The price for collectible cards keeps skyrocketing, as an Alpha Black Lotus from Magic: The Gathering has sold for over $500,000 at auction. The Black Lotus card is incredibly useful in terms of the game itself, but certain versions of the card are worth a lot of money, due to their rarity.

In mechanical terms, the Black Lotus is an artifact that costs nothing to play and grants three Mana of any color. This puts it in a similar category to the banned Pot of Greed card from Yu-Gi-Oh!!where its amazing effect is linked to its simplicity. The Black Lotus is known as a member of the "Power Nine", which are nine incredibly powerful cards from the early days of Magic: The Gathering that were quickly banned in competitive play. The rarity of the Alpha and Beta set versions of the Black Lotus is what makes them truly valuable, and high-quality cards can sell for thousands of dollars at auction.

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It was recently reported that an Alpha Black Lotus was on track to break the record for the highest-selling Magic: The Gathering card of all time. The auction on eBay has now concluded (via Polygon), and the card sold for $511,100, not including the $250 FedEx international shipping fee. This is the most anyone has paid for a Black Lotus card, with a recent auction in 2019 ending with a sale of over $150,000.

Alpha Black Lotus Auction Most Expensive MTG Card

There are a few reasons this card is so valuable. The Professional Sports Authenticators organization graded it a Gem-MT 10, which means that the card is considered to be in mint condition. This Black Lotus was also signed by original artist Christopher Rush, who passed away in 2016, further increasing its value. It bears mentioning that the autograph is on the casing of the card, not the actual card itself, as that would have decreased its value.

There has been a surge in the value of cards in recent years, which has been helped by the nostalgia boom for the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Old Pokémon cards and sealed boxes keep selling for ridiculous amounts of money online, with fans clamoring to own them all. The Black Lotus has always been valuable, but its sharp increase in value has garnered attention from the wider world, outside of the Magic: The Gathering fanbase. The question now is whether the bubble is due to burst, or whether this small black flower will keep appreciating in value.

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Source: eBay (via Polygon)