A discussion about the best mtg cards will almost always have to start with the cards from the Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited editions of Magic the Gathering. Featuring some the most powerful cards ever, Wizards of the Coast quickly quit printing them and released their Revised Edition of cards which removed what they called “broken” cards from the set.
Commonly referred to as the Power Nine today, these over-powered cards are the prize of any Magic the Gathering collection. Their rarity coupled with the ability to single-handedly dominate games when used has pushed the prices of these cards into the thousands when found in top shape.
Easily the best mtg card in the power nine list is the Black Lotus. A zero casting cost artifact that can be sacrificed to gain three mana of any color, the Black lotus is the driver of many early game combos that can provide a first turn kill, before the other player even gets a chance to lay down a card!
Five more artifact cards from the early days of Magic are included in the power nine as well. The five moxen are zero casting cost artifact cards, just like the Black lotus, that produce one mana of a specific color depending on the mox. They include the Mox Ruby for red mana, Mox Pearl for white mana, Mox Sapphire for blue mana, Mox Jet for black mana, and the Mox Emerald for green mana. Obviously if you include these cards along with a Black Lotus in your deck you can get quite a lot mana early in the game which can be a big advantage.
The last three cards that are included in the power nine are all blue cards; Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral recall. Time Walk as the name hints at, allows you to take another turn immediately after your current turn. Who wouldn't want to have two turns in a row? Have just a few cards in hand or running low on cards in your library? Throw in a Timetwister to have your opponent and yourself reshuffle your graveyards back into your library and draw seven new cards! Works great right after a Timewalk. The last of the power nine is Ancestral Recall. For one blue mana you can make the target player draw three cards. That's card advantage at its best!
While the early days of Magic the Gathering did produce a number of the best mtg cards to date, the numerous expansions over the years have provided a number of other great choices. Library of Alexandria, Force of Will, and Yawgmoth's Will spring to mind. New rules and different tournament formats can often determine a card's usefulness and each set will usually produce at least one new, powerful card.
Our goal is to provide a quick and easy way for our users to find the best mtg cards available at reasonable prices. Looking for the cards to help finish off that new deck? Check out our selection of magic cards.