MTG 30th Anniversary offers a chance at rare Black Lotus card… but costs $999

Magic: The Gathering is nearing the three-decade mark, and to celebrate, an MTG 30th Anniversary Edition is being launched with multiple boosters that contain reprinted cards from the game's original Limited Edition Beta from 1993. However, it has a price tag of $999.

Available to pre-order from November 28 and likely to arrive in North America before the end of 2022, this MTG 30th Anniversary Edition is a "commemorative and collectible product" that contains four booster packs containing 15 random cards each. These will all be reprints of the earliest cards from Magic: The Gathering's first set, and 13 of them (with two basic lands, three uncommons, seven commons, and one rare) will feature a modern frame. The two remaining cards - one land, one random - are due to have retro frames like the ones first seen when MTG originally joined the best card games on shelves. The boosters also include Token cards utilizing art from the Limited Edition Beta, while White cards use the original White symbol instead of the newer version.  

But unlike other recent Magic: The Gathering additions, MTG 30th Anniversary Edition will not be tournament legal. It'll also be a limited run, so once it's gone, it's gone.

Unfortunately, this seems to be the only way of getting those original cards short of paying several hundred per item on eBay or raiding attics across the country for discarded decks from childhood. By way of context, most normal boosters cost a few dollars and Collector packs are somewhere in the $25 mark.

It's also far from guaranteed that you'll get what you're looking for. The wording in Wizards of the Coast's reveal video suggests that you can get cards like Black Lotus within the 30th Anniversary Edition... but that isn't necessarily assured. In much the same way, the Wizards blog post on this set points out that "the retro frame slot is especially interesting, as approximately three out of every ten packs will contain a rare retro frame card - anything from a Black Lotus to a Mahamoti Djinn to a Volcanic Island". Basically, it's something of a gamble. 

If you're hankering for a hit of nostalgia, it might be worth checking in on the upcoming Dominaria Remastered range instead. These boosters contain cards drawn from across Magic's history (including powerful options such as Jester's Cap that allows you to search your opponent's library for three cards before exiling them), and they also feature the retro frames mentioned above. At the time of writing, you can pre-order Collector Boosters or Draft Booster boxes ahead of its launch in January 2023.

If you're looking for more tabletop, be sure to check out our guide to the best board games. It's also worth stopping in and browsing these must-have board games for 2 players, or the most essential board games for adults.