I mention that card more as a question than a statement- do that, Null Rod and other hate really account for anything less than 100% of Vintage decks that aren't manaless playing Black Lotus and Moxen?
I think it just might have to do with the fact that it's not *really* a permanent- it's 0-cost and its only use is to sacrifice itself, so firstly it's more like a "Paradise Ritual", and secondly...well, I don't have a secondly, except that maybe it's so rare that not everyone is using it because not everyone has one. Yeah, ok that makes sense too. I know there's that wierd manaless deck out there, but theoretically every deck that plays mana should play this.
Really, REALLY notably, I see that Goblin Decks practically NEVER use either Black Lotus OR Mox Ruby. It might be that rarity of the card is an issue, but somehow this seems less likely when I KNOW Goblin Decks have actually won really major tournaments- which would give the winner the money to get a Black Lotus or at least a Mox Ruby.
Can anyone tell me why some Vintage Decks do not use the on-color Power Nine? Especially why Mox Ruby is not played in Goblins?
Until then, I'm going to suggest that Black Lotus is actually a 4.85-4.9 card, because if it were a 5 card, every deck in Vintage piloted by a person with funds would have one. (Except Manaless decks, of course)
Something tells me that most (not all) of the people who think Black Lotus is 5/5 don't understand something about Vintage and wouldn't be able to win a Vintage game even if someone gave them a free deck that recently placed under a knowledgeable pilot. Of the people that both really know about Vintage *and* would put Black Lotus as 5/5, could someone talk about the Pro's opinion of it and shed some light on this?
Pfft for playing anything but care-bears without power....
Black Lotus is coming to MTGO for those of you who play that.
Having this card in your hand usually means that you are able to play a card that you usually wouldn't be able to play for a long time. That means it gives you some virtual card advantage, although that is negated by the fact that you lose the lotus in the process, so the net card advantage is 0 (sort of). What Black Lotus really gives you is incredible tempo. With just this one little piece of cardboard, you can be turns ahead of your opponent(s). And that is why it is so good.
Would I first pick it in MTGO Online Cube? Maybe, maybe not, depending on what else I were to choose from.
Storm Crow: 30 pages
This: 23 pages
Modern-era Lotus:
Legendary Artifact
"M.E. Lotus" can not cost less than
Comes into play tapped.
T: Add any color of mana to your mana pool, play this ability only ONCE each turn.
I fixed it!
It's on par with Command Tower, Ancient Ziggurat, City of Brass, etc.
Lets make this happen people!
Yes please.
- Every'day im wiiinnniinn!!
- this is a story all about how i played a black lotus upsidedown, so i like to take a minute and just sit right there, im gunna sacrifice this thing and WIN right here.
- Stop! look, where are you? , yes thats right, ur in front of a black lotus, stop, look right! stop where are u now? u lost and i win
- turn 1 b lotus , turn 2.. wait, i won on turn 1
5/5 ALWAYS AND FOREVER.
5/5 Stars
@Ultrofrost: I hope you're trolling... If that's really your understanding of cards, then forget about playing competitive vintage or competitive anything. Find another game that might not confuse you like Uno or Solitaire.
Anybody who dares doubt the power of this card, just think about it.
3 mana boost of any color on turn 1. With a land, that's 4 mana, turn 1. With Moxen, potentially 5 or even more mana.
Phyrexian Obliterator, turn 1. Grand Arbiter Augustin, turn 1. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth turn 1 (NOTE: only works if you somehow happen to have 4 Lotuses and Kozilek in your opening hand). I could go on, but I've made my point.
it's a black lotus any questions?
novice magic player: ok why is this card any good? it only puts 3 mana of any one color in your mana pool and is gone when your turn is over.
me: well lets see. how much mana does it cost?
novice magic player: 0 mana but still it's only 3 mana of any one color used once
me: ok well you play a land your first turn don't you?
novice magic player: umm yeah
me: so that means you can use 4 mana your first turn 3 of which is any color of your choice. how do we cast spells?
novice magic player: with mana
me : THERE YOU HAVE IT!!! that is why it is the most flexible card in the game!!!
novice magic player: OHHHH!!!!
In other news: water wet, sky up.
@Ultofrost: Bad troll is bad.
And a general post to everyone who comments "this, some other card and bam! Emrakul" Yes, we know. It's Black Lotus. It can do anything.
Black Lotus (x2)
Grimoire Thief
Paradise Mantle
Freed from the Real
Force of Will
And some random other blue card.
Lotus x2 gets you 6 blue mana, get mantle on your grimoire thief, then freed from the real. Tap him for one blue, and mill 3, then pay that blue to untap, and tap again...
Instant victory against any number of opponents on turn one, with a counterspell to spare.
All thanks to the magical powers of the black lotus. Thank you black lotus.
"Island, Sol Ring, go."
"Adorable. Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Mox Jet, Mox Emerald, Mox Ruby, Emrakul, the Eons Torn."
"..."
"Oh wait, did I play a land yet?"
(i saw some one cast jace, the mind sculptor on turn 1)
(also saw lotus, four dark rituals a land and a twelve drop!)
@goldwing8 First of all, this is a great place to learn about cards' strengths and weaknesses, and with that type of community comes a popular (not always varied) or several popular opinions as to the pros and cons of a particular card. In this case, you might have some difficulty finding someone who will tell you "Eh, Black Lotus sucks," or the ever incredible reply of "I don't get it. All it does is give you mana?"
Well, if you don't know or took a long time to learn like I did, let me tell you now: In Magic, mana is king. The King. I'm sure multiple, more experienced long-time players could show me multiple cards that say something like "No mana, win the game!" or who knows what else. After all, cards this good exist (but this is arguably one of the best - if not the very best - cards in the game). Why? Essentially free mana. No, you can't play the Lotus as an instant by itself, it doesn't work like the Chromatic Lantern, is very similar to Gilded Lotus which also gives you three, but isn't sacrificed. Just think of it as a free mana bomb. For nothing, you can on your turn play a card which lets you at any time get three additional mana for whatever. Someone tries to kill your artifact? If you have an instant, play it anyway so they waste their mana. Want to be able to play a counterspell during your opponent's turn but already tapped all your mana? Black Lotus.
Anyway, if you read this, I'm sure you get the point by now. Either that or I'm terrible at anything and everything and will cry myself to sleep this Christmas outside my local magic store.
http://www.examiner.com/article/murder-theft-over-magic-the-gathering
When they're willing to risk a life-time sentence, becoming a target of daily prison beatings and rape, as well as the loss of the rest of their youth and freedom forever, just to get hold of one of these, you KNOW that card is good!
Really, you can go on and on about how it "combos with everything", yet that's all moot since NO ONE gets one without basically spending their car or stealing it. And even then, they won't even use it, except maybe a few times at first before locking it away until they sell it to get back the money they wasted.
If Wizards would abandon their pointless Reprint Policy (see http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=magic/products/reprintpolicy to see that it basically exists to keep collectors happy and punish players who are too late to get those cards), then they could make some over-easy cash AND make several thousands of MtG players SUPER happy.