MTG Thunder Junction has its own Black Lotus
WotCMTG’s most expensive card gets a new successor in Outlaws of Thunder Junction’s Big Score vault.
Any MTG player worth their salt – as well as most TCG fans with even a passing interest in Magic – are aware of the infamous reputation of Black Lotus. This card, released in MTG’s first-ever set, regularly tops lists of the most expensive trading cards ever printed.
With auctions regularly racking up dollars in the hundreds of thousands, Black Lotus is unlikely to see a contender in value anytime soon. However, that doesn’t mean that its incredibly useful effect will be absent from all but the bougiest MTG tables forever.
MTG’s Outlaws of Thunder Junction set includes The Big Score bonus sheet; a vault packed full of valuable Artifacts. Among those Artifacts is the Lotus Ring. While it can’t quite match the original Black Lotus’ power-to-cost combo, Lotus Ring still ranks among the worthy Black Lotus successors that Magic has put out over the years.
WotCLotus Ring is an Equipment Artifact that can be cast for 3 generic mana. It is Indestructible, an incredibly useful ability for an artifact to have, protecting the ring from many sources of destruction-based removal.
After Lotus Ring’s initial casting cost has been paid, a further equip cost of 3 generic mana can be played to equip it to one of its controller’s Creatures. The equipped Creature gains Vigilance and a +3/+3 boost, and can be tapped and sacrificed to replicate Black Lotus’ effect: adding 3 mana of any one color.
Balance-focused players needn’t worry about a new Lotus effect potentially destabilizing magic, and it’s clear that this card’s excessive overall cost prevents its mana generation from getting out of hand. Still, MTG fans on Reddit have already worked out combos to make Lotus Ring a little more efficient.
Reddit user harbear6 mentioned using Puresteel Paladin to negate Lotus Ring’s equip cost, turning this card into a combination of Ashnod’s Altar and Phyrexian Altar, adding:
“Of course, it does get gated by summoning sickness but still just being able to sac your creatures for 3 will get out of hand very quick.”
There’s always a need for sacrifice triggers and mana generation in MTG, and while Lotus Ring may require a few steps to get going, crafty players will soon be putting it to good use.