It was the first trading card game of its kind and it has inspired countless imitators. Neither Garfield nor Adkison could've dreamed of how popular MTG would become. Shortly thereafter, Garfield pitched MTG to him. Garfield was reportedly trying to sell a game called RoboRally in 1993 when he met Peter Adkison of WOTC. The MTG trading card game was the brainchild of Richard Garfield, who started creating it when he was a mathematics student at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1980s. "From going to the national conventions and talking to some of the earlier distributors, they just said it was impossible to get enough product," said Jones. It was unveiled on a limited basis at the Origins Game Fair in 1993 before quickly selling out in its general release that August.
#Mtg card sets number of cards series
Manufactured by Wizards of the Coast (WOTC), a company based in Renton, Washington, the 1993 MTG Alpha series was the first MTG set ever produced.
Chang estimates that a PSA MINT 9 example would sell for around $18,000 and that a PSA 10 would likely fetch $40,000 to $55,000.īut while the Black Lotus is the marquee single in this 295-card issue, many of this offering's cards are now commanding big bucks in high grade. Of the 102 Alpha Black Lotus cards submitted to PSA, there have been just seven PSA 10s. Kids today might not have seen Michael Jordan play, but he's the icon. "There are still kids now that say, 'Oh my God, I just saw the Black Lotus!'" noted Chang, "And they didn't even grow up with the Black Lotus, but they'll still want to buy one when they grow up because it's like owning a Michael Jordan rookie. You want to own something from your childhood."Ĭhang notes that even kids today marvel at the Black Lotus card. "The X factor is that I consider MTG to be something that many of us can relate to from our childhood. "There are people buying this card that are hedging that over time there will continue to be this nostalgia towards it," he said. "The biggest issue with the Black Lotus card is the play wear because people obviously played with it or kept it in primitive nine-page card binders, so a lot of times the cards will have dents on them."ĭaniel Chang, president and CEO of, adds that people are also purchasing this card as an investment. 3 Current Finest, 1993 MTG Alpha set on the PSA Set Registry. "Since collecting the Alpha set, I think I've owned four or five different Alpha Black Lotus cards," noted Jeremy Jones, who owns the No. It's also important to keep in mind that people didn't think of these cards as collectibles when they were initially released. Also, the fact that it was a "rare" card meant that it was positioned at or near the front of the starter decks or booster packs, which made it vulnerable to condition woes. The Black Lotus is a valuable card in any condition, but its fragile, black borders are easily chipped and it's tough to find perfectly centered. Secondly, the Black Lotus is one of the most powerful cards in the original MTG game, so powerful in fact that by playing it with the right combination of cards, a player could win the game on their first turn. In the 1993 MTG Alpha set, the cards are designated as common, uncommon or rare, and it has been estimated that only 1,100 of each "rare" card was produced. So it's easy to understand why this video has been viewed more than 4.7 million times.īut why is this card that features artwork of what appears to be a blue and purple flower (more so than black) so desirable?įirst of all, the card itself is classified as a "rare" card in the series. That "Alpha frickin' Lotus" is the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle of Magic: The Gathering (MTG) cards and uncovering one is like winning the lottery. Naturally, some people have mocked his reaction, but how would you respond if you pulled a card that was selling for tens of thousands of dollars in PSA GEM-MT 10 condition? His hands tremble as he retrieves the card and holds it in front of the camera. "Holy! That's a frickin' Black Lotus! Holy God! That's an Alpha frickin' Lotus! Oh my God!" he exclaims, his voice rising in exhilaration. After shuffling through the first 59 cards, he pauses for dramatic effect to unveil the last one. The two rare cards are at the front of the 60-card deck and he leaves them until the end.
In the video, which has been uploaded to YouTube, the hobbyist wears blue surgical gloves and carefully removes the cellophane surrounding the fragile, black-bordered cards and leafs through them. In October 2014, a collector named Openboosters was filmed cracking a 1993 Magic: The Gathering Alpha starter deck. PSA Set Registry Collecting the 1993 Magic: The Gathering Alpha (MTG) Gaming Card Set The Card "Magic" Started Here
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