With Magic: The Gathering turning 30 this year, Wizards of the Coast have a massive surprise for the players. Especially if you fancy claiming some of those ultra rare cards from the past.
During the weekly Official MTG stream, Wizards of the Coast has announced something unprecedented: they will reprint Black Lotus – among other things, from the beginning of the hit Trading Card Game.
The 30th Anniversary Edition drop will feature the most essential pillars of Magic, with unique card backs and even better front sides. These cards are meant to take players on a journey in the history of MTG, with the most iconic cards in this drop. The first card showcased was the legendary Black Lotus, Magic’s most notorious and most expensive card, with the Alpha versions going for more than 170.000 euros on the market website Cardmarket.com. The Lotus is a central piece of the Anniversary Edition, as it will be on each card’s back instead of the classic Magic logo with the 5-colored pips.
The other cards featured in this set are all-stars such as Shivan Dragon, Llanowar Elves, Channel, Icy Manipulator, Hypnotic Specter, Veteran Bodyguard, Black Knight, White Knight, the original Cantrips, so Healing Salve, Ancestral Recall, Dark Ritual, Lightning Bolt and Giant Growth, Mox Sapphire and Mox Jet, and the original, untapped Dual Lands, such as Volcanic Island and Plateau!
The 30th Anniversary Edition is aimed at true collectors and Mages who want to experience the feeling of opening a Mox Jet or a Black Lotus 30 years after the first packs have been cracked. But the cards will come at a very high cost, as the 4-booster display will be $999 during the holiday season. The sale of the Anniversary Edition will begin at the end of November, with a sale for the holiday season starting on the 28th. More information will be released as the date approaches, but Wizards ensured everyone that the American region will get their orders this year, while the other parts of the world should get the Anniversary Edition at the beginning of 2023.
The 4 packs will each contain 15 cards for a total of 60: 13 cards will have the modern frame, while 2 will be old bordered. The composition of each pack will be 1 Rare, 3 Uncommons, 7 Commons and 2 Basic Lands, with an additional old bordered Basic Land, another Card, and a token of some kind – the featured one was a 1/1 Human Wizard. The biggest surprises next to the Black Lotus are the OG Dual Lands, which provide 2 types of colored mana and come into play untapped. Volcanic Island was showcased with old and new borders, but with the classic art – and WotC wants players to get these lands, as they will appear twice as frequently as other Rare cards!
The cards included in the set match their original counterparts in terms of rarity, so if you open an Icy Manipulator, it will be Rare, such as the original card from the Alpha version of the game. The only card which is an exception is Sol Ring, which will appear as an Uncommon instead of Rare. The other retro touches are that the original White icon will be displayed on the White cards, the old borders will look like the ones used in Time Spiral Remastered, and of course, the classic – although improved – card arts will be displayed on the cards of the Anniversary Edition.
Wizards have thought about the regions which won’t have access to the packs, as all WPN stores will be gifted a display completely free of charge and can use the cards as tournament prizes and such.
Stay tuned to ESTNN for more info about the 30th Anniversary Edition!